Callie's Secret Revelations

by T. Jones

  ***

  Callie was walking down a beach, a familiar one, with warm water lapping across her bare feet. To her left, ocean as far as she could see. She wondered briefly how the beach could be one she recognized, when she had never left the state of Minnesota. A gull circled and coasted on the breeze close to her, peering down and cackling the way Gulls will, laughing at her or some joke only it knew. She looked down at her bare toes, marveling at how tiny her feet were.

  When she looked up, she saw a ship in the distance, a cruise ship, she realized. She looked down the beach as far as she could and saw nothing but waves and sand, then turned and shielded her eyes against the sun, peering down the other shoreline. Far down the beach, she saw a man walking away, his shoulder length blond hair blowing to the side. She suddenly knew that she had to run to him, talk to him, ask him some question. She tried to run as fast as she could through the wet sand, but her tiny feet and legs became tangled in the long pink dress she was wearing, and she had to keep reaching up to her head, because her hat kept falling. Finally, exasperated, she pulled the hat off, and discovered that instead of a hat, it was a tiny crown, encrusted with silver and blue diamonds. She pulled the crown tightly back on her head and started running again, but the man with the blond hair had gotten further away, and no matter how fast she ran, he kept getting smaller, further away, until he finally disappeared over the horizon, and she collapse on the beach, exhausted.

  She woke up slowly, feeling around on the top of her head for the crown, and snickered, still half asleep. "Nice dream, Princess." She muttered to herself. It had seemed like one of her lucid, prophetic dreams, but at least this one hadn't scared the shit out of her. She rolled over, stretched, and fell back into a deep sleep.

  ***

  "Jeez Callie, the traffic was terrible tonight. Glad I had your car, it whips through traffic like a dream. I'm getting pretty good at city driving." Jenny said dropping her suitcase on the floor. Callie and Danielle sat on opposite ends of the couch, reading. Callie got up and greeted her girlfriend with a long kiss.

  "Don't wrap that thing around a tree. The roads are icy, I don't want my baby all banged up."

  "The car, or me?" Jenny laughed at her own joke. "You two looked comfy, what did I miss? Did Deeann try to get in your pants Callie? Did Ozzy try to get in your pants, Danielle?"

  "Callie didn't give it up, but I did, a couple of times, actually." Jenny's eyes widened.

  "I thought you didn't even like guys!"

  "I don't really, but sometimes I don't hate it, if the mark is decent. It was the only way to get in his head."

  "He is actually thinking about how to kill his Dad, Jen." Callie interjected. "I got that much from him, what kind of a monster would do such a thing. Of course, what kind of a father beats the crap out of his son?"

  "He's taking me over there this week, to meet his parents, have dinner with them and get their approval. He asked me if I'd be willing to act like his girlfriend for the campaign." Both the other girls looked at her quizzically.

  "Doesn't the fact that you've been screwing his brains out, imply that you are kind of his girlfriend?" Callie asked. "Especially since you're meeting the folks?" Danielle shrugged.

  "People hook up, it doesn't always mean a relationship. Doesn't that ever happen out there in the sticks?"

  "Sometimes, but you two have been joined at the crotch the last couple nights, and being all lovey-dovey. Is he falling for you?"

  "Some of it's real, some of it's me, channeling the girls for a little extra help."

  "Couldn't I have just helped you?" Callie frowned. "You and I together could have him panting like a dog." She glanced at Jenny. "I mean, help her with my abilities Jenny, not physically."

  "Good to know." Jenny said, knitting her brow.

  "The Sisters connection with me is more subtle, no chance of Ozzy picking up on it."

  "Why is that?" Jenny asked. "Is that because you two…" She stopped and just pointed back and forth between them. Danielle cringed, noticeably.

  "Jenny, if I had known you then, that never would have happened."

  "It's okay Dani, Callie and I weren't together then. I know you wouldn't have slept with her if I had been with her."

  "Hey, I'm right here!" Callie laughed. "If I'd been dating you at the time, I wouldn't have slept with her either, some credit please." Jenny picked up her bag, and walked toward the stairs.

  "Guess what, I don't work until Friday afternoon, I can stay an extra day."

  "Cool." Callie said, standing up to follow the redhead. "Maybe I'll skip my Friday classes and come home with you. I need to pic my Mom's brain on some things. I probably should help you unpack, huh? I'll be back down in a minute Danielle."

  "Sure you will." Danielle said, going back to her book. She couldn't help overhearing the two girls laughing from the bedroom upstairs. She smiled and turned the television on, then turned up the volume.

  Chapter Nine

  Danielle wondered if that would ever be her. Would she ever again know what it felt like to be in love? After her time with Jeremiah, Danielle had dedicated herself to exploring her attraction to women. By the time she graduated from high school she had been with several girls, one somewhat seriously, the others not much more than hookups. The sex was incredible, but there had been some level of connection with her first love that she wasn't able to recreate. She had almost decided to seek out the company of a man, as an experiment if nothing else, when she met Anna.

  Her grandparents' house bordered a golf course, and it was the perfect place to train. She usually ran for an hour early in the morning; it was cool and she could avoid the catcalls of inebriated golfers. Occasionally, when an early morning storm rolled through, she waited until later in the day. It was one of those days, as she made the turn near the clubhouse that she saw her, standing in a sand trap, flailing at balls. There was a drinking fountain beside the clubhouse near the practice area where the girl was excavating the trap. The sand was flying everywhere, but she never touched a ball. Danielle took a long time drinking a glass of water and watching, then walked over.

  "Spread your feet a little, and dig in." She volunteered. She played twice a week with her grandfather. He had hopes that she would get serious about the game, but it was his passion, not hers. She knew better than giving unsolicited golf tips, but it was obvious the girl needed some serious help. The young woman glanced up, and Danielle was gone, just that one look.

  Anna had brown hair, short of her shoulders, and the prettiest hazel eyes Danielle had ever seen. Her smile was luminous and wide, and it pushed her cheeks up revealing dimples that made the tall girl's knees weak. Her face was flushed from the heat and the exertion of swinging the club, causing the numerous freckles she had scattered across her cheeks to stand out sharply. Danielle thought they were the cutest thing she'd ever seen. It was obvious the girl wasn't much of a golfer, but she knew etiquette.

  "Who the hell are you, Tiger Woods? If I want a lesson, I'll talk to the pro."

  "Shit, I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have said anything" Danielle apologized quickly. The girl smiled broadly.

  "I'm just messing with you. Besides, the pro is always trying to grab my ass, says he's trying to keep my hips from turning too early. Like I'm that stupid. The guy's a horny prick."

  "Okay, sorry again, I better get going."

  "No, wait. So you play? I just started working here, waitressing in the clubhouse. But I get to play for free, so I thought I'd try to learn. Show me what you were talking about." Danielle shrugged and walked down into the trap, spread her legs, dug her feet in, and flipped three balls in succession onto the nearby practice green. The girl's eyes widened and she extended her hand. "Hi Tiger, I'm Anna." Danielle took her hand, it was soft and warm.

  "It's Danielle actually. I live with my Grandparents just off the fifteenth green. My Grandpa gets me out here as often as he can. That pro tried grabbing my ass too, but just the one time."

  "So, can w
e play sometime? I can take a guest for free when it's not busy. You can show me some things, if you wouldn't mind."

  "That would be great. I love my Grandfather, but I'd rather play golf with a pretty girl any day." It was a not so subtle hint that she hoped didn't ruin things.

  "Yeah?" Anna's smile was inscrutable, and Danielle thought she might have blown it. "You know what they say about women golfers, don't you?"

  "That we hit it, straight?" Anna laughed at the pun.

  "Nothing about you seems straight to me, but I'm fine with that."

  ***

  Danielle played a lot of golf with Anna that summer, when they weren't busy exploring each other's bodies in the freckled girl's basement. Her parents were members of the club and socialized there several nights a week, leaving the teenage girls to their own devices. The rules were no parties, and no boys. That was no problem. Anna was the prettiest girl Danielle had ever seen, and as sweet as she was pretty. She had been smitten at first glance, and by the end of the summer she was head over heels in love. By then it was obvious to her grandparents, as well as Anna's parents, that the relationship was more than a friendship. They were excepting, if not thrilled. Danielle's grandparents were old school, and did their best to pretend that it wasn't happening. Anna's folks were open about it, well aware of their daughter's sexuality, but concerned by the seriousness of the relationship. They were eighteen, too young to be so sure, according to Anna's father.

  He was reasonable, he just asked them to take it slow, to consider that their feelings might change. Anna shrugged and giggled, told him they were meant to be, and nothing could change it. It was true for a while.

  ***

  Anna started college in the fall, but Danielle decided to wait a year, to work and save money. She took over Anna's job, working in the restaurant of the golf course. When the snow piled up outside, the dining room remained busy, hosting special events and conferences, as well as a gathering place for the summertime clientele. It was late afternoon on a Tuesday when Teresa Blackburn and Jane Macdonald walked in.

  Bess Fisher hadn't explained things very well. She had talked vaguely about the fact that some people had special insights, and that Danielle was one of them. Danielle had been pulled into the bookstore, as if her feet had a mind of their own, and they led her to stand directly in front of the woman a dozen years her senior. She had felt self-conscious, standing and staring expectantly, without a clue why she was there.

  "You're too young to really feel it yet, Danielle. When you get a little older, you'll start to figure out that you just know things sometimes, it's like intuition, only stronger. You have the sight, I can feel it, and others will too. Someday they will come to you and want you to use your gifts to help change people's lives for the better. It's not for everybody, but I think you're someone who could do a lot of good in the world. But don't push it, you'll know when you're ready."

  At the time it had seemed far-fetched, even though she had wondered herself on occasion. But when Teresa and Jane sat down in the dining room, she knew exactly why they were there. She handed them menus and explained the specials quickly, then walked away. She wasn't sure what Bess Fisher had meant by 'using her gifts' and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Her life was simple. She had a good home, a job, grandparents that loved her, and a beautiful girlfriend. The hard life in the streets of Jamaica was a distant memory, and the toughest challenge she faced was finding a place to make love with Anna as often as possible. She wasn't sure what the two women had in mind, but her gut, or her gift, told her that getting involved with them would complicate her life. She took their order, pretending that she couldn't feel them easing their way into her mind, but it was a slow night and her curiosity got the better of her. She went back to the table with a desert menu, looking into each of their eyes in turn.

  "The cheesecake is my favorite, but then you probably already know that, right?"

  "You're a perceptive young girl." Teresa Blackburn looked back into her eyes. "I like the cheesecake here as well, but how would I know it's your favorite?"

  "I talked to a woman, a couple of years ago now, she said you'd find me. Bess something, I think her name was."

  "Bess Fisher. She left the group shortly after it started, too timid for the work I'm afraid. She wanted to go back to her small town and raise her daughter, I get that. But that was several years ago, you talked with her, when?"

  "She was in a bookstore, not last Christmas, the year before. I don't know what happened, but something made me go in there and talk to her. I always knew I was a little different. She kind of explained it. She did say someday you would come looking for me, that you would want my help. Actually, she said I have a gift that can help people."

  "Jane and I are like you, and there are others. Our group keeps growing as we find more women with this ability. We try to help people, by predicting when something bad might happen to them, then just changing things a little, so the outcome is better."

  "What's in it for me?"

  "We save lives sometimes Danielle, wouldn't that be enough?"

  "I'm trying to save every penny I make here, keep training, eventually go to college. At my age I have to stick to my game plan. Sure, it would be great to help people, everybody wants to do that if they can. Maybe someday, but, like I said, I have a lot going on." "And you're in love, right?" Danielle blushed a little.

  "I thought you were digging around in my head, but yeah that's part of it, I'm in love."

  "That's part of what we do," Jane Macdonald spoke up for the first time. "Sometimes we save relationships. Sometimes a man or woman doesn't meet the person who would destroy their family just for a fling, because we distract them and keep it from happening." Danielle glanced over at her only other table, they were still eating. Teresa spoke again.

  "You said you're training, you look very strong Danielle. What is it you're training for?"

  "The Olympics maybe, when they finally sanction women's boxing. I don't know really, but I love boxing and I love being in shape, I've just always made it a priority."

  "We could use someone like you, someone who could get physical if need be. Are you really good, do you box with men?"

  "I mostly train with guys. I can hold my own with most of them. My grandfather has me doing martial arts too. I'd say I could probably incapacitate or knock out most of the guys you'd run into on the street, not a pro boxer or someone big, with real skills, but that's why I keep training."

  "See, our group could use you. We could probably come up with a college scholarship for someone like you."

  "Look, this is all too weird, Teresa. I appreciate the offer, and God knows free college would be great, but I just don't think I can spread myself any thinner. I make good money here. Bess Fisher said I would know when the time was right, and I think that makes sense. I'm just starting to figure out this stuff. It's not like I know a lot of what's going to happen, I just get strong feelings sometimes."

  "That's what we do Danielle. When a bunch of us have the same feelings about something bad happening, we try to change it. The more people with the gift we have, the better our chances." Teresa pulled a card from her purse and put it on the table. "Just think about it okay? I agree with Bess, if you don't feel the time is right, you shouldn't do it. But Jane and I both have the sense that your time is coming. Call me when you feel it too."

  "Yeah okay, I'll call if and when things change, but don't hold your breath."

  "Oh, and Danielle, please keep this confidential, don't even tell Anna, okay?"

  "I guess I don't have to ask how you know her name, she'd think I was nuts anyway."

  ***

  Danielle loved working at the club. Her mornings were free for training, and she ran the course in all but the coldest of weather. Her shift at the restaurant varied, but she managed two or three nights a week to spend with her girlfriend. Anna was a finance major at Augsburg, planning to get her MBA and go into banking. She had their life mapped out, including marria
ge after she finished school. Granted it wasn't legal in the state, but she had high hopes. Danielle went along with whatever she said. She couldn't see their future together, the way she sometimes saw glimpses of what she thought to be premonition, but she didn't let it worry her. Anna was sure enough for both of them.

  After Thanksgiving her grandparents announced that they were planning a vacation, a trip back to Jamaica to see cousins left behind many years before. They invited her, but she sensed that it was to be a long awaited second honeymoon of sorts, and declined. Her grandfather nearly canceled the trip, since it was over Christmas, but Danielle insisted they go. The possibility of having Anna for a house guest for ten days was exciting. Her grandparents left a few days before Christmas, planning a stop in Miami before continuing to Kingston.

  Anna's parents still insisted that they were getting too serious, too quickly, and Anna compromised by only staying over on the weekend. It was an idyllic weekend for Danielle. They spent most of the time in bed and pretended to be a married couple.

  Danielle hadn't seen Teresa Blackburn since her unexpected visit to the restaurant. She thought at times, that she may have felt them, just a tickle in the back of her mind, but she couldn't be sure. She had managed to put the idea of premonitions out of her head. Tuesday night she felt uneasy, but she decided that it was just the fact that she was alone in the big house. She called Anna as she usually did just before bed, and they talked about their holiday plans, and the fact that Danielle was expected for dinner. She felt a little better after the call, but couldn't shake the feeling of some impending doom. She finally dozed off on the couch with the lights and television on for company.