Connecting (Lily Dale #3)(14)
At first, before she knew about her “gift,” she assumed she must have witnessed it, as a toddler.
But now she wonders if she was really there at all. Maybe she’s been channeling the emotion-charged past.
“. . . because I promised I’d never tell . . . ,” Mom sobbed.
“. . . for your own good . . . ,” Odelia said, and then, “. . . how you can live with yourself . . .”
Then one of them, Calla isn’t sure which, declared, with chilling certainty, “The only way we’ll learn the truth is to dredge the lake.”
Calla has grown pretty sure they must have been talking about Cassadaga Lake, just yards from Odelia’s doorstep. Her grandmother inexplicably forbade her to set foot in its waters when she first got to Lily Dale in August.
Calla can’t help but wonder if whatever secrets might lie in its black depths could possibly have something to do with her mother’s death.
With her murder.
When at last she falls asleep tonight, she does dream, but not about Mom and Odelia.
She dreams about a gothic-looking house perched high on a cliff, with an octagonal stained-glass window in its square center turret and a widow’s walk above.
And she dreams about a woman with a puff of white hair and gold-rimmed glasses on a chain.
Odelia may not have been able to get through to Owen Henry’s lost love . . . but somehow, Calla has.
There was no specific message, though. Just the house and Betty.
With the school day ahead and her father on the way, there’s nothing to do but file it away with all the other spirits she’s met in passing.
For now, Owen Henry will have to keep on longing, keep on waiting, keep on hoping for a connection.
Just like me.
FIVE
Buffalo, New York
Friday, September 21
4:33 p.m.
For the first time since she left Florida back in August, Calla finds herself in utterly familiar surroundings.
Okay, so she’s never actually set foot inside Buffalo’s Walden Galleria before today.
But the sprawling suburban shopping mall could be back in Tampa, with its chain stores and food court restaurants, echoing high-ceilinged corridors teeming with trendy teenagers, stroller-pushing moms, slow-moving senior citizens.
Looking around, Calla can’t help but feel relieved to be back among the living . . . so to speak.
It’s not that she doesn’t appreciate the ambiance in quaint, rural Lily Dale, with its ramshackle gingerbread cottages and picturesque lakeside location. But strange things happen to her there.
After another restless night, she was planning to tell Jacy about the map and ask him to go to the woods with her. She hasn’t been able to bring herself to go alone.
She also wanted to know more about those visions of his.
But Jacy wasn’t in school today.
Probably just as well.
Maybe she doesn’t need to know any of the gory details— hopefully, a figurative expression.
Anyway, they wouldn’t have had much chance to talk about it during classes, and Ramona was parked out front at dismissal to drive Calla and Evangeline straight to the mall.
Best to put it all behind her, at least for now.
Not until this minute did Calla realize just how homesick she’s been for the real world, all the modern conveniences she used to take for granted—not just a computer and the Internet, but cell phone service, TiVo, takeout delivery, swimming pools, a car at her disposal . . .
And gorgeous shopping malls filled with clothes.
This was the first year she didn’t get to go back-to-school shopping with Mom and her Platinum American Express card.
But you don’t want to get all upset thinking about that now, do you?
You just want to have fun for a change, right?
Definitely. Today, if she can help it, she’s not going to dwell on Mom’s death, or Jacy’s troubling warning, or anything to do with Lily Dale. She’s going to shop, and then she’s going to get to see her dad.
“Okay, where do you two want to start?” Ramona asks as they pause beside the directory map.
“How about if you decide where to go first, Calla,” Evangeline suggests, adding a little wistfully, “You’re the one who needs to get a dress for homecoming.”
Evangeline was hoping someone would ask her to the dance, too. Well, someone other than Russell Lancione, her one prospect, whom she plans to say no to if he does ask.
It’s not just because Russell is “blah,” as Evangeline claims. No, Calla suspects she’s been holding out, hoping the elusive Jacy Bly will suddenly decide to sweep her off her feet.
Yeah . . . aren’t we all.
Of course, Evangeline has no idea that Calla’s also got a secret crush on her secret crush—much less that Jacy and Calla have . . .
Well, really, nothing has actually happened. It’s not like Jacy’s kissed her, or asked her out. And it’s not like he ever will, now.
Calla feels her face grow hot just thinking about her misunderstanding yesterday afternoon—and what she inadvertently admitted to him.
Fishing in her oversized fringed suede purse, Ramona announces, “I have a coupon for twenty percent off something at Lord and Taylor. And I bet they have some great dressy dresses if you want to go look, Calla.”
“Oh, that’s okay . . . I don’t think I’m going to get something to wear to the dance today,” Calla replies, with a guilt-ridden glance at Evangeline.