Chef's Delight (Stories of Serendipity)

by Anne Conley

  “I don't think you're screwed up, Jessie.” Connor was overcome by the depth of her insecurities, and wanted to reassure her somehow, but he wasn’t sure what to say. “You’re so special.” He looked at her hair, the moonlight reflecting off the auburn locks. It reminded of the night he first saw her, sitting on the bridge thinking, her features shining in the moonlight. "You’re my summertime. I can't live without you."

  Her voice was hesitant, “Why, Connor? What makes us different?”

  “I think you are the most independent, strong, and self-confident woman I’ve ever known. But you have a soft side to you, too. You have insecurities, passions, desires. And you don’t do much laundry.” He chuckled softly.

  “But what makes us? Why are we so good together? I can’t wrap my head around all of this.”

  “Why do you have to be able to understand it? Why question it? This is the first good thing I’ve ever had, and I’m not about to question it. For the first time in my life, my life feels right. And I’m not about to let you go, Jessie.”

  He turned her body so she was facing him, cupping her face in her hands. “I love you. People fall in love, and they do whatever it takes to make it last. I want you, Jessie. I’m sorry if nobody has ever wanted you for more than sex. That’s their loss.” He kissed her nose. “Now. Can we go back to bed? I want to sleep with you curled up in my arms. Okay?”

  She nodded at him, silently and followed him back into the house, where they slept together.

  When Jessie’s alarm clock went off at the ungodly hour of 5:15, Connor rolled over and kissed her forehead.

  “Good morning, Sweetheart.”

  “’mornin’…” She mumbled into his chest.

  “Not much of a morning person, I take it.”

  She grunted in reply.

  Chuckling to himself, he rolled out of bed to use the restroom. Fastening his pants, he walked back into her bedroom, to see her lying naked in her bed, stretching luxuriously.

  And what a sight it was.

  Resisting the urge to climb back into bed with her, he slipped his tee shirt over his head, “I’m going back to the restaurant and see how we did last night. Are you okay?” He sat on the bed next to her, as she smiled up at him.

  “I’m better than okay.” She reached up and grasped him behind the neck, pulling her down on top of him. Resistance was futile.

  Chapter 16

  Jessie was in the barn, milking the goats, when Summer and Bo got there.

  “Well, look who made it into town!” Bo came over to the stanchion and gave Jessie a hug.

  “Yeah, I thought I would go to Connor’s later and talk about his ghost issues. Summer said they had gotten pretty bad, but nobody’s talked to him in a couple of weeks?”

  “Yeah, well, that was my fault, I guess. We had a fight.” Jessie was still milking, but she was looking at Bo. She turned to Summer. “He came over last night, and we talked.” A blush stole over her cheeks.

  Summer looked at her encouragingly, “And…”

  “And now we’re back together. We managed to work things out.”

  “Was it everything you’d hoped it would be?” Summer asked suggestively.

  “And then some.” Jessie sighed. “I’ve never had feelings like this for a guy, and I don’t know what to do with them, Summer. He told me to quit questioning everything, to just go with it, but I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t like not being in control of my feelings.”

  Summer came over and rubbed her shoulders. “Well, he’s right. Just enjoy the feelings. I don’t see how you’re able to control feelings so much, anyways. You can control your reactions to them, but their feelings, for crying out loud. They just happen. You know?”

  Jessie nodded.

  Summer continued. “Then quit questioning everything, and enjoy it. You never know what will happen, you just gotta roll with the punches.”

  Bo spoke up. “Summer’s right, and it sounds like Connor is on the right track, too. I have no idea about you guys, but I’ve found you cannot question love. It happens, whether you’re ready for it or not.”

  Jessie shook her head, marveling at the words of wisdom from the couple. She realized they had probably had more issues with their relationship than she and Connor ever would, exes, children, deadbeat dads, and ghosts notwithstanding.

  “Thanks, guys. Go on inside the house, and fix yourself some coffee or something. I’ll just be another hour, maybe less.”

  Summer gave her another quick hug before following Bo to the house.

  A hour after leaving Jessie’s, Connor was back at his restaurant, at his desk looking over the accounts receivable and payable files Kathy had put together. The restaurant was finally operating in the red, thanks mostly to increased lunch customers.

  Whistling softly to himself, he was feeling better than he had in months. Better about his personal life, as well as his business. Things were finally looking up. Conner was engrossed in the figures, when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, as if he were being watched.

  Looking around his office, he didn’t notice anything amiss, but the sensation of being watched didn’t stop. Unexpectedly, the odor of decaying straw invaded his senses. He jerked around in his chair, looking for the source of the smell, finding nothing, but remembering the dreams of Louise in the hayloft of the carriage house.

  “Louise?” He hesitantly called out in a hoarse whisper.

  In front of him, a shimmery outline of a woman appeared, but Connor couldn’t discern any features. The image radiated malice, and he was overwhelmed with a sense of danger. The air fairly crackled with it.

  Standing abruptly, Connor started to walk out the door, but the shimmery outline moved in front of him, blocking his exit. Connor’s scalp broke out in a cold sweat, and goosebumps popped up on his arms, as the temperature in the room dropped drastically. The outline sharpened, and he could make out a spit curl next to the woman’s snarling face.

  Her eyes were blackened with kohl, and squinted into a menacing expression. Coupled with the snarling mouth, Connor felt nothing besides a horrific dread that turned his limbs to stone. Unable to move, he watched as the woman’s form hovered closer, until she was inches from him. Whatever essence emanated from her made Connor nauseated, a pain in his gut that took his breath away.

  He could see her features clearly now, the raven hair, upturned nose, bow-like lips. She would be beautiful, if it weren’t for the look of pure danger she was shooting at him. Connor could see she was floating above the ground, hanging in the air, and he wasn’t sure if he could outrun her if he wanted to.

  Deciding he had to try, Connor lurched to the side, slamming into the wall, before darting out the door behind the woman. He didn’t stop until he was outside the building, and in his truck.

  When he got back to Jessie’s house, there was another truck in the driveway. He pulled up next to it, but before he could get out of his own vehicle, Summer came bounding down the porch steps and threw herself at Connor.

  “I cannot tell you how happy I am you guys worked out your issues.” She hugged him tightly, pleasing him immensely. He didn’t really know her, but the fact she was such a good friend of Jessie’s made him puff up with pride for some reason.

  “Um…thanks.” A tall, blonde woman came up behind her, wrapping her arm around Summer’s shoulders, in a show of relaxed possession.

  “This is Bo. We’re glad you’re here. We wanted to talk about your house.”

  Still shaky from the incident at the restaurant, he managed a hesitant smile. “Well, as a matter of fact, I’m glad y’all are here. I’m not going back inside that house until she’s gone.” He shook hands with the newcomer. “Where’s Jessie?”

  “Out in the barn. Come on inside. Let’s talk about your house.”

  “Did y’all get the journal?”

  Bo spoke, her voice low and husky. “Yeah, it’s pretty intense.”

  Connor followed them into the kitchen and declined cof
fee, instead rummaging around the fridge until he found some leftover wine to drink. His nerves were still frazzled from the run-in with Louise. Summer raised her eyebrows at his choice of beverage at ten o’clock in the morning, but didn’t say anything.

  “So, I’ve known she didn’t like Jessie, she’s made that much clear. But this morning, she came at me. I think somehow she knows we got back together last night.”

  “Spirits that are still stuck here usually are held by really strong emotions. Or events that caused them.” Bo began speaking, her low voice almost hypnotic. “Loss of a loved one, fear of someone or something, denial of something. In your case, I think Louise had felt that she was denied true love, and thinks that she’s found it in you. She’s probably been that way with every male occupant of the house. I think the betrayal and abuse she suffered from her father only served to compound her sense of denial, which make her feelings for you that much stronger. Does that make sense?”

  “Well, it explains the dreams…”

  “Tell me about them.” Bo said encouragingly.

  “They started one night a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve had them every night since. In the dreams, we’re in the hayloft of the carriage house, and we’re making love…sort of…” He cleared his throat, uncomfortably.

  “Wait. Before you go on, you don’t need to be embarrassed. This is a dream, not something you actually did. Okay?”

  “Well, it all felt so real, so it does feel like something I did. But okay. Anyways, the dreams got more intense, the more I tried to resist, the more satisfied she was, if that makes sense. I couldn’t do anything to stop her. She did something to me, so I couldn’t move. I was in some sort of trance. Every time, when I woke up, I felt like I had been…” He struggled with the word. “Raped.” He sighed, realizing how stupid he sounded, but when he looked at the women, all he saw in their faces was sympathy.

  “She is a powerful spirit. How many times have you seen her?”

  “Just once, this morning. But I’ve heard her laughing, Jessie has too. And she’s left stuff for me, and played music. Stuff like that.”

  “She has more power in the dreams, then. That’s good, at least.” Bo thought for a little while. “You want to go ahead and get this over with, today?” Connor nodded.

  “What do I have to do?”

  “Are you a religious man?”

  “Not particularly…”

  “Well, today might change all that. Call your employees and give them the day off, go close the restaurant. We’ll get our stuff ready, and bring Jessie by when she finishes with the goats.”

  “Okay.”

  Connor called everybody on the way back to the restaurant, but Kathy and Luke were the only ones he actually told what was going on. Everybody else he just told he had a personal emergency and would not be able to open. When he got back to the big house, he was too reluctant to go inside. He would readily admit he was scared. So, he sat on the wrap around porch, enjoying the sunshine and warmth of this beautiful Texas day.

  It’s a great day for an exorcism. Connor thought dryly.

  He didn’t have to wait long for the girls, and when they got there, he helped them unload the knapsacks they’d brought. Leading them inside the house, he set the bags on a table before turning to kiss Jessie on the cheek.

  Summer paled visibly when she entered the house, but Bo seemed to grow taller and began wandering around the house, oblivious to the people around her.

  Connor looked at Jessie, who shrugged and said, “This is all new to me.”

  He watched Summer, as she hesitantly followed Bo around the downstairs. Bo was mumbling incoherently to herself, as if she were making mental notes on the different rooms of the house. Stopping at the stairs, she turned to Summer, “You saw her here?” Summer nodded, still ashen faced.

  Bo looked at Connor, “Where did you see her?” He nodded toward the office off the main room. She nodded, mutely. Motioning towards the stairs, she asked Connor, “May I?”

  “Of course.”

  They all followed her up the stairs, listening to her mutter to herself as she went from room to room. She stopped at the master bedroom, where Connor had initially been sleeping. With the bed gone, it was a spacious room.

  As if coming to a decision, she said, “Right.” She turned to Connor. "Her presence here probably hasn't always been malevolent. I’m sure years ago, Louise was just a ghost who fell in love with all of the inhabitants of the house, trying to reconnect with her lost lover." She turned in a slow circle, and spoke softly, her low voice a throaty rumble. "We can start here, there's negative energy here, but we'll have to keep looking afterwards for remainders."

  Clapping her hands together, and rubbing them briskly, Bo started giving instructions. “Summer, I know this scares the shit out of you, but I need your help to center. Can you do it?” Summer nodded weakly. “Atta girl. Jessie, she seems to have attached a lot of negative energy to getting rid of you. I wouldn’t have made you come, except you are bait, so to speak. But stay near Connor or I. Don’t wander. Understand?”

  Jessie swallowed hard, but lifted her chin and said, “Yeah.” Connor grasped her hand in his, possessively, admiring her courage, and fighting the sudden fear in his gut at the idea she was bait.

  “Good. Connor, she’s already figured out why I’m here, and she’s not too terribly pleased, so would you be a dear and run downstairs and grab the bags?”

  Connor didn’t respond, besides squeezing Jessie’s hand hard. He simply turned and jogged down the stairs to get the bags. When he returned upstairs, the temperature had dropped considerably.

  “Uh…somebody keeps writing ‘mine’ in the windows. I’m not sure if they’re referring to the house, or me, though…”

  “It doesn’t matter. She's leaving today.” After digging around in the biggest knapsack, Bo pulled out a handful of necklaces, and passed them around. “These are agate stones, spirits don’t like them, much. Please wear them.”

  As nervous as Connor was, Bo’s confidence was reassuring. They all put the necklaces around their necks.

  “Everybody say some prayers, quote scripture, something. Please.” Bo instructed.

  Connor was surprised. “Why?”

  “You may not be religious, but I am. I believe we could use all the help we can get, and listening to others speak holy words helps me.” She began lighting candles she had set in a circle on the floor of the bedroom.

  Jessie sidled up next to Connor and began reciting the twenty-third Psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”

  Connor started in on the Hail Marys he hadn’t said since childhood, memories unearthed from his subconscious in this time of need. “Hail Mary, full of Grace, The Lord is with thee…”

  Summer began saying the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father, who art in Heaven…”

  Connor had to admit to himself, hearing all of the prayers seemed to fill him with an unexplained tranquility, easing his mind about what was to come. Despite the circumstances, an inner peace filled his soul.

  Connor watched Bo, as she continued to light candles, and everybody else chanted their prayers. He could see her control, her inner quiet, the serenity she brought about her business, and he suddenly trusted her implicitly. He dug deep into his psyche for memories of more prayers, and found himself reciting one he hadn’t heard in years.

  “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord…”

  The candle flames abruptly grew to six inches in height, and Connor noticed the windows starting to fog up. He looked at Bo, nodding towards them, continuing to chant his prayer. She proceeded to pour something, which looked like sea salt outside the circle of candles.

  “It’s time. If everyone could please sit in a circle inside the salt ring, holding hands?” Bo led them to the center of the room, and grasped Summer’s and Connor’s hands. A jolt of warm energy traveled from Bo’s hand, up Connor’s arm, down his other one
, and into Jessie’s hand. Her eyes widened at Connor, and he shrugged.

  “Keep praying, please.” Bo reminded everyone quietly.

  As the others prayed, Bo began speaking to the spirits in a low, assertive voice. “We are here for Louise. You no longer belong here. It is time for you to move on, beyond the realm of the physical, and into the realm of the spiritual.” Here she stopped to say a short prayer for personal strength.

  A chilly breeze blew through the room, ruffling Connor’s hair, and sending chills up his spine. He squeezed Jessie’s hand, tightly. He wasn’t sure if he was sending or receiving comfort, but he felt reassured, nonetheless. Bo continued talking to the ghosts.

  “Your time here is over. There is nothing for you in this place. You must go to the other side. I will help you.” She stopped talking, and took a deep breath. From behind her, she drew out a bundle of tightly wrapped herbs, and lit them on fire with a candle in front of her, muttering words under her breath. The herbs sent a plume of smoke into the air. Bo waved it around, wafting the heavy smoke around the circle. Then, she stood, and walked around the room, until the smoke spread like a thick fog.

  The room had fallen near silent, as Jessie and Connor watched her actions. Only Summer was still praying, repeating the Lord’s Prayer under her breath. Bo sat back down in the circle, and grasped Summer and Connor’s hands again. She was quiet, and eventually Summer fell silent as well. They all sat their in silence, looking around.

  There was a disturbance in the smoke near Jessie, outside of the circle. The smoke swirled into the shape of a person, but Connor couldn’t tell if it was a male or female.

  Bo said quietly, “It’s losing strength…” Gradually, the figure dissipated as the smoke cleared from the room. When the smoke was gone, Connor noticed the windows cleared again, and the temperature felt normal. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  “So it’s over?” He asked hesitantly.

  “Not quite. This room is cleansed, a little more peacefully than I expected it to be, but Louise is still here. She’s not here in this room, though. We’ve got to find her.”