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When Jessica got off the light rail at school, she went past the Starbucks that was her usual stop before class and walked back to her dorm room. On the train she made the decision to skip her afternoon psych class to do some of her own research. Observation was the key to any discovery and now that she was sure the break in into her room was real, she decided to find Kim to see if she remembered the person from last night.
Upon entering the lobby, Jessica saw the familiar arrangement of pink dreadlocks that crowned Kim’s head. She wasn’t surprised to find her there. She wasn’t even sure Kim was taking any classes because she was always at the desk. “Hey Jessica,” Kim said as soon as she saw her. “I had no idea how you dated older men. Very good looking for the business type.” She gave Jessica a wink. “He didn’t look like the kind of guy you would meet in the chemistry lab. Glad to see you getting out.”
Jessica was furious. “Did you let him into my room?”
“You weren’t there. He said he wanted to surprise you.” Then she reached out and squeezed Jessica’s hand. “So romantic!”
Yeah, in the sociopathic sense of the word, Jessica thought realizing maybe she was getting something out of Psych class.
She went up to her room. Everything looked just how it had that morning except the chest of drawers was back against the wall. Her roommates might have moved it back but it was more their style just to move it out of the way. She got the feeling that something was wrong and looked around. The chest of drawers was not only back in place, it looked as though it had been cleaned. She looked at the nightstand and saw it was empty. The note was gone.
Again, she started to get scared and stopped herself. Even his behavior is a clue. This man did not like loose ends and was willing to risk getting caught to tidy them up. She was taking Psych 101 mostly because she needed 3 more credits and it was interesting but more than psychological analysis and theory, Jessica liked observation.
Why did the guy leave the note? What was he hoping to accomplish? She remembered seeing him when he came with the police to Dorrie’s store. He had played the worried, loving husband and tried to use his good looks to get Dorrie to show him, or maybe even give him, the ring. Dorrie didn’t fall for it. Maybe he thought her young niece would be easier to charm. Now she was angry and headed downstairs.
When she got to the lobby, she saw Kim talking on the phone. She walked up to the desk and signaled her to put it down. “This is important.” Jessica told her. “If that man comes again, call security.” Kim frowned and looked confused. “I will explain later, just promise.”
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By the time Dorrie got home it was well after four. As soon as she parked the car Pumpkin dashed into the house. The closed sign of the store had been changed back to open. Dorrie was surprised to see Jessica sitting at the counter. She was curious why Jessica was back so early and started to ask but Jessica was not her usual excited self. She seemed distracted by something and just nodded greetings. Dorrie was still annoyed by her own fruitless adventure to the museum and needed to think about things so she just nodded and went to the kitchen.
The kitchen was always Dorrie’s sanctuary. She took a deep breath. The herbs she had hanging in her kitchen always helped. There was still lavender, mint and lemon balm harvested in fall. All very relaxing but she needed something stronger. She turned on her tea pot and scooped black tea into her strainer, added serval dried fennel seeds and sat down.
Ray would be there after 6 to discuss the mystery and now with the break-ins there was a real sense of urgency. It was time for energy clearing. Her version of this was very practical. She would start dinner. Chili, she decided and put her soup pot on the stove.
First, she poured in water. “Clarity and calming,” she softly said these words, inviting these qualities as the water poured from the spigot. Next came fire, in her case the orange flames of the gas stove. “Energy and transformation,” she invited. Two things she needed now. She was exhausted and it was still early. She became aware of the headache that had been there all day. She added salt, black pepper, chili peppers, and oregano, leaving off the lid to allow the vapors to rise. As the water started to lift off its first wisps of steam, she added chopped garlic and onions, all raw so their full power would seep into the soup. When she could begin to smell it, she added beans, tomatoes, stored roasted peppers. Keep it simple. Olive oil for richness. A few gentle stirs and just let it cook. The beauty of cooking magic is you knew the spell is done when it smelled good enough to eat.
She texted Ray and told him what she was fixing for supper and reminded him to come when he closed shop. Then she took a deep breath. For now, she could just sit on her stool and drink tea. Jessica was in the shop in case there were any late afternoon customers.
It was dizzying how quickly things were happening. A few days ago, no one but her and Jessica came into the kitchen. Now she was having a dinner guest two nights in a row. Her world was opening and there was no way to stop it. As she thought about this, she realized she was excited and terrified at the same time. “You won’t get hurt again,” she heard a voice say, “You’re smarter this time.” Pumpkin? He was still in the store sleeping. With a smile she realized she may have even said that to herself. Maybe she was ready to go there again. It had been a long time, years actually since her own engagement. Maybe she didn’t have to keep protecting herself so fully.
Even as she let herself think about releasing her guard, images and feeling began to pop up like spring flowers, buds looking for the sun. She began to imagine the possibilities. “Don’t try to plan the future. Just let it happen,” she heard herself say. “Just finish your tea.” Dorrie sat on her stool and took long sips of her licoricey blend. It was almost 5 and Ray would be there at 6. She started to feel the nervousness of a kid who didn’t finish her homework. “Don’t forget to breathe, all things will happen as they should if you let them.” It sounded like something Pumpkin would say. She took a deep breath and stared out the window. The sun was shining through the pale white blossoms of the apple tree. Magic, miracles are natural and required very little from us. The head ache was fading now.
“Sorry to interrupt,” came Jessica’s voice from around the door. Dorrie wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there and wondered if she had even fallen asleep for a few minutes. “There is a woman who has some questions about healing stones. I told her you would be the better one to answer them.”
That was how they divided things. Dorrie was the healing expert and Jessica the fashion expert. Her break had been short but her burden to figure things out had been lifted. She was still in the dreamy state of letting things unfold as she followed Jessica back into the shop.
A young woman was looking through the strands of beads that people bought to make their own jewelry. “May I help you?” Dorrie asked.
The woman smiled, and then quickly looked down as though embarrassed. “I don’t really know anything about stones or how they work but I am very interested in them,” she said quietly.
“Are you interested in studying the healing qualities of stones in general or do you have a specific health need?” asked Dorrie.
“I guess a little of both.” The woman’s body started to relax. “I think what I really am trying to find out is whether stones can only be used for healing or if they can have other powers.”
The question took Dorrie by surprise. Usually people only ask if they can heal small illnesses or if they can help serious ones. This question was different and very well thought out. Dorrie had to think about it herself for a minute. “I guess that depends on how you define healing. For me healing is anything from curing a cold to giving us the insight and strength to follow our dreams.” Dorrie was warming up to her subject.
“Do you think that a stone could make us see things we didn’t see before?” The woman looked at Dorrie very seriously.
Dorrie had to think about how to answer it. What did the woman mean by see things she hadn’t seen before? Dorrie wanted to be sure what was being asked so she looked at the woman more completely. She noticed the rumpled clothes with some dirt on them even though the hair was clean and brushed. A lot of people camped at the river and she could tell by the trash that was left there, alcohol and drugs were usually involved. Dorrie felt it was none of her business if she was one of them but she did want to consider it when she answered the question. The woman seemed to need help, “Do you mean see things that aren’t there or things that you just never noticed before?”
The woman immediately looked down at her rumpled shirt. She wrapped her arms around herself and glanced at the door as though making sure she could run out if she needed to. Dorrie realized she had offended her and felt terrible. She truly wanted to help and sensed that somehow this woman was familiar.
“I am sorry to ask it that way, but I want to be sure I am giving you the information you need. There are many stones that can give us insight and clarity into ourselves.”
The woman softened again. “Can they give us insight into other people?”
Again, Dorrie was taken by surprise. She thought a moment. Until her experience with the ring, she had never felt a stone give her insight into another person. “I never thought of it before,” she said. then realized that wasn’t completely true . “I have only felt that once,” she admitted, “but I didn’t completely understand it. Certainly, they can help us with intuition.”
“Maybe that’s it,” said the woman but Dorrie’s own intuition told her that her answer wasn’t quite right. She knew she was missing something. The ring was still in her pocket and it began to grow warm. That was when it occurred to her that this was the mystery woman who left the ring.
Pumpkin was, as cats always are, only half sleeping on the windowsill and heard her thoughts. “Are you going to tell her you know who she is?” he asked now sitting up and swishing his tail.
Dorrie felt the ring in her pocket. It now grew cooler. She was beginning to learn how the ring was talking to her and to trust it. “Not yet,” she shook her head. “I don’t even know what I would say Besides, I don’t think she is ready to let me know who she is.”
“I have some books here that might help. You’re welcome to browse through them if you like.” Dorrie sold a few books in the store but she felt bad that she couldn’t help the woman more with her question so she pulled her own large volumes from under the counter and offered them to the woman. “Take as long as you like,” Dorrie added.
Jessica caught Dorrie’s eye and looked at the clock. It was already after five. Dorrie realized Jessica would have to start her homework soon. “I made a pot of chili for supper,” Dorrie said to Jessica “If you would just stir it and keep half an eye on it, I will stay here and go through the mail.”
Jessica was pretty sure that it was old stack of junk mail, but she knew Dorrie didn’t like to rush customers. That was just how she was. Jessica picked up her backpack and headed for the kitchen leaving the woman studying pictures of stones, and Dorrie reading about gutter guards and credit card offers.
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A HALF AN HOUR LATER Dorrie came into the kitchen with her junk mail and her cash drawer. Jessica had three open books and at least three more piles of paper completely covering the table. That is just how Jessica is, Dorrie thought. If her table was bigger there would just be more piles; There was a liquid quality to the way Jessica worked. Dorrie saw the spoon sticking out of the pot of chili and knew that Jessica had stirred it at least once. She put her things down on the counter and walked over to the pot to take a quick taste.
“Is she gone?” asked Jessica without looking up.
“Yes,” Dorrie answered. “She was a very nice young lady. Hopefully she found something in the books.”
“It was nice of you to stay open for her.”
“I wanted to but she seemed to feel a little guilty about it. She insisted on buying something.” Dorrie added a pinch more of red pepper to the chili and absentmindedly gave it a stir. She was troubled. In a pang of regret, she said to Pumpkin, “I should have told her what I know. She is in danger.”
“You’re right, she is in danger” said Pumpkin. Why did he have to agree with her when she didn’t want him to? “But she isn’t ready,” he continued. “You can’t catch a bird that’s still flying.”
“What a horrible analogy. I don’t want to catch her. I want to help her.”
“Of course, you do. And the note you slipped in her bag is enough. She will read it when she is ready.” Then he yawned and closed his eyes.
“What did she buy?” Jessica asked.
“An amethyst crystal but when she found out it was under my five dollar credit card minimum, she bought three strands of beading stones. I told her just to take the crystal for free but she insisted on buying it all. I’m sure she didn’t need the beading stones.”
“Oh well, they’re pretty. I get the feeling that she could use some of the protective power of amethyst anyway.”
Dorrie smiled, “You have been reading my books!”
“No, but I have been listening to you.” Jessica gave her a playful grin. “The chili smells great,” she said closing her books. “When is Ray coming over?”
“Oh my Gosh, any minute. I have to get dressed.” Dorrie ran upstairs.
Jessica had known Aunt Dorrie all her life and never known her to “get dressed” for company. She wondered what that would actually look like.
Ten minutes later she found out; It didn’t look like much. Dorrie had changed her blue blouse for a pink one, combed her hair and maybe, just maybe she was wearing a pale pink lipstick. It was hard to tell. Aunt Dorrie was a fan of being subtle.