by T. Jones
"You realize that even if you had proof of what he did, it's not murder in the eyes of the law. Eliot Nucci pulled that trigger."
"I know, but as far as I'm concerned, Ozzy and Teresa are partially responsible. If I can make it happen, they're going to pay." Callie saw the look on her mother's face. "I know, I should be looking for justice and all that, but I'll take revenge if I can get it."
"You're too young to have to even think about things like that."
"That reminds me, when I was young, like really little, were there any men that I would have been around with long blond hair, like really light-colored blond hair? Like a beach bum type, or a surfer or something?" Her mother laughed.
"Not many surfers around here Callie, the winters are too long. Why, dreaming?"
"Yeah, a really strong one, of being little, trying to catch up with a blond man on a beach. It's like I'm trying to get his attention, but he keeps walking, like he doesn't hear me calling to him, and I'm really small so I can't catch up to him. And I can't see his face."
"Sounds weird. I've never had the kind of dreams you do."
"My dreams aren't always premonitions of future stuff, sometimes it's things that have already happened, sometimes things that I couldn't possibly know about."
"You probably should concentrate on Teresa for now. I hear you kind of stirred up a hornet's nest. Teresa can be really vindictive, and she wouldn't go easy on you just because you're young."
"It's not just me. Deeann and most of the Sisters want to change the way things are being done too. Grace isn't well, she won't be around for long, I guess. Teri Brinkman agrees with us, but she is busy taking care of Grace, so it would be a while before she would be active. I know you don't want to be involved, but we really need Madeline. Everybody seems to really respect her, or their scared of her. She and Deeann could make Teresa listen. I don't think Jane is sold on the way Teresa is doing things, she's just afraid to stand up to her. Can you talk to Madeline, have her check in with me? She mostly ignores everyone else."
"I'll let her know what's going on. I know she's on your side, but I can't say for sure she'll get involved."
"I hope so. There's some big money deal going down, and Teresa and Jane are licking their chops. That's the only reason they want Ozzy out of the picture, so he can't do his old man in and ruin the deal they have going."
"Some kind of son that would do that to his father."
"His Dad's no better than he is, I got a glimpse of some of his memories and his Dad has smacked him around plenty."
"You reap what you sow."
"Another pearl of wisdom from the good book?" Callie teased her mother.
"I know a lot of them, happy to share, anytime you like."
"Thanks, but I'd better hit my own books. All the Sister stuff aside, I'm still a college student." Callie got up from the table and went up the stairs to her room. Her mother sat quietly for a few minutes, contemplating the newspaper in front of her, then she picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"Yeah, can you stop by tonight, probably after eight? Callie will be at Jenny's by then. We need to have a talk, there's a problem."
***
Callie picked up Jenny after work and they went back to her house to make supper with her mother. They hadn't shared the fact that Callie knew their true status, and it didn't matter. In every way that mattered they were mother and daughter. They spent the evening watching television, then climbed the stairs to Jenny's room and got ready for bed.
"I can't believe I used to sleep over here with you all the time. This bed is way too small, how did I ever keep my hands off you?" Callie laughed as she climbed in beside Jenny.
"That's why I kept having you sleep over!" The redhead exclaimed. "I figured sooner or later you'd figure it out and make a move. Christ, I even showed you my boobs."
"I was a nervous wreck most of the time."
"Good thing I'm not shy, or we'd never have gotten together." Callie leaned forward and kissed Jenny briefly, then tucked her head against her collarbone and quickly drifted off to sleep.
***
She knew this was one of her special dreams. Oddly, it didn't seem like she was controlling the action, as she often did in her lucid dreams. She was on the beach again, white sand stretching away as far as the eye could see. The sun poured down on her, warming her skin, not uncomfortably hot, pleasant, the way a day at the beach should be. She looked down at the sand, at her tiny feet, and curled them into the hot sand as a wave tickled against them. She felt happy, even giddy, like a small child who'd had too much ice cream. She laughed aloud, and it came out as a high-pitched squeal, an exuberant giggle. She looked down, spinning happily in the sand until she was too dizzy to stand, then fell onto the wet beach, still laughing merrily.
A hand came down, extended and beckoning for her to grasp it. She raised a tiny arm, and the warm hand that was proffered lifted her slowly to her feet. She saw immediately that it was the same man that she had seen on the beach in her earlier dream, and that he was walking away again. His stride was long, but she ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her, and reached for his hand. "Pai, pai!" She heard herself calling. She kept running, reaching out for his hand, always just one step away, until exhausted, she fell into the warm sand, crying softly. Suddenly, the large brown hand appeared again, right in front of her, and pulled her to her feet. She looked up into the smiling face of the tall blond man. His hair was longer than she had thought, held back from his face by a sweat band. He had the brightest smile she had ever seen, white teeth gleaming against bronze skin, darkened by a lifetime in the tropical sun. But as she starred into his face, awareness flooded over her. The feature that held her spellbound, were his beautiful eyes. They were the same icy blue eyes she saw in the mirror every morning, the lightest blue eyes anyone in her little town had ever seen.
"Callie, Honey. Are you okay?" Jenny shook her gently. "You were laughing in your sleep, then you started crying, like something bad was happening, so I thought I'd better wake you up. I wasn't sure if I should. Was it one of those dreams, the ones that mean something?"
"No, I'm glad you woke me up." Callie pulled herself against her girlfriend. "It wasn't one of those dreams, at least I sure as hell hope not."
***
It slipped out without warning, without thought. A Freudian slip perhaps, or maybe it was just time. It was almost as if it had been there on the tip of Callie's tongue, waiting patiently to come out into the open. Callie and Jenny sat on the couch at Jenny's house. The elder Mconvil woman had gone to bed, and Jenny was watching Netflix while Callie puzzled over a Math problem. Jenny had worked late and was still wide awake, but Callie was having trouble keeping her eyes open, stubbornly trying to finish one last problem.
"So, Danielle texted me earlier," Jenny said, glancing at her phone. "She says Ozzy is hooked, head over heels, follows her around like a little puppy dog."
"You two are buds now, huh? Sending texts and stuff, should I be jealous?" Callie tried to feign interest, but the math problem was kicking her butt.
"Seems really fast for him to be so whipped. So, Danielle can use her abilities to make him like her, is that possible?"
"Sure, probably. Damn, I wish it wasn't so late, I'd call Chester, I just don't get this."
"So, can you do that? You didn't do that with me, did you?" Callie, totally distracted by math and half asleep, answered honestly.
"I wouldn't do that Jen. I always wondered if that's what happened with Abby, but I didn't do it consciously." It was quiet for a long minute, while it dawned on Callie what she had just said. She looked up quickly, and saw tears starting to thread down through the freckles.
"Jenny, I mean, Abby and I, we got close." It was too late for a total denial, Callie knew the truth was there, written all over her face. She reached out a hand, resting it on the redhead's shoulder, but Jenny quickly slid away from her, staring.
"So, it wasn't Greg, but she was cheating on her husband! I
t was you she was having the affair with, and somehow Greg got blamed." Callie pushed her book from her lap, desperate to explain as best she could, without revealing everything, how bad it really was. "He killed Greg, Callie. Greg died, because of you?"
"Jen, Davis Cooper was screwed up from the war, he's better now I guess, but he killed Greg, Jenny, not me. He and Abby were on the rocks and he flipped. I tried to tell you Jenny, remember? I did." Callie choked on tears and emotion as Jenny stood up, backing away from her, a look of horror on her face. She wiped her eyes, eyes suddenly cold and hard.
"Go home Callie. Please. Get out, right now."
"Jenny, please, talk to me. I was lonely, she was too. I was stupid and selfish. It was before I ever even thought of you this way. Please, can't we talk?"
"What? So you can use your mind shit on me? I can't Callie, I really need to be alone, please, just get the fuck out!" Callie bent down and picked up her book, casting one more pitiful look at Jenny before dropping her head and walking out the front door. She sat in her car for a few minutes, wracked by sobs, trying to piece together what incredible stupidity had made her blurt out her secret. Finally, as the lights went out in Jenny Mconvil's house, Callie put the Camry in gear and drove slowly to her parents' house.
Morning, and her mother, found Callie curled up on the couch, exhausted and red-eyed. She cried again as her mother held her, trying to make sense of the turn of events.
"Callie, what happened? Did you two have a fight? Couples fight, it'll blow over."
"I told you, I'd done some things Mom, things I'm not proud of. Jenny found out, and she hates me for it. I don't blame her, I hate myself. I just hoped it was behind me, you know? I am a better person now, really, I am, and mostly that's because of her. I can't lose her, not now." It was as much as she could get out, lost again, sobbing and gasping for breath. Her mother sat holding her, stroking her hair softly. Finally, she spoke.
"We all make mistakes Callie. No matter what happened, she will realize that. Give her some time, let her think about it, and cool down. I don't know what it's about, but Jenny's a strong girl, and she really loves you, just give her some time."
"So, don't call her?" Callie asked pitifully.
"Maybe text her later, just tell her you're available to talk when she wants. You can't force yourself on her, that will make it worse."
"I always knew this would happen, not because I saw it, just because I deserve it."
"Callie, that's crap, now you're just being dramatic. Go to your room and sleep for a while, then take a long shower, then if you can't stand it, call her. Maybe she will want to talk about it, I don't know. I would text, if I were you. You can't yell in a text message."
"It's harder to beg too." Callie laughed for the first time. "It can't be over Mom, it just can't."
"Go, sleep. Maybe she will call you." Callie took her mother's advice, collapsing into her bed for a few hours. She knew that Jenny was scheduled to work during the day, so she resisted the urge to call until late afternoon. The plan had been to drive back to the city together, after Jenny was done at work. The hour came and went but Callie waited, hoping Jenny would call. Finally, she dialed her number. She was surprised that the redhead answered.
"Jenny, can we talk about this? Please talk to me. Is this it, are we done?"
"I don't know Callie. I'm not sure what to believe or if I can trust you. How can I trust that you're not in my head, making me feel things."
"Jen, I love you, I would never do that. Please, can I just come over so we can talk?"
"No! I need time to think Callie. I don't even want to know what happened, it all just seems like a nightmare, Greg, and the baby dying, like it happened so long ago. I thought I could be happy again, with you, but now I don't know anything. I just don't know Callie." Her voice broke, and Callie heard her crying through the phone.
"I'll do anything Jen, what can I do?" There was a long silence that Callie finally broke. "Jen?"
"Go back to school, go back to the Cities. I just need time to sort this out, by myself. I'm not saying we're done, I just don't know anything right now."
"Jenny, that selfish girl I was back then, I'm not her now, you made me better, really. You always make me better Jenny. Please don't let it end like this, please."
"Go back to the Sisters, Callie. Don't call me, okay? I need some time, I'll call you."
Chapter Eleven
Callie dropped her bag on the floor of the loft and walked to the refrigerator. Since Danielle had been entertaining Ozzy frequently, there was always plenty of cold beer. She opened a can and swallowed half of it quickly. Danielle walked from the bathroom, surprising her. Callie stared at her, her eyes red and hollowed.
"Jenny, sent me a text, said you guys are having trouble, sorry."
"Trouble is an understatement. My past finally caught up to me. I'd guess we're done."
"I doubt that Callie, Jenny's crazy about you, you two really have something." Callie smiled and finished her beer, tossed the can in the trash, and reached for another one.
"Had, for a while. I did something awful, something I can't undo. It's why I always want to be careful when we're messing with fate. She'll never forgive me."
"Never is a long time. Don't turn into a lush on me, we're getting close to crunch time with Ozzy, and I hear you have Teresa all pissed off. Their deal is going down soon, maybe by the end of the week. I think Ozzy may make a move on the old man too. Maybe the Sisters are wrong, maybe he's going to try to kill him after the stock deal, maybe Teresa just doesn't want him for a partner, but she expects me to keep a lid on things. Either way, it would be nice if you were on your game."
"Relax, there's only one more beer. I can't get too shitfaced on three beers, unless you want to join me? We could get more."
"Not going to happen. Getting wasted is not going to make you feel better Callie, nailing Ozzy will. Go to school, keep working with the Sisters, and let's get Oz. Before you know it, Jenny will come around, I'm sure of it."
"What about what you said the Sisters saw, about her and Chester, she'd be better off."
"That's the beer talking, she would be better off with someone who really loves her, which is you. Teresa said the Sisters saw her with him, but we both know Teresa bends the truth on a regular basis, and she doesn't like you much, at all."
"Bitch." Callie tossed another empty into the garbage.
"Exactly. What, done chugging beers already?" Callie tried her best to smile.
"Nobody likes a sloppy drunk. I'm going to bed, and cry myself to sleep."
"Of course you are, but it'll be okay, I'm sure of it."
***
It became obvious that Jenny was not going to call her soon, and Callie did her best to ignore the ache she felt daily. By Thursday, hope fading, she called Travis.
"I don't know what to say Callie. She told me not to even talk to you about it, but you're both my friends. She's a mess, but she says she isn't going to give in and call you."
"Why not! She made me promise not to call her, but it's killing me."
"She said she doesn't want to hear your voice, until she's really sure how she feels. She said she's afraid you would make her get back together with you, like really make her, if she talked to you. I know that sounds weird, but that's what she said."
"No, I guess I get that. She's just afraid I'll talk her into something she doesn't want to do." Callie was aware that it wasn't quite that simple.
"What the hell happened, anyway? She won't talk about it."
"I can't either, Chester. Look out for her for me, will you? It's really hard being down here, not being able to talk to her."
"We will, I mean Holly and I will. It'll work out Callie, I'm sure of it."
"That's what everyone keeps saying, I wish I was sure of it too."
***
Teresa Blackburn settled into the leather chair across from Johnathan Marsh, smiling happily. "So partner, the stock is as low as I've ever seen it. Our buy
in should start things moving, and when news of the device hits next week, the stock will go through the roof. We're going to be major shareholders, by next summer the company will be worth five times what it is now."
"That is the plan. What are you going to do with all that money?"
"Same as you, I expect, enjoy the finer things. You can never have too much." Johnathan Marsh's intercom lit up for a moment, he pushed a button.
"Is Ozzy out there? Send him in please." Teresa frowned across the table at the senior Marsh. "I want you to meet my son. I'm going to let him oversee some of the transactions."
"Is that wise?" Teresa shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I thought we were going to keep this totally between us and the broker."
"I don't have time to handle all the details and keep an eye on everything. I have as much in this deal as you do, I wouldn't bring him in if I didn't think he could handle it. He's not busy right now, except for running for office, and that's a long way out. He's a sharp kid Teresa, when I motivate him to be. Spencer and associates have been trying to steal him from me for a couple years. Can you believe that, hire my own kid out from under me, the bastards."
The door opened and Oz walked in, dressed in his finest suit, clutching a pad and paper. His father waved him toward a chair next to Teresa. He made the introductions then explained who Teresa was.
"Teresa and her group have put up half of the money we needed to make the buy. With their assets, I was able to move up the timetable on the stocks. Spencer and his group are out, I closed the deal yesterday."
"What?" Oz said loudly. Teresa watched his face closely. She didn't need to be a psychic to read the anger there, but he recovered quickly. "I thought you were putting me in charge of the whole thing. I would have liked to look at everything before you went ahead."