by Laura Emmons
“Grant us grace to entrust Shannon to thy never-failing love; receive her into the arms of thy mercy…” and finally, “forever and ever.”
We all said, “Amen.”
***
Someone led me out of the church to a waiting car. It took us to the cemetery at the end of a town so small I saw the whole place with one sweep of my gaze. The town of Great Cacapon and the cemetery sat near the nexus of the Cacapon River and the mighty Potomac. Ancient trees dotted the area between grave stones. Most of them were evergreens, and I thought it appropriate.
The sedan parked and I was escorted to a newly dug grave. My mother’s coffin, now closed, was removed from the hearse and slid onto a wheeled scaffold. A few men pushed it over to the grave site and placed it over the hole. A fabric skirt covered the mechanism holding up the coffin and hiding the hole. Good, I thought. I didn’t want to see the grave any more than Corey. A pile of fresh earth sat at one end of her coffin.
A member of the choir had joined us graveside and sang a mournful, Celtic ballad of loss.
Reverend Pruitt took his place and spoke, “Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant Shannon with thy saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing but life everlasting.”
My memories fast forwarded to the morning after Halloween, when my mother’s aura was riddled with tumors. The tears started falling again.
Somehow Evan had stepped up to stand behind me.
Father Pruitt took a handful of dirt and threw it on the coffin, “…we commend to Almighty God our sister Shannon; and we commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”
I reached my hand behind me.
Evan grasped it tightly.
I remembered her face as she brushed Corey’s hair out of his eyes on the Night of the Mothers.
“…May her soul, and the souls of all the departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”
“Amen.”
Evan wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me back to the waiting car.
The tears flowed freely, I couldn’t stop them. I barely noticed anything around me. I was surprised by his appearance but grateful for his support. Sometime during the service he must have changed his mind. Rose held Corey. Duncan, Fiona’s farm foreman, held her. It was a relief someone held me.
Someone make a passing, furtive comment to Evan. I couldn’t hear what the person said, but I caught his response.
He snarled, “I don’t give a hairy fire truck what they think.”
I wondered if my family was a bad influence on him.
When the rented sedan pulled up in front of the sunny, yellow house, Evan helped me out. He steered me into the house, up the stairs and into my bed. He tucked me in, still wearing the new black dress, under the blankets and he lay on top of the covers holding me tightly. I was so drained and so tired.
***
When I woke several hours later, it was dark and Evan was gone. I stripped out of my clothes, climbed back under the covers naked, grabbed the couch pillow, and cried myself back to sleep.
Chapter Ten
Mistletoe
I wanted to spend a couple of days wandering around the house abjectly depressed; but couldn’t. Aunt Rose may have planned the schedule, or not, but the next two days were filled with a bustle of activity.
When I walked into the kitchen, Rose sat at the table with Pat McMahon, Duncan’s eldest son. They sat closely, held hands and talked quietly over mugs of hot tea. I made one for myself.
“Good morning,” said Rose. “How do you feel?”
“Morning, Aunt Rose. Hi Pat.”
He nodded and smiled at me.
“I guess I feel okay,” I shrugged.
“That’s good. I’m afraid we have a lot to do today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we need to make sure you and Corey are ready to start school next week.”
School? Next week? Oh wow. “I already have stuff for school.”
“I doubt you have stuff for snow.” She had a good point. The daytime temperature never dropped below 50º F in Santa Monica. I had a few warm things, but not enough to get through an entire week of school.
“Corey hates shopping.”
“I’d assumed as much. That’s why I asked Pat over this morning. Are you able to shop for him?”
“Sure, I guess so.”
“Then you and I will shop, and Corey will go on the mistletoe hunt with Pat and his brothers.”
“What’s a mistletoe hunt?”
“It’s when the men of the clan go looking in the forest for mistletoe growing wild in trees. When they find it, they harvest the bush for Fiona. We have many uses for mistletoe throughout the year. More importantly, we need it for Hogmanay.”
“What’s Hoeg-man-eh?”
“It’s our traditional celebration of New Years. Get ready. I’d like to leave within the hour.”
***
Corey seemed pretty excited to be included in an all-guy event. That is, he became excited after I dragged him out of bed and explained it all. A spark of hope flickered in my heart at the thought of him getting a temporary respite from being angry and depressed. I made sure he wore all of his camouflage protection stones and wished him good hunting.
Once Rose and I headed out of town in her car, I asked where we were going.
“I thought we’d head to Virginia today. We’re going to Winchester.”
I’d never been there, so I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily, the city had a booming, modern commercial district with everything I might want or need.
I’d inherited my winter coat from Rose and my winter boots from Fiona but I needed warmer clothes for school. Corey needed pretty much everything. Rose suggested I find a new outfit for the New Year’s party. She instructed me to find something comfortable to wear around the house but nice enough for eveningwear. After looking for quite a while, I found a knit dress in an indigo velour that almost matched my eyes. The dress was shorter than I liked, so I paired it with black leggings and ballet slippers.
***
Pleased with our purchases, we headed back home. On the way I asked her, “So, what’s up with you and Pat?”
“Oh, we’ve been dating for a long time,” she said casually. “At one point I thought we would marry, but things were so confusing after your mom and dad left. You see, there aren’t any other Healer families left in Cacapon. Over the decades people have either moved or passed away. It’s strange, but in our clan, Healer women have only ever given birth to girls. Some have married outside the clan and left. Fiona and I are the last Healers here. I’ve always worried something might happen to her and I’d have to…”
I finished the thought for her. “You assumed you would become the next Great Healer.”
“…or the last one.” How much damage did my parents do to this little community when they ran away?
“I’m here now, and you’re still young. Maybe you and Pat can still marry and have kids.”
She smiled. “Pat’s my guy, that’s for sure. He’s always stood by me. He never left or married someone else, like his dad did. Who knows what will happen. You’re right.”
I felt a little less guilty for existing.
“But honey,” she continued, “we have to wait and see how things work out. I couldn’t put so much pressure on you. You have so much to learn yet. I’m still willing to do my duty to the clan. Don’t worry.”
Was I prepared to take on the responsibility? Evan had accepted the mantle of Great Seer when he was my age, but I’d only lived with magic for six months. I still couldn’t heal people using energy-touch therapy. She was right. It was too soon to make any assumptions, but if I could undo a bit of the damage caused by my parents, I silently vowed to myself I would do it.
***
When we got back to the house, I found two surprises: an exuberant Corey and the high speed Internet equipment from the phone company.
Over dinner, he told
us all about his day. “The hunt was really cool! Did you know mistletoe is really a parasite? Birds eat the berries of the mistletoe plant. Then they fly over trees and poop the seeds out. If the poop lands on the tree branches just so, a new mistletoe plant digs itself into the wood and grows into a little bush. You should see, Maggie, there’s the tree, looking dead because it’s winter. All the leaves are gone, but in the middle of the tree, nestled in these spindly branches and twigs is a little round evergreen bush with berries growing on it, like magic!”
“I’m pretty sure that’s why they use it in potions and herbal remedies, Corey…because of the magic.”
“No, not anymore…that’s probably what ancient people thought, but Duncan says there’s a weird chemical compound which comes from the acids and bacteria in the poop mixed with the nutrients from the host tree. It’s all really complicated. He says mistletoe is an important part of nature, because it provides food for birds during a time of year when no other food is available. A lot of species of birds survive the winter because of mistletoe, and a lot of those birds are songbirds. Isn’t that cool?”
“It’s very cool,” I agreed.
“So anyway, the guys said they knew where a bunch of mistletoe grew because they’ve been walking around copses near the crop fields for the last couple of weeks taking notes. Guess what they did when we found some?”
“I don’t know. What did they do?”
“Duncan started blowing on this weird old wooden whistle. It didn’t make any noise, but right away this dude in a little green hat appeared. He flew up into the air, floated over to the mistletoe, and cut it down with this tiny, golden scimitar thing.”
“The scimitar thing was probably a sickle,” I corrected him. “The dude in the hat…was he blond with breeches on?”
“Yeah.”
“Did his green hat have a feather in it?”
“Yup.”
“Did you look in his eyes?”
“No! Why would I look in another dude’s eyes?”
“Good…don’t.”
“Okay, whatever…but the dude could fly!”
“Yes, that’s because he’s a fairy.”
“You mean he’s like the lady in the well?”
“He’s exactly like her, except she’s an oracle and he’s a dryad.”
“What’re they?”
“An oracle can tell the future. A dryad magically helps trees grow and stay healthy. Buach, the dryad you met today, is the King of the Sidhe.”
“Buck is the king of the she? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Buach is the King Fairy. They prefer to be called Sidhe. It’s spelled S-I-D-H-E.”
“Sure, because ‘she’ is always spelled S-I-D-H-E.”
“I said the same thing when I first found out about them. Anyway, Sidhe is the politically correct term for a fairy. I’m guessing Buach does something to the mistletoe when he harvests it to make it magical.”
“Whoa, do you think?”
“Probably.”
“So the whistle that didn’t make any noise…is it magical too?”
“I’m not sure. The whistle is called a lute, and it plays a frequency which can only be heard by dryads. It’s probably magical, too.”
“Cool.”
***
Later that evening, Rose and I performed magic of our own by setting up the DSL connection and the wireless network throughout the house. The video game system in Corey’s room and the Blu-ray player in the den both had Internet connections. Once we’d hooked up my new notebook and the computer in Rose’s home office, we were set. I created a new e-mail account to touch base with a few friends in Santa Monica, but when I tried to compose a message, I couldn’t think of what to say. No one would understand what it was like to lose a parent and I didn’t want to depress them. I couldn’t talk about anything in my new life without revealing the existence of magic, so I canceled the message and went to bed.
Chapter Eleven
Hogmanay
I woke the next morning to a frantic Rose. She wanted the house completely cleaned and unpacked from top to bottom. At first I thought she had anxiety about the party, but soon realized she was more serious about the cleaning than pre-guest jitters. She kept talking about cleaning out the fireplace and making sure she paid all the bills. She made us visit a cell phone store in town before they closed at noon because she didn’t want any outstanding debts. We had to close our accounts with the phone company in California.
Finally, after we’d returned home, I made her sit down and take a break for lunch. As I made sandwiches and served them in the kitchen, I asked her to explain.
“It’s tradition to clean your house and fireplace before the start of the New Year. We believe you should not leave any outstanding obligations so you can start the year fresh. That’s why I have to make sure all of the bills are paid today. Beyond that, I have to prepare for a redding ritual.”
“What? We’re having a wedding tonight?”
“No, we’re not having a wedding. It’s a ‘redding’. The Crone and the Healer come over and rid the house of old and negative energies. They cast blessings of protection and good fortune on all the people living in the house. It’s usually done after people have finished unpacking and moving into a new home, but because of Corey, Fiona wanted to make sure we did it in conjunction with the New Year. Plus, we’re gonna have something like ten people in the house for the party tonight. I’m overwhelmed.”
“I’ll help. Let’s put a plan together, starting with a list of everything we need to get done.”
I drafted Corey, reminding him that we owed Aunt Rose a lot. Once we worked together with a strategy in place, we easily finished all the tasks.
***
Pat came over around dinnertime with wood for the fireplace. He and his brother Craig stacked the wood in a rack right outside the back door. They covered it with a tarp. He cleaned out the fireplace and made sure a fresh set of logs and kindling sat in the fireplace and on the hearth.
The boys ran down to the grocery store to buy last minute items for the party while Rose and I baked shortbread and fruitcake. Rose had family recipes which had been used to make these Hogmanay treats for generations. She and I had fun learning how to bake together in our new kitchen. Ginger and Rock did last minute cleaning in the garage. Rock was quite skilled at weaving pine branches into beautiful wreaths. Ginger decorated them with things she’d found around the garden. Together, we hung them on the porch railing and the front door. Pat and Craig left, saying they’d be back later, and I went upstairs to get dressed.
I took a look around my new bedroom and decided I liked it very much. Although the same size as my room in Santa Monica, the huge window made it seem larger as it overlooked the pretty garden in the backyard. I’d moved my desk in front of the window so I could see the flowers as I did my homework. I hadn’t had time to investigate the garden yet. Since it was winter, I didn’t expect much, but knowing how beautifully Fiona and Rose kept the garden behind the cabin, I looked forward to Spring.
I dressed in my new indigo dress and leggings, brushed my hair and left it down around my face. I thought I looked pretty good.
“Wish you were here, Mom,” I whispered to the mirror.
***
Rose had explained that the party didn’t really start until midnight, so Corey and I played video games in his room for a while. A few minutes before midnight we heated the cider, lit candles and put on music. I helped Rose carry platters of finger food out to the living room.
Just as we’d finished our party preparations, the doorbell rang. Both Rose and Corey looked at me.
“What?” I asked, but then I shrugged and said, “Okay, I’ll get the door.”
To my surprise, when I opened it Evan stood on the threshold with a big grin on his face.
“I’m your first footer!” he said triumphantly. That meant nothing to me. I looked at him curiously before I stood aside to let him in the house. He was holding a
canister of salt, a small bag of charcoal briquettes, and a bottle of scotch. Behind him on the porch stood Duncan and his four sons, Pat, Ken, Mike and Craig.
Even though I’d stood aside to let Evan in, he didn’t move past the threshold. Rose reached around me and took the strange gifts from his hands.
“I’m waiting…” he said mischievously.
“…for what?” I asked suspiciously.
He didn’t answer. He just pointed to the ceiling. I followed his finger with my gaze.
A sprig of mistletoe had been nailed into the transom over the door. When did that happen?
Evan still looked at me and the others shivered on the porch.
I stepped forward and offered my cheek.
He turned my head back to face him. We looked at each other as if silently discussing how much of a kiss he should give me in front of all these people. After a moment, he chose to give me a quick peck on the lips.
“Happy New Year,” he said playfully.
I rolled my eyes and turned to greet Duncan. When everyone had made their way into the living room I asked the obvious question.
“Okay, what’s up with the salt and charcoal? Are we grilling steaks or something?” Everyone laughed. Rose spoke up and answered the question.
“It’s considered good luck for your household if the first person to cross the threshold after midnight on the New Year is a tall, dark man. The traditional gifts given to the hostess are coal, salt and whiskey. The traditional gifts given to the guests are shortbread, the dark currant cake we made earlier and warm drinks.” As she spoke, Ginger came out of the kitchen bearing trays of shortbread and fruitcake. Rock carried mugs of warm cider.
“Why does it have to be a tall, dark man who enters first?”
“We think it’s because in the old days, a blond man reminded people of the Viking invasions so a dark-haired man seemed like a safer person to let in your home,” said Pat. He continued, “Evan has the darkest hair of all of us, so he got to be the first-footer.” He looked questioningly at Evan. “But I don’t know why he asked to join our group this year instead of going out with his own relatives.” He addressed Evan directly. “Unless you’re laying a claim on the new girl, that is.”
