Return to Seven Sisters

by M. L. Bullock

  I put the cup down as a cloud rolled over us. It moved quickly but cast a strange shadow over Miss Robineaux’s face for the briefest of moments. “How will you do that? We have no money, Miss Robineaux.”

  She moved her cup to the side and placed her arms on the table in a comfortable manner. “I do not require payment, but I can give your mother what she wants more than anything else.”

  Without thinking, I snapped back, “Unless you can bring Jonatan back from the dead, Miss Robineaux, you will be of no use to my mother. For that is the only thing that will bring her peace, I think.”

  Serena Robineaux smiled a cryptic smile and said, “What if I told you I can do that, Miss Delarosa? I can help your mother connect with Jonatan. What she needs is forgiveness, and to say goodbye. I am going to make sure she is given the opportunity to do just that.”

  I felt myself pale at her ridiculous claim. “You say you do not require payment, but I am no fool, madam. What you see here, this grand house, these fine things, they don’t belong to us, Miss Robineaux. Not anymore. We are quite poor and quite out of favor here in Mobile. Perhaps being new here, for I assume that you are, you weren’t aware of our situation. But I promise you that all I tell you is true.”

  “I believe such transactions taint my work. My only concern is for your mother, Miss Delarosa.” She leaned back a little and closed her eyes. She appeared to be basking in the intermittent sunlight, but I was growing more uncomfortable with every passing second. What this woman proposed, communicating with my dead brother, was impossible. And even if it were possible, surely it was against the laws of God.

  “We are Catholics, Miss Robineaux. I can’t believe that Mama would consent to such activity. Not if she were in her right mind.”

  She chuckled, a sound that was likely meant to comfort me but did not. As her head shook, her earbobs danced again. “You must think me some sort of witch, Miss Delarosa, but I am nothing of the sort. I am a spiritualist with a great love for the healing of broken souls. Take you, for example. I can sense your pain, dear. You feel pulled in many directions. ‘Should I stay or go?’ This is a question you ask yourself often.” Miss Robineaux was talking softly, but her gray eyes were intently watching me, peering deep into mine. “Take my advice. Do not leave yet. I fear that your parents will need you even more in the days to come.”

  As the weight of her prophecy fell on me, I stared open-mouthed at her. “What do you mean?” I demanded, but she refused to say any more about it.

  “Would you like more tea? I can have the maid put on more water, Miss Delarosa.”

  Thankfully, Mama joined us on the porch with Lettie hovering behind her. Mama wore her black lace ensemble today, and the dress was so tight and the neck so high it appeared as if the garment might both strangle her and smother her.

  “Good morning, Mama,” I said as I kissed her cheek and quickly left the porch. I did not want to hear anything else that Serena Robineaux had to say. How could there be more tragedy? Was that what she was suggesting? What else could possibly happen? I wiped tears from my eyes as I headed outdoors with a basket and a pair of shears in my hands. There would be no roses to clip, but maybe I could find a rare specimen for my book. It was nearly complete, or so I told myself. How could I ever publish the compendium without Jonatan?

  My poor brother! Plagued by ghosts, abused to the point of madness! And Memphis! I had never loved her, but to die at the hands of someone you loved. And the baby…

  I swallowed a sob but could hold back the flood of salty tears for only a few seconds. I abandoned my basket on a nearby bench and wandered through the gardens crying over the loss of it all. It did me no good. The rain began to fall, as it had nearly every day this week, but I did not run home. When I was soaked to the bone and freezing, I walked slowly and somberly back to Seven Sisters. I would die here, wouldn’t I, Jonatan? I would die too.

  Lettie met me at the door and helped me bathe and change my clothes. That was a rare thing, as she was usually completely consumed with caring for Mama. I welcomed the toast and warm tea she brought me afterward too. The sun was still up but barely, and when I went to seek out Papa, he was not in his study but in his room resting. That worried me, but I could not barge in. And Mama was nowhere to be found. Lettie would not reveal where she’d gotten to, but I began to suspect that she and Serena Robineaux were exactly where they had been last night. I felt so tired, so completely drained, that I decided to lie down. I had promised Philip I would meet him at sunset, but the heavy rain prevented me from returning to the gardens. Surely he would understand.

  Wrapping my shawl around me, I walked down the hall to my brother’s room. “Jonatan?” I whispered into the darkness. Just saying his name hurt my heart, but pretending he could hear me brought a strange comfort. “Jonatan, it’s me, Lafonda.”

  I closed the door behind me and stood in the darkening room. It was always darker in here, much darker than my room, which seemed perpetually bathed in sunlight. My brother’s tin soldiers were on his dresser, neatly arranged as they always were. I touched one but quickly put it back. He never liked it when I touched his soldiers. I touched his books and papers, studied his silly drawings and the sheet of paper on which he had written his name at least twenty times. No one had ever tried harder to be like everyone else. No one. And what good had it done him?

  Feeling tired, I crawled into his bed and drew my legs up. This was neither his mattress nor his blanket. Those had been ruined when Max Davenport was murdered. I could see Max now, his eyes wide and forever staring into the void of death. All that blood had been a horrific sight, one I would never forget, but I could not resist this room.

  Maybe Miss Robineaux was correct. Maybe Jonatan was here still…

  I fell asleep quickly and woke to the sound of knocking. Someone was knocking on the wall behind me. Or was it the door? Then I realized it wasn’t the wall or the door. It was the bed! The bed was shaking and rocking, and I screamed in surprise as I sat up awkwardly and held on to the bucking headboard.

  No one came to rescue me. Who would?

  And then I heard footsteps, the sounds of boots walking on the floor. Yes! They were walking across the room, toward me! But my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and I could see that there was no one there. No one at all.

  The footsteps stopped, and the air shifted slightly. There was something there! A smudge at first, a shadow and then a figure. I began to say a Hail Mary, but it did not repel the shadow. It folded and moved and shifted until I could see a face.

  He placed his shadowy finger to his lips, urging me to be quiet.

  I was looking at the ghost of my brother!

  Chapter Six—Carrie Jo

  For the second time in a week, Detra Ann came to my rescue. Only this time it wasn’t her gum removal kit she was dropping off. Before going to bed, I called her about the heartbreaking Lily situation, and she kindly offered to drop off a few outfits for the girl the next day. I didn’t mention that my niece was a dream catcher or that we’d dreamed of Lafonda together. I thought about that quite a bit in the following days. It was strange that I knew she was there, watching the same thing I was. Lily and I didn’t talk about it, but she drew closer to me occasionally and flashed her sweet smile at me when no one else was looking.

  We managed to make it through that first night, but I couldn’t convince her to bathe on a regular basis or wear one of my t-shirts as a sleep shirt. And to make matters worse, she didn’t like leaving the Blue Room; forget convincing her to sleep in the guest room. Especially after that first night. And either she didn’t know her address and phone number—which I found hard to believe for an eleven-year-old—or she wasn’t going to tell me. Ashland tried to coax the information out of her, but he didn’t have any luck either. The only person she interacted with on a regular basis was our son, and she got bored with playing with him too after a while.

  I was so desperate to connect with Lily. What had this child experienced that made her father w
ant to abandon her with me, a woman he barely knew?

  Yeah, maybe some new clothes would help break the ice, and that’s where my bestie came in. Naturally, Detra Ann didn’t come by herself. She showed up with Henri, Chloe and two armloads of bags for my niece. Detra Ann was never known for doing things “small,” certainly not when fashion was involved.

  “We’re here!” Detra Ann announced as I opened the front door and accepted a wiggling Chloe into my arms. The baby had obviously been napping in her car seat because she had a red mark on her chubby cheek, but she allowed me to steal a bunch of sugar from her before I handed her back to her dad, who set her down on the couch in the front room. She immediately pushed up on her elbows. I couldn’t believe she was trying to crawl already. She couldn’t do it yet, but it wouldn’t be long. Chloe was a determined child. In all ways.

  Detra Ann and Henri hugged me and gave me smiles of support as we took their rambunctious daughter to the Blue Room—she always wanted to be where the fun and games were. Baby Boy was waiting for her…meaning he had hidden his favorite toys from her and what was left would be nothing she wanted to play with. Yep. He was an only child and it showed. I frowned at him, but he ignored me. Lily was sitting on the couch observing our guests with a look of plain distrust.

  “Lily? These are my friends Detra Ann and Henri. And this is Chloe.” Lily’s answer was to cross her arms and lean back against the couch as if we would make her move. I think if she could have burrowed beneath the cushions, she would have done just that. This child clearly had social issues. What had I gotten myself into? Or more to the truth, what had Ashland gotten us into? But Detra Ann was not one to be dissuaded by attitudes, or her mother would have shut her down years ago. The leggy blonde plopped down beside Lily and deposited the shopping bags in front of her.

  “I’m very happy to meet you, Lily.” Detra Ann didn’t wait for Lily to acknowledge her but immediately began digging through one of the bags and pulled out the cutest pink dress I had ever seen. It wasn’t covered in ruffles or bows but had a neat Peter Pan collar, a pleated skirt and short puffy sleeves. Nope. That’s not a winner. I glanced at Lily’s face as she watched Detra Ann extract a few more outfits from the brown paper shopping bags. Try as she might to look bored, I could see that the child was certainly interested, but she wasn’t comfortable until a pair of blue jeans and a purple t-shirt appeared beside her. Even then, she didn’t say anything or respond except to trace the fabric with her fingers.

  Smart girl that she was, Detra Ann said, “Hmm…I’m not sure these are going to fit you, Lily.” She sighed and lifted the t-shirt as if she were studying it, then laid it down, picked up the dress and did the same. “Oh well. I guess I’ll have to find another little girl to give these to.” She began to casually stuff the clothes back in the bag.

  Lily reached for the t-shirt. “Should I try them on? At least these?”

  Detra Ann nodded. “I think you should. You might as well take these jeans too.”

  As Lily slid off the couch I reminded her, “The bathroom is just across the hall.” And then she was gone and I breathed a sigh of relief. “You did better than me. I can’t understand why she won’t talk to me.”

  Detra Ann went over and rubbed Chloe’s head. The baby had started to complain about AJ’s lack of team spirit. I dug out a few of her favorite toys from his “hidden” basket and ignored his grumbles. “Who knows, Carrie Jo? She’s probably in shock. Imagine how you would feel. No luck finding Chance?”

  “No, but Ashland has been burning up the phone lines. I think at this point it is clear that my brother has left Lily with us, but for how long and why? That’s just unthinkable.” We kept our voices at a whisper in case my niece listened in. She had a habit of doing that.

  “Yeah, I get that. You’re right. How could he run off and leave his kid? It’s almost like he’s not even your brother.”

  As he dug more toys out of the diaper bag for Chloe, Henri asked, “Did he give you any idea or clues at all?”

  “All I got from Chance was that Lily was dreaming and that his wife was really uncomfortable with it. And apparently so was he. He went out to get their overnight bags but never came back.”

  Detra Ann’s carefully styled curls moved softly around her shoulders as she shook her head, her eyes full of concern. “If you need anything, anything at all, just let me know. I’m here for you, Carrie Jo. All y’all. We both are.”

  I squeezed her hand appreciatively as Henri excused himself to go in search of Ashland. We awkwardly chatted about other things for a little while, like the closing of our favorite day care, Small Steps, and Mobile’s newest Mardi Gras association, the Les Filles Rouge. It felt good to talk about something besides the immediate emergency. Detra Ann and I defused a few arguments between Chloe and Ashland James—all his fault, naturally. After fifteen minutes or so, it became clear that Lily was not coming back.

  “She’s probably just hiding, CJ. You go get her and bring her back. We’ll break through to her.”

  I gave AJ a warning glance before beginning my search. “I hope you are right. Yeah, I better go find her. There are a lot of places to hide around here.” I shivered at my own words. “Be right back.”

  I could hear the guys talking in the office, but the door was closed. The only other sound was the ticking of the grandfather clock on the far wall. “Lily? If those clothes don’t fit, we can go get another size. Lily?” I called as I walked toward the closed bathroom door. That was strange. There was no light on underneath it. I tapped on the door and then opened it. Lily was definitely not here, but she’d changed her clothes because her old clothes were neatly folded and left on the vanity. I felt a rush of panic welling up from my stomach.

  “Lily? Where are you?” Detra Ann poked her head out of the Blue Room.

  I said, “She’s not there. Please keep an eye on Baby Boy while I go look for her?”

  “No problem.”

  “Lily?” I called as I walked toward the parlors. Don’t panic, Carrie Jo. This is an interesting place with lots of things to see. She is probably exploring—just like you would. I quickly toured both rooms, but they were empty. Then I checked the front door and breathed a sigh of relief when I found it locked. She didn’t have a key, so she couldn’t have locked it back up if she’d left. After a quick scour through the ballroom and the conservatory, I headed up the grand staircase. No need to tell Ashland yet; she was probably checking out the top floor. Yeah, that had to be it.

  I pretended I didn’t notice the air shimmering around me, a clear indicator that the place was right for dream walking. Oh no! What if Lily is dream walking on her own? God! This could be bad. I had no idea how developed her dreaming skills were. I raced up the stairs and called again, “Lily?” It was here on the top tread where I’d heard the sighing in the past; the soft sighing of a ghost, which I had long ago identified as Christine Cottonwood. Was she here now? Was Christine watching over Lily?

  Naturally, the first door I checked was Calpurnia’s. She and Lafonda had slept in the same room, separated by decades. Many frightening and wonderful things had happened in this room. With one hand on the doorknob, I tapped on the door with the other.

  “Lily? Are you in there?”

  I hesitated and listened for noises, any sound that would suggest my niece was in there. Lily didn’t answer, but I did hear a sound. The shuffling of feet? Yes, there was certainly someone in there, someone who wanted to hide from me.

  “Lily? I’m coming in. It’s just me, Carrie Jo.” I opened the door, and although I reached for the light switch, I decided not to flip it on. I swung the door wide open so the scant light of the hallway would filter into the room. “Lily, I’m not mad that you want to investigate my house. I would do the same thing if I were you. Please don’t hide from me. I’m not going to punish you.”

  And then Lily’s head rose up from the other side of the bed. Her eyes were wide and she was biting her fingernail as she slowly rose to her feet. For a
second I couldn’t help but think of my mother. The girl did favor her, especially the shape of her face and that hair. What would my mother say about Lily being here at Seven Sisters? What would she do? Surely she would be happy that we were reunited. Yeah, I knew what she would do. She would wrap her arms around Lily and never let her go. And that’s exactly what I would do, in whatever way Lily allowed me.

  “This is a nice room, isn’t it?”

  Lily nodded her head slowly and walked to the window to look out across the lawn. The lawn wasn’t as beautiful and green as it used to be, not like in Calpurnia’s day. Mobile had grown up around Seven Sisters; the driveway was not as long, and you could see the traffic on the road just beyond the hedges. But I could almost read Lily’s mind. To her, this was a magical place.

  “I think you might be staying here a little while. Would you like to sleep in this room?”

  With her hands on the windowsill, she glanced at me and answered quietly, “Yes, but will I have to share it with anyone?”

  I sat on the bed and arranged the pillows. “This room would be all yours, at least as long as you stay here. Baby Boy has his own room, and so do Uncle Ashland and I. There would be no one in here with you.”

  “Okay. But what about that girl? And the lady.”

  “My friend Detra Ann has her own house; she doesn’t live here. Not anymore.”

  Lily sat on the windowsill now and crossed her arms again as if she didn’t quite believe me. “Not your friend…the other girl. The one with the dark hair and the ribbon in her hair.”

  I frowned, unsure who she was talking about. I didn’t recall Chloe having a ribbon in her hair today. “Do you mean Chloe? She’s going home with her mom and dad.” Lily bit her lip, walked over to the writing desk and opened some of the drawers. I could tell she didn’t want to say any more about the subject, but I decided to push her a little. “Please, Lily. Don’t shut down on me. You can trust me. Believe it or not, you and I are a lot alike.”