Adelaide Confused (6 page)

Her calm did nothing to
dampen my agitated frustration. “Come, I’ll explain where we can
speak privately.” She walked around the counter, heading down the
hall. With little choice, I followed her.

Her workspace was a small
room, almost identical in size and shape to the astrologist’s,
though that was where the similarities ended. Foreign looking
carpets overlapped, crisscrossing over every inch of the floor.
Gauzy cloth in royal colors clung to the walls, draped and
displayed for effect. A small table and chairs dominated the area,
filmy fabric donning each. The tarot cards were laid out, incense
burning beside them. Nancy sat, gesturing to the other
chair.

I ignored her, warning, “If you try to sell
me on a reading I’ll probably punch you in the face.”

She smiled, unconcerned
with the threat. “You think I’m a charlatan, but to understand, you
must accept that I am not.”

“
How about we pretend that
I believe you, and you get on with the explanation.”

She nodded sagely and
began. “Some people are gifted, as I suspect you are. For me the
gift is sight. Through the interpretation of the cards,” she tapped
her deck, “I can glimpse things. Sometimes it’s trivial, sometimes
useful, and once in a while, terribly important.

“
On the morning of the day
we met, I did what I do every morning. I read the cards.” She began
to rub her wrist absently. It was as if she was no longer speaking
to me, but telling the story to herself. “They showed a very
significant and specific idea, the message was clear. I would
willingly give away a valued treasure to the red-headed
stranger.”

I was tempted to correct
her. My hair was strawberry-blonde, not red.

“
I couldn’t understand why
I would do such a thing. That is, until the moment I saw you
standing there by the street. He was there too, close by you,
smiling at me.” Her eyes became glassy as they filled with tears. I
became uncomfortable with everything she was saying and feeling. “I
knew then why I would do it, why I would give away something so
important to me, something I loved.” She looked deep into my eyes.
“I did it because he wanted me to. He wanted you to have
it.”

I lightly touched the milky bead that rested
on my index finger. “What is it?”

“
I’m not exactly sure.” She
waved her hand vaguely, trying to figure out how to continue.
“It’s, well... let me explain Percival to you.

“
We met when I was young,
about your age. In fact, I was a lot like you when he found me. I
didn’t understand why I could glance over a deck of playing cards
and see that my neighbor’s cat would soon get run over, or that my
mother would be making brownies in the afternoon. I didn’t know
other people like me existed, the thought just hadn’t occurred to
me. But Percy knew, he explained it all.” She suddenly burst into a
smile. “I thought he was the smartest man alive, but he was just a
boy back then. You see, he had a gift too. He could see the
dead.”

Now she frowned. “He hadn’t
always made the most of his gift, for a while he even considered it
a curse. But over the years he did many great things. It became his
passion, his life’s work.” Her frown deepened; I felt its sorrow.
“When he found out he was dying he didn’t mourn for himself, but
for what the world would lose with his passing. The gift was like a
child to him, he wanted to see it continue...”

She shook her head. “I
don’t know how he did it. He went away just before he died. I
begged him not to go, he was so weak. He returned, from where, I
never knew. The gift was no longer a part of him, no longer
attached to his body I mean, but removed, placed in a ring. He wore
it for only four days, and then he died.”

I pulled the ring from my
finger. It slid off easily. I stood over her, hand extended. “Take
it. I never wanted it. Besides, you lied when you gave it to me.
You said it was only a trinket, nothing more. Remember?” I asked
sharply.

I felt the slightest twinge
of embarrassment, but she shrugged it off. “I had to say something
to make you take it. I was desperate.”

“Yes,” I said dryly, “I remember.”

She shook her head, angling
her body away from the ring. “I won’t take it back. He wanted you
to have it.”

My hand fell.
“Why?”

“
I can’t say for sure. I
only suspect you have a gift that makes the ring worthwhile in your
possession.”

“
I’m an empath, empathic,
or however you say it. I’m not even sure if that’s the proper
terminology, but it’s the only reasonable explanation that came up
when I Googled it a few years back.”

She looked up sharply. “Could you feel the
ghost’s emotions?”

“
It was a ghost dog I
think, but yeah, I felt the stupid thing.”

She smiled, her happiness a
rush. “That’s wonderful!”

“
Yeah, well, don’t count
your chickens or whatever—I’ve seen the movie
Poltergeist
.” I
pocketed the ring and sat back down.

She patted my arm. “It
won’t be like that.”

I gave her a disbelieving
look. My first encounter with a ghost, not even a human ghost, and
I’d fallen over and broken a window.

“
No one can truly
understand the spirit world until they’ve passed on themselves. But
Percy’s experience allowed him to formulate theories.

“
He thought spirits, or as
you say, ghosts, reside in this same space, but on a different
plane or realm. A veil separates our world from theirs, but when
it’s thin a spirit may cross over. The reasons differ, and there
may not even be a reason. The dog, for example, may have crossed
simply because it wanted to see something familiar. That happens
sometimes.

“
Percy liked to communicate
with those who needed something. He tried to give them closure. It
should be easier for you to understand them if you can pick up
their emotions. It makes sense for you to have the
ring.”

Percy was going to be
disappointed, because I didn’t plan to wear it anytime soon. That
thought made me feel guilty, so I stood to leave.

Nancy smiled warmly. “You
believe me.”

The strange thing was, I
really did. Recalling why I ever doubted, I shook my head. “I could
have sworn Eclipsys was a fake.”

Nancy stood, following me
to the door. “Oh, she is,” she confirmed lightly. “The cards told
me you would come. I thought it best to avoid an introduction until
you’d seen a ghost. You would never have believed me otherwise. So
I asked Eclipsys to meet with you and your friend, giving you the
prediction of death so you would know where to return after a
sighting.”

“
Do you know many people
with... gifts?” The word still felt silly and strange to
say.

“
Percy used to host a
convention every year, inviting the gifted and those sincerely
interested in the occult. That’s how I met Eclipsys. She’s been a
dear friend for many years. We own this shop together.

“
A few years back, after I
surfaced from the grief of Percy’s passing, I took over the
tradition. Eclipsys helps. We hold the convention in October here
on the island. You’re invited of course. Many people would love to
meet you.” She rubbed her forehead thoughtfully. “I can’t recall
meeting another empath. I think you may be the first to attend.
That is, if you do decide to come.”

I made a noncommittal sound
and walked toward the door. I turned at the last minute as Nancy
settled behind the reception desk. “Did the cards tell you my name
was Adelaide Graves?”

She shook her head smiling.
“It was nice to meet you, Adelaide.”

I stirred the batter in
lazy circles, my mind drifting. I’d passed my shift at Sterling’s
in much the same way, Ben had noticed. He’d also noticed my late
arrival. I’d endured over an hour of his lecturing, which was
really just him complaining at me.

It had been difficult to go
through the motions, completing mundane chores while trying to
accept the facts. The facts: Yesterday everything was predictable,
today the world was full of secrets. The world where: A palm reader
may or may not be a pretending cheat while your waitress was a
closet numerologist.

Had I ever met a mind
reader? Or passed a perve with X-ray vision? What other gifts
existed unbeknownst to me? And how had I not guessed? It seemed
like a logical thing to wonder, being an empath and all, but I
never had.

The cake batter no longer
needed stirring. I began to eat spoonfuls. I’d briefly considered
baking the cake and giving it to Lucas as a show of gratitude. But
upon further consideration I discarded the idea, not for any
particular reason, it just wasn’t something I would ever
do.

Knocking sounded from the
front room. Someone was at the door. The only visitor I ever had
was Francesca. She didn’t usually bother with knocking though.
Barging in was more her style, but she was probably still
mad.

She’d called while I was
working, excited to spill the latest gossip. A man had been
murdered on the island, stabbed to death. They’d found him a few
days ago, but the police were keeping the details hushed
up.

Preoccupied, I’d been
unable to provide the proper response to her news, the proper
response being astonished sadness. So she’d accused me of being
unfeeling. It had been perhaps a bit tactless to mutter, “Don’t I
wish.”

I could imagine her
knocking as a formality to show I wasn’t yet forgiven. Though why
she’d come was a mystery, we didn’t have plans. “Come in!” I
called. I heard the front door open and close. Eating another
spoonful, I waited for her to walk back.

I wasn’t looking forward to
having company. I was exhausted of feeling. My angry outburst at
Nancy kept resurfacing to the forefront of my mind. It wasn’t often
I lost my temper these days, and I winced to remember. Keeping a
calm face under a flood of emotion was something I strove to
master. One too many fits of hysteria and I’d find myself committed
to the funny farm. It hadn’t really been anger that had pushed me
over though, it had been fear. I’d known the world was unraveling
beneath me, and I’d been terrified.

I glanced up at the sound
of Francesca’s arrival only to find an unwelcome visitor. I stood
abruptly, my chair sliding back with a screech. “What the hell are
you doing in my house!” I barked.

Reed Wallace smiled. “You
invited me in.”

I idly wondered if he had
always had that dimple. A sense of amused triumph began to bubble
up, growing every moment I stood in mute fascination. I shook my
head, trying to dislodge whatever spell he seemed to be working. I
reminded myself of the shit-list he was topping and said, “Get
out.”

“
Certainly, if you’ll just
give me a more convenient time for us to meet, I’d really
app—”

“
Never would be nice,” I
cut in. “And if you don’t leave, I’m going to call the
police.”

He smiled. I didn’t have to
be an empath to know when I was being patronized. “Go ahead,” he
challenged.

He knew I was bluffing,
knew I didn’t own a phone. Well that was what neighbors were for.
“Wait right there,” I held up both hands, gesturing for him to
stay. “I’d prefer if you were standing in my kitchen when the
police arrive.” I moved to the back door, completely prepared to
have him arrested.

I cracked his composure; I
could feel his irritation. I was halfway out the door when he said,
“I know all about you.” I stilled, going rigid. “I know about the
accident. It had been covered over, but not filled in, and just
like a child’s tale, you fell. Trapped in an abandoned well for
days, you were half dead when they found you. I’ve read the police
reports, the news clippings. And I’ve even paid a pretty penny to
see your medical records.”

I was teetering over the
threshold, held in place by his smooth, soothing voice. I could do
nothing but listen as he put together the puzzle of my life, seeing
the picture everyone else had missed.

“
You disappeared at
eighteen and resurfaced on the island where you’ve been in the
hospitality business ever since. Your reaction when we met left me
feeling certain that there was something different about you. I’ve
poured my resources into searching for an answer.”

“And what did you find?” I asked softly.

“
It was the emotionally
overwhelming accident that resulted in your susceptibility to the
emotions around you. How else could you see through what I
am?”

“What are you?”

He laughed, it was the perfect sound, but I
could feel his weariness. “Haven’t you figured it out? I’m
charming.”

I turned slowly to face
him. “What do you want?”

“I want to offer you a job, something that
would utilize your gift.”

“No.”

“
I would pay you well. You
wouldn’t have to live like this.” He gestured to the room around
him. “You’re wasting yourself.”

“
I’d tell you that it’s
none of your business, but you obviously don’t understand the
concept of privacy.”

“
You don’t understand your
own potential. You could use your gift for so much more. Don’t
throw it away.”