Relics (16 page)

The maître d' obviously felt it was better to let her go than to allow the scene to escalate anymore. A whispered comment from the maître d' sent Thomas quickly down to the stage and through the curtains on one side.

Miss Diva continued to the table on the floor. She yanked out the chair with the ghost, who remained seated in mid-air, plopped herself down and scooted the chair back in through the ghost. She gave a slight shudder and rubbed her bare arms a moment.

The ghost looked around in astonishment and met my eyes. I gave a slight, surreptitious shake of my head. I looked over at Thulu, who shrugged. I wasn't sure whether it was at me, the situation or the ghost, though.

I felt sorry for the ghost as he stood up, glaring at Miss Diva. He stood tapping his elegant fingers on his cane and maybe thinking about leaving. He sat in the chair farthest from Miss Diva, facing the stage, with his back pointedly to her. Not that she could see him.

Miss Diva's entourage didn't join her at the table. They stood against the side wall, clearly uncomfortable. They had the look of bodyguards and obviously felt out of place.

The house lights dimmed, and the soft stage lighting brightened. The curtains parted as the pianist came onstage and the audience applauded. With a short bow, he sat at the piano and began to play.

Brandy Malone stepped onstage to a suddenly hushed audience, then thunderous applause. She had a following, that was clear, as some of the audience were obviously fans.

She was tall, slender and stunningly beautiful, with pale skin and long, dark auburn hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a tasteful, simply cut black evening gown. Dark crystal swirls patterned the fabric, catching the lights as she moved. At her throat was a gorgeous necklace that draped down in crystal strands. Everything about her was elegant.

She carried her mic and in a low and sultry tone began to sing “Strange Magic.” She had sung the first few bars when it hit me – Brandy Malone was male.

She allowed her gaze to wander to the table where Miss Diva sat.  She stopped singing and stared at Miss Diva.

“Oh, my, god! Are you dead already?” Brandy held one hand theatrically at her chest.

The rock star looked around, confused, as was most of the audience.

“Dead?  Hell no, I'm not dead!”

An enormous sigh of relief. “Oh, okay, good. I was just shocked for a moment because you are sitting at the spirit table.”

“What the hell does that mean?” demanded Miss Diva.

“Well, for those of you who don't know,” she smiled at her audience, “I keep this one table clear in honor of those who may still remain on this plane. That way, any who have left off living can have a place to call their own, at least at my show.” She gave a big smile to Miss Diva.  “So, you see, Miss Diva, I thought maybe you had died. I'm glad to see you alive and well. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, dear.”

The audience applauded appreciatively, and Brandy curtsied graciously.

Miss Diva looked around again, this time uncertainly, but Brandy had pulled the focus back to herself. Miss Diva actually raised her hand.

“Yes, dear?”

“There are ghosts at this table?”

“Only one, dear. And I'm pretty sure he's gay, so you don't have to worry about him hitting on you.” A light laugh from the audience. Brandy looked at the rest of the audience, then back at the ghost. To the audience, she would have been looking at an empty chair. The ghost had stood and made an elaborate bow to Brandy and a small one to Miss Diva. He turned to me and Thulu and winked, and then he resumed his seat. Brandy caught the wink and briefly looked over at us.

“Apparently all is well, he doesn't mind sharing his table tonight.” Another soft laugh from her audience.

Miss Diva was trying to figure out if she was the butt of a joke. She seemed a bit more sober than she had earlier. I wondered if the cold from the ghost had shocked some sense into her.

Brandy moved to center stage. “Thank you all so very much for joining me tonight. Who am I and what do I do are probably questions some of you are asking yourselves. Well, I'm a bit of an – illusionist.” Definite laughter from the audience. “Sometimes I can connect with other planes of existence. Sometimes, I sing. Now and then, I even manage some magic. I've been known to read minds, so be careful what you think.” She raised an admonitory finger. “Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Brandy Malone.” More applause. “Shall we begin?”

Thulu and I exchanged another look.

Brandy moved down the two steps to the floor. She greeted the couple I had spoken to earlier.

“Here we have the first of our anniversary couples. Yours is thirty, correct?” They nodded, smiling. “And you didn't want anything special. You'd just heard the show was interesting and I was – different.” Brandy primped for her audience. “Well, happy anniversary and thank you for choosing to spend a special night with me.”

She moved over to me and Thulu. I prepared to cringe. I hated being the center of attention. “Here we have a couple who have only been married two years, but you've known each other far, far longer than that.” She gazed at us warmly. “Interesting. Childhood sweethearts, even. Also, unfortunately, not in need of my help. Thank you for joining me.”

She briefly mentioned the next two couples, both anniversaries. She asked the audience to applaud all of us in our marital journeys, and moved up the stairs. Thulu and I turned in our chairs to follow her progress. I thought this was a very weird show, but I liked Brandy. Even Miss Diva seemed to be intrigued by her and turned to follow her progress.

Brandy stopped at a table of four. “Well, hello there, and you must be Claudia.” She leaned over and gave a kiss on the cheek to an elderly woman. “Claudia, today is your birthday. Would you please tell the audience how young you are?”

Claudia answered that she was ninety. Applause from the audience.

“And you lost your husband last year. How long had you been married?”

“Seventy years.”

“Wow, now that is a major accomplishment. You were wondering if he was still here, weren't you, Claudia?”

The white head nodded.

“You had a picture for me?”

“Well, I did. I had it on the bureau upstairs, but when I came from the bath, it was gone.” Her voice broke. “We looked for it, but couldn't find it.”

Brandy seemed distressed and closed her eyes. The audience waited.

Thulu moved his head. He briefly closed his eyes and went still. I could tell he was trying to “find” the picture.

A few moments later, Brandy opened her eyes to stare straight at Thulu.

“Claudia, your picture isn't lost. When the air conditioner came on in your room, it blew the picture behind the dresser.” She turned to the maître d' who stood by the door. “Could we please get someone to retrieve the picture from Claudia's room?”

He nodded. Brandy moved on after giving Thulu a smile and Claudia a reassuring hug.

Next, she stopped at a table with an attractive couple. She stared thoughtfully at a balding, heavy set man. “No, George, I'm not sure that investment would be the best path at this time.” George nodded, disappointed, I think. Brandy started to move off, but turned back. “You have a new employee who has some excellent ideas, though. You should talk to her.” George nodded as Brandy smiled and moved away.

Brandy looked at her pianist, who started the intro to an upbeat rendition of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”. She moved gracefully around the room, singing to her audience in a beautiful tenor voice.

As she moved, I realized she was making the audience feel at ease, content and peaceful. She projected that all was right with the world. It wasn't her singing, though. And it wasn't working on me or Thulu, although I did enjoy the song. She was an empath, but one who could project. Very interesting, Nana.

She moved by the entrance and brushed the hand of a server standing there. I could have sworn he handed her something. She ended next to Claudia, amidst loving applause. She graciously acknowledged her pianist.

“Claudia, I believe this belongs to you?” She did the behind Claudia's ear trick and handed the woman a small rectangle of paper.

“Oh my, yes!  This is my picture!” Tears were in Claudia's voice. “Oh, thank you so much!”

The back curtains on the stage drew up to reveal a large screen. Suddenly, a very old black and white picture of a couple was displayed there. They were in their wedding finery, and joy shone from their faces.

Brandy smiled. “Now, we'll get back to the way this was supposed to go before we lost this gorgeous picture.” She turned around, looking at her entire audience.

“This is Claudia and Jack Fredricks on their wedding day. Claudia would like to know if he is still here on this plane, or if he has moved on.”

Brandy looked at our ghost. The ghost called the name “Jack Fredricks” several times, but there was no answer. A young man appeared.

“Are you Jack?” asked Brandy.

“No, I'm a buddy of his from when he went to war. Jack went into the light right after he died.”

“I'm sorry, Claudia. There is a young man here, but he isn't Jack. I think he knew Jack, though. I'm not understanding him very clearly.”

I didn't know why a telepath was having trouble understanding the man. He was clear enough about it. Brandy gave a delighted laugh.

“Ah, I have it now. Claudia, the man says he knew Jack in the war, and that Jack went into the light right after he died. I'm sure he'd want you to enjoy your life and know that he will be waiting for you. You are not to hurry on his account, though, young lady.” Brandy lifted that whole thing from my mind or maybe the ghost's, I was sure. She gave me a wink as she turned away. Okay, so mine.

The picture gradually faded from the screen, and the curtains came down to huge applause. Miss Diva was clapping as enthusiastically as the rest of Brandy’s fans. Brandy continued making the rounds. She hypnotized someone who wanted to stop smoking and another who wanted to lose weight. Those went much faster than I would have expected them to.

With the ghost's help, she let several other parties know their loved ones had gone on. She predicted the future for several others.

She made two doves appear, and I have no idea from where. There wasn't a lot of fabric to hide anything in. She sang several more songs. The whole while, she spread her message of well-being underneath everything.

Near the end of the evening, when she apparently had taken care of everyone, she asked if she had missed anyone.

“Me.” We had all forgotten Miss Diva. “Do you know my future?”

Brandy stared at her thoughtfully. “Yes, I do.” She hesitated. “I'll speak to you after the show, if you would stay, please?”

She ended the evening with the song, “Magic.” After the applause, she thanked her pianist and everyone in the audience for coming to visit and wished them well in their futures. I almost felt her casting good luck on the audience. Was she a witch?  She disappeared behind the curtains.

Thomas was at our table before we could even stand up. “Brandy has asked if you would mind staying, as well.” We nodded and settled back down. Aside from Miss Diva and her group and us, no one else was permitted to stay in the room. Miss Diva’s guards had settled at a table nearby. A few guests lingered over wine glasses, but none stayed for long. Soon no one was left, but the two live parties and the ghost.

In about fifteen minutes, the curtains parted. A male figure in his early thirties came through the curtains. He was dressed in jeans, a nice shirt and a light leather jacket. The long auburn hair was gone; instead, he had short, spiked brown hair. He smiled at me and Thulu, held up a finger and went over to Miss Diva.

The ghost was still sitting at the table and watched his progress.

“Hi, thank you for waiting,” this to Miss Diva, who looked up from her phone, which had held her attention since the show's end.

“Yeah, it's okay,” she said a bit grudgingly as she looked away.

“You asked about your future?” The question was spoken gently.

“Yeah, Brandy said she would tell me my future. She said for me to wait.” This last sounded a bit defensive to my ears. We could hear every word in the almost empty room.

He raised his eyebrows and gave a glance to our table. “Yes, and I'm glad you did.” Miss Diva rolled her eyes.

I could tell she had no idea who she was talking to. I stifled the urge to laugh. This girl was not the sharpest tool in the shed.

“So how much longer is she going to be?”

The man offered a swift smile. “We can begin now, if you like.”

“You?  So, who are you?” A light bulb went off in her brain somewhere. “Oh my god!  Are you her brother?” Thulu was choking, trying not to laugh.

“Miss Diva, I'm Brandy Malone.”

The look on her face was priceless. The urge to slip my phone out of my purse was almost irresistible, but I managed. Servers and busboys and girls were still tearing down tables. I was surprised when none reached for their own phone cameras. I realized that confidentiality was probably a quality insisted upon.

“No way!”

“Yes, way!” He sang a few bars, while it sank in to her.

“Wow!” Not a scintillating conversationalist, this one.

“Shall we begin?” He seated himself next to her. His back was mostly to us, so I didn't get a lot of his face, but we could hear him clearly.

He explained to her that he had seen her in a very serious car accident. He told her she didn't die, but that the glass from the vodka bottle had shattered and jammed into her throat. Watching the expression of disbelief on her face change to guilt and fear, he was gentle, but insistent.

“Miss Diva, if you don't stop drinking and driving, you will have that accident and you will sever your vocal cords. I'm afraid you will never sing again, possibly never be able to speak again.”

“You're just trying to scare me.” Anger flashed in her eyes.

“Yes, I am!  Because I'm scared for you. Think of all your fans who would be devastated to lose your music.”

“How do I know you didn't just make up the whole thing?”

“Because you were driving. You love driving, don't you?  You especially like to drive when you get drunk. Even when your friends and your staff try to tell you not to drive, you do it anyway. You put all of their lives in danger because you make them go with you. You think it's fun to scare them.” His voice had gotten firmer.

“So?  It’s none of your business.”

He sat back. “You're absolutely correct, it isn't. You asked for your future, and I've given it to you. One other thing.” His voice took on a hard edge. “You won't spend your life a pampered former star. You'll spend it in prison for felony drunk driving, which is second degree murder.”

“Murder?  I'd never kill anyone.” She was indignant.

“Not on purpose, but the time I've seen, you were not alone. You were racing around a curvy road. I'm not sure where it is, but it has two lanes and it's in the mountains somewhere. You went through a guard rail down an embankment and into a tree.”

This startled Miss Diva.

“Who is with me?”

“I don't know. It seems to be a young girl, with brown hair.”

“I don't believe you.”

He stood up and shrugged. “That, of course, is your choice. You asked and I told you. It's up to you to decide what you want to do with the information. Have a pleasant evening.” He smiled and turned toward us.

“Wait. What kind of car am I driving?” She had a sly smile, like this was a trick question.

He turned back and said, “A shiny and new red Lamborghini.”

“You can't know that!  How can you know that?”

“Because, Miss Diva, I see the future whether you care to believe it or not.”

“But –” Tears had formed in her eyes. Suddenly, I felt sorry for her. A scared little girl, dressed up like an adult and with only paid bodyguards to have her back. Thulu took my hand.

“But, Brandy – I only ordered that car this morning. And I didn't tell anyone I did it, either. It's going to be a surprise birthday present for my little sister. She loves them. She can't even drive it yet, but she'll be able to a few weeks after it comes in. How could you know?” Tears poured down her face. “So what am I supposed to do?”

He bent over and, with a linen napkin, gently blotted her face. “You've got to stop driving drunk. Maybe stop driving altogether for a while. I honestly don't know how much would change. Sometimes someone will get a different car or make some other minor change, but that doesn't change the outcome.”

She sniffed and looked at him like she was a lost puppy.

“Miss Diva, maybe just stop driving yourself for a long while. And don't drink in the car – even if it's only water. Just be careful and take care of yourself, okay?”

She nodded numbly. He helped her to her feet. She was unsteady, but this time I think it was from shock.

He stared at the bodyguards. They stared back, impassively. Hired help, for sure. He looked around the room and called Thomas over. “Thomas, would you please escort Miss Diva to her suite?”

Thomas nodded, then turned and smiled at the girl. He offered his arm, and she looked at it a moment. She tentatively took his arm, with a shaky smile. Thomas led her from the room, trailed by her bodyguards.

Brandy looked at the ghost, and they exchanged a few low words. He seemed very comfortable, and I got the impression they were old friends.

The ghost looked over at me and Thulu, gave a half salute and dematerialized.

“Thanks for waiting.” He made his way to our table. “I'm Reo Malone.” He paused. We shook hands before he pulled over another chair and sat down. “When I'm not being Brandy, that is.” His smile was sweet.

“Nana Fae said it was time to meet you two.” His features were delicate up close. I could see how he would easily transform into Brandy.

“Reo?  You sure like exotic names.” I smiled.

“Blame my folks. It's actually Brandon Arreo Malone. My parents are former hippies who had the bad grace to make a fortune, but their tastes can be eclectic.” He laughed easily.

“I'm so glad to finally meet you. Nana Fae said she wanted to keep me to herself, but I think she just wanted you guys to find your way on your own before bringing me into the fold.”

“How did you meet Nana?” Thulu asked.

“Here, of course. She came to a show about six months ago. Naturally, we saw each other for what we really are. We chatted after the show and we've been friends ever since. She met my parents and they adore her, but she's been sly about you two.”

“Nana met your family?” Interesting.

“Yeah, they get along great. I knew they would.” I could hear the love in his voice when he spoke of his parents.

“You sound very close to them.”

Reo said he loved and appreciated his parents. He wasn't the stereotypical, mistreated gay child. He'd been an adored, well adjusted, happy kid, whose parents loved him and spoiled him rotten.

“Well, of course, they did!” I exclaimed. “You're a projecting empath. You made sure they adored you.”

Reo laughed. “I'm not sure I could affect them. It doesn't seem to work well on other gifted people. Mama is a telepath and Dad is psychic. I'm a bit stronger than either of them, but I'm erratic and not always reliable.”

Since the serving staff was almost done, we decided to go back to our place to continue our conversation. Thulu left a hefty tip on our table for Thomas, then we made our way to the parking garage and Reo's black Mustang.

Once at home, we proudly showed him around. The rest of that night, we spent hours sharing stories about our various gifts, drinking wine and snacking on cheese and crackers. In just a few hours, Thulu and I grew to appreciate Reo. He was smart, talented and compassionate.

We owed Nana for finding him, but when we asked her why she didn't introduce us earlier, she said the time hadn't been right. Sometimes Nana herself didn't know why she did or didn't do things.

Reo had been part of the family ever since. It was like having a brother. He usually kept his professional life separate from his “real” life as he called it. Brandy was a character he portrayed, he said, not who he was. She allowed him privacy in his personal life, but also gave him the chance to help others with his gift.

I guess we all found ways to keep our gifts separate from our private lives as much as we could. Reo just seemed to be more visible than most.

It wasn't all work for the wealthy, though. He also volunteered at one of the shelters and often wandered the streets late at night. I asked if he had ever run into trouble doing that, but he said his gifts had protected him.

He wasn't in a relationship when we first met him. He'd recently split up with a partner he'd been with for a year. He seemed rather stoic about it.

Thulu was quick to assure him that he had someone out there who was just right for him. Thulu is always right about those things, but Reo wasn't sure he believed him. I did though. I knew my husband didn't say things lightly. However, after three years and still no life mate in sight, we had taken to giving Thulu a bit of a hard time about it.

Thulu, of course, took the teasing in his usual good grace.

“I know what I know,” he would say.

And that would be that.