Chapter 11
Tyler knew he should leave. Julie had already had a full day of it, but he still hadn’t seen the house. If he never got another chance, he didn’t want to miss this one. So, once Gustavia had left, he looked at Julie and said, "Think I could still get that tour?"
Julie raised one eyebrow, "You haven't had enough, yet?"
"Oh, no, not nearly," he grinned, attempting to appear harmless and hoping she would not kick him out. Tyler wanted to see it all: the museum, the library and the painting of Julius described in his grandfather's notes. Most of all, though, he wanted to talk Julie into letting him help look for the magic garden. If that meant spending more time with her, it would be no hardship. Besides, someone needed to keep an eye on that fiancé of hers; he was trouble. Some women liked their men a bit on the controlling side, but he didn't get that vibe from this one.
His mother had always teased him by saying he did great "Bambi eyes" when he wanted something. Figuring he had nothing to lose, he plaintively said, "Please," and turned them on Julie who laughed.
"Okay, no need to get all cute about it. Let's take the tour."
"Ah, she thinks I'm cute," he waggled his eyebrows and gave her an exaggerated leer.
As Julie showed him through the house, it was clear he had read the family history and studied his grandfather's notes. She also realized he had accepted the story of her ghostly visitation as though it were nothing extraordinary, asking her to repeat her experience while he listened gravely.
"Aren't you annoyed at whatever it is that keeps them from just telling you where the magic garden is?" he asked.
"Well, it would make things easier," she replied dryly, "but where is the fun in that?"
"I see it now; you really are enjoying all of this." He narrowed his eyes and looked at her appraisingly. "You just don't want Gustavia to know how much so you play it off, but you're into the whole thing."
"Busted." She admitted. "It was a bit scary at first—seeing ghosts, getting dragged into all this aura stuff—but who could resist a treasure hunt?"
"Then you must have some idea what you are looking for and where to find it."
"Not a clue," she said. "And it is frustrating because there are records of certain things that great-grandfather inherited; but, once he got hold of them, the documentation stops. He was secretive about his finances; so there's no telling what he might have hidden away. I don't think he had anything like a treasure chest full of gold and jewels, but there are records listing some heirloom silver and some nice pieces of jewelry. I have no idea what he did with his own money, if he had any left at the end. "
"Are you thinking there might be something else?"
"There could be. Grams said the magic garden was a place of light and not to think literally. I don't know what it all means, but I doubt Gustavia will find anything, even if she dowses the entire property."
"And she probably will," they both spoke at once. Julie laughed. "You got to know her pretty well after only a day," she said.
"Gustavia is one of those rare people who open themselves up to new experiences and to new people without reservation," he said.
"You are absolutely right. I used to worry about her. People like her are so easily used by others because they are seen as superficial. Gustavia isn't like that: she has depth, and an uncanny sense about people and their motives. There is a lot more to her than most people see."
"I get that," he said. "She is quite remarkable, but I suspect getting on her bad side would be a mistake."
"In more ways than one," Julie answered. "She knows Krav Maga."
Tyler burst out laughing, "That doesn't surprise me at all." A quick mental image of Gustavia in her long skirts throwing down some moves delighted him. On a more serious note, he saw an opening to bring up Logan's behavior and took it. "It looked like she wanted to use it on your fiancé today."
Julie sighed, "They don't get along at the best of times, and today was not even close to one of those." Several emotions warred inside Julie. She did not want to be disloyal to Logan, even if she was not sure at this point where the relationship stood. She also did not want to speak negatively of Gustavia; but she knew, since he had witnessed the whole fracas, Tyler deserved some explanation.
"Logan thinks Gustavia is a flake, and she finds him insufferable. She doesn't trust him and thinks he is out to get something from me. Though, what that might be, I cannot understand. All I have is this house, and it needs work—more work than I can easily afford—so I don't know what it is she thinks he is after. There's no way he knew about any kind of hidden valuables because I didn't know about them myself."
Tyler filed this information away. He intended to do some research because his gut was telling him Gustavia was correct in her assessment of Logan. If his gut was right, there must be something of value in this house—something Logan had identified long before the ghosts had verified the deathbed story of the magic garden. Whatever it was, if Logan could find it, so could he.
Testing the waters, he asked, "What if she's right? He wanted you to sign a prenuptial agreement; maybe there is something he wants, something you don't even know about."
"Maybe; I haven't had a chance to look at the papers yet. That was part of the problem earlier. He wanted me to sign them, but had not given me a copy to read first; I refused and he got upset."
Upset didn't half cover it. Obviously, the man was up to something nefarious, but he said nothing aloud and waited for Julie to continue.
"I know it doesn't look good. It probably means Gustavia was right and great-grandfather's talk of treachery referred to those papers and to Logan. My life has gone completely out of control in the space of a couple of days." The words rushed out of Julie as she tried to make sense of all the things that had happened.
Again Tyler remained silent, letting her work it out for herself. Clearly her best bet was to dump that jerk, but pushing right now would be counterproductive. He also needed to think about why someone he had only known for a day had already begun to matter to him, but what a day it had been.
"First things first: I am going to read over those papers tonight, and I will talk to Gram's lawyer tomorrow. After that, I'll need to do some thinking."
It was time to lighten the mood. "It's no good thinking on an empty stomach; why don't you invite me to dinner, and we can go over those notes I brought, maybe brainstorm a little. I've read through them; I don't remember anything specific about the magic garden beyond the deathbed mention, but it can't hurt to go over them again."
There was that manic glint in his eye most men get when they have visions of treasure chests dancing in their heads.
Julie recognized that glint; it was eerily similar to the one she had been seeing in Gustavia's eyes ever since the fateful reading. "Oh, no. Not another treasure hunting addict," she said.
"C'mon, I'm a guy. It’s treasure of some sort. I think there's some sort of code I would be breaking if I didn't try to get in on this," he grinned at her, and she couldn't help but give in, "besides, my grandfather's notes tend to be a bit cryptic until you get to know his style, I can help."
"Might as well get to work then. It looks like there will be no rest around here until this mystery is resolved."
Tyler followed her into the kitchen and made himself at home. As Julie pulled ingredients from the fridge, he grabbed a knife from the block and began chopping vegetables to construct a salad while she seasoned a pair of chicken breasts and put them on the range's built-in grill. He even put together a simple, but tasty, vinaigrette to pour over the top.
From the corner Estelle watched. Now, this young man had some potential. Just look at the way they worked together, neither of them questioning the easiness of their movements around the kitchen. He set the table while she pulled a bottle of wine from the cooler and poured them each a glass. They chatted about books and movies finding they had some shared interests, but just enough differences to make things interesting. Estelle smiled. This
was more like it.
After they finished eating and cleared the table, Tyler spread the notes out; they were already sorted in chronological order, so it only took a few minutes to find the sections that might contain the information they wanted.
His earlier prediction proved correct; there was nothing in the notes about a magic garden beyond the brief mention of the deathbed confession. Still, they scanned the documents for clues. At this point, any information was better than none. But all they found was another dead end.
Frustrated, Julie threw her hands up and groaned, "This is ridiculous. I have no idea what to do next. The only clue I have is that my grandmother told me not to think so literally. Ed dug up most of the property and didn't find a thing. It seems to me he would have had at least some idea what his own father might mean by a magic garden if he didn't mean a literal garden. I'm seeing ghosts on a regular basis, my relationship is crumbling, and I have had my aura fixed twice in just a couple of days. What else could possibly happen next?" She said.
"Don't tempt fate," he said and Julie sighed.
Maybe, Tyler thought, it was time to leave and let Julie get her bearings. He hoped tonight would be a more peaceful night. She deserved it. He felt an odd mix of protectiveness and admiration for this woman, even though he was sure it would irritate her if she knew he was having these kinds of feelings. It wasn't that he thought she lacked strength, but he could see she was out of her element and still weighed down with grief over her recent loss. It was obvious she could take care of herself; he just hoped she realized asking for help was not a sign of weakness.
As she walked him to the door, he asked, "Will you call me if anything else happens?" He saw she was thinking about saying no. "No, I mean it. You can't just dangle a treasure hunt, goddesses and fairies in front of a guy and then not let him in on the deal."
She gave in. "Okay, give me your number." Then she passed him her phone to let him enter the digits.
When he had finally gone, Julie sighed. She still had to read those infamous papers, and she was dreading it.
Chapter 12
Knowing what was inside the envelope would affect her future one way or another made it difficult to slide the documents out and take a look. Everything she had planned up until now depended on what was inside, and she felt as though she couldn't quite breathe. Maybe everyone would be proved wrong and the papers would be what Logan had said, just boilerplate agreements with no sinister agenda. She hoped they would because otherwise it meant the end of her relationship. Still, who was she kidding? The way he'd acted today, she was pretty sure it was the end anyway.
Logan hadn't been himself today; or possibly he had and, if so, that was a big problem. Somehow, his mask had slipped; if what he had shown her was his true self, she was not impressed. His inclination had been to hit her; she was sure of it. Even if it was only a reaction to extreme stress, it was not a reaction she could live with. It almost seemed pointless to even open the envelope because the contents would only confirm what her heart had already begun to accept. Logan was not the man for her. Still, how could she not at least give him the benefit of the doubt?
Enough of this indecision, she thought. She could argue with herself all night.
Either way, she had to look.
Slowly she slid its contents out of the envelope and began to read. There was a lot of legalese but there was no mistaking the intent of the prenuptial agreement. Hayward house would belong to Logan outright upon their marriage. Oh, it was all made to look like a protective measure, but the outcome was the same no matter what the intention. On her wedding day she would lose all rights to her family home. Just as damning, the life insurance papers were not for a mutual policy, as she had expected; but one on her alone. It was a multi-million-dollar policy. Julie shivered.
Even though she knew it would be bad, she was stunned at the depth of his betrayal. There would be no need to call Grams' lawyer; the documents were clear enough. It chilled her blood to think Logan had wanted her to sign them without first reading the contents.
Thank God Gustavia had taken her to see Kat. Even if it meant changing her entire life, she was ready. Logan was about to get a surprise. Feelings of anger were beginning to edge out the pain of his betrayal. She wondered what had made him think she was stupid enough to fall for something this sleazy. She was dismayed to find he must have thought her gullible since he had taken the time to consult a lawyer before pressing her to fall in line with his scheme.
Grams had been right, and so had Gustavia; they both thought Logan was less than genuine in his feelings. Gustavia had called him a dirt bag when she didn't think Julie was listening. They both wanted the best for her, but that knowledge did nothing to provide comfort. Neither did the thought she might not have paid enough attention to the situation if her great-grandfather hadn't been so insistent. She'd trusted Logan. He'd used that trust to try and steal her legacy: even if her legacy, at the moment, was a house needing repairs that would surely land her in debt. He had nearly managed to do it, too.
That was another point to consider. As far as she knew, before today Logan had had absolutely no idea there was any possibility of a family fortune. He'd thought the house was a liability; so his intense desire to take possession of it made no sense. Unless he knew something she didn't, there wasn't anything to be gained.
So, it was possible his intentions were good and he had only been trying to take care of her: in a dictatorial way, to be sure; but, for the admittedly short time she had known him, Logan had mostly been kind and gentle. It was only in recent weeks he had been acting differently. Maybe he was under some kind of stress and had made a mistake in communicating with the lawyer. There could be some other explanation, though it would have to be pretty spectacular to excuse his behavior today. Still, judging him without hearing his side seemed a bit churlish even if the evidence was mounting against him.
Wearily, she resolved to put the whole thing aside and get some sleep before she gave in to the temptation to scream. Tomorrow afternoon she would talk to Logan, see what he had to say for himself.
Now if the ghosts would just leave her alone for a night.
* * *
Back at Hayward House, Julie watched Gustavia drive away more slowly than her usual mad pace. She knew Gustavia considered her family. That, like Julie, Gustavia felt like they were sisters of the heart—even if they shared no blood ties—and there was nothing one of them wouldn't do to help the other.
On the first day of sophomore year at college Julie was nervous to meet her new roommate. She hadn't had time to call Eloise Roman before the beginning of school, so she didn't know what to expect. Hesitantly, she entered the room then stopped dead in her tracks.
Eloise was seated inside of a pyramid made out of copper tubing with a large crystal hanging from the apex. And if that were the weirdest thing in the room, it would have been enough to freak her out; but it wasn't. More crystals dangled over the bed, along with bunches of dried herbs and flowers attached to fairy lights stapled to the ceiling in a spiral pattern, lit candles covered the dresser, the walls were hung with large batik scarves in every conceivable color and pattern. It was nearly vivid enough to make Julie's eyes water.
Eloise was wearing a long white dress that perfectly set off her hair. It was the hair that had so fiercely captured Julie's attention that she was staring open-mouthed. Dreadlocks dyed in rainbow colors was not a look you saw every day. This was going to be a disaster.
For her part, Eloise continued to sit quietly under Julie's intense scrutiny. She was used to this kind of thing. Finally, she spoke. "Hi, I'm Eloise. Well, for another week anyway; then my name will be legally changed to Gustavia." She arose gracefully from the center of the pyramid, tilted her head and repeated, "Hi, I'm Eloise". When there was no response, she snapped her fingers in front of Julie's eyes. This finally got her attention.
Julie stammered, "Oh, hi. Sorry, I . . . Hi. I’m Julie." She held out her hand. Then, a funny thing happ
ened. At the touch of their hands, a warm feeling of love and acceptance washed over Julie. She was pretty sure Eloise felt something as well because her eyes widened. Then Eloise smiled and enveloped Julie in a hug, which Julie returned, and the two began to laugh. That was the moment they knew they were soul sisters and neither would ever be alone again.
These two women were polar opposites, but it made no difference whatsoever. Julie didn't believe in all the woo-woo stuff; and Eloise, who soon became Gustavia, didn't hold that lack of enlightenment against her. Underneath the rainbow exterior beat the heart of a survivor. Her less than nurturing childhood had not soured Gustavia on life. If anything, it had the opposite effect: creating a deeply sensitive, passionately loyal person with a boundless depth of empathy. Each of these traits would have been enough to bind the friendship for life; but when Gustavia met Grams, and the two of them also clicked, she became family.
They thought of each other as sisters; and, like sisters, there were times when they bickered over one thing or another. These arguments were rare and never lasted long. Only one was never resolved: an ongoing disagreement over whether Julie should allow Gustavia to pay for the needed repairs to Hayward House. Gustavia was willing to dip into the trust fund she had vowed never to touch in order to help. There was no way Julie was going to accept that option. She knew exactly what that money meant to her friend. Using it would open old wounds and there was no way she wanted to be linked to that kind of pain. Better to sell the house than to have Gustavia feel the need to go to her family for the money.
Her one and only interaction with Gustavia's family painted a vivid picture of what it had meant to grow up a Roman. Both parents were so caught up with the perception of their own importance that they never seemed to connect with their daughter. Beyond the indifference was also a sense of disappointment. Gustavia's parents made no attempt to understand or appreciate the uniqueness of their daughter. Instead, they abandoned her to the care of her maternal grandmother: a martinet of a woman whose disapproval of her only granddaughter went bone-deep, and the emotional scars she left were worse than any physical ones ever could have been. It was remarkable that Gustavia had learned to trust another human being and a testament to her amazing soul that she was not only able to love and trust, but to inspire those same feelings in others.
Rings On Her Fingers (Psychic Seasons Page 7