by Suzie Carr
The sky radiated a stunning blue, highlighted with a few brush strokes of wispy white. Not a soul could be seen from where we sat all the way to Galilee. The ocean and beachfront belonged only to us. She leaned over at one point and rested her head on my shoulder. I ran my fingers through her soft, blonde hair and enjoyed the sound of her relaxed breaths. “I wish this moment would last forever,” I said.
She looked up at me, her moist lips a mere inch away, and whispered, “It’s our vision, and we can prolong it as long as we want to stay in it.”
I stared into her blue eyes, and in them I saw a beauty that went deeper than words could describe. The deeper I ventured, the warmer and more secure I felt. “Why do we get so much time?”
“Because, in a vision, time doesn’t have any bearings. Are you ready to see what I see?”
“I’m ready.”
“Close your eyes and relax.”
Her breath teased me. I closed my eyes and relaxed into her softness and into the subtle curve of her lips. The darkness in front of my closed lids turned into a rainbow of trees, flowers, and ground cover. I clung to Willow’s back as she flew up above the tree canopy and gifted us with an aerial view of a dense forest bursting with life, song, and wild, earthy scents. She giggled and dipped back down into the forest, gliding alongside birds and butterflies. Her hair flowed behind her and tickled my face.
We landed on a thick branch of a tree that stood taller than a high-rise building. She eased me down, then curled up beside me, nuzzling me with her nose. She kissed my neck with soft, feathery strokes, warming me to the core. I caved into her affection, seeking her touch with more hunger. She kissed my neck harder, suckling on it, offering me her sweet desire. I reached out for her lips, hungry to quench the thirst taking over my heart, my mind, my control. We breathed as one, connecting to the root of everything healthy and sacred in our private forest. Our bodies shared the same pulse, the same energy, the same life source.
A distant bell chimed, calling out to us. She attempted to pull away, but I wouldn’t let her. I gripped her as she tried to pry her lips away from me. “Please don’t go. I’m not ready for this to be over.”
“We’re ready. We saw everything we needed to see.”
The bell chimed louder. “You said we had all the time we wanted.”
“I did. That’s all the time I should share for now.” She pulled away and dangled her long, sinewy legs from the branch.
The bell pierced my ears.
“How do we get down from here?” I asked.
“I don’t have all the answers. I’m sorry. I just don’t. I don’t know how it ends.” She flew off, leaving me to hang by myself.
The bell’s chime grew louder until I couldn’t take it anymore. I covered my ears and cried out. Then, just like that, the branch turned soft under me. I opened my eyes, and I sat alone in my bedroom. My alarm chimed. My feet touched the soft carpet. The sun peeked through the blinds.
I was safe. I was home. I was okay.
Chapter Eight
Willow
I put together the open house event in record time. Typically, those events took at least a month to organize and get the word out. I did it in five days. I arranged the food, the giveaways, and the guest speakers. I spent two whole days on the phone calling nearly every person in our client database, inviting them and a friend to come and listen to Dr. Rhonda and Dr. Viola speak about 10 Ways to Live a Healthier Life and Five Things Every Kitchen Should Have in It.
I needed the event to look like something that had been planned for months and not something I just pulled out of my butt five days prior. I wanted to see Lia again, and an event about health and nutrition seemed like a comfortable recipe.
I set up a tray of fruit, nuts, and seeds and placed them on the table next to the organic herbal tea. Next I arranged the giveaways in a semi-circle. I spent an entire night labeling and stuffing small baggies with organic bath salts. I even managed to find time that morning, in between running the kids to Aunt Lola’s and listening to her lecture me on threatening a strange man in a public café, to run to Trader Joe’s and pick up a few bouquets of tropical flowers to display around the reception area. Phew, task complete.
I stepped back and took it all in. Not bad for short notice.
Now I just hoped Lia would show up.
I walked back to the treatment rooms and tidied them up. I lit the beeswax candles, filled the diffusers with essential oils, and smoothed the white blankets on each treatment table. Next, I walked into the aquatic center and inhaled the calming salt air. The pool was our grandest asset of all. Yvonne taught exercise classes every day. I taught a yoga fitness class a few times a week. And we had open lane swimming for fitness enthusiasts. The pool raked in profits, and drew in peripheral crowds that ultimately always veered to other treatments once they learned more about the center’s offerings. A lot of the local athletes enjoyed the tests Yvonne performed on them to examine their oxygen levels, metabolic rates, and other vital measurements to assess their overall health, deficiencies, and strengths.
As I stood admiring the room, I noticed something move on the wall next to me. A huge spider crawled on the thermostat, wiggling one of its legs on the plastic.
I shivered.
I hated spiders ever since my cousin tossed one in between my bed sheets. I’d never quite gotten over the panic from that night or the huge welt it left on my leg from its bite.
I knew they served a purpose in the great scheme of life, but why did they have to hang out with us? Couldn’t they just live in the woods or under a pile of rocks like creatures should? Wouldn’t their food source be more plentiful that way? They’d have a better chance of meeting their mates and having spider babies, wouldn’t they? How would a spider get pregnant hanging out on a thermostat in an aquatic center? Surely some programming in evolution went wrong along the way.
Dumb spider.
I stared at it, contemplating my options.
I couldn’t just leave it there. What if it disappeared before someone could catch it?
I looked around and spotted a swim fin.
Grasping it, I tiptoed over to the spider with it. I stood at arm’s length from it, staring at its black skin and creepy hair.
The room sat silent between us, except for the hum of the air vents.
I moved in closer, waiting for the perfect moment.
It wiggled again.
Now or never. I closed my eyes, wound up my arm, and smacked the wall with the fin, creating a loud crashing thud.
I screamed and ran to the door.
Slowly, I turned around, with my hands over my eyes, and peeked through my fingers. The thermostat’s faceplate hung, and wires dangled from it. The spider sat on the floor up against the wall.
I inched closer to see if it was dead. It began to wiggle again and fled across the floor at me.
I screamed and ran. I ran as fast as my feet would carry me out of that room, slamming the door shut.
I stood in the hallway for a good half hour contemplating my next move, staring at the frosted French doors.
I couldn’t go back in there.
So, I left the frosted doors closed and walked out to the reception area to straighten up the semi-circle of my giveaways one more time. About twenty minutes later, Yvonne walked in.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” Yvonne took in the front room scene, and nodded her approval. “This deserves more than just a ‘hey.’ This looks great, kid.”
I shook off a residual shiver. “Now I just hope everyone shows up.”
She headed over to the front desk, carrying her tote bag full of her nutritional goodies, most likely flaxseeds, chia seeds, egg beaters, watermelon, pineapple, and some form of lentil dish. “You’re nervous. Don’t be.”
I walked over to her and took her tote bag from her. “I’m not nervous.”
She nodded her head, then flipped through the schedule book. “You’re wearing heels. You’re nervous.”
“Only because my work shoes are being washed.”
“Save it.” She turned to me and grabbed a hold of my shoulders. “You’re also wearing your push-up bra. Can I just say? I am very jealous of your perky boobs.”
I laughed. “Yvonne!”
“Enjoy them while they’re still flying high. That’s all I’m saying.”
I punched her arm. “So you like the setup?”
“It looks great. Honestly, it does.” She looked toward the hallway. “I want to check on the rooms and freshen them up a bit.”
“I already did.”
“You know me. I’m a perfectionist.” She shimmied out from behind the receptionist desk.
I swallowed, trying to figure out how to break the news to her that I broke her thermostat. “Oh, hey, did you see the kids this morning?”
“No. But, I sure heard them,” she said. “They were sliding down the stairs on their rumps. Sounded like an earthquake.”
“They love your stairs.”
“Well, I don’t like earthquakes.”
I latched onto her from behind and hugged her. “You can act tough all you want, but I can see right through it. You’re a softy just like the rest of us. Thank you for putting up with us the way you do.”
She pulled out of my arms and headed for the display table. “I don’t like the way these are falling all over each other. You can’t tell what they are.” She began rearranging the giveaways. “You know, those kids are doomed with a bunch of softies like us as role models.”
My heart sank when she joked with me about things like that. I hoped she was wrong. They were spoiled beyond belief. I couldn’t stand to ruin their fun or shovel more hurt into their lives than their father already did. The man promised to pick them up on weekends and only did so once a month. Yet, he flaunted how great his stepchildren were, and how great a stepdad he was to them. My kids never got to see Disney World or go camping in the Shenandoah Mountains the way his stepchildren did. His stepchildren walked around with the latest technological gadgets, meanwhile he supplied his own kids their leftovers. He even dropped off three bags of their used clothes, telling Charlotte and Anthony they were for them now. He noted that they were "designer clothes." Like that meant something to a six and an eight year old.
“There. That’s better.” She swiped her hands, then walked toward the hallway.
“Seriously, I already straightened out the back rooms. Let’s have some tea instead.”
“Your idea of straightening up and mine are on different spectrums, honey.” She bee-lined for the hallway.
My mouth dried up. Everything sped along so perfectly until I ran into that stupid spider. “Yvonne.”
She turned. “Yeah, honey?”
My cell phone rang. It was Lia. “Hang on, let me get this. Don’t go anywhere. I need to tell you something before you head back there.”
I picked up. “Hello.”
“Hey, good morning. It’s Lia,” she said with a happy beat.
“Hey, happy Saturday,” I said with way too sexy a tone.
“I’m heading there now. I just wanted to check in beforehand to see if you need anything for the open house. Donuts? Cookies? Bacon? Any other artery clogging substances I’m overlooking?”
I loved her sense of humor. “Green tea maybe?”
Silence.
“I’m kidding.”
She laughed. “I would’ve hunted it down.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I said. “Just bring yourself.”
“Oh Fuck,” Yvonne yelled. “Willow, what have you done?”
I gritted my teeth. “Shit.”
“What’s happening?” Lia asked.
“You don’t happen to have a tool belt you can bring with you, do you?”
“Are you serious?”
“Willow?” Yvonne yelled again.
“I have to go.” I hung up and braced for my verbal lashing.
I ran toward the door and down the hall. My heels clacked against the ceramic tile. With each step, my toes jammed against the unforgiving leather. I passed by the two Reiki rooms and through the open consultation area with its magnanimous wall hangings of a Shaman and wolves. Then, I passed through the frosted French doors to the aquatic room and met up with a wave of heat.
“I’m sorry,” I said, bending over at the knees to take in whatever left over coolness remained in the lower extremes of the room.
She stared at the loose wires. “What did you do? Take a baseball bat to it?”
“Not a baseball bat.”
“It’s broke. I can’t turn the thermostat down. It’s all the way up to ninety-five degrees.”
“Can’t you just turn off the machine?”
She turned around. “The machine?” She threw her head back and groaned.
I clasped my hands over my face. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ve got my mother’s group from the senior center coming in later this afternoon for their first aquatic fitness class. I’ve been trying to get her to agree to come here for months. I even arranged a senior shuttle. They’ll be stepping off that shuttle wearing their skirted bathing suits and bathing caps, clutching their canes and heading into the water to relieve them of pain that’s been building for years. This cannot be broken today, of all days.”
“What can I do?”
“We need to fix this.”
She stared at me like I carried a tool belt around my waist. “Can’t we call a repairman?”
“On a Saturday?”
I squirmed my toes around in my heels, trying to find an area in them that wouldn’t chafe, as I attempted to comfort the onset of a blister. “I’m in a dress.” I looked down at it, showcasing it like a sheath of rare jewels instead of the thirty-nine ninety-nine special I’d found on the clearance rack at the outlet stores.
“Like that matters.” She swallowed back her disappointment. “We don’t have any tools in here anyway.” She looked around the room as if we stood in the center of The Home Depot, and wrenches, hammers and screws should’ve been stacked up along the finely-painted walls. Crossing her arms over her chest, she exhaled. “I’ll just deal with it.” She kicked the fin I had used in my attempt to smash the spider. “Somehow.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Why did you break it?”
I dropped my arms and cleared my throat. “I um, broke it when I tried to fix something.”
“Fix something?”
I cleared my throat again this time with more force. “I saw a spider.”
“A spider. Of course. Destroy the world to get rid of a spider.” She looked around the floor. “Where is it?”
My face turned blotchy. “It got away.” My voice turned into a wisp of air.
“Well thank God for the spider’s sake.” She walked past me and pushed through the glass doors. “I have to rebalance. I’m going to meditate for a few minutes.”
# #
Lia had called almost an hour ago, and still hadn’t arrived.
Dr. Rhonda walked over to the projected image on the wall and pointed to a flowchart. “Ninety-five percent. That’s how many Americans will be overweight or obese in two decades if they keep filling their fridges and cupboards with empty calories of junk.”
The thirty people who showed up nodded and mumbled words like ‘wow’ and ‘crazy’ and ‘unacceptable’ as she paced the floor.
Just then, Lia and Dean opened the door. Her face turned bright red. “I’m so sorry we’re late.” They hurried past Dr. Rhonda and down the aisle between the two rows of chairs I set up. She spotted me leaning up against the receptionist desk and shuffled over to me, mouthing an apology.
She wore her hair gelled and tousled, and smelled earthy and fresh like she’d just walked through a pine forest. She dropped her backpack on the ground and unzipped it. “See,” she whispered. “I stopped by my father’s for his tool belt.” She smiled, and in that smile radiated a warmth that evaporated all traces of my earlier stress.
; “So anyway, as a country we have a real dilemma,” Dr. Rhonda continued.
Lia straightened up and listened to the speaker, but not first without offering me a guilty shrug.
I adored her innocence and quiet confidence. My smile threatened to overtake my entire face.
“The problem with people is that they want miracles and a quick fix,” Dr. Rhonda said, pausing on point with her sharp inflection. “They want to pop a pill and continue on as normal without changing anything else in their lives. They don’t realize that they could save lots of money on visits to medical specialists if they just cut out junk food and got their digestive tracts in better shape. The truth is, people are unwilling.”
Lia crossed her arms over her chest and nodded, taken in by Dr. Rhonda’s information. I sensed her mental wheels cranking, allowing the information to seep in and revolutionize her thinking on health and wellness. A curiosity swam in her dark eyes as if experiencing a delightful ah-ha moment. Her eyes zeroed in on the speaker, as a recognition seemed to play out in her mysterious mind. The tight folds of uncertainty that always accompanied her loosened and released a new level of clandestine intelligence.
She intrigued me.
The speaker presented fascinating information on the digestive system and how it affected the entire human body system if out alignment. Meanwhile, in between her pregnant pauses my stomach gurgled as if on cue. Every time it did, Lia would nudge me with her elbow while smiling and looking straight ahead. I’d catch her peeking at me out of the corner of her eyes, probably trying to see if I flinched or not.
No flinching or sensing happened the entire two hours we listened to both speakers present their information. After the presentations, Yvonne thanked everyone for coming and welcomed them to stay and ask questions.
A group gathered around. Lia’s friend, Dean, stood right next to her.
Lia picked up her backpack. “I hope you have patience, because Dean is going to become your resident client now that he has heard everything laid out for him. He’s going to drive me nuts. I just know he is.”