The House on Xenia

by Rita Moreau

  “I am here for you Josie and your family,” he said and reached out for her hands and held them for a moment. Josie was thankful for his presence.

  As she looked out over the historic church, she saw her father and her step-mother. He was an old man now. Before the service, he came up to her and said, “Your mother and I were young and giving me the kick in the butt was the best thing she could have done for me.” Josie smiled at him and her step-mother who after several marriages was the one who got him to stop drinking. He and Alexi had reunited many years back when she first arrived in LA. He had done well in Las Vegas, and he had helped her financially when she first arrived in LA. She said she never would have made it on her own without his help. “We’ll be leaving for Vegas right after the service. Your mother raised two beautiful daughters,” he said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, but I want you to know I am leaving you something after I am gone. It will not make up for my absence, but it’s all I have to give.” He stood there before her, and the wall between them broke down and disappeared. She hugged him and her step-mother who stood nearby in the church's vestibule. And with that, her father came into her life and left again on the day of her sister’s funeral.

  Aunt Toolou had asked the local Greek priest to attend. When he showed up on the steps of the church, he told Aunt Toolou he was there out of respect but could not come inside the Catholic Church. She gave him a piece of her mind in Greek and then repeated it in English. She told him to leave and not to expect any more money from this family.

  As Josie walked to her seat after she delivered the eulogy, she spotted Colonel Storms in the rear, standing in the middle of the center aisle. As soon they locked eyes, he turned and walked out. During the funeral mass, she prayed, “Alexi you are safe now and out of pain.”

  On the drive to Woodland Cemetery, she heard her mother’s voice speaking to her, “Mary Catherine will help you, and you will be safe.”

  The line of cars made their way through the entrance of Woodland Cemetery and stopped at the section of the cemetery where GiGi and YaYa and her husband James were buried along with Gus. Next to Gus was the tombstone for Sam, his partner in life. Josie remembered that GiGi made sure Sam was buried next to Gus.

  “He loved Gus very much,” she told Josie as soon as she was old enough to understand their relationship. She explained it to her on the spot where they were both buried. “You should never have to hide the love you share for another.”

  “It sure gave all those old Greek women something to talk about,” Josie remembered her mother saying and laughing her boisterous laugh on that day as she placed flowers on all the family graves. Her mother was the keeper of the graves. That job had fallen to her she thought as they made their way to the spot where Alexi will rest. Right next to Gus and Sam, Alexi picked out the plot a long time ago.

  “I don’t want to be next to YaYa and Mama, too much commotion and fighting” she had told Josie all those years ago when she asked her to go with her to pick out her final resting place.

  The Catholic priest who said the funeral mass was now arriving and made his way to the gathering. MC and her aunts stood behind her and Annie and Aunt Toolou. They stood next to the casket. The rest of the large family gathered around them, a circle of love and protection. After the short graveside service, Annie returned with Aunt Toolou and MC’s aunts to Aunt Toolou’s home in Oakwood. A celebration of life awaited them along with lots of food and drink and Greek music. Only Josie and MC remained. The stillness of the historic cemetery was deafening. MC stood at the curb while Josie said her last words to her sister whose coffin was soon to be placed in the ground. The men who would lower her sister’s coffin were waiting nearby at a respectful distance. She watched as Josie leaned over and kissed the coffin and said good-bye. She left the eulogy resting on top of the coffin. She had given instructions to those men to bury the words with her sister.

  “Our mothers are speaking to us,” MC said as they made their way back to the car and driver waiting to take them to Aunt Toolou’s house where the family and friends would be gathering.

  “Can you hear them?”

  Josie smiled. “You sure it’s not YaYa?”

  “She’s probably there too.”

  They made their way over to GiGi’s and YaYa’s grave.

  “They were very strong women,” MC said.

  “Your mother and my mother were very much alike,” Josie said.

  “My mother used to talk about your mother,” MC said as she stood near the gravestone. “A woman who was divorced. A single mother in the 1950s. A rock, my mother used to say. My mother, a widow, was also a single mother. They had a lot in common. She sent you and Alexi to a Catholic school just like my mother sent me.”

  “Well, she was influenced by your mother, Georgia. Remember the Greek Church didn’t want to baptize you because she was married to a non-Greek. Seems like he was a redneck just like my father,” Josie said. “So, she joined the Catholics.”

  “I remember,” MC said. “Still your mother stood tall and put up with a lot during that time.”

  “She never showed it to any of those naysayers,” Josie said. “But at night I could hear her cry. YaYa comforted her many a night. She never gave up her dream MC. Just like Alexi, my granddaughter is following in their footsteps,” Josie said.

  Right after Alexi passed, Josie had shared with MC that Annie told her she wasn’t going to college. She was going to Hollywood, and she wanted Josie to come with her.

  “My mom, Georgia had her public access TV show. Remember when you all came to visit, and my mom had your mom and your Aunt Toolou on as guests.”

  “OMG, I had forgotten about that,” Josie said as they both stood over the graves of their ancestors and laughed until the tears rolled down their eyes.

  “Not only Aunt Toolou, but all your aunts. They all got out the fortune-telling cards, and the phones were jammed,” MC said.

  “I still have the DVD of that show and quite a few of those vintage public access shows of my mom. I mentioned it to Annie, and she thinks we should put them on YouTube,” MC said which prompted another outburst of tears and laughter.

  They stood for a few more minutes and then turned to each other and hugged.

  “They were amazing women,” MC said to Josie whose tears finally came and flowed freely.

  “I wish we could talk to them, MC,” Josie said between sniffles as she dabbed her eyes with Kleenex.

  “You can. You have to listen.”

  They turned and made their way back to the car but not before MC saw it. An owl, it flew right over them. A sign. MC thought. A sign and a message.

  “Did you see that?” Josie said and then made the sign of the cross.

  “You know the owl is a message. It’s a bird of prophecy. We need to pay attention to what happens next. It’s a blessing or a bad omen.” With that Josie spat on the ground three times and MC followed suit, the Greek tradition to ward off evil spirits.

  ​xxx

  They were all at Aunt Toolou’s house in Oakwood. Aunt Toolou and her husband had bought this house many years ago, and she held on to it although she could cash in and be sitting pretty on the equity in the house.

  “What else do I have to leave? I’m not a rich woman. As long as you don’t have to put me in a retirement home, I’ll hang on to it.”

  “Where do you think she got the baklava?” Aunt Anna asked MC as she filled her plate with Greek pastries.

  “I think she made it or some of the ladies from the Greek Church did,” Aunt Sophia said as she helped herself to some of her sister’s plate of pastries while they sat on a sofa in the large house.

  Aunt Sophia and Aunt Anna made the trip with MC. Aunt Sophia protested that she would not let a knee impede paying her respects. She was doing fine now with just the use of a cane. Gabby was there too. Her grandson had brought her to the service, and she was busy chatting with Aunt Toolou. MC walked over and gave her a hug.

  “Is the fam
ily behaving itself?” Gabby said.

  “So far, so good.”

  The three aunts, Toolou, Sophia, and Anna, got along well, but with all large families, there were always relatives who were drama queens, gossips, and those who loved to stir the pot. Out of respect for Alexi, they were keeping the conversation civil, but the liquor was flowing, and it was just a matter of time. MC knew what was coming. A showdown of the family fortune tellers and then it happened. It was like the college championship, and right now Aunt Sophia held the last win from the last family funeral they attended.

  “So Toolou are you going to break out the cards,” Helen said. Helen was near in age to Toolou and on her side of the family.

  Josie’s godfather Ollie was sitting nearby and heard the exchange.

  “I think they are challenging your Sophia.”

  “It’s a wake, Ollie. For God’s sakes, do these women never stop?” Aunt Sophia said.

  MC grabbed another glass of Greek wine and walked over to her Aunt Toolou who was giving Helen the evil eye.

  “Are we really going to do this?” MC said.

  “Of course not,” Toolou said. “Helen is on some new medication and probably shouldn’t be drinking. I’ll go talk to her husband.”

  Both MC and Toolou watched, but they were too late. The family challenge was on, and the fortune-telling card table was now being placed in the room's middle. It was an ancient table and only came out for special readings.

  “Oh crap,” MC said as Josie and Annie now stood next to her.

  “This is so cool,” Annie said.

  “No, it’s not,” Josie said as both she and MC watched Aunt Anna stand and take her place at the table. Aunt Anna was not one to turn down a family challenge.

  “Oh dear,” MC said. She looked over at Aunt Sophia who just rolled her eyes and pointed to her knee and shrugged.

  “Toolou, are you up for the challenge?” Lily said. She was another member of the drama club, and she was standing next to Helen. The family lines were drawn. On one side was Josie’s family and on the other MC’s.

  “We’re outnumbered,” MC said to Josie.

  “Yeah, but your Aunt Sophia holds the title from the last funeral. So, I think your side of the family is up by one. This is big. If Aunt Toolou wins the families will be tied. That is, until the next funeral,” Josie said.

  “How does it work Gram?” Annie asked.

  “What is about to happen is a challenge between two psychic card readers. To see which of the two fortune tellers the cards will to speak to and that determines the winner. The cards decide. Sometimes though, like poker, there is quite a lot of bluffing that goes on and a lot of shots of ouzo as the family cheers for their respective side,” Josie explained.

  As they watched on one side sat Aunt Toolou and on the other sat Aunt Anna. They had brought their own cards. They never leave home without them. A coin was tossed to decide who went first. Like a football game. Toolou won the draw and let Anna go first.

  MC watched as her aunt spread out the cards on the table. Ollie now stood next to her and had brought a chair for her Aunt Sophia which he placed on the other side of MC. Front-row seats.

  While MC watched, she had a sudden feeling of uneasiness, and as it subsided, she looked at Annie who was watching her.

  “Did you feel that?” Annie said.

  MC looked at Annie. “Did you?”

  “Yes. Maybe I have inherited those genes, Aunt MC.”

  “Could be Annie, could be.”

  “I wonder if the body might show up in the cards,” Annie whispered to MC.

  “You might be reading my mind, Annie,” MC whispered back.

  “I feel like my Aunt Alexi is here.”

  “Well, they have 40 days to roam the earth,” Aunt Sophia said to Annie and MC and then she added, “She is here. She would not miss this party.”

  “I see a house,” Aunt Anna said. “It is dark, and there are no lights.”

  “It’s the house on Xenia,” Annie said loud enough so that everyone in the room looked over at her.

  “Annie,” Josie said under breath.

  “Remember part of the rules is that no one speaks while the cards are being read,” Aunt Sophia said to Annie.

  “Oh dear, I forgot where I was for a minute,” Annie said.

  “The cards may not speak if there is a lot of jib-jabbing going on,” Aunt Sophia said and raised her finger to her lips.

  Toolou now laid out her cards on the table opposite Anna and her cards.

  She made an audible gasp.

  “What? What is it?” Helen and Lily both asked at the same time, and then Toolou said something to them in Greek in a tone only the matriarch of the family may use. From the looks on their faces, they got the message. They both turned and walked away and sat on the opposite side of the room. Like children put into time out.

  “That’s enough for tonight. I concede this match to my worthy opponent Anna. She will keep the title. We will take this up at a more appropriate time,” Toolou said as she picked up her cards and shot the evil eye toward Helen and Lily and made a few spits to make sure they got her message. They both bowed their heads at the same time, got up, and went out into the kitchen to help with the dishes and chores.

  Anna looked at Toolou, and the two women exchanged looks, and Anna nodded her head and picked up her cards and made her way back to the sofa and motioned for MC to join her. Ollie stayed with Aunt Sophia nearby but near enough to listen to the conversation.

  “What did you see Aunt Anna,” MC asked. Annie was right next to her elbow.

  “A house, old and abandoned.”

  “Xenia? Was that it?” Annie now jumped in, and MC was quiet. She had the genes. She had to learn how to use them. She would guide her niece as her aunts had guided her down that path.

  “Did you feel anything,” Aunt Anna asked MC.

  “A feeling of uneasiness came over me. Oddly Annie felt the same,” MC said and looked over at Annie who nodded her head yes.

  “Interesting,” Aunt Anna said, and now they both saw Toolou making her way over with a glass of Greek wine. They watched while she came and stood in front.

  “I, too, saw the old house on Xenia,” Toolou said.

  “That old house always spoke to me. We got to be good friends,” she said.

  “As I looked at the cards, I looked up and saw Alexi and GiGi standing next to you MC.”

  “You did?” I asked. “Did you see that body?”

  Toolou just looked straight at me. “That’s when I called an end to the challenge.”

  “Oh boy,” MC said.

  “Did the house speak to you?” Josie now asked.

  “Nope,” Aunt Anna said.

  “Aunt Toolou?”

  “Yes, the house spoke to me tonight. It gave me a message for you MC.”

  I listened to Toolou who stood and took my hands.

  “What did it say?”

  “It said it wants you to visit. Preferably, before you head back to Florida,” Toolou said.

  “Now how about some ouzo?” Toolou said as the Zorba the Greek music came on, and it was time for some Greek dancing led by Aunt Anna.

  Chapter 20

  Dayton, Ohio

  The day after the funeral, Josie picked me up from Aunt Toolou’s house where I was staying with my two aunts. Aunt Sophia insisted on coming along. She tapped her cane to show she was able to walk. Aunt Anna just rolled her eyes and helped her sister into the car.

  Josie was up front driving with Annie. I was in the back sandwiched between my two aunts. We were heading over to the house on Xenia for a visit.

  “It’s waiting for you,” Aunt Toolou said over breakfast. “Take Annie with you.” Josie started to protest but dropped it. She knew the house was calling the shots.

  “We’ll just sit out front and see if it talks to you, Aunt MC,” Annie said with a wink as we got close to the house.

  Great, I thought, but I was anxious to see the house. I fel
t like I was visiting an old friend. We had met before when I was younger and over the years on family visits usually weddings or funerals. Still, it had been some years since the last time I saw the house.

  When we pulled up, I was heartbroken. The house was abandoned, and I could feel its loneliness. It was old, and I knew then its days were numbered. It was dying.

  “Goodness,” I said.

  “I know. It’s sad,” Josie said.

  “Let’s get out and walk around,” Annie said.

  “Let’s go, kiddo,” Aunt Anna said.

  “No, stay in the car,” Aunt Sophia said with a tone that meant she was in charge.

  Annie looked at her grandmother. “Okay,” she said as she pulled out her cell and busied herself.

  I knew what I had to do. “I’ll just get out and walk up the steps to the porch.” Aunt Anna let me out of the car, and something told me to tell Josie she should come with me.

  “Josie you need to come with me.”

  “Me? That house does not like me, MC.”

  “You need to come with me Josie,” I said as Aunt Anna got back in and Aunt Sophia gave Josie the hurry up and get going hand signal. “Okay,” Josie said.

  I watched as Josie got out of the driver’s side, reluctantly and joined me. She grabbed my hand, and we both went up the steps of the old house and stopped on the porch.

  “I remember sitting on this porch at Halloween,” Josie said.

  “Gus and Sam had a barrel of apples ready for the neighborhood kids. It was so much fun.”

  As I stood there holding Josie’s hand, I felt the boards beneath my feet tremble.

  I let go of her hand and looked down.

  “What is it?” Josie said.

  “I don’t know. It’s as if the house trembled. Like someone old with a tremor in their body.”

  “It’s so old Josie.” I felt an overwhelming sadness for the house.

  “Let’s sit for a minute,” I said.