Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,78
me with a knowing look. “You do not believe,” a smile played about her mouth. “No matter. The spirits do not busy themselves with mortal concerns.”
“That’s good,” I said flippantly, annoyed at the way she rolled her r’s. Madame Fatima took a second deep breath and rubbed her palms together before placing them on mine. Her eyes sprang open wide, blindly shocked, and then went blank.
“There is an inheritance, a birthright you must claim,” she intoned.
Wrong person, I thought, thinking about Cruz. She continued, and it was as if someone else–
someone stronger– spoke through her tiny body, “The spirits require a sacrifice. Something of importance must be surrendered.” She drew a jagged, stuttering breath, “The water holds the key... you have powers... you have powers far greater than mine.” She lowered her chin to her chest, “The ancestral water is the source.”
I yanked my hands back, shocked.
She looked up, face impassive, ancient eyes guarded, “That is all.” The water reference was what got me, and the part about sacrifice. It echoed what Ethan had told me about Lue Song’s predictions. It made me want to find Lorelei again desperately. But how? My mind was racing as I stumbled back into the sitting room. Evie thanked Fatima and we headed out into the fresh air and daylight.
“Well, what did I tell you? Was she not magnificent?” gushed Evie.
We piled into the car for the drive back to the apartment. I sat quietly in the back seat while Evie and Cruz compared notes about their readings, equally impressed with their authenticity.
“She knew about my father!” Cruz gasped in astonishment. He started animatedly telling Evie the shocking story of how he learned about his inheritance. Until today, he wasn’t sure if he was going to respond to the letter or not.
“How heart-wrenching!” Evie empathized. She was fascinated with any kind of human drama, and the story of Abby’s love affair and abandonment really touched a nerve with her. She also loved paradoxes, and the fact that honest, sweet Abby could have deceived Cruz all these years intrigued her.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave...” she said sadly.
Cruz went on to explain that Fatima had asked him about a certain amount of money that was being sent his way, and advised him to accept it. Surprise surprise, the skeptic in me thought.
“She said it was the will of one in the spirit world,” Cruz said solemnly.
“He’s reaching out to you... from the great beyond,” said Evie with her hand to her throat.
I scoffed at them from the back seat, my arms crossed.
“You’re awfully quiet about your reading,” said Cruz, “What did Fatima say to you?”
“Just the usual,” I lied, “You know, I’ll find true love and be wildly successful.” Cruz laughed, “Well, the love part seems to be true already...” Upon which Evie started grilling Cruz for information. I sat squirming the whole way back while Cruz told Evie tales about my friendship with Ethan.
“My little sister... in love for the first time,” Evie said dreamily.
“Little sister?” asked Cruz.
“Sister, niece– whatever!” fussed Evie. She turned and winked at me and I laughed, for that had always been our little joke with waiters and shopkeepers. Evie had a thing about growing old, and didn’t like it when people took us for mother and daughter.
We walked Evie back to the apartment and gathered up the clothes. Cruz took Evie’s measurements, and plans were made for a return visit and dress fitting. We hugged and air kissed our goodbyes, making our way to the parking garage where the Jaguar was gassed up and ready to go.
“Enjoy it sveetie,” said Boris with a nod, handing me the keys.
“You take us home,” I said to Cruz as I passed them on to him. We pulled out of the garage and took the freeway back to Aptos.
Cruz was clearly enjoying driving the sleek silver Jaguar. He turned to me, “You sure weren’t exaggerating!” he grinned and shook his head, “I can’t believe I just met Evelyn Pond!”
“That’s my Aunt Evie,” I said with a chuckle.
“My God! What an amazing woman! You are so lucky to have grown up with her. And she’s aging magnificently! She’s like a real life Auntie Mame!”
“I know, and the fortune teller... pure Evie.”
Cruz nodded, “That was freaky. She really helped me, though.”
“So you decided to find out what your father left you?” I asked.
“Yeah, I guess there’s no point in being angry at a dead man. I might as well know.”