Reflections

by Susan Griscom

  The sitting room on the second floor was as she remembered it from the first time she met Siana. That day she’d learned the truth about her mother’s death because of complications from childbirth when Addie and the twin brother she’d never had a chance to know were born. But this was a happy visit. Shaking off those memories, Addie immediately went and sat on the buttery soft brown leather sofa and Cael sat next to her, leaving the chair across from them empty for his mother.

  Siana entered the room followed closely by Breena who immediately ran to Cael when she saw him, jumping unto his lap, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. When she finished, she leaned over and did the same to Addie.

  “I’ve missed you guys so much,” Breena said, laughing. “How was … where did you go again?”

  “Tahiti,” Cael said.

  “How was … Tahiti?” She said the word slowly, emphasizing the “h” a little more than necessary.

  “It was beautiful. We have pictures to show you,” Addie said, smoothing down the black lace from the hem of the grey striped top Breena wore over pale pink leggings. Addie smiled, eyeing the pink ankle strapped sandals. Everything matched perfectly. Addie looked forward to taking Breena shopping. Little girls’ clothes were so adorable, the possibilities were endless.

  “Pictures? Really? Let’s see!” Breena’s eyes widened with anticipation.

  “In a bit, squirt,” Cael said. “We need to talk to Grammy for a minute, okay?”

  Siana waved her hand toward the extremely tall man standing by the door. “Benjamin, please take Breena and give her some lunch.”

  “Awe, come on. They just got here.”

  “It’ll be okay, squirt. Just give us ten minutes, okay?”

  “Okay,” she huffed and slouched her way across the room following behind Benjamin, or Lurch, as Addie liked to think of him because of his inconceivable height enhanced by his stiff posture. Addie watched the resident butler—plus part-time babysitter—place his hand on Breena’s shoulder, leading her out of the room. Cael said Ben possessed the ability to stretch his body up to twenty feet. That was something she hoped she’d never have to witness. Just the thought of it hurt her skin.

  Siana sat in the chair opposite Cael and Addie. She looked her usual refined and beautiful self in a pale pink jacket over a black silk tank, complementing her black slacks. The jacket played against the dark sapphire blue in her beautiful eyes, which matched her son’s. Her flawless and impeccable hair, twisted at the nape of her neck and swept up in a neat bun, revealed her exquisite pearl earrings. Addie always felt under-dressed around Siana no matter what she wore. The woman was gorgeous and didn’t look a day over forty, but Addie knew better since she and Bart were twins, not to mention the fact that Cael was thirty.

  “Benjamin, please bring us some tea on your way back,” Siana said then shifted in her seat turning all her attention to Cael and Addie. “Okay, so what do you need to discuss that Breena can’t hear?”

  Cael gently squeezed Addie’s hand before speaking. “We have something to ask you and didn’t want to mention it in front of Breena just in case you don’t like the idea. Breena’s birthday is coming up. I think in a couple of weeks, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well …” Cael glanced at Addie. “We were thinking that it might be nice if Breena came to stay with us for a while … for a few days. You know, she can hang out at the beach and stuff.”

  “Maia thought it would be nice too. Breena could keep her company sometimes while I’m at work or if Cael isn’t available to be with her,” Addie said.

  “It would give you a break too, Mom. I’m sure you haven’t really had many opportunities to do much for yourself since you adopted her. This would give you time to … indulge a little. And we thought it would be a nice birthday surprise for Breena. I know she’s planning a huge party, but this would be something else special for her. She really likes Addison.”

  “Yes she does. She is also very fond of you. I don’t see why not. I’m sure she would love it. She is having a little difficulty coping with her empathic ability. She doesn’t like it.”

  “I thought she only experienced it when she hugged someone.”

  “Yes, that’s true, but she’s a very affectionate little girl and misses that contact. I’m sure a break from routine would be good for her. She will need to keep up with her studies, though.”

  “No problem. Maia is a wiz and I’m sure she’ll be a huge help.”

  “How is Maia doing? Bart tells me she is expecting twins.”

  “She’s doing great—starting to show.” Addie forced a smile, considered bringing up the question of the hour, the one that seemed to creep into almost every thought she had lately. Heck, why not? Maybe asking in a hypothetical way wouldn’t hurt. “Um … Maia has been wondering … well, actually, I have too. What are the chances of unborn babies projecting their abilities through their mother?”

  Cael’s blue eyes grew huge. “Did Maia ask you to bring that up?”

  “No, but I thought …”

  “What are you talking about?” Siana inquired in a calm voice.

  “Um, Maia thinks she’s been hearing a voice, sort of like her own, though.”

  Siana frowned and brought her hand to her neck, splaying her fingers wide across the gold chain before grasping the bloodstone pendant between her thumb and forefinger, rubbing her thumb over it pensively. “I see. And Maia, of course, doesn’t have any abilities of her own that could cause this to happen.”

  Addie nodded. “Right.”

  “What is the voice saying to her?”

  A reasonable question, Addie heard Cael thinking in her head. She didn’t want to answer it though, at least not exactly. If Siana thought Maia was in danger she might not let Breena come to visit after all, and that would break Cael’s heart. “Different things,” Addie said, trying to hide her anxiety and hoping Siana couldn’t determine her thoughts. After all, Siana couldn’t read minds completely—at least not the way she and Cael communicated. She added, “I’m sure it’s nothing, but the voice warned her about her babies about a month or so ago.”

  “Warned her? About what?” The alarm in Siana’s voice made Addie cringe; just the reaction she’d hoped to avoid. Siana had been present during Addie’s birth, the day her mother and brother died.

  Let me take this, babe, Cael interrupted in her head. “I don’t think it was actually a warning, more of a statement. Maia said the old woman merely said that she carried a precious cargo and to guard it. That’s not really a warning. All babies, even unborn ones, are special.”

  “Old woman? I thought you said she was hearing voices?”

  “She said she saw this old woman at the grocery store and the woman pointed to her stomach and made that comment. Maia didn’t know how the old lady knew she was pregnant … Maia was wearing a heavy coat at the time, which completely concealed her stomach.”

  “I’m sorry; this is not making any sense to me.”

  Cael breathed out a huge breath. It’s no use, we should explain.

  “Yes, you should,” Siana said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  Cael frowned at Siana. He hated when she did that. “The old woman disappeared after that.” As Cael explained the other incident when Gerry heard the voice and Maia’s accident on the trail, Ben came in and placed a tray laden with tea and cookies on the coffee table.

  “Thank you, Ben. Where’s Breena?” Siana asked.

  “She is with Red. I thought you might like the tea now instead of waiting.”

  “Thank you. You can send her back in now.”

  As Ben left, Siana poured the tea. “I am not aware of any incidences where a fetus was capable of projecting any powers. Children are never born with the capacity to use their gifts. Powers must be acknowledged or triggered in some way first. Breena is only child I’ve ever heard of with use of her gifts at such a young age. But …” she shrugged, taking a sip of the steaming tea, “nothing is written in stone.
There are never any guarantees. We’ve always known that genes mutate, and marriages bring in new DNA to the mix. Our heritage is forever changing … morphing, if you will. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Maia and you, Addison, come from a very powerful line of individuals. I wouldn’t discount any theory. The possibilities are endless. Maybe Maia is somehow acquiring her own ability, since she is pregnant with Gerry’s children. If they are girls, perhaps something in the blood stream is transferring to Maia.”

  This was not the answer Addie had wanted to hear—well, not the last part anyway. The possibilities are endless. Her body instantly tensed and Cael glanced at her. Wanting to hide her fear from him, she began humming to herself. The first song that came to her mind happened to be “The Star Spangled Banner,” of all things. It was deeply ingrained in her brain from all the football and hockey games that had been on the television in the bar recently. And it worked, she guessed, because he only frowned at her before asking Siana, “So you think Maia possibly projected her own voice to Gerry when she needed help?”

  Just then, Breena skipped into the room, plopped down on the sofa next to Cael with a giggle and without missing a beat, reached over and grabbed a cookie from the plate.

  “Yes. I suppose it’s possible.” Siana nodded.

  “Maia did say she thought of Gerry, but then why wouldn’t she have said, ‘Help me’ if that was the case?”

  “That is a puzzle …”

  “And then …” Addie interrupted, “Maia said the old woman came to her again when she was hurt. The old woman said something about her and Maia being the same person.”

  “It certainly sounds as if Maia is developing some sort of gift, whether through her babies or on her own. We can only wait and see if it continues after the babies are born. I think it’s wonderful,” Siana said with a broad smile. “Nothing to be afraid of, Addison.”

  Addie shifted in her seat at Siana’s casual reference to her fears. Not wanting to go into what exactly those fears were, Addie smiled and said, “I’m sure Maia will be pleased to hear this.”

  “Well, you know, I’m not an expert, but no one really is. I’ve been around enough to assess a situation intelligently. I can’t believe that God would give us children that we couldn’t handle. I do believe that He only gives a person as much challenge in life as they are humanly capable of dealing with.”

  Which led Addie to the question; just how much was she actually capable of dealing with?

  ***

  The conversation had taken a strange turn as far as Cael was concerned. All this talk about abilities, babies and when powers became active was mind boggling to say the least, particularly when you added to the mix whether or not God was kind enough not to give anyone more than they could handle. Cael became increasingly aware of Addison’s convoluted emotions and for some reason, over the past few minutes he’d lost the capability to read her thoughts. She was blocking him. Why? He tried with every ounce of concentration he could muster to figure out what was going on inside her pretty head. His mother’s stern voice broke his assiduous attention just after Breena squirmed next to him, reaching for another cookie.

  “No more, Breena. You’ve had four already. That’s enough.”

  Breena huffed and placed her arms over her chest in defiance, but Cael’s mother only ignored the little girl. He squeezed her shoulders and said, “We have a surprise for you, squirt.”

  Breena’s bright blue eyes widened and her face lit up with a huge grin. “What? Is it a birthday present?”

  “A pre-birthday present,” Cael said.

  “A pre-birthday present? Does that mean I get another one on my actual birthday?”

  They all laughed.

  “Maybe,” Addison said.

  “We, Addison and I, were wondering if you’d like to come and stay with us for a few days.”

  “At your beach house?” Cael and Addison nodded.

  “You want me to come and stay at your beach house? For how long?”

  “I don’t know.” Cael looked at Addie who shrugged.

  Then he glanced at Siana who smiled then also shrugged before saying, “Up to you, Cael.”

  “How about a week? Maybe more?” Cael suggested.

  “This is awesome. Can I bring Mr. Squiggles?”

  “Who is Mr. Squiggles?” Cael asked.

  “Oh, her pet guinea pig. Sweetheart, why don’t you leave Mr. Squiggles here? Ben and I will take very good care of him.”

  “Oh, paaaleeeaaassseee? she begged, her small gloved hands clasped together under her chin. “He’ll miss me something awful.”

  Siana looked to Addison, and Addison smiled. “It’s fine with me. I love guinea pigs.”

  “Yippee!” Breena hopped off the sofa and squeezed in next to Addison, placing herself in between the two of them. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Breena turned to Cael, “Can I stay longer than a week?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure yet.”

  “Well, I need to know, so I can pack enough pairs of underwear to bring. A clean pair for everyday.”

  He grimaced.

  “I’m sure your Grammy can figure that out for you,” Addison chimed in like an angel to save the day. “Besides, we have a washing machine.”

  The next week or so was sure to be quite the adventure and with talk of underwear and laundry. Cael questioned whether he was ready for it. Maybe he’d made a mistake in agreeing to this visit. After all, when couples have a baby, they get to work their way up to Breena’s age gradually, over time. They’re not suddenly thrust into all the … what? Into all the fancy things that little girls enjoy. Whatever those things were, Cael wasn’t too sure. He only knew that he wanted to have a baby with Addison and if having Breena come to stay would get him one step closer to talking Addison into it, he’d do it. But at the moment, he sort of wished Breena was a boy. Boys could care less about their underwear and he could throw a baseball back and forth with one of them.

  “Girls play baseball too.” His mother winked and he realized she’d read his mind.

  “And soccer,” Breena piped up. “And hockey, and basketball, and …”

  “Okay. I get the picture.”

  Chapter 19

  Girl, You’re Amazing

  The Cliff Hanger Bar and Grill buzzed with excitement. Every seat in the house was occupied when Addie and Cael arrived. Siana had agreed to bring Breena and meet them at the bar for the early show. When Breena found out about the band, she’d begged with every ounce of little girl charm she could muster to be allowed to come to the premier performance. Apparently, besides baseball, soccer and pretty, pink, sparkly things, nine-year-old—scratch that, Addie corrected—almost ten-year-old girls loved music. Breena’s eyes sparkled with exhilaration when she noticed them and she waved her gloved hand in the air as they walked toward her. Looking way too much like a teenager, Breena wore a coral dress with cream lace at the short sleeves and hem. Why did little girls always want to grow up so fast? Addie shrugged to herself, remembering her own pre-adolescent rush to become a woman. Some of Breena’s hair had been expertly weaved into several tiny braids then threaded together, and hung down her back among a cascade of soft curls. How did Siana do that? Would she be able to do it? Addie feared not. Maybe she should take a few pictures for memory’s sake.

  Maia sat with them, looking radiant in a light blue dress with her hair done up in some sort of twisty thing at the back with little tendrils of curls hanging from it. Bart was there as well and stood, offering Addie his chair with the grace of a perfect gentleman. Even his clothes suggested more refinement than usual. She smiled at Bart, realizing it had been a while since she’d seen Cael’s uncle dressed in anything other than jeans and T-shirt. Possibly never. His hair, slicked back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, with his black slacks and dark blue pinstriped shirt gave him the look of a man possessing flawless and impeccable quality. A bit like Cael’s mother; well, they were twins. Addie’s lips curved slightly at the thought. W
ould her own brother have been a lot like her if he’d lived? Addie couldn’t help but wonder.

  Next to Breena sat Siana in all her immaculate splendor. Her perfect pearl earrings, her perfect pearl necklace, and her perfect … my God, she looked gorgeous in that peach silk blouse with her dark shimmering hair hanging down over her shoulders. Addie hadn’t realized Siana’s hair was so long since she’d worn it up every time Addie had seen her.

  Addie sat in the chair that Bart offered between Maia and Breena admiring the stage, the array of colored lights in the back and all the equipment that sat perched on the stage just waiting for the transformation from drab silence to beautiful rhythmic vibes. She sighed with pleasure when she noticed the small dance floor they’d built in front of the stage by clearing some of the tables away. It left fewer seats, but if people were dancing, they weren’t sitting. The lack of available seats might prompt more dancing. It seemed like a win-win situation.

  Addie sighed as she settled into the chair. This is going to be great. She and Cael hadn’t danced together since they’d returned from their trip. He was a terrific dancer; she loved the way he held her close and led her around, never missing a beat. Well, except for the one pirouette he’d tried to get her to do that evening at one of the local bars. He almost twirled her into the huge speaker by the side of the stage, but that had been after a couple of mai tais; she smiled at the memory. Cael had been so embarrassed and very apologetic the rest of the evening, constantly asking her if she was okay.