by Amy Reece
They all exploded into peals of laughter. Even Cassie joined in the apparent hilarity. I sat with my arms crossed, staring back at them. I didn’t see what was so funny. They finally laughed themselves out and Fionnuala said, “No, sweet girl. We don’t expect you to go rescue her. I’m sure she’s long gone by now. No, Ally, we are hoping you are the next Oracle.”
Talk about dropping a bomb. I can honestly say I didn’t see that one coming.
CHAPTER THREE
“When the mind’s free, The body’s delicate.”
Shakespeare –King Lear (3.4.11)
The plane ride home seemed endless. I desperately wanted to sleep, but it wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t seem to turn off my mind since the council had dropped the enormous Oracle-shaped bomb on me. What were they thinking? I can’t possibly be the Oracle. I can barely manage to keep my own head straight, much less be the example of wisdom for an entire group of people! I was starting to hyperventilate even thinking about it. After the ladies sprung their little surprise on me, they proceeded to tell me all about what an oracle does. She is all about interconnectedness and communication with plants, animals, and all kinds of nature. An oracle knows how to move in and out of altered states as a vehicle, and a birthright. Most importantly, an oracle is a prophet. I don’t even know what half of that means, and they think I might be their Oracle? Yikes!
That wasn’t the worst part, either. I mean, it’s bad enough, but no, the worst part was they wanted to get to know me much better over the next year, to figure out whether or not I’m really the next Oracle. And by “get to know me better” I mean they want me to spend all my vacations in good ol’ Ireland. Actually, they really wanted me to stay there and forget about Albuquerque. Yeah, whatever. It’s so not happening. I was only able to get them off my back by promising to spend a good portion of my summer with them. I was planning to make sure it was the same eight weeks Jack was at basic training for the army. They also wanted to see me for spring break, but I had plans for putting the kibosh on that. I let them think I was fine with it so I could get out of there. I was completely done in and so needed to get back home to some sanity. This was a bit too much for me right now.
I guess I was more exhausted than I realized, because about an hour and a half before we landed I fell asleep. Unfortunately, I found myself back in the middle of the recurring nightmare, which had plagued me since arriving in Ireland. Every night I would “wake up” in the back of a vehicle of some sort, bound and gagged, knowing I was being kidnapped. Since the first time I had this nightmare it had evolved from flashing back across the memories of my loved ones, wondering why I was in this predicament, to trying to figure out the glaring “who” question. Who would do this to me? Now when I had the nightmare, I could hear and feel the vehicle driving, bouncing along an uneven road. I was starting to get really irritated by this nightmare. Disconcertingly, I still felt like I was pregnant in the dream and longed for someone named Scott.
I woke to my seatmate poking my shoulder and saying, “Miss, are you all right?” Apparently I had been sort of crying or whimpering in my sleep. That’s a bit embarrassing. Cassie had elected to stay a few weeks longer in Galway to spend more time with the council researching the chances I was the Oracle, so I was seated next to a stranger. By some miracle I had been bumped up to first class, which made this flight home so much better than the flight to Galway. Overseas flight in economy class? Yeah, not so much fun. The flight attendants brought around warm washcloths for us to refresh with and I took the opportunity to duck into the bathroom to brush my teeth and freshen up my makeup a bit. I was about to see my boyfriend after nearly two weeks apart and I sincerely hoped there would be some serious kissing involved. I didn’t want to scare him away with manky breath and a shiny face. As I stared into the mirror, applying cherry-flavored lipgloss, I wondered what on earth these horrible nightmares were about. They were really starting to bug me. I was also beginning to regret not mentioning them to the Seer Council or at least to Cassie. Well, if they didn’t stop after I got back home, I would talk to Grams about them.
We finally landed at the Albuquerque Sunport and I made my way towards the baggage claim, wondering who would be there to pick me up. I exited the revolving doors from the secure area of the airport and saw a beautiful sight: Jack leaning against a pillar, hands in his pockets, watching the disembarking passengers. His face lit up in a huge smile when he saw me, mirroring the giant one on my face. Within seconds I was in his arms, my carry-on bags forgotten in a heap next to me, being hugged and kissed within an inch of my life.
We finally came up for air and Jack held my face between his two big hands. “Let me look at you for a minute. God, Ally. I missed you so much.” And he was kissing me again. I’m really glad I thought to pack my toothbrush in my carry on. It felt incredible to be back in his arms. I had almost forgotten how good he smelled and how wonderful it felt to be surrounded by his strength, held securely against his hard chest.
“Where’s Mom and Grams?” I asked when we finally got our momentary fill of each other and we were on our way to the baggage claim, my tote bag over his shoulder.
“I’m it for your welcoming committee. Disappointed?” he asked with a crooked smile.
“Not even a little bit,” I said with an answering grin. “But how did you manage to pull it off?”
“Well, I had to practically swear on a stack of bibles I would take you straight home where they are preparing a homecoming feast for you. Tara and Megan are both there, supposedly helping.”
“You’re staying for the feast, aren’t you?” I asked anxiously.
He grabbed my hand. “Of course, querida. Don’t worry; wild horses couldn’t drag me away from you tonight.”
I filled him in on the lighter details of my trip on our way home. I decided to wait until we had a more significant chunk of time to tell him about the whole oracle thing. That would take some explaining and I needed his undivided attention. It was barely dusk as we exited the freeway toward my neighborhood and Jack pulled into a church parking lot set off from the busy street.
“I thought we had to get straight home?” I asked curiously.
“Yeah, well, I know I won’t have you to myself for the rest of the night, so I’m stealing a little time now. I figure I can fudge about ten minutes into our trip home by claiming a traffic jam on the freeway. It can be our secret.” He turned off the ignition and leaned over the center console to kiss me. I was having none of that and climbed over the console to sit in his lap, straddling him. We had perfected this over the last few months. We spent a few precious minutes getting reacquainted. Suffice it to say I would need to reapply my lipgloss and comb my hair before we got home. I did, giggling a bit as Jack also had to comb his hair and tuck his shirt back in. Don’t judge me. I needed to have my hands on his skin a wee bit. He, as always, remained a perfect gentleman. Mostly. My world was back in alignment.
Mom and Grams had really pulled out all the stops for my homecoming. They took turns nearly squeezing the life out of me and telling me I couldn’t be gone for such a long time again. There was a “Welcome Home, Ally” banner Tara and Megan had collaborated on, probably to get them out from under foot in the kitchen, and way too much food for six people. They had prepared all my favorites: labor intensive spinach lasagna, garlic bread, a strawberry-feta salad, and a wondrous, gooey chocolate cake for dessert. It was so good to be home. Everyone admired my haircut, Megan embarrassing both Jack and me by asking if he had run his hands through it yet. Tara said it made me look at least 19, except for the fact I’m still as short as most middle-schoolers. She’s sure not one to sugarcoat anything.
After dinner, I sat by Jack on the couch, his arm around me, as I told everyone about the trip. Since Megan was there, I left out all the details about the council and the true purpose for the vacation, focusing instead on the sightseeing we had done and all the beauty of Ireland. I gave everyone the small trinkets I had chosen for them, but I was h
olding the Claddagh rings back for Jack’s birthday in a few days. It was close to 9:00 p.m. and I was beginning to droop when Jack kissed the top of my head and suggested I get to bed.
“Come on, sweetheart. You’re exhausted.” He pulled me up off the couch and dragged me toward the stairs to my bedroom. I said goodnight to everyone, kissing my mom and Grams and thanking them for a wonderful homecoming dinner. I hugged Tara and Megan, promising to catch up more in-depth with Tara the next day. As soon as we were out of sight of the others, Jack pulled me into his arms for a sweet kiss. “You get some sleep, okay? I don’t like the look of those dark circles under your eyes. I don’t think you got enough rest over the past couple weeks.” He kissed my forehead, a worried look on his face. “Call me when you wake up. I will try really, really hard not to call you, no matter how antsy I get.”
I laughed, kissed him again quickly, and went off to my own bed with my own pillow, which I had sorely missed.
***
I woke late the next day, appreciating that Mom and Grams had let me sleep in. I’d had a wonderful night’s sleep without a trace of the awful nightmare. I tried to remember what day of the week it was, but gave up when I couldn’t grasp it. I headed downstairs, following a mouthwatering smell. Mom was at the stove, flipping pancakes. I grabbed a cup of coffee and asked her what day it was.
“Sunday, sweetie.” She chuckled a bit. “Jet lag’s no fun, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s a bitch, Mom.” At her raised eyebrows I muttered, “Sorry.”
She came over and hugged me. “I’ll forgive your potty mouth this once, since I missed you so much,” she teased. “Your grandmother is not the best influence on your language.” We shared a secret smile over my audacious grandmother, whose language could, indeed, be colorful. She held my face in her hands, her thumbs running gently over the dark circles under my eyes. “You still look tired, Ally. Did you not rest well over there?”
It was the perfect moment to tell her about the awful nightmares, but something held me back. “I really missed you all,” I said as I hugged her, tears close to the surface. Later, I would need to analyze why I was reluctant to talk about these dreams. Hopefully they were a thing of the past, anyway.
“Okay, enough of this.” She stepped away, wiping her eyes. “Let’s get you fed and then I think you better call your boyfriend. He may have promised not to call, but I have a feeling he’ll be here pounding on the door before too long. And when your grandmother gets up, we want to hear about what happened with the Council.”
We feasted on blueberry pancakes, Grams deigning to join us halfway through, making her entrance wearing a purple silk caftan. “Darling, you still look exhausted! Why don’t you go straight back to bed after breakfast?” She had a mischievous look on her face. “I’m sure Jack won’t mind.”
“Cute, Grams. I already texted him.” When Grams was seated with her breakfast and coffee, I filled them in on the details of my meeting with the Seer Council. They laughed at how the ladies had tricked me by pretending to be at a gardening conference, but were shocked by what I told them about possibly being the next Oracle. We hashed it out for a while, but were ultimately unable to come up with anything new or useful. They related all that had happened while I was gone and how they had spent their Christmas, Grams at the senior center and Mom with her boyfriend, whom Grams and I had yet to meet. It was so good to sit and talk with them; I am lucky to have such a happy, if somewhat unusual, home life. After about an hour I had to call an end to the fun. “Jack’s picking me up in about an hour, so I need to get ready. I smell bad and I’m stewing in my own filth, so if you lovely ladies will excuse me?” I rushed upstairs to shower, shave my legs, buff, polish, powder, and otherwise make myself kissable and touchable.
Jack had let me know he was at Mass and would pick me up right afterward and take me to lunch. When he showed up driving my car, the VW Bug he had restored and given me for Christmas, I assumed we would resume our driving lessons. I had made some progress in regaining my behind-the-wheel confidence, but had a ways to go with the whole stick-shift thing. I had lost my nerve for driving right after I got my license when I got in a nasty fender-bender, but Jack was determined to help me regain my confidence, and thus my independence. I opened the door before he even had a chance to ring the doorbell and launched myself into his arms, sealing my lips over his, letting my tongue invade his mouth to taste everything I had been missing for the past two weeks.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said huskily when I finally pried myself off of him. “That’s quite a greeting.” He was adorably flushed. “Let’s get out of here before I change my mind and find somewhere dark and private to take you. We could stay there about a week.” He drew me back for another kiss.
“Ahem,” Grams coughed, purposely disrupting us. “Ally, let the young man up for air.”
I smiled against Jack’s lips. He smiled back, putting his arm around my waist and pulling me close to his side. “Hi, Mrs. Moran. Sorry about that. It’s been a while; I mean…” he said.
“Oh, Jack, calm down. I understand. I was in love once or twice myself. And please, please call me Adele. Mrs. Moran makes me feel so old.” If 58 isn’t old enough to be called ‘Mrs.’ then I don’t know what is.
“Okay, Adele. Thanks. Ally and I are going out to lunch and then I’m taking her driving, if that’s all right?”
“Of course. You two have fun.” She pulled me close for a hug. “Don’t keep her out too late. You do look more tired than usual, Ally.”
We went to Mannies on Central Avenue for lunch. It’s a homey, old-fashioned diner and one of the most famous grammatical mistakes in Albuquerque. Their lack of a possessive apostrophe aside, it was a great place. Over homemade vegetable soup for me and a giant burger for Jack, I filled him in on what the Seer Council had said about me possibly being the next Oracle.
“So, wait,” Jack said as he put his burger down. “I thought you went there to find out if you were really a Seer? What happened to that? How did it turn into this oracle thing? And what the hell is an oracle?”
I pushed my soup away, my appetite gone. If I was having a hard time with this, what did I expect from Jack? How could I expect him to keep on accepting all the new freaky stuff that keeps happening to me? Was this the point when he finally decides to walk away?
“Ally? Hey, what’s up? You got real quiet all of a sudden. Not a good quiet, either. What are you thinking?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s nothing. I get it. I understand.”
He looked at me for minute and then sighed. He got up and came around to my side of the booth and took me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. “You’ve got that look on your face. You know, the one that says you think I’m not going to be able to handle any more weird stuff and this is it for us. Huh? Admit it—it’s what you were thinking, isn’t it?” I nodded, trying to keep the tears in. “Okay, look at me.” He pulled my face up to look directly in my eyes. I could stare into his beautiful, deep brown eyes all day. “First, and most importantly, I love you, Ally. I’m in this for the long haul, no matter how freaky things get. If it means I get you, then count me in. You gotta start believing in us, babe.” He stopped to kiss me briefly and thank the waitress for refilling our coffee cups. “Secondly, you’re giving me, and all guys in general actually, way too much credit for deep thinking. When I say ‘what the hell is an oracle?’ that’s all I mean. No hidden meaning. I just want to know what it is. Guys are actually pretty simple and we tend to say exactly what we mean.” He kissed me again and then returned to his side of the table, placing a napkin in my hand so I could mop my face. Poor guy: it seems like all he ever did was watch me cry. I was such a girl. “Now let’s finish eating while you tell me all about this oracle stuff, okay?”
So I wiped my eyes and told him about how the Seer Council had tricked me into believing they were simply a group of innocent little old lady gardeners, but they actually held my fate in their hands. I told him about the last Oracle
being stolen away from her people by the Gaulish clan, never to be heard from again. And I told him how the council was very interested in my abilities to see the future and seemed to think it was possible evidence of my oracle-ness or whatever. I finished with, “And they didn’t want to even let me go. They made me promise to come back over spring break and in the summer.”
“Spring break? Ah, Ally, no. I can’t stand not having our last school vacation together. You gotta tell them no, querida. I’ll probably go nuts if you’re gone.”
“Don’t worry. There is no way I’m going back over spring break. I’ll go in the summer as long as it’s while you’re gone to basic training.” I grabbed his hand across the table and rubbed my thumb over his knuckles. I told him what the council had told me about oracles, how they were messengers between worlds or something.
“Ally, what do you think? Do you think you could be this oracle?” He looked at me with concern.
“I don’t know, Jack. I think there’s a lot more to the story than what they’re telling me. I don’t trust those little old garden-seer ladies. I can’t even think about being an Oracle before I know what’s really going on.”
“That was a very Oracle-like thing to say,” he said with a laugh.
“Shut up.” I smiled. “Does this lunch include pie?”
***
The lunch did include pie, strawberry for me and chocolate cream for Jack, after which he took me to practice my driving. I had forgotten some of my technique on the stick shift, but Jack was patient and I finally started to get the hang of it. We were driving around the same church parking lot he had taken me to before Christmas.
“Great job, sweetheart! You’ll be ready to drive to school next week.”
“Jack, I haven’t even driven on a real street yet.” I was starting to hyperventilate.
