by Kit Pearson
Mrs. Tolliver’s expression softened. “Hmm . . . What did you say your last name was?”
“O’Reilly.”
“I know that name. Your father is an important man. Do he and your mother know you are here?”
Kitty had always prided herself on telling the truth, but this was an emergency. “My p-parents sent me,” she stuttered.
“Are you certain? I don’t want to get into any trouble.”
Kitty firmed up her voice. “I’m certain.”
“Well, then, perhaps I can help you, although I don’t usually have clients as young as you are. Is there someone you would like to contact?”
“Yes!” Kitty’s words tumbled out. “It’s my little sister, Pop. She died two years ago and I miss her terribly! I just want to hear her voice. I just want to know she’s all right. Is that—is that possible?”
“It’s possible. We can have a seance, and if your sister—Pop, you said?—is near us, she may speak. But I will need to be remunerated first. I’m a widow and this is my only living.”
Kitty picked up her reticule and loosened its strings. “How much do you charge?”
Mrs. Tolliver named a shockingly high sum. It’s worth it! Kitty told herself as she counted out the money. It ended up being almost all the contents of the stocking.
“Very good,” said Mrs. Tolliver. She turned to Emily. “You can go and wait outside.”
“Oh, no—Emily has to stay here!” said Kitty. “I won’t do it without her.”
“Very well, if that is your wish. But she’s far too young,” said Mrs. Tolliver. She glared at Emily. “I won’t have any fidgeting, do you understand?”
Emily squeaked a “Yes.” She looked so afraid that Kitty felt sorry for asking her to stay. But she was too frightened herself to do this alone.
“Now, then, Miss O’Reilly, I can’t begin to summon your sister just yet . . . you arrived unexpectedly and I need to get into the proper state of mind.”
Kitty swallowed her disappointment.
They waited silently. Kitty scratched at her cheek. Emily poked her and pointed out a glass ball sitting on a dusty black velvet cushion. “Could you read your crystal ball for us, the way you did for Tallie?” she asked in a wobbly voice.
“No, I could not. That would use up too much of the energy I need for the seance,” said Mrs. Tolliver. There was another long, awkward silence, and then she said in a bored voice, “I could read your palms, I suppose. I wouldn’t charge any extra. Who wants to be first?”
“I will,” offered Kitty. Perhaps reading palms would get Mrs. Tolliver into the “state of mind” she needed to summon Pop.
Mrs. Tolliver studied Kitty’s right palm. “Hmm . . . your long fingers indicate that you are a water person. That means you are sympathetic and intuitive and sometimes secretive.” Kitty tried to hold her hand steady as Mrs. Tolliver traced the lines in her palm. “From what I see here, you will have a long and happy life. But you will never marry.”
That was surprising. Kitty had always assumed she would marry one day.
Mrs. Tolliver spent longer studying Emily’s palm. “You are an earth person—you like to work with your hands and be outdoors, and you can be stubborn and quick-tempered. See how your fate line is joined to your lifeline? That means you already know what you will do in your life. You will also live a long time, but your life will be difficult. You will not marry, either. But you will become famous,” she added with surprise.
“Good!” said Emily.
But Mrs. Tolliver had dropped Emily’s hand and got up to look out the window. What’s the matter with her? wondered Kitty. Why doesn’t she start the . . . She tried to remember the right word. The seance?
The silence grew deeper, broken only by a passing carriage and a crow’s call. The room was so hot that Kitty became damp under her arms and she worried that she was starting to smell. Emily was right: Why did girls have to wear so many layers?
Kitty clenched her hands to keep from biting her nails. Oh, Pop, Pop, please come to me, she prayed. She jerked out of her reverie when someone came through the door: a younger, plumper version of Mrs. Tolliver.
“There you are, Eunice.” Mrs. Tolliver looked relieved. “This is Miss O’Reilly and Miss Emily Carr. This is my sister, Miss Wilson.”
Miss Wilson extended her hand automatically, but she was looking at her sister as if she were asking her a question.
“Come into the kitchen, Eunice,” said Mrs. Tolliver. “I won’t be a moment, young ladies.” The two women went through a curtain into the back of the house.
“I can’t bear this waiting!” whispered Kitty.
“Neither can I. Are you scared?”
“I’m very scared, but I’m also excited. And I wish I hadn’t lied to her, but I had no choice. Perhaps I shouldn’t have told her my real name. What if she tells my parents?”
“I don’t think she will,” said Emily. “She’ll be too afraid of getting into trouble.”
They both gasped when one of the cushions moved; it turned out to be a fluffy grey cat. Emily clucked to it, but it stayed on its chair, staring disdainfully at them.
“Kitty, I need to—” began Emily.
“Shush!” warned Kitty as Mrs. Tolliver reappeared. Kitty’s stomach turned over and she worried she would be sick.
“My apologies for the interruption.” Mrs. Tolliver pulled the curtains shut and the dim room became even darker. “Now, young ladies, I want you to close your eyes, sit very still, and just listen. We are listening for Pop. What is her real name?”
“Mary Augusta,” whispered Kitty.
“Mary Augusta . . .” called Mrs. Tolliver. “Little Mary, little Pop. Are you there? Are you near us? Your sister, Kitty, is here and she would like to speak to you.”
Kitty was vaguely aware of Emily leaving the room, but she was too intent on listening to wonder why.
“Mary Augusta, little Pop . . .” called Mrs. Tolliver again.
Then Kitty twitched violently as a thin voice wafted through the room. Thin and frail and high. “I am here, Kitty. Pop is here.”
“Ooohhh . . .” Kitty let out her breath in a stifled moan.
“She is with us,” said Mrs. Tolliver quietly. “What do you want to ask her? Speak soon, before she goes.”
“Pop . . . Oh, Pop, are you all right? Are you happy?”
“I am happy, Kitty. I am with God now.”
Kitty was filled with such joy she could hardly bear it. All she could concentrate on was that faint, sweet voice. “Are you really with God, dearest Pop? I’ve felt for so long that you aren’t, and that you aren’t happy!”
“Of course I am with him, Kitty. I am with God and his angels in heaven, and I am perfectly happy.”
Kitty started to cry. “I don’t understand, Pop! All year you’ve been in such pain, as if you wanted to ask me something.”
There was a pause. Had Pop gone? Then the voice said, “I am not in any pain at all, dear Kitty. And I have nothing to ask you, because I know all about you. I watch over you every day.”
“Oh, Pop, I love you so much. Do you know that? Do you know how much I love you?”
“Yes, Kitty. I always knew that. I love you, too, dearest sister.”
“Oh, I’m so glad!”
Then the voice grew fainter. “I must go now,” said Pop.
Kitty was frantic. “Oh, please don’t go! Oh, Pop, I can’t bear to lose you again. I miss you so much!”
“I have to go. But do not worry, I will talk to you again.”
The voice faded away and the only sound in the room was Kitty’s sobs.
After a few minutes Mrs. Tolliver said, “You loved her very much, didn’t you?” For the first time her voice was kind.
“Oh, yes! Oh, I d-did!” Kitty couldn’t stop crying. Mrs. Tolliver reached over and patted her back. “But it has made you feel better to talk to her, hasn’t it?” Now she sounded almost pleading.
Kitty nodded. “Much, much better.” That
was true, but she also felt utterly confused. There was no one to talk to about it but this strange woman. She wiped her eyes and said, “Mrs. Tolliver . . . may I tell you something?”
“If you wish.”
“I’ve been talking to Pop ever since she died. She has never answered me, but I always felt she was listening. For the past year she’s seemed so agitated, as if she longed to ask me something. But today she seemed different! She said she was happy and that she had nothing to ask me.”
“That’s because she is happy. And you weren’t really talking to her before, Miss O’Reilly. People often think they are speaking to their dear departed, but it’s just their imaginations. You can only truly reach your sister through a medium—like me.”
Kitty wiped her eyes. Surely Mrs. Tolliver was right. The real Pop was the one whose sweet voice she had just heard, not the unhappy little sister whose presence had haunted Kitty for so long.
“She said she would talk to me again,” Kitty whispered. “May I come back?”
“Of course you may. Wait a few weeks, however. The spirits need to have a rest. It’s a long way for them to come down from heaven. And please remember to make an appointment next time. You can send me a note.”
“I will. And thank you. Thank you for summoning Pop.”
“You are welcome. Now, your young friend must be wondering why you’ve been so long.”
Kitty had completely forgotten about Emily. “Where is she?”
“She left the room abruptly, so I assume she’s waiting outside. I knew she wouldn’t be able to sit still.”
Kitty stumbled out the door. The sunlight almost blinded her. Emily was standing on the steps with a scowl on her face. Chin was sitting in the carriage, looking sulky.
Kitty laughed at them both. Everything was too bright to be real: the pink roses climbing over the front railing, Blackie’s glossy coat, and the leaves shimmering in the hot sun.
“Come along, you grumps,” she said. “Let’s go home!”
NINE
Emily tried to make her voice sound normal. “Do we have to go right back?” she asked Kitty.
“I suppose not. Mama and Jack won’t be home until late afternoon, so we have plenty of time. Was there somewhere you wanted to go?” Kitty’s face was as dazzling as the sun.
Emily looked away. She couldn’t quench that light! Instead she tried to forget about what she had discovered. “May we go past my house?” she asked.
“Your house? But what if someone notices you?”
“They’ll all be inside. I just want . . . I just want to see it,” said Emily desperately.
Kitty smiled at her. “I’d like to see it, too.”
Emily gave Chin directions. Ever since they had come into town, she had longed to go home. It wouldn’t do any good. She wouldn’t be able to go in. But just passing by meant she’d be closer to Mother.
All the way Kitty talked about what had happened. “It was amazing, Emily! But why did you leave? Did you stay long enough to hear Pop’s voice?”
“N-No,” stuttered Emily. “I left because I needed to find a lavatory.”
Kitty chuckled. “You shouldn’t have drunk so much lemonade! I’m so sorry you missed everything. Oh, Emily, it was really her! Pop said she was fine. She sounded calm and happy and she told me she l-loves me.” Kitty took out her handkerchief and dabbed at her tears. “I can never thank you enough for telling me about Mrs. Tolliver. I will never forget this day. I feel as if I’ve been carrying something heavy in me for the past two years—and now it’s gone. Pop talked to me! We had a real conversation! And Mrs. Tolliver said Pop would speak to me again. I can’t tell you how happy I feel, Emily—it’s as if I have Pop back!”
“I don’t think you should go again,” muttered Emily.
“But of course I will! Mrs. Tolliver said I had to wait a few weeks, and then I’m supposed to send a note. That’s going to be difficult without Mama noticing.”
“How are you going to pay? She took all your money!” said Emily angrily.
“I’ll ask Papa—I’ll tell him I’m saving for something really special. That’s true! And I won’t spend any of the money Mama gives me every week. Every penny will be for Pop!”
Kitty’s face was too radiant for Emily to protest further.
The carriage had turned onto Park Road and was approaching the grassy expanse of Beacon Hill Park.
“Oh, I’ve been here!” said Kitty. “Last year Papa took me to the racetrack and afterwards we climbed all the way up the hill. It was like being on the top of the world!”
“I climb up there all the time,” Emily told her. “I can go through my back fence right into the park. There are lots of frogs in the ponds. Sometimes my friend Edna and I catch them and put them in jars. But we always let them go,” she added firmly.
The sky was an inverted bowl of flawless blue. “Can we go by the water?” asked Kitty.
Emily directed Chin to drive along Dallas Road. She gazed at the scrubby oaks and the wide swaths of yellow broom. Its familiar sour smell calmed her—soon she would be home.
Kitty was gazing at the bright sea below the cliffs. “Do you ever go to the beach?” she asked.
“Father doesn’t like us to go down there,” said Emily, “but once I went with Edna’s family. I fell off a log and got soaked!”
They turned right and soon approached Emily’s house. “There!” She pointed.
“It’s lovely,” said Kitty. “And look how much property you have! It’s like our house—you feel as if you’re in the country.”
“Father has eight acres,” said Emily proudly.
She asked Chin to stop in front of the house. Then she began to tremble. Every fibre of her being longed to open the front door, to clatter up the stairs to Mother and tell her about her day . . . as if everything were normal. But it wasn’t.
“Oh, poor Emily,” said Kitty. “You want to see your mother, don’t you? Perhaps you should go in.”
Emily blinked away tears. “I can’t! Dede and Father would be furious.”
They stared at the butter-coloured house, while Blackie’s tail twitched away flies. Emily liked her home better than Kitty’s, even though it wasn’t on the water. It was reassuringly tall and spiky, like the elaborate fence around it. Father’s grapevine, “Isabel,” clambered over much of the house, as if it were embracing it. Isabel was as protective of the outside of the house as Father’s strict rule was of the family inside it. Usually Emily chafed against this rule . . . but not today. She would give anything to be trying not to squirm at family prayers or struggling to fold her napkin correctly after dinner.
All the windows were shuttered, as if the house had its eyes closed. Everyone must be at Mother’s bedside. Was she feeling better or worse? Was she . . . Emily gulped.
Kitty’s hand covered Emily’s. “I’m sure your mother will be better soon and then you can go home and see her,” she said softly.
Emily sniffed. “That’s why I wanted Mrs. Tolliver to look into her crystal ball. To see if . . .” Her words dissolved.
Kitty was kind enough to change the subject. “Your garden is extremely tidy,” she said. “Perhaps we should edge our perennials with boxwood as you do. Where do you keep your cow and chickens?”
Emily blew her nose. She was about to point out the cow yard, when she gasped. The front door was opening! “Quick, drive on!” she ordered Chin.
The horse trotted away. Emily hid behind her parasol then peeked back. It was Father! He was hurrying out of the house and walking determinedly into town, his tall hat pressed low on his forehead. Where was he going? To fetch Dr. Helmcken? But surely he’d send Bong to do that. If only she could see his face!
“That was a close call!” said Kitty.
Emily couldn’t answer. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt as if it would leap out of her body. Chin kept Blackie at a brisk pace until they reached the mud flats. The mare slowed down as they crossed the bridge, her feet making a racket on the
wooden boards.
“Peeuu, what a stink!” said Kitty, holding her nose.
“It’s always like this when the tide’s out,” said Emily. “F-Father says the smell is good for us.” Some Indians had pulled their canoes onto the mud and were foraging for rubbish. Emily’s heartbeat returned to normal. Father was so far behind them now he couldn’t possibly see her.
Kitty started to babble about her conversation with Pop again. Emily couldn’t bear to listen. All she could think about was Father. Where was he going? How was Mother? Her worry clamped her like a vise and she was silent for the rest of the long drive back to Kitty’s.
“Shall we have tea on the lawn?” asked Kitty, after Chin had taken the carriage away.
Emily shrugged. “If you like.”
They sat on wicker chairs by Pop’s garden. Kitty picked another white rose and kept smelling it. The same unworldly look was on her face.
It’s a stupid look, thought Emily. Something black and nasty inside her wanted to slap away that bliss.
Emily was very familiar with this blackness. It was her demon that lashed out at people, no matter how hard Emily tried to keep it down. It turned her from a happy person into someone bad.
Don’t tell her! she ordered the demon. Song brought out a tray and poured them tea. Emily took huge mouthfuls of lemon cake to keep the demon from speaking.
The sound of laughing boat passengers drifted up to them from the water. A loud kraak! came from a tree above.
“Hello, silly George,” called Kitty.
Emily’s heart lifted: Raven! He peered down at Emily sternly, as if warning her not to tell. Then he swooped away. Emily sipped her sugary tea and felt calmer.
But then Kitty started babbling about the seance again. “Oh, Emily, Pop sounded so serene! She said she was with God and the angels. Mama used to tell me that and I couldn’t believe it, but now I do. My dear, dear little sister . . . she was an angel on earth and now she’s an angel in heaven.”
This was sickening. Kitty’s voice was affected and churchy, like Lizzie’s when she was quizzing Emily on her Bible lesson. Emily twisted her napkin into a knot.
“How I wish I could tell Mama and Papa that Pop is at peace and that I actually heard her voice . . . but they wouldn’t believe me. Papa thinks clairvoyance is nonsense.”