An Unhappy Medium

by Dawn Eastman

  16

  “Thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate the beginning of our wonderful village of Crystal Haven,” Lloyd said into the microphone. He spread his arms wide to welcome the crowd gathered around the gazebo in the middle of what we all called the town square, but which was actually an acre of grass on the west side of the business section of the city. The torches set up around the area cast jittery shadows over the crowd.

  A smattering of applause met his announcement.

  “Let’s hear the story, Lloyd!” a male voice shouted from the back of the crowd.

  “Yeah, move along,” another voice chimed in.

  Lloyd brought it on himself. Several years ago, after a drunken brawl right in the middle of his Founder’s Day story, he had banned all food and drink until after the ceremony had been completed. It didn’t stop people from imbibing at home, but it had cut down on the disorderly behavior. Every year Lloyd bestowed the bonfire lighting honor on Crystal Haven’s newest resident. This signaled the beginning of the festivities, which included dancing, roasting marshmallows, and spending time in the food and beer tents. But before the bonfire could be lit, the founder’s story had to be told. By Lloyd.

  “As many of you know, we come together each year to remember the brave young pioneers who settled here in search of tolerance and acceptance.”

  This brought some cheering. Those who had heard the story before recognized that Lloyd had shaved about five minutes off his oratory by skipping the history of the westward travelers who were the grandparents of our town founders.

  “Delphine Jacobson and Elwood Plotz fell in love during the spring of 1846.” One of Harriet’s gang stepped forward in an 1850s-era prairie dress and curtseyed for the crowd. She was fifty if she was a day and wasn’t pulling off the dewy-eyed youth that the story required. When her lover, played by a portly poker buddy of Lloyd’s, took her hand I had to turn away. If I looked at Vi, we would both lose it.

  Lloyd continued his story, talking over the giggles and murmurings. “Elwood had purchased the land we stand on today and planned to set up a logging camp. Delphine’s father, who was the richest man in Grand Rapids at the time, planned for his daughter to marry into another wealthy family. And if it would be good for business, all the better. His bitter business rival had a son, and the two men, in a moment of rapport, realized the only way to move forward would be to combine their interests. The men shook on the deal and went home to tell their children.” Two ancient men shook hands on the gazebo behind Lloyd. They looked as if they could have actually been there when the story was taking place.

  “I hope my dad doesn’t make me marry anyone,” Sophie whispered to me.

  “But Victor Jacobson didn’t count on his daughter’s fiery independence,” Lloyd waved his fist in the air as if he supported fiery independence. “She refused to participate. He locked her in her room and said she could only come out when she was willing to see reason—or his way of thinking.” Delphine was dragged onto the gazebo by her father and he mimed locking her up and pocketing the key.

  Sophie gasped and leaned against me.

  “Lloyd’s really playing it up this year,” Vi said in my ear. I still didn’t feel safe to look at her, so I just nodded and held my fingers to my mouth. “He must have noticed the zombie run people are still in town spending money in the stores.”

  “I don’t remember the part about locking her up,” I whispered back.

  “I think he made that up,” Vi said.

  Lloyd added new facts each year and deleted others. No one in Crystal Haven had any idea what the real story might be.

  “Shh!” someone said from in front of us.

  Vi glowered at the shusher but remained quiet.

  Seth, dressed in his parade costume, climbed over the railing of the gazebo with several other teens and rescued Delphine. They helped her over the barrier to where Elwood waited to whisk her off to his logging camp.

  Our group cheered particularly loudly. I wished Grace could have seen it, but she and Paul had been spooked by the two thugs watching them at the parade and had decided to stay home. I suspected they had also had enough of small town quaintness.

  I felt a tug on my sleeve.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” whispered Sophie.

  I nudged Vi and said that we would be right back. I took Sophie’s hand and happily turned my back on Lloyd and his newly embellished story of Delphine and Elwood.

  The groups behind us shifted as we made our way out of the crowd. I noticed that the fringes were not listening to Lloyd at all and stood in clumps talking quietly and sipping from plastic cups.

  Sophie and I made it to the sidewalk surrounding the small park and turned toward the tiny building that housed the public restrooms. Sophie rattled off a constant commentary on the parade and the Founder’s Day story, but spoke so quietly I had to bend over to hear her. As we approached the facilities I stood up straight and then stopped abruptly.

  The two men who had been following Grace and Paul stood at the edge of the crowd, watching. They didn’t seem to be paying any attention to Sophie and me and I was relieved that even if the parents were being followed, the kids seemed to be safe. I wondered when they would realize that Grace and Paul had stayed home.

  Sophie stopped as well and waited with the same awareness and patience that Seth often showed.

  I squeezed her hand and we continued to the building. I didn’t wait outside, but opened the door and checked the room before allowing her to pick a stall. There were only three and all were empty.

  “I’ll just wait for you here,” I said and leaned against the sink.

  The men were still there when we exited the restroom.

  “I’ve seen them before,” Sophie said to me.

  I looked at her in surprise. “Where?”

  “They were outside the costume shop when we went to get Dad’s pirate costume.”

  “What were they doing there?”

  Sophie shrugged. “Just standing, like they are now. It must be a pretty boring job to just stand around and watch people.”

  “Why do you think it’s their job?”

  Sophie smiled and shrugged. “They seem pretty grumpy. Doesn’t that mean it’s a job?”

  I sighed to myself. “Not always, but you’re probably right.”

  “I hope I don’t have a job like that when I grow up. I want to do something exciting like talking to animals or telling the future. Like Aunt Vi or Nana Rose.”

  “Well, I’m sure Nana Rose could teach you about the tarot when you’re a little older. What does your mom say about that?”

  I had a pretty good idea what Grace would say. If both of her kids end up with a “useless” talent, she’d be devastated.

  “I don’t know.” She looked at the ground and spoke quietly. “She thinks that stuff is stupid, so I haven’t told her. She still thinks I want to be a teacher.” Sophie lowered her voice even more. “Which she also thinks is stupid. She says they don’t make enough money or get enough respect.” She scuffed her feet along the sidewalk and looked down at her shoes.

  “Well, I don’t think any of those things are stupid,” I said. “But you have a lot of time to figure it all out. And you’re allowed to change your mind as much as you want.”

  Sophie looked up and smiled at me.

  We made it back to our group just in time for Lloyd’s conclusion to the story where Delphine and Elwood run off to the logging camp, get married, and start their own village.

  “And so, because of their bravery and love for each other, Crystal Haven was born.”

  Lloyd raised his hands and took an exuberant bow. The ragged crew of actors stepped forward and took a bow as well. The crowd clapped politely from the front and more enthusiastically from the back. Lloyd had announced earlier there would be no cannon fire tonight since we were in t
own, and not the woods, like usual. It had been met with booing and hissing and he seemed to want to move quickly to the next stage of the evening.

  “This year our ceremonial bonfire will be lit by Tatiana Nettles, our newest resident.” Lloyd swung his arm in Tatiana’s direction. She turned and waved to the crowd, a huge smile on her face. “She just moved in today and I hope you will all make her feel welcome.”

  Tatiana took one of the torches and touched the flame to the woodpile in the fire pit. The crowd cheered when it took and a large blaze sprang up.

  She walked back to place the torch in its stand and I saw her hesitate. She handed it to Lloyd and melted into the crowd—a breach of protocol. She should have placed it in the stand herself and bowed to the crowd again. Lloyd coached all of his bonfire lighters on the need to give the crowd a good performance. I tried to see what might have spooked her and saw the two men standing by the platform where the torch should go. Theo stood directly in front of them as if he were blocking their path. I was much too far away to hear what he said, but Theo’s fists were clenched and his shoulders tensed. The two men stood with feet apart and arms crossed. Even the short one looked like he was glaring down at Theo. They turned and moved into the crowd as Lloyd carried the torch to set it in its spot. Theo pushed his way back into the crowd the same way Tatiana had gone.

  No one else seemed to notice. The lighting of the bonfire was always the signal that the party should start and the crowd grew boisterous after the fire erupted. I tried to spot Tatiana’s pale hair, but in the dim evening light she had disappeared. Theo had also blended into the crowd and I wondered what the connection could be between Grace’s pursuers and Theo Lancaster. Was Grace mistaken? Maybe they weren’t after her at all. Maybe this was all about Derek. But, if that was the case, why were they still in Crystal Haven? I was able to locate the two grumpy watchers, as Sophie would call them. They stood sentinel again across the street, arms crossed. Watching. Were they looking for Grace and Paul?

  They didn’t seem to be paying any attention to our little group and I tried to put them out of my mind. But I held on to Sophie’s hand and told Seth to do the same. Vi, Mom, Seth, Sophie, and I discussed which food tent to hit first. It was difficult to hear everyone’s choice over the energetic crowd. The smell of wood smoke and popcorn brought back memories of my childhood. I was glad Seth and Sophie got to experience a Crystal Haven event. Lucan and Diana approached, arm in arm. “We’re going to head out,” she said.

  “Okay, I’ll see you next week,” I said.

  “Did Olivia find you?” Diana asked.

  I shook my head no. “Olivia Hanson? No, why is she looking for me?”

  Olivia was one of the psychics who worked at the Reading Room and was part of Harriet Munson’s crowd. I had no idea why she’d be looking for me. Harriet had spread the word about her daughter’s lack of a normal life after her meeting with me. In general, her cronies avoided me on the off chance I would ruin their lives as well.

  “She says she has to talk to you—tonight,” Diana said. “She seemed a little weird about it.”

  “Thanks, I’ll be on the lookout for her,” I said.

  Lucan waved good-bye and he and Diana walked toward the street. The crowd parted easily in front of them. Lucan had that effect on people.

  Vi had been talking urgently with Mom and now turned to me. “If Olivia Hanson is looking for you, you should probably go home.”

  “What? Why?” I narrowed my eyes at Vi.

  “She’s all gloom and doom,” Vi said. She popped up on her toes to scan the crowd. She barely made it to Seth’s shoulder and muttered to herself that she couldn’t see Olivia anywhere.

  “Can we go get some ice cream now?” Sophie asked. She bounced on her toes and looked like a miniature, younger version of Vi.

  We agreed that ice cream sounded like just the right end to the Founder’s Day celebrations. Seth led the way toward the Moovalous Ice Cream tent. Vi continued to survey the crowd for Olivia, hands on hips and eyes narrowed. I got in line at the back of our group.

  “There you are!” Olivia pushed her way through the ice cream line to reach me. “I thought you’d end up here eventually so I sat right over there waiting.” She pointed to the corner of the tent.

  Olivia was about my height and at least fifteen years older. She favored brightly colored scarves and noisy jewelry. She reached out to touch my arm and her wrist clanked and tinkled with bangles.

  “I had to find you tonight, to warn you,” she said. She glanced over her shoulder as if she were about to impart top-secret government information. She noticed Vi edging in our direction and pulled me outside of the tent.

  “What is it, Olivia?” I tried to keep the edge out of my voice, but I was easily irked by the theater that some of the psychics brought to just about every interaction.

  “I have a message.” She lowered her voice and intoned this news like a Delphic oracle. “It’s from your grandmother.”

  Despite myself, my heart sped up at this announcement. My grandmother had been dead for more than fifteen years. I just as quickly became very skeptical. I couldn’t imagine my grandmother choosing someone like Olivia to send a message through after all this time. Why not Neila? Or even me?

  As if she read my mind, she leaned toward me and said, “I know I haven’t always been very friendly with your family, and I don’t know why your grandmother chose me, but I’m just the messenger.”

  She and Vi had fallen out many years ago when Vi told Olivia that her Siamese cat despised the baby talk way she spoke to him. The interview had ended with Olivia and Mr. Tiddles storming out and a distinct frostiness began.

  “Okay, what’s the message?” I said.

  She cleared her throat and waited a beat to be sure I was paying close attention. “Beware of whom you trust and what you believe,” she said.

  I waited for her to continue but she appeared so satisfied that I concluded that was it. Grandmother had sent a Chinese cookie fortune to Olivia for her to pass along to me. Great.

  “Well, thank you, Olivia,” I said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Olivia’s face fell. “You aren’t going to listen to the warning, are you? I can tell when someone is ignoring a message.”

  “No. I won’t ignore it,” I held my hands out in a placating gesture. I didn’t want to give her a reason to add me to her list of people to snub. “I just . . . don’t know what it means.”

  “It is a bit cryptic,” she said. She clasped her hands and set off another round of bracelet clinking. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything more concrete, but I can tell you that the feeling I got when I received it was very strong. She’s extremely worried.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” I said. “I’ll be more vigilant in the future.”

  This seemed to satisfy her and she patted my arm.

  “Violet Greer, you are shameless,” she said over my shoulder.

  I turned to see Vi, her back to us, pretending to eat her ice cream as she crept slowly backward toward Olivia and me.

  “Hello, Olivia,” Vi said in a flat voice.

  “Violet.” Olivia’s eyes narrowed.

  “Thank you, again,” I said. “I’d better get my niece and nephew home.”

  Olivia nodded to me and lifted her chin toward Vi before moving off into the increasingly noisy crowd.

  “What’d I tell you?” Vi asked. “Gloom and doom, am I right?”

  “No, not really. But it wasn’t particularly helpful, either,” I said. “She said Grandma sent me a message to beware of who to trust and who to believe.”

  “What kind of a message is that?” Vi scowled. “Is she using a Magic 8 Ball these days?”

  She put her hands on her hips and glowered at Olivia’s retreating figure.

  17

  The sound of the organ rattles the door as I appr
oach the church. I am alone at the foot of the steps. As I begin to climb they grow steeper and I struggle to ascend as the music becomes louder and resonates deep in my chest.

  Finally I mount the last step and reach out to open the door. I notice for the first time that I am wearing black gloves to match my simple, sleeveless dress and shoes. Dread settles in my stomach like a cold stone. I push the door open. There is no one in the church, but at the front a long black box sits on a stand. The sound of the music diminishes as I get closer to the front of the church. Tears blur my vision and I stumble. I grab the back of a pew to get my balance.

  I don’t want to look in the casket. Afraid to see who is there, I stop a few feet from the coffin and the organ switches its dirge to Amazing Grace. I take a step forward, and another, feeling as if I am walking through thick, heavy water. One final step. I take a deep breath and look inside.

  Empty.

  I run back down the long aisle to the door, past the empty pews. I smell lilies. Their cloying scent reaches out and grabs at my ankles, my hair, my face. I throw myself at the door but it doesn’t budge. There is no doorknob or handle, just a smooth gray surface that feels rough, like wood, but cold, like metal. I pound on the door. I try to scream for help but no sound comes out and all the while Amazing Grace plays on behind me.

  * * *

  “Clyde! Wake up.” Mac’s voice reached through the dream and in the misty light of early morning I gasped and realized I was safe, in bed.

  “Just a dream,” I said. I turned to Mac and curled next to him, shivering.

  He made shushing noises and after I assured him I was fine, he fell asleep again. I lay awake, thinking and worrying. I hated these dreams.

  I knew it was trying to tell me something, but much like Olivia’s message, I had no idea what it meant. Neila had been helping me to interpret the dreams and try to discern whether they were premonitions or just anxieties and worries working themselves out.

  I could almost always tell the difference. The predictive dreams left a fuzzy feeling in my brain like a hangover without the headache. This one had left me with the fuzz and a good measure of dread.