go running with her boyfriend in the park. It was sort of a romantic vision, the two of them frolicking in the moonlight.
“You should go to Stow Lake. It’s a good place to swim at night,” I said. “Just don’t try to get on the small island, it’s covered with sharp blackberry bushes.”
Aidan laughed, “Do you know this from experience?”
I nodded. “Elsa gave me peyote tea when we first met. I spent an entire evening running through the park, seeing colors and hearing voices. Lily thinks I disappeared.”
“We all agreed I made the tea too strong,” Elsa said. “But it worked. She regained her sixth sense.”
“It was extraordinary. All except the part where I woke up in the lily pond next door to the de Young.”
“You spent the night sleeping at the pond?” William asked.
“I was drawn by a voice in my head,” I said. “What I thought was a voice, anyway. It was a hallucination.”
I noticed Elsa gently place a hand on Aidan’s leg and I assumed she was anxious to leave, so I signaled for our waitress to come over so we could settle our bar tab. William waved her off, telling us that the drinks were on him tonight. Aidan slapped William on the back.
“If I had known that, I would have stayed for another round,” he joked, and bade us good night.
Not long after Elsa and Aidan left, we gathered up our belongings to leave. I looked up to find Lily, and saw she was still standing at the bar.
“Do you think Lily will be OK with John?”
“I think Lily can take care of herself, Olivia. She isn’t some naïve human woman. I suspect it will be harder on John when it’s over.”
I glanced one more time at the bar as we were leaving. I caught Lily’s eye. She turned to me and waved, clearly delighted to have a playmate for the night. We exited the club and walked along Divisadero Street for a few blocks until we reached William’s car. It didn’t take long to load his Subaru, and soon we were on the road to my house.
“I’m sorry I can’t invite you in,” I said, as he pulled into my driveway. “I have a busy day tomorrow and need some rest.”
“Not a problem,” he said, walking me to my door. We agreed that we would see each other soon, but I was hesitant to make plans with all of the work I had coming in the next few weeks.
William kissed me deeply on the lips.
“Remember,” he said, “I don’t sleep. You can call me anytime
****
CHAPTER 24
Although the campaign office was in Palo Alto, I continued to spend a few days a week in San Francisco, or at least part of the day. Most of the members of the campaign team, including the pollster, had offices in the city. R.J. Klein ran his company out of a small suite on Sutter Street near Union Square.
As was my usual routine during campaign season, I met with R.J. alone to map out the contents of a poll. In politics, nothing is left to chance, even with skills like mine. Polling is one tool consultants use to learn what voters want, so they can win their support on Election Day. After asking a voter’s opinion on a certain issue, we ask questions about their age, income and even their education. With those kinds of demographic details, I can ensure that Levi’s messages are targeted to various audiences. It’s a backbreaking business, one that takes hours of work to plan, analyze and execute. Our collaboration that morning was successful, and by early afternoon, when I left his office in search of lunch, I had a draft poll in my briefcase.
After grabbing a lentil and bean salad at a French café next door, I headed back to my car, which was parked in a nearby garage. It was a pleasant, sunny day in San Francisco, and I enjoyed a stroll past some of the country’s most prestigious boutiques and jewelry stores.
After living with my new skills for several weeks, I’d decided that being an empath is a lot like a bad acid trip. All of the colors and sensations that come zooming at you can be a shock to your nervous system. Early on, there were moments when I was barely able to enter a busy street without feeling overwhelmed by the totality of people’s emotions and feelings. Now, thanks to hours of training and focus, I have learned to