The Rosaries (Crossroads Series) (34 page)

“Because if I have a number, I can call Mr. Dillard and arrange to have him write you a check; I still don’t have all those details worked out yet.”

“What…? What check are you talking about?”

“Get with the program, Ryan; I’m loaning you the money you need to get your company back on its feet…wait, companies don’t have feet…”

Ryan laughed and tears of relief ran down his cheeks. “You don’t have to do that…why would you do that?”

“Because you are my friend, Ryan; because your family and mine have been close for generations; and because I really appreciate you being here right now. I really want to do something to help, if you will allow me.”

“I don’t know what to say, Natalie; I doubt there are words that can express how I feel right now. I promise you that I will pay you back every red cent with interest as soon as things turn around.”

“
Shhhh
….” Natalie put a finger in front of her nose, “don’t make promises, Ryan. Just accept what I am offering you.”

“I do accept, Natalie, and I am deeply humbled not only by your generosity, but mostly by the kindness you are showing toward someone who attempted to deceive you.”

“You weren’t doing this to hurt me, Ryan; one can’t fault a drowning man for trying to reach a life preserver.”

Sister Justine paced back and forth like a caged animal. She hadn’t heard anything for two days now, and
Lakeisha
didn’t send the daily report Justine had come to expect every night. Although she had no way of confirming anything was wrong until
Lakeisha
called or wrote, she couldn’t ignore the feeling of unease that had taken a hold of her. When her phone rang she almost leaped across the desk to get to it – she was amazed at how frayed her nerves were. The voice on the other side of the line was not the one she had hoped to hear.

“Sister Justine? My name is Natalie Sanders; I am a friend of
Lakeisha
Jackson.”

An icy grip squeezed Justine’s stomach; now she definitely knew something happened. “Yes, This is Sister Justine; how can I be of help, Ms. Sanders?”

“Your number was the only one listed in the address book of
Lakeisha’s
cell phone. I am glad the police retrieved it at my aunt’s house just before we left, or I wouldn’t have been able to call you…”

“Yes?”

“Ma’am, I don’t really know how to say this, but something happened to
Lakeisha
.”

“Please continue Ms. Sanders.”

“There was an accident…
Lakeisha
is gone.”

Sister Justine closed her eyes and silently said a prayer, a stray tear descending down her cheek. Natalie waited a moment to let her absorb the shock, and then said, “I will make arrangements to have her remains flown back to the US within the next day or two; I was wondering if she has any family, or if you are aware of any burial wishes she might have shared with you in the past.”

“Sister
Lakeisha
must be buried here in
New Orleans
, Ms. Sanders. We have a small section of tombs in St. Louis One that are reserved for our order. If you can arrange to fly her remains here, we will be happy to take care of all expenses.”

“That’s not necessary, Sister, I can take care of the expenses. Would it be possible for me to fly down as well? I would like to be there for the funeral.”

“
Lakeisha
thought highly of you, Ms. Sanders. She would be honored to see you at her funeral, I’m quite certain. There are some things you and I must discuss anyway, so it is just as well that you come here.”

“Thank you, Sister. I will be in touch within the next couple of days.”

Justine hung up the phone and went to the secret ritual chamber. The rosary made it to its semi-final destination – it was time to alert the elders.

Melody was preparing for dinner, when she sensed a presence in her room. Thinking that maybe Olivia had forgotten something and had come back in unannounced, she stepped out of the bathroom and nearly screamed when she saw a young girl sitting at the edge of her bed. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Melody asked unnerved. The girl lifted her eyes to look at her, and smiled gently while rubbing her slightly swollen abdomen. “I’ve been waiting for all of this to be over, so I could give you some news, Melody.”

“News? What kind of news?” God only knew Melody didn’t need any more surprises.

“You lost a lot, Melody, but you gained even more.”

“Yes,” Melody said sweetly, fully aware now that the girl was not of this world, and yet not feeling at all scared. “I found my sister. Too bad I had to lose my husband.”

“You didn’t lose your husband, Melody, only his body and his ego. The best part of him, the innocent side of his being, is living and thriving inside of you.”

Melody was confused, but suddenly remembered the feeling of warmth she felt when the man at the gallery was ready to shoot her. It felt exactly as a hand closing in over her stomach, trying to protect it. “What do you mean by the innocent part of him?”

“I lost my baby, Melody, no matter how badly I wanted to keep her safe. My final task was to protect yours.”

Melody stood in stunned silence, the towel she wrapped around her wet hair slowly slipped off, as she instinctively touched her abdomen. “You can’t possibly mean…no, this is not happening…”

Suzanne smiled. “It is, Melody. You are expecting a child - Mario’s baby. I made sure it remained safe.”

Melody felt her legs shaking violently, and quickly went to sit on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the young girl was gone.

Melody, Olivia, Paul and Graham sat at a table in the far corner of Royal India and attempted to make small talk until Natalie arrived. Although all four tried to appear nonchalant, their heads automatically turned toward the entrance anytime someone walked in.

“Are you okay, Melody?” Paul said reaching across the table to cover one of her small hands with his own massive one.

“I’m nervous, Paul. I don’t even see why we met in a restaurant. My stomach is in pieces, I doubt I will be able to eat anything.” She said with a small nervous laugh.

“Same here” Olivia said, “I’m getting ready to meet one more member of my family.”

“I must say, Olivia”, Graham threw in to lighten the mood; “one never gets bored around your family.”

“Ha! So you say, Graham, but believe me, you haven’t seen the half of it.”

“Olivia told me about some of the other adventures today, Paul. They are nothing short of unbelievable.”

“But true.” Paul exclaimed. Before he could add anything else, Natalie and Ryan walked in and strolled to the table.

Olivia and Graham stared at Natalie from the moment she came around the corner until she sat down. “Oh my God! You and Melody look exactly alike. It’s crazy…” Olivia said, her
eyes open wide and filled with surprise. She extended her hand in Natalie’s direction. “Well, we might just want to cut through formalities, since we are family. I’m Olivia, your cousin.”

Natalie smiled and shook Olivia’s hand; she repeated the routine with all of them except Melody whom she hugged instead.

“This is my friend Ryan. He figured he should come along to support me. I am still a little shaken about this.” Natalie admitted smiling.

“It’s nice to see you again, Ryan” Paul said as he shook his hand, “I believe we met the day you arrived. We are staying at the same hotel.”

“That’s right! You told me your niece is from
North Carolina
.”

“Yep, here she is. As it turns out she is your friend’s sister.”

“It really is a small world, and a strange one at that,” Ryan said and sat down beside Natalie.

“We have lived a hundred miles apart our whole lives, and had to travel four thousand miles away from home to meet,” Natalie said softly, unable to stop grinning.

“Isn’t that the truth?” Melody said, a smile also spreading on her face. “Natalie, I know it is early days, but we will need to arrange for you to meet our mother at some point.”

Natalie’s stomach did a somersault. “Oh God, I hadn’t even thought of that…how will she react?”

“She will be shocked, Natalie, as we all are, but I think she will be thrilled.”

“Yeah, she will.” Paul said looking lovingly at his daughter. “Olivia and I didn’t meet until she was a grown woman, but I couldn’t imagine my life without her now.”

Olivia reached across the table to touch her dad’s hand, “I couldn’t either, Dad.”

“So, where do we go from here, Melody? With the rosaries, I mean.
Lakeisha
told me of an ancient prophecy but I am still very confused about all of this.”

“I’m not sure, Natalie. I suppose Spirit will lead us through the rest of the journey.”

Melody thought a few times about sharing the young girl’s revelation with her family, but decided to keep the secret for herself a little longer, at least until after they got back home.

Everyone was so engrossed in the conversation, eager to get to know each other, that none of them noticed the man sitting in the dark corner of the bar. He pulled out a map from his pocket and laid it out on the bar counter; an “x” was already traced over New Orleans, and now he drew one over London. Only when all four signs had manifested, and all four of the keepers were led by fate to bring the items to the sacred point of meeting, would the Elders know it is time to
trigger the shift.
Two more cities to go, two more signs to manifest, many more lives destined to change.

Epilogue

Less than a week had passed since she returned from London, but to Natalie those days felt like a lifetime ago. Everything had been so surreal that by the time she returned to a more familiar environment, all that happened felt like a dream. Her parents and Ryan changed their flights so that they could all travel together, and
Lakeisha’s
remains were flown directly to New Orleans. Natalie was now on route again, this time to attend the funeral of her friend.

It was already arranged that upon her return she would go to
Raleigh
to meet Annie, her real mother. Her parents were a bit apprehensive, but they had nothing to worry about. Regardless of their struggles in the past, everybody was working hard to overcome their differences, and Natalie felt that even Angie, her adoptive mother, was now trying her best to reach out to her.

When her plane landed at New Orleans International Airport, she took a cab to the French Quarter. They drove by a cemetery, and Natalie wondered if it was the one where
Lakeisha
would be laid to rest. She was almost tempted to ask the driver the name of the cemetery they just passed, but he didn’t seem to speak much English, so she killed that idea in its infancy. It took about twenty minutes to arrive at their destination. The driver pulled up in front of a dated two-story brick building near the intersection of Royal and
Dumaine
. Natalie stepped out of the cab, paid the driver and looked up at the wrought iron balcony. As she did, she noticed a curtain move behind one of the windows, and within seconds, a woman dressed in nun garb opened a door and stepped outside to meet her. “Ms. Sanders?”

“Yes, how are you? Are you Sister Justine?”

The woman nodded, as her blue, loose gown gently waved in the breeze coming from the
Mississippi river
nearby. “Please come, my child. We are almost ready to go. I will show you to your room to drop off your things and then we can leave for the cemetery. Sister
Lakeisha
has already been prepared for burial.”

She led Natalie down a straight and narrow hallway, kept purposefully dark to shield away from the scorching heat of the day. Natalie’s room was simply decorated, with a twin bed placed near the window and a heavy, antique dresser pushed against the wall in the opposite corner. The wall were stark white, and the only other amenities Natalie saw were a small lamp on a matching bedside table, a mirror near the dresser, and a small desk in front of the window. Although very humble, the room was immaculately clean. Worried at the thought of delaying plans, Natalie dropped her bag at the foot of the bed and told Sister Justine she was ready to go. Within moments, another nun came into the sitting room to announce that the van was ready and they would leave in minutes.

When they arrived in front of the cemetery, Natalie’s artistic eye was immediately enthralled by the view: The whole yard was surrounded by a high wall, and access to the cemetery was granted through small iron gates which looked old and unassuming. Many of the graves – all above ground mural structures since the cemetery was built below sea level – were in a state of disrepair, and Natalie wondered why they were not restored. One of the things that drew her attention was the fact that each grave had multiple names inscribed on the front, and she asked Sister Justine about it.