Lily’s hand involuntarily went to the pendant around her neck. She clasped it in her clenched fist. A moment later she was on the ground, her body rocking back and forth, her vision blurred. The golden Lab reared back and howled, a mournful sound, as Gracie pawed at her legs. Lily knew where she was, but she couldn’t focus. She knew the dogs were close and no harm would come to her, but she couldn’t see. Where had the sunlight gone? A blinding light attacked her as she stared forward at banks of computers and electronic equipment. Mumbled voices, the words unintelligible, ricocheted about her, causing both dogs to bark fiercely. Her eyes snapped open a moment later. The winter sun was back, the dogs vying for her lap. Her hands lashed out at the grave marker bearing the name, Mary Margaret. “What does it mean?” she wailed. Then she was on her feet running, the dogs nipping at her heels. She herded the dogs into the truck before she got behind the wheel. The only word she could think of to describe her condition was spacey. She reached down inside the console for her cell phone. Sadie picked up on the second ring. She started to babble incoherently.
Good, Sadie and Dennis would be there within minutes. She forced herself to take a deep breath. She almost jumped out of her skin when the contractor tapped on the truck window as she was replacing the cell phone in the console. She pressed the remote and the window slid down. She wondered if she looked as frazzled as she felt.
“Just wanted you to know we’ll be finished a week from today. The painters are finishing upstairs today and tomorrow. The appliances will be installed tomorrow morning. All five bathrooms are completed. The fireplaces are working, all six of them. We tried them out yesterday. Good draw on all of them. We finished the windows last night. Your drapers will make them come alive for you, wavy glass and all. The stained glass throughout the house has been repaired so expertly it’s impossible to tell where the damage was. We left the beams exposed, just the way you wanted. The wooden pegs are all intact. Everything is bright and airy. When you furnish the house to your taste, it will take on a life of its own.”
Lily nodded. “Do you know anyone who would be willing to come and clear the grounds? The dogs found a cemetery in the back a little while ago. I didn’t even know it was there.”
“You’ll find all kinds of things once the undergrowth is cleared away. I’ll make some calls and get some estimates for you. I’m assuming you want this done yesterday,” he grinned.
Lily forced a smile to her lips. “Yes. Several crews if necessary. I want to move in as soon as possible. Choose someone who can do the job quicky and properly.”
“You can’t walk through the house for a few more days. The polyurethane on the floors isn’t dry. They need a few more days just to be on the safe side. I’m running your heat for that purpose. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, that’s fine. I’m looking forward to the grand tour.”
“You’re sure now that you don’t want me to work on the cottage?”
“Actually, Mr. Sonner, I’m not sure at all. I rather thought I’d do it myself, little by little, but I’m afraid I wasn’t being realistic. When we do the walk-through, we can discuss it. I’ll make some notes. I want it to be cozy and comfortable. You know, real homey.”
“I think we can handle that. I’ll see you in a few days.”
“Mr. Sonner, you’ve lived here all your life. Do you know what a Wish Keeper is? On one of the gravestones it says, Mary Margaret, and then underneath her name are the words, The Wish Keeper. Her last name isn’t on the marker.”
“I can’t say that I do, but I’ll ask my father. He’s eighty-four, and he was born and raised here in Natchez. He knows all about the folklore and the ghost stories, and he does love talking about it to anyone who will listen. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Thanks, Mr. Sonner. I’ll see you in a few days then.”
Matt would have liked Bill Sonner. He would have considered him to be a man’s man. Matt admired anyone who could make something from nothing. She was so glad the contractor had insisted on before-and-after pictures. If Matt was ever able to see them, he would be so pleased. Damn, she was tearing up again. Buzz nuzzled her neck just as Dennis and Sadie swerved into the driveway to park behind her Rover.
Sadie ran up the driveway. “What happened?”
“Follow me, and I’ll show you. This is so weird I’m starting to get really spooked. I . . . Wait, see for yourself. Buzz and Gracie found it.”
“It’s a cemetery,” Dennis said in awe.
“Brilliant statement,” Lily snorted. “Read what it says under Mary Margaret’s name. See, The Wish Keeper. No last name. This thing around my neck is a Wish Keeper. I had another one of those visions. That’s two in one day, Sadie. I’m really jittery. I wish you could have heard these two dogs howl. God, it gave me goose bumps.”
“What did you see?” Dennis asked quietly.
“A room full of . . . computers. Electronic equipment. At least that’s what it looked like. It’s fuzzy, my vision wasn’t sharp. Plus, my heart beats like a trip-hammer when it happens. I think my first conscious thought was I was seeing the inside of a Radio Shack. I don’t understand. Does Matt work in a room like that?”
Dennis narrowed his eyes. “What kind of electronic equipment?”
Lily shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not a computer person. I did see computers and a wide screen. I think it was a wide screen. Do you know of a room like that?”
“No. Do you think you could make a rough sketch of it when we get back to the apartment?”
“I can try. Mr. Sonner, the contractor, is going to ask his father tonight if he knows what a Wish Keeper is. He’s like us, completely clueless.”
“I wonder who Mary Margaret is ... was?” Sadie said. “If you don’t mind, Lily, I’d like to borrow your truck and go to the library. I might be able to find something out about this property. I wish my mother had told me more about this place. For some reason she didn’t like it. I can’t remember why we stopped coming here, if I ever knew at all.”
“Maybe you’ll find something that will trigger a memory. On the other hand, maybe your mother didn’t like the hot, humid weather in the summer. It could be something that simple, Sadie.”
Lily turned her attention to Dennis. “Did you find out anything when you called the office?”
“Just that Marcus is like a wild hare. All he did was snap and snarl over the phone. He also told me to get my ass back to New York. There’s been no ransom note, so that’s a good sign. At least I think it is. I told him to call the press and cancel our announcement. We argued a bit. I won because both of us have to be there. I’m acting CEO when Matt is gone. That’s about all I know. Oh, he did say he thinks Matt is on some South Sea island sunning himself and having a high old time. That’s Marcus for you. I did remember something else that I had totally forgotten. I was checking through my briefcase and found a memo Matt sent to all our top people which said everyone needed to get on the same page and permanently relocate to Oregon. There’s only going to be a skeleton crew in New York from April on. By year’s end he wants corporate to be in Oregon. I totally agree. Marcus totally disagrees. April 1 is the deadline for relocating. It might mean something, and then again it might mean nothing.”
“Do you live in Oregon?” Sadie asked as she fell in behind Dennis for the walk back to the cars.
“Yes. I keep an apartment in the city for when I’m up there. I much prefer Oregon. So does Matt. I love trees and grass and crisp air. I really like the winters because I love the scent of pine, and I love to ski when I get the chance. I have air-conditioning, but I’ve never had to use it. At headquarters it’s different. Everything is climate-controlled. You’ll have to come for a visit someday.”
“Hmmm,” Sadie said as she sashayed past Lily and pinched her arm to show what she thought of Dennis’s comment. Lily was too busy with her own thoughts and herding the dogs into the truck to pay attention.
“We’ll pick up something from Fat Mama’s for lunch
and bring it home,” Sadie called from the car. “We can do King’s Tavern tomorrow or tonight if you like.” Lily nodded.
In the kitchen of the apartment, Lily cleaned out the coffeepot and put on a new pot to brew. Sadie, like her, guzzled coffee all day long. She wondered if Dennis was a coffee drinker. Probably, since Matt had coffee running through his veins. Matt. Everything always came back to Matt. Where are you? Wherever it is, are you thinking of me? This whole past year you and I were on the same wavelength. Tap into me, Matt. Try. I need to know you’re alive and well. If you changed your mind about marrying me, I need to know that, too. I just want you to be alive. Please, Matt. Close your eyes and concentrate. People say that works. When nothing happened, Lily in her agitation, yanked at the Wish Keeper hanging around her neck. Her head snapped forward, and she thought her eyeballs were going to pop right out of her head. Both dogs pawed at her legs. She wanted to move but felt like she was glued to the floor. A blizzard of images rocked past her eyes. Matt’s shoe with the hole. Matt’s sore arm. Lulu’s Bait Shack. Charming Lily. Sound. Humming.
When she was finally able to move and open her eyes, she had no sense of time. How long had she been standing by the sink? The coffee was done perking. How long did that take? Two minutes? Three? Maybe five? Longer? She simply didn’t know.
Lily walked on wobbly legs over to the kitchen table. She needed to get a grip on things, get grounded as Matt always said. Matt said so many things. How could you do this to me? Where are you? She felt tearful, anxious now. Something beyond her control was happening to her. What? Matt always used to say, throw it out to the universe and see what comes back. Throw what out? My thoughts? My worries? Maybe I need to go to the doctor’s to see if I have a brain tumor. “What’s happening?” she wailed.
“We brought all kinds of good stuff,” Sadie bellowed from the doorway. Sadie always bellowed now. She said it had something to do with shouting and yelling at the newbies at Ozzie’s camp. Lily didn’t believe it then, and she didn’t believe it now. She stared at her friend. “It happened again.”
“What happened? You mean you saw something else. That makes three times in one day. Maybe we should talk to a shrink or something.”
“What brings it on?” Dennis asked.
Lily shrugged. “Nothing. I was just standing by the sink waiting for the coffee to finish. I was thinking about Matt. I’m always thinking about Matt, so if that’s a trigger, then that’s my answer.”
Lily watched as Sadie pulled plates and silverware from the cabinets. The food smelled wonderful. She realized she was starving. She shrugged as she reached for one of the white cartons. “This is what I saw this time, but there was something different. I heard noise. Humming actually. I saw Matt’s sneaker, the one with the big hole in the toe. He would no more part with that sneaker than he would part with Gracie. He’s had those same sneakers since he was in high school. They smell so bad. He wears Odor Eaters inside, but they don’t help. I saw the words Lulu’s Bait Shack. That’s the lettering on his baseball cap that he always wears. He’d never, ever part with that cap either. I thought I heard the words Charming Lily. Then the humming. Matt always called me Charming Lily. That’s it. Can either one of you make sense out of this? Dennis, you’re closest to the coffeepot, so pour us a cup.”
“I’m sorry to say I’m not up on this otherworld stuff,” Dennis said.
“Me either,” Sadie said, biting into a fat tamale.
“You both know how Matt always said, let’s throw it out to the universe and see what comes back. That’s what I did and then I had that . . . that . . . whatever it was.”
“Yeah, yeah, Matt always said that and it pissed Marcus off big-time. When Matt would do it, he’d sit down and contemplate his big toe and wait for things to happen. Something always happened. Usually it was related to work. Matt would laugh and give Marcus the evil eye. I don’t think Matt liked Marcus very much. He never said he didn’t like him, it’s just my own impression. Marcus’s contract is up in April. The same time he has to relocate. I think that’s pretty meaningful considering all the things that are going on. Don’t you?”
“Marcus has a contract. I didn’t know that,” Lily said, her eyes round with surprise.
“We all have contracts. Mine is the only one that is different. The others are your standard three-year contracts all the companies use. Mine reads lifetime. That means I’m part of Digitech until the day I die. Marcus found out a while back and from that point on, he put out a hate on me. Subtly but insidiously if you know what I mean. Matt knows because we talked about it. From the time we were little kids, we confided in one another. No secrets to our friendship. That’s how I know he loved you, Lily. With all his heart. He told me he dreamed about you every night. He wouldn’t leave you standing at the altar. That simply is not who he is today. He was beside himself that he couldn’t spend Christmas with you, but he accepted that because he had the rest of his life to be with you.”
Lily struggled with her emotions. “I learned something about myself today. All I care about is that Matt is safe and well. Yes, I was hurt, yes, I was humiliated, but that no longer matters. Love is wanting the other person to be well, happy, and, above all, safe. If he did stand me up, I’ll live with it. Does that make sense?”
“Absolutely,” Sadie and Dennis said in unison.
Chapter Five
It was a bedroom worthy of a centerfold in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, designed by Kathy Molizon, an interior decorator Betsy had met while vacationing in Hilton Head, South Carolina. She’d thrown tantrum after tantrum until her husband agreed to fly in the designer to decorate their apartment. The bedroom suite was the room Betsy bragged about to her friends, making sure to include the fact that the Charleston designer had come all the way from South Carolina just for her. “Just give me European flavor,” Betsy had said. “I want to be the envy of all my friends.” The designer had done just that. The walls were painted in a warm stonelike finish to give off a castlelike feeling, right down to the large medallion that was delicately stained in the middle of the floor. The bed tucks inside the recessed wall were detailed with triple cast-stone arches that echoed the arched shape of the windows and doors. The windows were hung with elegant silk that bunched at the floor, where inlaid detail abounded and surrounded the room. Luxurious button-tufted dupioni silk bedcoverings were accented with silk pillows that rested against a quilted chenille headboard. Deep pile carpeting, a shade darker than the stone-colored walls, hugged the ankles and rose up to meet the even darker brocade draperies in the dressing room. The swags themselves were works of art, as were the coverings on the chaise longues. At first glance it looked like a woman’s bedroom. On second glance it looked like it didn’t belong to anyone and was just waiting for the right occupant to enter. Nothing was out of place, not a hair, not a speck of powder, not a hairpin. The furniture was pecan and polished to a high sheen, with mirrors on the sides of both extra long his-and-her dressers. Betsy Collins wanted to see the all of her from every angle. Kathy had argued that it was too much, but Betsy held firm since, she said, she was the one signing the checks. Kathy had also expressed serious doubt about the sculpture in the lefthand corner of the master suite—a mermaid rising from the sea. Betsy’s response was, the antique dealer had said the mermaid bore a striking resemblance to Betsy herself, and she was keeping it, again reminding Kathy who was writing out the checks. The same checks Kathy was still waiting for, thirteen months later. The bottom line: Betsy Collins didn’t pay her bills.
Marcus looked at his beautiful wife and felt faint stirrings of desire. He did his best to squelch them since the bed was already made and his wife was wearing makeup. Those two things plus the calculating look in his wife’s eyes told him he would need to look elsewhere if he wanted his desires fed. Betsy Collins liked her sex standing up so she wouldn’t mess up her hair, her clothing, or her makeup. The words trophy wife ricocheted inside his head. Weird as it was, he did love Betsy. He jerked at the
tie he was trying to knot around his neck. “When will the girls be back?” he barked.
“Not till the tenth. You know that, Marcus, so why are you asking again? Is this a prelude to another fight?”
Was it? Probably. He stared across the room at his wife and sixteen other images of her in all the mirrors. Where in the hell was she going at seven o’clock in the morning? he asked.
“To the Golden Door, sweetheart. There’s nothing to keep me here. The girls are on the school ski trip, you work till midnight. Why should I sit around this apartment twiddling my thumbs? I’ve put on two pounds during the holiday, so I need to take them off. Do you have a problem with this, Marcus?”
Her tone clearly said he better not have a problem with it.
“Actually, I do, Betsy. You aren’t going to the Golden Door. Where you’re going is Oregon to pick out a house for us. This is not negotiable, so get that through your head. We need to be moved in and settled before April 1. Like it or not, we’re going to Oregon.”
Betsy stamped her feathered mule on the floor. Two feathers shook loose and flew upward. Marcus watched them with clinical interest. He knew his wife would bend down and pick them up the minute they landed. She wouldn’t want her perfect carpeting to have feathers on it. “I told you, Marcus, we aren’t moving. You can go if you want to, but I’m staying here.”
“No, that won’t work.” He adjusted his tie, then stretched his neck. “Digitech stresses family. If we want to remain a part of the company, then this family, of which I am the breadwinner, must relocate. You knew this was coming. Now it’s official. I’m selling this apartment. The Hampton house is mortgaged to the hilt. We have to sell it, too. The boat will have to go also. It takes megabucks to operate, bucks we don’t have. If Matt doesn’t renew my contract, we are out in the cold, sweetie. Since it looks like he’s taken a powder, that leaves Dennis in charge. And since Dennis hates my guts, I’d say it’s safe to assume things could go either way. Moving to Oregon will show I’m a team player as well as a family man. What’s left of my stock options won’t last forever. You won’t be able to live this lifestyle. That means the kids come out of private school. We buy down on our cars. I can see you in a Honda Civic, Betsy. No more fifty-thousand-dollar vacations. You’ll be shopping at Walmart pretty soon.” Her horrified look pleased him. “It won’t be so easy to find another job. New employers want to know why you left your previous job. Are you getting the picture, Betsy?”
Charming Lily Page 8
