"I feel like I'm supposed to protect you, darling, but I don't know how." He stroked her hair and soothed her. Then he pulled back.
"I've got an idea, honey, wait right here."
"Oh...okay." Tessa was confused but she knew her husband was up to every good. That was the sort of man he was. Sure enough, he was back within the hour, bearing a package that was little bigger than a breadbox.
"For you," he said proudly.
"What is it?"
"Open it and see." Gabe looked really pleased with himself.
The box bumped of its own accord and made a squeaky noise. Gabe was delighted to see his wife smiling broadly as she opened up the box and plucked out the wiggly grey kitten.
"She's beautiful!" Tessa hugged the little one gently. Instantly the name came to her: "Cleo. She'll be our good luck charm."
Cleo curled up in her new mistress's arms and purred herself to sleep. For a little while, Tessa was distracted as she hugged the kitty and cooed to it.
But inevitably, nighttime arrived, and with it, the same dream of evil lust. She was walking in a blizzard. A trail of cinnamon red hearts appeared before her. On the hearts were writ messages of affection and desire. She loved them, she gathered them up.
The land of winter slid quickly into the land of summer. The coat was too warm. Tessa struggled from it and fell to her knees. Surrounded by red heart-shaped tulips, dressed in only a cape, the Prince of Darkness appeared before her. He was lust incarnate. Deep as she was in an Ambien stupor, he would not let her rest.
"Taste me, Tessa, don't tease me, girl. You know I can bring you pleasure beyond compare."
"No! No!" cried out the beleaguered woman. Her husband shook her awake. The cat leapt off the bed.
"It's me, Tessa, the one who loves you. Tessa, wake up!"
In a weird mix of terror and lust, Tessa came to with her mouth watering for cock. She grabbed her husband and blew him through the headboard.
Within a few days it was clear that the drugs weren't helping. In fact it seemed they were making things worse. Or something was making things worse. Tessa stared at Gabe one night over dinner. Did his eyes just flash?
"What's wrong?" he asked. "You look at me as if you've never seen me before."
"I, I must be seeing things. Tomorrow I go see the doc again."
Sagely and slowly her Gabriel nodded. "I'm glad, honey. I want you to be well."
* * *
Little grey Cleo found the warm thing under the bed. Stupid two-legs! This belonged in the sunlight. Making the squeaky-toy noise, she picked up the semi-flat shape in her teeth, and dragged it into the living room. Ah! A nap in the sunlight. Her lithe feline body curled up on the heart, luxuriating in its heat.
Tessa found the kitten sleeping on the red heart. Nuts, I'm going nuts, she thought. This can't be. The protesting kitten rolled aside at her hand. The heart read, "I am yours and you are mine. Sleep with me tonight."
Tessa burst into tears.
Gabe came home to a totally distraught wife. "Honey, what's wrong?"
She showed him the nightmare's visceral evidence. The strength of his reaction surprised her. Not only was Gabe concerned for her mental health, he was angry.
"This is getting out of hand. Get your coat."
"Where are we going?" Tessa's tears subsided as her emotions wheeled around to surprise and puzzlement.
"We need a different kind of doctor."
Gabe drove them to a somewhat questionable neighborhood on the other side of the tracks. He stopped at a house where a neon hand, an eye in the center of its palm, glowed in the window.
"You can't be serious."
"Has that other quack helped you in the least bit?"
Tessa gave a faint snort of laughter. "No."
"Well, then." Gabe marched up the steps, Tessa trailing in his wake. The big man knocked firmly on the door.
A woman wearing a purple turban peered out. Under other circumstances, Gabe would have laughed. But he was fully prepared to take the medium seriously.
"Do you have an appointment?" Her voice held none of the gypsy accent of the movies. In fact, she sounded like an ordinary Midwesterner, and a somewhat cranky one at that.
"No, uh ... I'm sorry. This is an emergency. I take it you're Cassandra?"
Cassandra looked Gabe over. She canted her body to look past him at Tessa, whose eyes were still red from crying. The witch sighed. "All right, come in."
She showed them into an old-fashioned parlor with a loveseat, and invited them to sit down. Across from them in the La-Z-Boy, Cassandra propped her elbow on the arm of the chair and rested her index finger on her cheek. Her dress was a dull gold with a green crackled design on it.
"You do realize it's October thirty-first. My schedule is pretty full right now."
"I know, I know it's Halloween," started Gabe, but Cassandra cut him off.
"Samhain, dear boy. Samhain is tomorrow. Believe it or not, I've got cookies to bake like everyone else."
Gabe and Tessa looked at each other. Cassandra continued. "Now, what seems to be the problem."
"Tessa, you've got to talk about it."
She gave her husband a look of fear and reluctance, but realized they were at a crisis point. There seemed to be little choice. Tessa spilled everything, trying to be as discreet as possible. This was difficult given the subject matter. Cassandra maintained a professional attitude.
When Tessa finished, Cassandra let out a long, low whistle. "You guys do have a problem." She went on to explain that Samhain was the night when the curtain between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. It was at this time that souls might cross over.
"Let me see your palms."
Tessa stuck hers out first and was surprised when the medium announced, "Okay, nothing special there. Gabe, let me see yours."
And at the first touch, she snatched her hand away as if burned. "Oh, Goddess!" she gasped.
"What's wrong?!" cried Tessa. "You're white as a sheet!"
Indeed, Cassandra looked as if she would vomit, or as if she had just seen Someone, or maybe both. Her next command confused them even further.
"Gabe! Stand up, let me see your back." The man gave them both a this-is-weird look, but he turned around.
"Do I have to take my shirt off?"
"No, I don't think that will be necessary..." Cassandra patted her hands over the big man's back. Satisfied, she told them they were all done.
"What do you mean, we're done? That's it?"
"Listen. Your fate will be decided either tonight or tomorrow night. As I told you, the veil is very thin right now. It depends on you, Tessa."
"Me?!"
"Yes, you. It depends on when you let go of your own free will, and that won't be easy. My best advice to you is to go to sleep as you normally would and go with the flow. And you can throw away the pills, they won't do any good. I'm sorry I can't help you more than that." And she hustled them toward the door.
As they walked back toward the car, Tessa remarked that Cassandra hadn't asked for any money. Gabe said he figured some kind of tithe was in order anyway. So on the way home they stopped by the animal shelter where he had gotten their little grey kitten and made a donation.
The clerk expressed sincere thanks. "At this time of year, the sad fact is that animals are often tortured, especially black cats. Your donation will help us pay for their veterinary care." Gabe and Tessa were very sorry to learn this, and they chipped in a bit more money.
Then they didn't know what else to do, so they went on home, had a light meal, and fed cavity-causing treats to the little ghosts and Bill Clintons that appeared on their doorstep. By nine o'clock or so, the doorbell had been silent for a good thirty minutes; so they had a glass of wine and went on to bed.
Tessa clung to her husband in the dark. "Whatever happens, baby, I love you. I don't want to lose you," her voice breaking over the last words.
Gabriel wrapped her in his arms. "You won't lose me. I'm right here beside you."
Send to your friend
