Ghostly Touch (3 page)

             
Zula knew it was a dream, it had to be but somehow, it didn’t feel that way. She was in her own home, yet it wasn’t her home either. She walked down the stairs in the dim early morning light and looked around. She didn’t know what had woken her but she couldn’t go back to sleep no matter how hard she tried. And then she’d heard a noise. No, not a noise, voices. She heard voices coming from downstairs. They weren’t whispers as one might expect from burglars, they were happy, laughing voices. One male and one female, and it sounded like they were having a very good time.

             
Cautious as she continued down the stairs, she held the railing as she went. At the bottom, the voices grew louder and she could see dim light beneath the living room door. She knew she’d turned the lights off when she went to bed, and she couldn’t imagine who had made themselves at home in her house. At the living room door, Zula listened quietly as the two uninvited guests continued their gleeful conversation. Deciding she needed a weapon, Zula picked up the heavy bust of General Lee that had sat on the server bench for decades. Made of bronze, it weighed at least twenty pounds and would be a good weapon if Zula could actually lift it high enough to swing it with any force. Slowly, she pushed the door open and peeked inside. She dropped the bust as she covered her mouth with both hands.

             
“There you are, darling,” the woman said, as she came to the door and pulled it open all the way. “What is the matter with you? Come in, come in.”

             
Zula moved woodenly as she entered the room and tried to catch her breath. “Who? What?” she stuttered.

             
“Now, don’t be rude darling. You remember my gentleman friend, Mr. Devlin, don’t you?”

             
Zula tried to get a grip on her emotions as she stared into an exact duplicate of Connor. Yet this copy was dressed formally in an old fashioned style of clothing complete with watch fob. “Connor?” she whispered.

             
“Zula, you know better than to call a gentleman by his first name. I swear I don’t know what has gotten into you child!”

             
“Don’t bother yourself, Zula,” the duplicate said, speaking to the older woman.

             
“Great-grandma Zula?”

             
“I do wish you’d stop calling me that, dear. It makes me seem as if I’m ready for the grave.”

             
“Yes, about a hundred and fifty years ago,” Zula said, the disbelief in her voice evident. “I, uh, I need to sit down.”

             
“I was just about to show Mr. Devlin to the door anyway. I’ll be right back and we’ll have some tea.”

             
Zula nodded and watched the pair as they left the room. Zula looked around. None of her furnishings were in the room, and there were no electric lights, only kerosene lamps and where the gas stove should’ve been was a real fireplace. Zula didn’t remember there ever being a fireplace in this house. Since she was a child the place had been heated with gas stoves in every room. What was going on?

             
“There now,” Grandma Zula said as she came back into the room. “We have much to talk about dear. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to stay.”

             
“What is going on? How can you be here at all?”

             
“I’m your great-grandmother, Zula. Look at us, we are identical twins. Not only did I pass on my features to you, I have passed on my magic. You are so strong I can fairly feel it vibrating from your skin.”

             
Zula took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, trying to slow her racing mind. “I can accept the fact that you’re here. I’ve always felt you close by all of my life, but who was that man? He’s not my great-grandfather and he looks so much like…” her voice trailed off.

             
“That is what we need to speak about. His name is Connor Devlin and he’s the only man I ever truly loved. He was a wild one and I was so young when we met. My father wouldn’t allow me to see him because he was much older, and had a reputation. In those days, reputation was everything, but I didn’t care. I fell madly in love with him and wanted to be with him.”

             
“Don’t tell me that my grandmother was his child because I’m afraid of what that might mean.”

             
“What are you afraid of, dear?”

             
“If he’s Connor’s great-grandfather, the Connor I met today, then it would mean he and I are related.”

             
“No, no. Listen to me, Zula. Your grandmother was not his child, although I would have given anything to have his child, but alas, it wasn’t to be. None of it was to be. I knew him for such a short time and we had a passionate affair. Then one night, I snuck out of the house as I had many times before to be with him and I met him at
our
spot. I expected him to take me to his home as he had on other nights, but he didn’t.”

             
Zula gently squeezed the other woman’s hand, as her great-grandmother dabbed at her eyes with a lace kerchief.  “What happened that night?”

             
“He took me in his arms and held me, and then he kissed me and my knees nearly buckled. I was ready to lift my skirts right there, but he pulled away. He looked into my eyes and held my chin with his fingers and told me to go home. Just like that. Go home.

             
“I asked him why and he just shook his head. His eyes were so dark, I couldn’t see them but I could see the single tear that rolled down his cheek. I begged him for an explanation, but he just shook his head sadly and sent me away. Then he got on his horse and rode away. I never saw him again.”

             
“Oh, grandmother, I’m so sorry.”

             
“A week later, my father had me engaged to your great-grandfather, Edmond Price, and by Christmas, we were married. I never knew what happened to Connor, and there was no one I could ask either. My mother only pursed her lips when I asked about him, and she told me not to give it another thought. I didn’t dare ask Papa. It was then that I begin to take walks to go visit Bella. She lived on the outskirts of town and everyone whispered she was a witch. I became friends with her and soon, I was her student.

             
“She told me I had strong, natural powers and only needed to learn how to channel them. I was a good student and learned well. What I never learned was what happened to Connor. Not until afterward, anyway.”

             
“Afterward?”

             
“You know the story well enough. After your mother was born, my husband became gravely ill with a disease the doctor in town had never seen before. Everyone knew I had become friends with Bella and they accused me of causing him harm. It was ridiculous. I didn’t love Edmond, but he was a good man and treated me well. I wished him no harm, but that wasn’t good enough for anyone. Shortly after he became ill, Bella died. She was old and in the natural course of life, death comes to us all. I was the one who discovered her body and went to tell Papa, who notified the doctor.

             
“When the doctor went to look at the body with the undertaker, they found all of her potions and herbs and ran to the sheriff. The whole town was whispering about it behind their fans and some even came right out and said I was responsible for the old woman’s death. A few days later, Edmond died too and that’s all it took. The sheriff came and took your grandmother away to live with my parents, and arrested me on the grounds of witchcraft.

             
“While I was on trial, several more people became ill and began dying and I was blamed for that, too. I sat in that cold, damp jail cell for weeks while the minister came every day to try and get me to confess my sins and repent so my soul would be set free when they hanged me. But I hadn’t done anything wrong, and I wouldn’t admit that I had, so I stood trial.

             
“I was found guilty by everyone in town, except my parents, who were forgiven because I was their only child. I was sentenced to hang and the gallows were built. When they hanged me, something went wrong, or right, I’m not sure which it was, but the rope broke when they released the floor beneath my feet and I landed on the ground unharmed.

             
“You should have seen the crowd run screaming,” Grandma Zula said with a chuckle. “So I was arrested again and tried again, this time for conjuring spirits to release the rope and I was sentenced to drowning. They bound my ankles together, with my hands behind my back and put a gunnysack over my head. Then they led me into the river and tied rocks to my body and when they dropped them into the water, I went down with them.

             
“I was terrified and thought I would truly drown, but for some reason I was able to free my hands and then I simply untied the rope around my waist and came floating to the surface, gasping for breath.

             
“Again, I was thrown in jail and tried once more, this time I was sentenced to burn as a witch and the pyre was built. I was tied to the main post and the whole thing was ignited. There was nothing I could do. I screamed as the heat licked at my feet and my skirts caught fire. The smoke was black and thick. I couldn’t breathe and began to choke.

             
“I was thankful though, because I knew dying from smoke inhalation was preferable to dying from the flames. I inhaled as much as I could and began to feel dizzy. Just I was about to pass out, I saw Connor. He walked toward me with his hand out and smiled. I raised my hand and the ropes no longer held me.  I put my hand in his and stepped from the pyre. When I looked back I saw myself slumped over just as the flames engulfed me.”

             
“Oh, Grandmother,” Zula cried. “How awful. I’m so sorry.”

             
“There now. I’m not telling you this so you can cry for me. Wipe those tears. I’m telling you this because I want you to be happy.

             
“I found out on the night Connor sent me away he’d been threatened by my father and the sheriff. He could either send me away or they would kill him, so he sent me away. He planned to come back later to take me far away, so we could be together. Instead, they laid a trap for him and watched everywhere he went until they found him near here. He had left his horse at our spot and came on foot to get me. When they caught, they beat him to death and dumped his body down the old mining shaft outside of town.

             
“Then they cleaned out his things, sold his horse, and my father told me he accepted one hundred dollars in exchange for leaving me alone. I believed him of course, and that’s why I reluctantly agreed to marry Edmond.

              “Don’t get me wrong, being married to Edmond gave me a beautiful daughter, a beautiful granddaughter and you, Zula. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

             
“But you didn’t get to watch your daughter grow up or see your granddaughter.”

             
“Yes, I did. I’ve been with all of you, and now I’m here for you, Zula. Connor Devlin had a son when he lived in St. Louis, but like I told you, he was a wild one in his younger days. The girl’s father forced them to marry of course, but the child’s mother died while giving birth and Connor had no idea how to care for an infant. His mother lived here in Greenfield, so he brought the child for her to raise and that’s how the family line continued.

             
“The Connor you met today is my Connor’s great-grandson and he’s the perfect man for you.”

             
Zula laughed. “Not if he’s anything like his great-grandfather! I cast the spell for a man and the goddess will bring the perfect one to me, Grandma, so you don’t have to play matchmaker.”

             
“It doesn’t matter how wild the man, Zula. Even the wild ones fall in love and change their ways, but you don’t have to worry about that. I have it on very good authority that even though Connor passed on his handsome looks; he left his rakish ways behind. Your Connor is a good man and you deserve each other.”

             
“He’s not
my
Connor! I don’t even know him. We just met, for crying out loud.”

             
“Zula,” the elder Zula said softly. “Open you heart, open your mind and let love come to you.”

             
“Believe me, I am open to love. It’s why I cast the spell. I want to fall in love with someone who loves me with the same ferocity of feelings.”

             
“I know you do, and just so you also know, Jana heard you and she sent Connor to you. So go get your man, my dear!

             
Zula yawned, stretched, and looked around. She was in her own bed and everything was back to normal. “Wow, what a crazy dream,” she said, and got out of bed and went to the bathroom to shower.

             
Downstairs, Zula put on a pot of coffee to brew and smeared cream cheese on a toasted bagel and sat at the counter to eat and read the morning paper. Still, the events of the previous night wouldn’t leave her alone. Great-grandma Zula had seemed so real and Zula remembered details from her grandmother’s story that she hadn’t known before, but how was it possible? If her great-grandmother had really been there, then love really never died and could move across the centuries. The idea gave Zula new hope and a brand new outlook on life.

             
The doorbell interrupted her thoughts and she glanced at the clock on the wall, only eight o’clock, way too early for a visitor. She slid off the stool and walked through the dining room into the living room and felt energy fill the room.

“Grandma, I know you’re there,
” she said softly. “Thank you.”

             
Zula could see Connor standing on the other side of the door through the wispy curtain that covered the window and she smiled broadly. This was the kind of company she could use.

She opened the door and said, “Good morning. What brings you here so early?
”

Zula couldn’t help but let her eyes roam quickly over his body. He was just as handsome today as he was yesterday, wearing Levi’s with a black belt and silver buckle, and this time he had on a blue T-shirt with a pocket on the breast. He wore scuffed boots and Zula thought she’d really like to see him without a stitch of clothing. She quickly brought her eyes up to his and smiled; glad he couldn’t read her thoughts.

              “Good morning,” Connor said with a smile. “I’m on my way to my first job of the day and thought I’d stop by to give you the estimate on your pipes.”

             
“I didn’t expect you to have it done so fast. Do you have time to come in and have a cup of coffee?”

             
“Sure, I have time for a cup.” He followed her into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the counter, and Zula could feel his eyes on her as she retrieved a cup from the cabinet and filled it for him.

             
“Cream and sugar?” she asked.

             
“No, just black, thank you.”

             
Zula set the cup before him and took a stool across from him. “How long will it take to replace the pipes, and most importantly, how much damage will it do to my bank account?” Zula asked with a laugh.

             
“I think the job will take about three weeks to get the entire house done because we will have to tear into the walls to replace some of it. But I assure you, we will replace everything exactly the way it was, so don’t look so frightened.” He chuckled as he sipped his coffee.

             
“If you want to look at the upstairs, I think you’ll find that since most of the pipe was added later, long after the house was built, it’s on the outside of the walls, not the inside.”

             
“Most of these old places were built long before there was indoor plumbing, but you won’t want the new pipe to be on the outside. Now some of these places have grates in the walls from the days when coal heat was used, so we might be able to use those too and not have to tear the place up too much. Does this place have a basement?”

             
Zula nodded. “Would you like to see it?”

             
“Sure.”

Zula led the way through the house to the basement stairs on the back porch. As they made their way downstairs, Connor continued, “When gas heat and plumbing was brought into these old places, most of the pipes were affixed to the basement ceilings and if that’s the case here, it’ll make my job much eas
ier, which means savings for you.”

             
Zula found the light switch and flipped it on. The dampness and musty smell hit them both. “Sorry, there’s no windows down here so I can’t even air the place out.”

             
“Don’t worry about it,” Connor told her as he began to examine the pipes. “I kind of like the smell. It reminds me of a cemetery crypt I used to play in as a kid.”

             
Zula laughed. “That’s a strange playground.”

             
“Not really,” Connor said, as he shined his flashlight around the room. “My father was the groundskeeper out at Devlin Cemetery. It began as a family plot, but as the town grew, others were buried there too. When my father worked there I went with him on weekends and helped him out during the summer months and there was this old crypt that had long ago begun to fall apart. The door hung on one hinge and there were no coffins or anything like that in it, so my friends and I used to play there. It had the same dank smell as this basement.”

             
“What do you think about the pipes?”

             
“I think it’ll be a job, but not to worry, I’ll get you fixed up.”

             
Zula smiled. “Hmmm, I’d like that.”

             
Connor grinned and Zula knew he hadn’t missed the double entendre. “Now about that estimate,” he said as they went back to the kitchen. Connor quickly reworked the estimate and handed the paper to Zula.  “Is that do-able for you?”

             
“I think so. When can you start?”

             
“It’ll be at least two weeks, maybe three. Is that all right with you?”

             
“It’s fine. I’m in no hurry.” Zula replied as she walked him to the front door. “Thanks for stopping by.”

             
“No problem,” he said and held out his hand. “I was wondering if you’d go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?” He asked as they shook hands.

             
“Do you always date your clients?”

             
“Not all of them,” Connor said with a quick grin. “Most of them are married, or male.”

             
Zula laughed. “Tomorrow’s fine. Thank you.”

             
“I’ll be by around six-thirty if that’s good for you.”

             
“Six-thirty it is,” Zula said, as she shut the door.