“Why would Baldi want to take this?” Claire asked.
“I don’t know, maybe for the jewelry,” Rachel said.
“Yeah, maybe…. the pictures don’t look like anyone I know.”
“Well, let me see.”
Rachel sifted through the photos without a reaction until she came across one in particular.
“Oh, look, that’s Zia and Giorgio in Italy, before they came to New York.”
“God, they look so young.”
“Well, I’m guessing Regina was eleven or twelve here. Giorgio was so good looking as a young man….”
“Do you miss him, Rachel?”
“Every day. I miss his presence every day of my life. He was a good man, honey. We were so different in so many ways, but there was something there that was… really special and unique.”
“I want to experience that someday. I felt like I had a connection with Ryan, but maybe I don’t know… maybe I’m too young to know.”
“If you felt it, Claire, it’s meaningful. You are so in tune with who you are and have that millennial generation sensibility. Your entire cohort already fits that magical mode, but somehow you ended up with more of it. Go with your gut and live an inspired life, the rest will fall into place.”
Claire smiled. Rachel’s words of wisdom meant the world to her and she didn’t take them lightly. She knew Zia would want her to feel this way about Rachel.
Claire let out a small sigh, “Thank you, Rachel, I’ll try… you know, I’m going to read through everything we found. I want to know more about Zia and her life, and maybe Giorgio, too, when they were young.”
“You should. I’m sure it’s fascinating.”
“Well, I guess we found what we were looking for, let’s get out of here,” Rachel said.
Claire was overwhelmed at the thought of going through Zia’s things and organizing what they should keep, donate, sell or get rid of. She wondered why Zia made such a point about finding the box. And she wondered why her friend thought to take it... abscond with it was more like it.
When Claire and Rachel arrived home, Grandma Rose was sitting in the kitchen with Sarah and Earl drinking beer.
“Grandma Rose! I didn’t know you were still here… I thought you went back right after the funeral.”
“Oh, I thought I’d stick around for a couple of days to see if you needed help with anything.”
“Does Skye know you’re here?” Claire asked.
“I haven’t seen her yet today. We talked briefly at Zia’s funeral, but she was with a friend, if you know what I mean.”
Claire laughed. She knew exactly what she meant. Grandma Rose thought she was hip because she was all right with Skylar being gay.
“How’d it go over at Zia’s?” Sarah asked.
Claire and Rachel explained they had run into Baldi when they showed up. That she had let herself in and filled a couple of bags with some of Zia’s stuff that she said was promised to her. They told her about the box and the psychic key that had opened it, but the things inside didn’t look entirely important, other than the will, some old jewelry, journals and photos.
“Well,” Sarah said, “that doesn’t make sense. Did you get her out and get the house key back?”
“Come on, Mom,” Claire said, “Rachel was there… she couldn’t have left any faster.”
Everyone laughed. Sarah offered Claire and Rachel a beer. Claire couldn’t think about drinking after last night and Rachel wouldn’t conceive of having a beer. She pulled a bottle of Champagne out of the back of the fridge.
“So, you think this is the box you were supposed to find?” Grandma Rose asked.
“I guess so, the key fit,” Claire said.
Rachel handed Claire a glass of Champagne. Claire looked at her and furled her brow slightly to playfully indicate she didn’t need any alcohol.
“It’s Champagne, dear, if you’re going to live with me, you need to get used to it… you know, it goes with the décor and your accommodations… Champagne is a lifestyle.”
Claire laughed, “Yes, like the bedding, the towels, a robe and the awesome electric blinds. You’re right. I think it’s time to get used to my new lifestyle.”
Sarah loved seeing her mother and daughter playfully interact, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around a college student starting her career living in the lap of luxury. Her mother was incredibly wealthy and it was simply the way things were. Claire was far from spoiled, so Sarah decided to let it go. Whatever experiences she was destined to have, it included the next four years in New York City with Rachel and Sarah was grateful Claire had an incredible opportunity before her.
“Grandma Rose, I have to talk to you about something,” Claire said.
“Well,” Rose chuckled as she sipped on another beer, “talk away.”
Claire wasn’t sure how to broach the topic. Zia had alluded to Grandma Rose’s side of the family as being witches just a few months ago at Claire’s birthday party. She had been meaning to talk to her grandmother ever since. Now that Zia was gone and Claire had been experiencing new spiritual worlds somewhere in between yoga, meeting eccentric Candy and having her own psychic episodes, Claire needed to know what Zia meant.
Grandma Rose took a gulp of beer and set it on the table, “Nothing like a cold beer on a warm afternoon. This Indian Summer came late this year.”
“Before Zia died, she told me that your side of the family were witches. I was just wondering what she might have meant.”
Earl let out a laugh, “Zia was always good about pointing a finger at the pagans.”
Claire shook her head. She didn’t think Zia was pointing a finger, she was simply a devoted Catholic and didn’t understand dogma outside of her own belief system.
“No, Dad, she wasn’t weird about it, I was asking her about reincarnation and the pagan thing came up. She suggested I talk to Grandma, that’s all.”
“I’m not a witch, so don’t worry yourself about that. I imagine anything non-Catholic would make Zia think that way. But I do have interests that are more New Age, I guess you could say.”
“What does that mean?” Claire asked earnestly.
“I’m into a lot of esoteric things, beliefs, and practices. Skye knows about them.”
Claire understood why Grandma Rose would have left her out of her circle. Anything she did would have seemed like voodoo to Claire while she was practicing to be a good Catholic. She couldn’t help but notice how vague and nondescript Rose made everything sound.
“It’s your belief system, Grandma, why do you come across sounding vague and noncommittal?”
“Claire,” Earl interjected, “don’t you think you’re being a little disrespectful?”
“Oh, Earl, it’s time for her to ask these questions. Especially since she started hearing voices and uncovered the valuable cross with the thirteen emeralds.”
Claire wondered if her learning curve would continue to climb uphill in the exponential way it had been going these last few weeks. She was wildly intrigued by her grandmother’s candor, but she couldn’t help but feel like she had been left out of a potentially enriching experience. Skye had alluded to some of Rose’s spiritual tools, like tarot cards, numerology and astrology over the years; but Claire simply wasn’t ready to hear about any of it. It seemed so witchy. Now she wanted to hear about everything.
“Can I come and visit you sometime, Grandma Rose, so I can hear about all the cool things you know?”
“Absolutely, dear. Your mother says you’ve just started your yoga practice, how’s it going?”
Rachel laughed, “I think Claire might have been more interested in the instructor than anything else.”
“Rachel!” Claire said, gritting her teeth in a joking way.
“I’m just learning yoga, Grandma, but I really like it.”
“It’s the breath, Claire, that connects the spiritual with the physical. Remember that when you go to class again. Your breathing is so important.”
Cl
aire smiled, “I will, Grandma, thank you. I’m sorry I wasn’t ready to listen to you until now.”
“To every season, my dear… when you’re ready, the teacher will come.”
~~~~
Thank you for reading Twist of Fate. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you want to be notified of when the second book is released or when I release other books just click the link below or enter it into your web browser.
http://eepurl.com/bdqfmv
About the Author
Sheri L. Brown is a contemporary fiction writer obsessed with writing stories about spiritual and psychological phenomenon. Always interested in weaving esoteric tales in between love, relationships and human nature, Ms. Brown hopes her characters will inspire and teach through their unique and varied life experiences. When Ms. Brown isn’t writing in her Northern California home, she spends time with her two German Shepherds and three cats.
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