Double Fated (Book One)

by C.K. Mullinax

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Bruno might have the story all wrong…or, he might just be spreading rumors. After all, I never said Dante’s fiancée is happily and willingly sleeping with him and other girls. That’s what he read into it and his supposition.

  Even if Bruno is telling the truth about Dante having risky sex with multiple partners, I can’t do anything about it this evening. I’ve got a date coming up with Lucille and I have been away from the party for too long already.

  My mommas’ will be worriedly looking for me. And, I don’t want them to find out what I’m up to.

  Grandma Edie will also be arriving soon. I have to be with my family when she makes her entrance.

  So I got lost again before making a huge commotion. The echo hadn’t faded before Sebastian came to my rescue.

  “Where’s the hidden exit?” I inquired.

  He wordlessly led me out of the basement and escorted me back to the main part of the club.

  I cringed when I saw Grandma Edie already shaking hands and giving out hugs. I ran over and joined the rest of our family members. She steadily worked her way to me.

  “Hi grandma, you look completely unreal!” I exclaimed.

  That wasn’t what I had planned to say, but that was all my mind could come up with. Attempting to reconcile her appearance now and what she looks like normally, I was suddenly reeling. I reached out and touched her face to make sure it was my Grandma Edie standing in front of me.

  “Your R-daddy isn’t the only one who can pull off a convincing disguise…huh, Little KK?” she whispered in my ear.

  That is my grandma in the flesh!

  “I…love you…you’re…stunning,” I declared, but that isn’t a sufficient adjective to describe her transformation.

  She stood taller…

  Her eyes were bluer than the bluest-blue in all of creation.

  She looked younger…but so much older and years beyond wiser.

  Her spirit is somehow…softer…but her soul is stern and resolved.

  A thousand emotions flooded into me all at once. And, I couldn’t describe any of them. They are too big and bold. I can’t humanly handle feeling them.

  I’m going to break on the inside…

  My grandma is an indomitable…gypsy…matriarch. And, I can feel her indescribable power. My legs turned into rubber as I experienced her awesome spiritual gifts for the first time in my life.

  “SSSsshhhhhh…my beautiful baby girl…calm down for me…everything’s fine. Let’s move over to the side a few steps. Don’t worry, I’ve got you…” she offered her soothing words in her own voice as she gracefully dragged my lifeless body in her arms.

  Breathless and overcome, I fought to bring myself back to this reality.

  “Where have I gone??” I mentally shouted because my voice was more useless than my legs.

  “You’re right here with me…” she whispered a response.

  Struggling against the emotional overload (and the ESP type conversation it appears that she and I are having), I feel like I am choking.

  “You’re breathing fine. Don’t push against the inevitable. I’ll hold you until you’re able to handle it…” she told me.

  “It?? What ‘it’?? Am I having a psychotic break in front of everyone?? Is that the ‘inevitable it’ that I’m having??” I thought to my grandma.

  And her ESP ability held strong!

  “No, you’re standing in a perfectly appropriate position. You appear mentally healthy because you are. No one can see inside you, Baby – they don’t know what’s happening. To them, it looks as though you and I are sharing a particularly special moment. And, that’s exactly what we’re doing. They’ve backed away to give us some privacy,” she casually responded like we have a telepathic conversation on a daily basis.

  “This…can’t…be…happenin’!” I declared between pants, in my mind.

  “I’ll give ya’ that it’s not the most opportune moment, but it’s happening regardless. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you any warning. I didn’t know how you would respond. This is a small taste of what Liz felt right after she became my sister in spirit. She was safe inside the Arboretum and had time to adjust. Plus, she’s incredibly stubborn about everything. So, the uncontrollable emotions only made her falter for a couple of seconds. Not even something like this can get the better of her…” grandma stated the obvious and I felt her softly laughing.

  “I’ve been…tryin’ to find…a stronger word…for stubborn to describe…g-mom. It’s too…tame. Now, I’ve gotta…find a way to describe…my grandma’s clairvoyant skills…she uses on the living…well, barely living, but still…” I offered the levity in hopes of spinning myself back down.

  “G-mom and I have plowed through a hundred new realms, already. There’s no passable word to describe her level of “stubborn”…and I’ve searched, really hard.

  “Let me share a little known fact that you haven’t discovered, for some odd reason. When compared, you make her level of obstinacy look more like a mild state of a changeable mind set. I swear…I’ve asked Liz several thousand times why she didn’t name you, Tenacity Insistence Stewart. I’m completely serious. I’ve watched you both in action.

  “Can’t wait to hear…what she said…”

  “She says, ‘…what and give the world a head’s up about what lies ahead? I hardly think so, Emmy. They can’t see below that surface any more than I can. Watching the courageous unsuspecting grab that tiny, hidden tiger by the tail keeps me in stitches…’

  “That’s the only time Liz calls me Emmy. Don’t tell her this, but that’s the real reason I ask her so often. I love to hear her call me that name…” she said in a sentimental tone.

  I knew there was a story behind it. And, I really, really want to hear it. But, I don’t feel right asking my grandma to explain. That’s an invasion into her private…

  “See what I’m saying, Little Tiger?? You get the shock of your life and within less than five minutes, you’re worrying over me…”

  “Can’t help myself…I love you…”

  “And, my infinite love for you can go without saying but it never will…”

  “What’s happening to me?”

  “You’re getting proof positive…you’re my daughter. That “it” you’re feeling is a spiritual exchange of sorts. Your sisters don’t feel my matriarch’s soul like you do. They’ve become more or less immune to the vibration through exposure…channeling, rituals and other spiritual things dulls the effect…”

  “So, do the people on the front row need a splash zone warning?”

  “No…you’re in no danger of imploding or exploding. When the Creator decides to make a little, additional space inside your spirit, you just have to hold on to something until he’s finished the renovation…

  “Severe understatement…”

  “Typically is when the Maker’s involved. It’s kinda like your unsuccessful quest to find a stronger word to describe g-mom’s stubborn. We have to use the terms we know and accept that they never satisfactorily convey the truth of the situation.

  “And, my name “Edie” keeps me close to the other half of my soul, Lukas…that’s what he chose for me. “Emmy” keeps me close to someone else. One day, I promise to share that story with you. But, you’re getting close to being settled and you’ve got things to do.

  “I know you’ve got something up your sleeve. Just like I’m sure Lizzy has a rabbit lurking in Tray’s hat that she’ll only whip out in case of emergencies. Let’s hope she doesn’t have to use it…” she offered, comically.

  “My legs still feel like rubber…” I informed her as I unsuccessfully attempted to stand without her help.

  She pulled me back to her chest and cradled my body.

  “I think I’m ready…you can let go…” I thought to her after another couple of minutes.

  Grandma Edie smiled at me with her twinkling, unearthly blue-blue eyes.
She is so incredibly beautiful…

  “That’s my spirit you’re scoping out. Now, you can understand why your moms’ are always saying the same thing about you and all our daughters. Mothers always see their babies from the inside, out…”

  “I’ve never seen you like this before…have I?” I asked her, incredulously.

  “Sometimes, little girl, we can let our spirit’s rest quietly. Like when I’m out on adventures with your mommy, Lizzy. Even when I’m dutifully being the Tarrish Queen, it sleeps.

  “But, other times we have to reveal what’s hidden underneath. Your mommas’, who are also my daughters’ by the way, need their mother’s gypsy spirit tonight. So the giant awakens to protect my babies from harm.

  “Let’s just hope this little fragment in the corner that I’m revealing, is all you get to see this evening. Otherwise, that splash zone warning won’t be quick enough. You’ll need to move yourself and our loved ones to the back row swiftly…” she astoundingly offered.