Cascade (20 page)

“
Exciting!” Jill said. Jill set
her books down so she could greet Scooter and Sarah. The dogs
wagged and wiggled while she pet them. “I met a couple other people
in the interior design program. I have to take a bunch of
prerequisites, even though it’s the Art Institute. But they don’t
look so hard and Meg’s taking them with me.”

“
She’s going for…”

“
Fashion design,” Jill said.
“Claire Martins has really encouraged Megan to try it. Meg did some
of our alterations at the last commercial shoot. And Claire thinks
she’s really good! We’re in most of our classes together this
year.”

“
I’m excited for you.” Delphie
hugged Jill.

“
Me too!” Jill said. “Last
January, I completely gave up on going to school. Of course, I was
going for something practical like accounting. And now, here I am.
It’s a dream come true.”

“
That’s really great.” Delphie
smiled. “What are you up to now?”

“
I was going to work on Colin and
Julie’s place for a couple of hours before I pick up Katy. She and
Paddie are playing this afternoon while Julie and I look at
colors,” Jill said. “My parents and family are coming over tonight.
I thought you and Sam were going to the Avenue Theater
tonight.”

“
We have tickets,” Delphie
said.

“
What’s up?” Jill
asked.

“
Jacob told me that you make his
powers stronger,” Delphie said.

“
He says that,” Jill said. “I
don’t really know anything about it. Katy has more vivid dreams
when I’m with her, but I think it’s because she feels safer when
I’m around. Like she had that dream about Trevor taking her when
she was at Megan’s house. When I was there, she had dreams that she
would be all right, but she didn’t believe them because she was so
afraid of Trevor. Does that make sense?”

“
You’re saying her dreams were
more valid…?”

“
More complete. Trevor did try to
steal her but she was also all right,” Jill said. “She knew that
when I was there. Jacob says his powers are stronger when I’m
around but I only know him when I’m around him. You
know?”

“
I understand what you’re saying,”
Delphie said.

“
Why do you ask?” Jill realized
for the first time that Delphie seemed anxious and
upset.

“
I’m in some trouble,” Delphie
said. “You know that man…”

“
Johansen?” Jill asked.

“
Yes,” Delphie said. “He has me in
a kind of psychic… bind.”

“
Can I help?” Jill
asked.

“
I don’t know,” Delphie said.
“Jake says I need to forgive myself for something that happened a
long time ago. But…”

“
You mean Delbert?”

“
You know about that?” Delphie
flushed. Her eyes welled up with tears.

Jill hugged Delphie.

“
How can I help?” Jill asked
again.

Delphie sniffled then stepped back.

“
I was hoping maybe if I asked
Celia for help, and you were here, we could break through the
cloud,” Delphie said.

“
What about the guilt?” Jill
asked.

“
I don’t know if I can get rid of
it,” Delphie said. “There’s no way around it. I killed a
man.”

“
You’re not that powerful,
Delphie! If you were, you would have saved Celia or Val’s baby or
Jacob last summer. Why didn’t you save them?”

“
I only know things! I
can’t…”

“
Right,” Jill said. “Even Jacob
can’t control the world. That’s silly. You’re not God.”

Stunned, Delphie dropped onto the living room
couch. Jill’s words hit her one at a time.

You.

Are.

Not.

God.

As if they were a spell written in smoke, the
words rotated around her head. She felt Jill sit down next to her
and take her hand. Delphie sighed.

“
I’m not a Goddess,” Delphie
whispered. “And Levi’s not a God.”

“
Of course,” Jill said. “We can
only live out what life we’re given. We can’t make life
happen.”

“
Can’t make life happen… I can’t
make life happen.” Delphie laughed with relief. “I’m just me. Just
a minor oracle.”

“
And a major miracle, at least to
me! Are you all right?” Jill whispered.

“
I’m really good,” Delphie
laughed. “Naomi?”

Delphie called Celia by her spirit name and
for the first time in months Celia appeared. Delphie’s eyes filled
with joyful tears.

“
Can you see her?” Delphie
asked.

“
See who?” Jill asked.

“
You’ve saved me.” Delphie hugged
Jill. “Bless you, Jillian Roper.”

Jill kissed Delphie’s cheek.

“
Will you tell Celia that I miss
her?” Jill looked around the room.

“
She knows,” Delphie
said.

“
I’ll leave you to enjoy each
other.”

Picking up her books and purse, Jill stood up
to leave. She was almost at the door when a warm loving sensation
overcame her. Jill smiled and tried to return the loving feelings.
Shaking her head at how strange and wonderful her life had become,
she made her way to her apartment.

~~~~~~~~

Monday mid-day — 12:40
P.M.

“
We’re confused,” Mike said.
“Val’s never had regular periods. Especially since she’s been an
actress. She’s too thin for that. And with the movie, she’s lost
even more body fat.”

“
When was your last period, Val?”
The doctor asked.

“
Boy, I don’t know,” she said.
“Last summer some time. I haven’t been eating really.”

“
And recently?”

“
Well, I found out I lost the
movie, so I ate a bunch. Cheesecake. Ice cream. Brownies. That’s
why I’m so pudgy now.”

While Mike rolled his eyes, Valerie slapped
her flat belly.

“
You restricted calories followed
by a period of high caloric intake,” the doctor said. “That would
do it.”

“
Do what?” Valerie asked. “What is
going on?”

“
Oh,” the doctor chuckled to
himself. “I didn’t say it?”

“
Say what?” Mike asked.

“
You’re pregnant,” the doctor
said. “Not very. Probably only a few weeks. But pregnant
nonetheless.”

Mike grabbed the doctor by his white
coat.

“
What’s the sex?” Mike
asked.

“
Hey settle down.” The doctor
dusted Mike off his white coat. “We won’t know for a few months.
You don’t have to know. Lots of couples wait until birth to be
surprised.”

“
We need to know today,” Mike
said. “Val can’t have boys. No boys.”

The doctor shook his head as if he didn’t hear
correctly.

“
We’ll do an ultrasound today
and…” the doctor started.

“
It’s a genetic thing. Boys in my
family have genetic problems,” Valerie said. “Can you do an amnio
today?”

“
No, it’s dangerous to
the…”

“
Please,” Valerie said. “My life
depends on it.”

~~~~~~~~

Monday night — 6:40 P.M.

The Castle

The silence in the dining room was deafening.
Sitting between Mike and Jacob, Jill looked from face to face in
the room. Easy going, kind, wonderful, loving Steve was a bound up
with rage. His pregnant wife, Leslie, kept trying to calm him.
Candy and Jazmyne looked like they were ready to bolt at any
moment. Mike was so uncomfortable he kept shifting in his chair.
Jacob made a few stabs at conversation before he gave up. Even
Megan was over focused on her eggplant. Her usually jovial husband
Tim was silent.

The elephant in the room?

Mama brought her husband to dinner.

It had to happen some day.

Mama had been in their lives for two months.
They’d spent an amazing Christmas all together. It was completely
perfect in every way. Everyone said they had the best Christmas
ever.

And now her husband appeared.

And Steve was furious.

Steve threw his fork onto his plate. His plate
shattered with the impact of silver against china. Everyone turned
to look at him.

“
You killed my father! Stole our
mother! Left us orphans to fend for ourselves! And I am supposed to
sit down with the psychopath who destroyed my life as if nothing
happened?”

“
Psychopath?” Anjelika’s husband’s
accent was straight out of British colonial Africa. He raised an
eyebrow at Steve. “Are you sure?”

“
God damn it!” Steve jumped from
his chair. With his index finger pointing at the man, he screamed,
“We don’t deserve your sarcasm. You have no idea what we’ve been
through.”

“
And what do you deserve?” the man
asked.

“
The truth,” Candy’s voice
vibrated with emotion. “I want to know what happened to Dad. I’m
sorry Mama, but I don’t know this man at all. And Dad…”

Candy sniffed at her tears.

“
I cried every night for… for
years for Mama and Daddy,” Candy said. “I want to know why…
why?”

“
He’s did it for money.” Holding
his hand out to his wife, Steve said, “A murderer. No more, no
less. Come on, Leslie. Let’s go.”

“
You’re so like your father,”
Anjelika’s husband said. “Run away. Go ahead.”

“
Now listen,” Mike said. “We’ve
had a tough time of it. There’s no reason for you to taunt Steve.
Steve, Candy and Jill grew up without parents. Meg and
I…”

“
Yes, Mikhail, you’re correct,”
Anjelika said.

Everyone stopped moving, breathing, when
Anjelika spoke.

“
I’m so sorry, Angel.” Her husband
kissed her cheek. “I lost myself.”

“
We must tell them the truth,”
Anjelika said. “They are adults. They deserve to know
everything.”

Anjelika’s eyes held her husband’s eyes. He
gave her a curt nod. For not more than a split second, his eyes
shifted to Jill. Jill flushed.

“
What? What was that?” Mike jumped
to his feet. “Why did you look at Jill? Leave Jill out of
this.”

When Jill put her hand on Mike’s forearm, Mike
looked down at his sister.

“
Please sit down.” Jill said.
Leaning around Mike, she said, “Please Steve. Please.”

Steve’s attention jerked to Jill. Seeing her
distress, he flushed.

“
I’m sorry Jake, I broke your
china,” Steve said.

“
Actually, it’s my china,” Valerie
said. “And that’s all right. Let me get you another plate. Leslie?
Tim? Jazmyne? Why don’t we work on dessert while they
talk?”

Jacob leaned down to kiss Jill as he got up.
He swept the mess of Steve’s dinner onto a tray and carried it into
the kitchen.

“
Wine?” Jill held up the bottle of
wine.

Anjelika’s husband smiled at her. He said
something in Russian to her mother. Anjelika chuckled.

“
We don’t know what to call you,”
Mike said. “And Papa doesn’t really work for us.”

“
I’m called Perses,” he said.
“Anjelika calls me Pyotr, when she’s angry. Most people call me
Peter or Pete. I will answer to any of those names.”

Mike sat down then yanked Steve down into his
chair.

“
Why did you kill our father?”
Mike asked.

“
He was dying. I sped the process
along,” Perses said. “Some might say it was quite the humanitarian
gesture.”

“
What?” Candy’s voice echoed over
the others.

“
Stuff it,” Mike said. “I’ll
handle this.”

“
You’re not the boss of me,” Steve
said. “I say what I want.”

Candy giggled at Steve’s oft stated sentiment.
Megan and Mike laughed. Jill joined in when Steve finally laughed.
They stopped their tension-filled laughter when Mike cleared his
throat.

“
We don’t understand what you’re
saying,” Mike said. “You killed our father.”

“
He was not your father, Mikhail,”
Perses said. “But, yes, I ended his life.”

“
And he was dying?”

“
He had an injury to his neck,”
Perses said. “Rather than let him bleed to death, I finished him.
There would have been no way to save him, even if I’d wanted
to.”

“
Why wouldn’t you want to save
him?” Megan asked.

Mike kicked her under the table. She glared at
him.

“
He stole my wife, my children. He
beat my Anjelika, my children. I am sorry to stay this, Steven. I
am. But your father was a cruel, abusive man who did terrible
things to people I love.”

Perses and Steve’s eyes held across the table.
Steve’s face clouded. He looked away.

“
How was he injured?” Mike
asked.