Following Bliss (The Quest series)

by Strang, Heather

  They both found themselves, despite feeling physically exhausted, overcome with excitement, combined with disbelief over the past two days.

  Daniel’s call with Jonathan had been effortless. They were offering him a three-book deal over the next three years, with a generous advance, royalties, and marketing support. With one manuscript done and another almost complete, Daniel felt absolutely confident in his ability to meet his end of the contract, and attend book signings and other events to support his marketing efforts. He also felt very drawn to enlist the help of social media, running Facebook and Twitter campaigns. Jonathan would be sending the contract to him later in the week, for him to review with his lawyer (which Daniel was going to have to get), so they could finalize all the details and sign on the dotted line.

  Daniel felt he was living part-dream, part-reality. It had taken some time for the reality of Shelby and his union to integrate fully into his mind, and he had a feeling his book deal would be the same. Ever since his BodyTalk session with Gabby, he felt more in the flow than ever before. He had made sure that he listened carefully to his body and did as it asked, especially after receiving the email from Jonathan. The Universe knew what it was doing. And he wasn’t about to mess it up.

  Shelby disappeared into the kitchen while Daniel surveyed the scene. There were boxes everywhere, but soon things would be in order. Kathryn and Scott had been there earlier in the day to help them move the big stuff—Daniel and Scott had gotten the bed and couch into the house, while the ladies worked on directing their efforts. They had the next few days to begin the unpacking process and had both agreed they would not rest until the house was in a state of order. A perk of being a neat freak, Daniel surmised.

  “I know we said we wouldn’t rest until the house was all put together, but I believe a momentary celebration and toast is in order,” Shelby said as she came back into the living room with a bottle of champagne in hand.

  Daniel smiled, he loved how she made everything in life more fun. He took the bottle, while she went back in for the glasses.

  “We can still work while drinking champagne. I am not opposed to that at all,” Daniel called back after her.

  As he popped the bubbly, Shelby beamed. “We manifest very well together Mr. Tillman.”

  “Indeed we do,” Daniel replied, pouring the champagne in her glass. “Mom would be very proud of us.”

  “For finally listening to her, yes.” Shelby said. Then, she said thoughtfully, “She hasn’t been around lately—have you noticed that?”

  “You know, I did notice. During my session with Gabby, I realized that we hadn’t heard anything from her since we visited her grave site.”

  “Maybe she’s moving on now that she got us on our path together?” Shelby asked.

  “Yeah, sort of like she did her job for us and now she needs to focus on her. That’s what I was thinking, too. Maybe she’s getting ready to incarnate into another life. We’ll have to pay attention to who amongst our friends ends up pregnant next! I’ll miss her visits, not the in-person ones, of course,” Daniel said with a chuckle. “But, I know we can call on her whenever we need her.”

  “Cheers to that,” Shelby said.

  Daniel smiled and raised his glass, adding a toast of his own. “To us and our new life together. To my mother who made it all possible. And finally, to the Universe. May it continue to bless us as we continue to follow the signs it sends.”

  Chapter 11

  Daniel and Shelby had been living in their new home for a little over a month, when Shelby noticed it. She was sitting in the living room working on a new line of jewelry to promote for the New Year when it dawned on her—she hadn’t had her period that month. Suddenly her cozy blue sofa didn’t feel so cozy. She had to check a calendar—right away.

  “Daniel…” Shelby called out as she scurried from the living room to his office, her socks causing her to slide as she rounded the corner. Their pseudo-Christmas tree, a rosemary bush, still had lights on it, giving the house a warm, cozy glow.

  “Whoa Shelb, you in some kind of hurry?”

  “Must. See. Calendar.” Shelby feigned dramatic, but a knot was rising in her stomach. How long had it been? Daniel had a huge wall calendar that he used to stay on track with the timeline that Penguin had outlined for his three novels. She squinted down to see the previous month. She had started on November 15—it was now nearly New Year’s. Shelby shook her head.

  Daniel leaned in, noticing how concerned she was.

  “What’s going on baby?” He asked as he rubbed her back.

  She looked at him, her face red. Her mind was doing its analytical dance, calculating days/numbers, probability of actually being pregnant, etc. All she could think of was, I have to talk to Kathryn. With that, she and her sliding socks ran back out to the living room where she promptly picked up her phone and called Kathryn.

  “You sure everything’s okay?” Daniel called out after her.

  “Mmm-hmm…” was all Shelby could muster. She didn’t want to outright lie to him, but this situation was going to need a girl intervention before she even broached the topic with Daniel. They both wanted children…in the future. The fact that she was more than 11 days late gave her a shocking wake-up call. She was definitely not ready to have a baby.

  The phone rang and rang, and just when Shelby was sure she was getting exiled to voicemail, Kathryn picked up the phone.

  # # #

  Daniel scratched his head. It wasn’t like Shelby to be so dramatic and then not tell him what was going on. It was not lost on him that she hadn’t actually answered his question. He had tried leading her with the “you sure everything’s okay?”, even though she had implied otherwise. Even so, Daniel was no dummy. A “mmm-hmmm” was not a legit answer. But, whatever it was clearly needed Kathryn’s input before he was granted access to it. He sighed and then smiled. It was probably better that way. It was most likely some girl issue that he would be better off not knowing anything about.

  Sitting back down, Daniel stared at his computer screen, his mouth slightly ajar. He had a three-book deal. Now, he had to complete his second novel and get going on the third. The problem was, he was stuck. His mind could not come up with a strong way to end the story. His characters had faced their conflict and had come back to a place of peace. The fact that he had people waiting to read this novel was adding to the pressure. What if his first novel was a fluke and they hated his next two books?

  Not helpful self-talk, Daniel. Re-frame, re-frame.

  Daniel took a few deep breaths and began tapping Cortices, it calmed him down tremendously, allowing him to relax and refocus. Besides, he wasn’t going to get anywhere if he worried about what Jonathan or Penguin thought about his work.

  Didn’t he know that none of his writing came from his mind, but rather from his soul? Why he had spent the past few hours trying to mentally make it happen was beyond him. Sometimes, he forgot that everything he needed was already inside of him. So, he closed his eyes, breathing into his characters and their souls. Then, he placed his hands over his keyboard.

  And began to type.

  # # #

  Shelby had tried to tell Daniel she was leaving, but he was so engrossed in his writing, she decided not to disturb him. Besides, she figured the less dramatic she was about where she was going and what she was doing with Kathryn, the better. So, she wrote him a quick note and scurried out the front door.

  She was meeting Kathryn for tea at Jade Patisserie in Sellwood, known for its gluten-free offerings and off-the-charts delicious macaroons. And right now, Shelby felt like she needed about 20 of the white chocolate sea salt macaroons. A sugar-rush was sure to dissolve the terror of actually being pregnant.

  But, the macaroon food fest was going to have to wait. From the moment she walked in the door at Jade, Kathryn was all business.

  “Okay, how many days late are you?” were the first words out of her mouth.

  Shelby looked around, a bit exasperated. She lea
ned over the table and said in a high-pitch whisper, “Geesh Kathryn, why don’t you let all of southeast Portland know that I’m a little over 11 days late for my period.”

  “11 days. Okay. Alright. I was 11 days late once…you’re probably fine.”

  “Um, were you having sex?”

  Kathryn rolled her eyes. “Semantics. No, I wasn’t. But, my point is—it happens. You’re probably fine. Besides, nothing ever happens unless it’s meant to happen. You and Daniel want kids, right?”

  “Yes, we do. But not four months into our relationship.”

  “Have you had any slips as it were?” Kathryn was not wasting any time in getting to the heart of what was really going on.

  “Easy killer,” Shelby replied standing up. “We’ll get to the details soon enough. But right now, I’m starved.”

  Kathryn smirked.

  “I haven’t eaten lunch,” Shelby snapped back. As she walked over to the counter, she couldn’t help but begin to add things up—she was starved, and she had eaten lunch, and she just snapped at her closest friend after she had raced down to meet her to discuss the possible pregnancy disaster. She shook her head, this was not looking good.

  And Kathryn had every right to ask about slips. It had happened right after they moved into their new home. They hadn’t yet hung up the very large mirror that was now in the living room, and Daniel had come up with a fantastic idea of moving the mirror into the bedroom. The whole “slip” spiraled from there.

  Shelby hadn’t been incredibly excited to make love in front of a mirror. She was worried she would end up more fixated on the possibility of Daniel looking at her cellulite, taking her completely out of the moment. But, with dimmed lights and candles scattered throughout the room, Shelby saw herself in a whole new light—literally.

  Daniel walked up behind Shelby, wrapping his arms around her. “You’re a goddess,” he whispered into her ear.

  Their naked bodies pressed against one another, as Daniel rubbed his strong, smooth body against Shelby’s. The candlelight, and Daniel draped around her, made Shelby feel like she was, in fact, a goddess. The two of them, standing there like that, feeling one another and looking into each other’s eyes through the mirror was more erotic than Shelby could have imagined.

  Pleasure filled her body as she arched her back into Daniel. He covered her neck with kisses, letting his hands linger down to her heat, stroking her gently. Shelby was so overcome with passion, she couldn’t contain herself. She turned around to Daniel and pushed him onto the bed. Their kissing and stroking reached a fever pitch and Shelby couldn’t stop herself. And neither could Daniel. Sitting on top of Daniel, their two bodies in total one-ness and union, Shelby felt the depth of their connection—the passion, the emotion, the sacredness of their love. She felt so safe and so free with him in that moment, nothing else seemed to matter.

  Maybe it had been the new atmosphere, the warm glow of the candles, or the intoxication of seeing their two naked bodies together through the image of the mirror, but neither Shelby nor Daniel gave a thought to using a condom that night.

  “Really?” Kathryn was riveted by her story. “You were so overcome with passion that you forgot to use a condom?” she asked in disbelief. “I’ve never known you to be so overcome by anything. I’m quite impressed.”

  Shelby’s head was down, her hands in her hair. “I know, right? I blame the mirror though. If I hadn’t seen how hot it all was, I most likely would have had enough working brain cells to get protection. Damn mirror,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Okay, even so, it is truly a miracle every time a woman gets pregnant. So, just because you had a mirror incident—and sweetie, it happens to the best of us—doesn’t mean you’re with child. It’s probably nothing. You moved in together, we just wrapped up the holidays, you’ve been under a lot of stress. That’s all it is.”

  Shelby grabbed another macaroon.

  “You know what you need?” Kathryn asked.

  “A new, baby-less uterus?” Shelby inquired.

  “A pregnancy test.”

  # # #

  Daniel emerged from his writing room, only to find the house dark and quiet. He had gone into such a writing zone, he wasn’t sure how much time had passed or where Shelby was. He walked through the house until he found a note on the fridge from Shelby saying she was going out to have tea with Kathryn. He peaked into the living room, to discover that Shelby had left all of her jewelry-making equipment and supplies scattered around with the television still on (she was watching the complete series of Sex & The City as her winter activity), the Sex & The City DVD intro screen shining brightly in the darkness of the house, although the volume was on mute.

  “That’s odd,” Daniel mumbled as he turned off the television and DVD player.

  It was as if Shelby ran out of the house without a thought.

  As Daniel went to walk toward the bathroom, he thought he saw something move in the shadows, near the laundry room. He noticed a slight breeze tickling his skin. He caught his breath. It had been a couple of months. Could it be?

  “Mom?” Daniel asked.

  He thought he saw the shadow move again. Did she have a message for him?

  “Mom, is everything okay?”

  There was no response.

  The shadow moved and Daniel followed it. It went straight into the room that was meant to be Shelby’s jewelry studio, but for now housed boxes. Even so, Shelby had been more content to watch reruns of Sex & The City and make jewelry in the living room.

  The shadow lingered for a bit in the empty bedroom and then slowly faded into nothingness. Daniel didn’t understand why it wanted to hang out in the spare bedroom. He shook his head and said, “Well mom, if you decide you want to come visit us again, you’re always welcome.”

  # # #

  Shelby came in shortly afterwards, her head hanging down, tears in her eyes.

  “Are you ready to tell me what’s going on love?” Daniel inquired. He sensed that whatever Shelby and Kathryn had discussed was now ready to be shared with him. He wanted to tell Shelby about the shadow in the spare room, but decided it would have to wait.

  Shelby sighed and sat on the couch. She handed him a grocery bag.

  “Well, let’s start here.” She said.

  Daniel opened the bag, there was only one small box in it. He reached in and grabbed it.

  “What the? A pregnancy test? What’s going on? Do you think…” Daniel’s voice trailed off as his mind worked to calculate timeframes and unprotected sex. “The mirror…”

  “Yep, that damn mirror Daniel. What were we thinking?”

  “We weren’t,” Daniel smiled, placing his hand on Shelby’s leg, rubbing it softly. “But really, that was one time and I practically pulled out.”

  Of course, this was not entirely true, but Shelby didn’t have the energy to correct him. What was done was done. Now, it was time for them to find out if the “damn mirror”—as it was about to be forever branded—was leading them to parenthood.

  “Ready to do this thing?” Shelby said, rubbing her eyes. She was tired. She and Kathryn had talked through it every which way. She had cried briefly when the reality of it came crashing in (Kathryn had made some comment about drinking apple juice spritzers on New Year’s Eve and Shelby just about burst into tears.).

  Now, sitting in front of Daniel, his denial clearly in place, Shelby wanted to know for sure what she was dealing with and make a decision from there. There were only a few things she was sure of at this juncture: for starters, she was not ready to be a mother. While being a mom sounded like a “fun” prospect “down the road”, it was not something she was ready to dive into now. Yes, she and Daniel were in love, and yes, they even had the financial means and home to welcome a new addition. But, even though the practical aspects were in place, the emotional piece was not there.

  Besides, Shelby had a long-held fantasy of making love to her partner knowing they were calling in the soul that would be their child. Sh
e wanted to be more intentional about it all. She couldn’t imagine the Universe would allow a child to come into their lives before they were ready. And because she had such strong faith in the Universe, she held out hope that despite the mirror incident, she and Daniel would be able to remain childless for as many years as they wanted.

  # # #

  But Shelby’s faith in the Universe was misplaced.

  She didn’t fully understand that before she incarnated, she agreed to certain events and people that she would come together with. Some would be for short periods of time (like workaholic Josh, a man she dated briefly, or like her maniacal editor at Hello Portland, who wouldn’t be in her life forever), and others would be a bigger part of her life journey—people like Kathryn and Daniel and…Daniel’s mother. Shelby failed to recognize that soul contracts are made long before we enter into each life, and that they must be carried out, no matter what feelings may arise in the moment.

  Shelby walked out of the bathroom in disbelief.

  One look at her and Daniel knew.

  Shelby was pregnant.

  Author’s Notes

  In May 2010, two months after my grandfather Earl passed on, and while on vacation in Maui, he appeared at the side of my bed in the middle of the night. I was so freaked out that I could barely breathe. He held my hand, calmly saying my name, in an attempt to soothe me. Much like Daniel’s reaction to his mother’s appearance, I screamed, asking him to leave, telling him I couldn’t handle seeing him. Shortly after, he came to me in a dream, with a message that I was to deliver to my grandmother (and, no doubt, the message he wanted to deliver to me in person). He wanted her to know that he loved her and not to worry, they would be together soon.

  And like Shelby’s experience, my grandfather also wanted to warn my grandmother about some electrical issues at the home they had shared for more than 30 years. While my grandmother does not believe that something like this is possible, her reaction to my message from grandpa was thoughtful and kind (normally she would align this with an act of the devil and most likely hang up on me). Since that visit, grandpa makes rarer appearances to me, although I have awoken to see him in a wispy outline like described in the Rose Garden scene, doing some type of work in my energy field. He also occasionally makes appearances in healing sessions and psychic readings I have received.