“It’s mostly shipping and manufacturing.”
He looked up at that. “Come again?”
“Where and how things are made, the people who made them, and seeing them shipped out to places. It’s kind of crazy.”
“That’s why you wouldn’t take Spitzer’s hand.”
“That’s why I didn’t hug you when I first saw you.” The words tumbled out, then hung there like yesterday’s laundry.
“Sugar or honey?” he asked in a suddenly polite tone.
We were obviously both embarrassed by my revelation. “Honey. Thanks.”
He finished making the tea for me, then grabbed a Cheerwine out of the fridge for himself. I smiled as he got it and sat down beside me. Kevin, new to the South, was obsessed with drinking Cheerwine. I wondered what would happen if he ever tried Moon Pies.
“You should start a journal,” he said, snapping the top from the bottle. “It might help if you can compare things that happen to you.”
“How long do you think it will last?” I held my tea and tried to sound as if it didn’t really matter. But it did. It was frightening, too different from my usual ability to help find things.
“It might not go away. This new ability might take the place of the old one, or it might add to it. That’s why it’s important to get on top of it.”
That idea was a slap of cold water. I put my tea on the little side table I’d acquired at an auction over the summer. I looked around my shop, all my carefully gathered treasures. I had feelings for most of them, but I never expected to know what they were feeling in return.
“I guess you haven’t tried to find anything yet,” he said. “Maybe you should. It would tell you if you’ve traded abilities or if you’ve enhanced the original.”
That sounded like a good idea. It was something positive and concrete to do. I still felt kind of shaky, but I was curious to find out what was going on. “Are you volunteering?”
“Sure. Why not?” He put his Cheerwine down and stuck his hands out toward me. “I’ve been trying to find a missing case of wine at the hotel. Maybe you can help me with it.”
To say I was nervous about touching him was like comparing a dingy to a sloop. I was terrified of what I might see or feel. I wished I’d brought the evidence gloves with me to protect me from something I couldn’t even name.
“Okay.” I had started to reach toward him when someone began pounding on the shop door.
I could see my friend Shayla Lily trying to sneak peeks inside the shop. “I know you’re in there, Dae!”
I gave Kevin an apologetic look, not sure if I should murder Shayla for wrecking the moment or be happy it hadn’t gone any further. There had been something in Kevin’s tone when he’d told me about his FBI partner, the psychic. I’d gotten the feeling that they’d had more than just a working relationship. I might have been on the verge of finding out why Kevin had resisted the advances of all of the women in Duck.
Not me, of course. I’d been careful not to put myself in that position with him. If all he wanted from me was friendship, I was happy to give it. Well, maybe not happy exactly, but I thought he might come around in time.
When I opened the shop door, Shayla burst into the room as she always did. Her black hair was drawn back from her cocoa-colored face, showing off her finely drawn brows. She always dressed in black, probably part of her mystique as a tarot card reader.
“What the hell is going on here?” she demanded.
Another reason I hadn’t pushed hard to have a romantic relationship with Kevin is that he’d dated Shayla for a short while. She has a long memory.
“Nothing.” I glanced at Kevin, hoping he would back me up.
“Thirsty!” He drained his bottle of Cheerwine.
“Dae—Oh my God! What have you done to yourself? Your aura is all over the place! Girl, you have either been cursed or you’ve had a near-death experience. I’m thinking it must be a curse because I’d know if you almost died, right? My tarot cards have been telling me something was up with you. I didn’t think it was this bad.”
Shayla sat down on the burgundy sofa, wedging herself between me and Kevin. She was probably the only person in Duck who didn’t know about the museum. She knew everything about the spirit world but hardly anything about the real world. “Okay. I’m here now. Tell me all about it.”
Shayla was also known as Mrs. Roberts, Spiritual Advisor. She’d inherited the shop next door from a previous palm and tarot reader and kept the name. We’d been friends since she’d come to Duck from New Orleans a few years back. I’d gone to her, hoping she could help me contact my dead mother since she was also a medium. There was no luck on that front, but she’d been a good listener.
“I’m going to get back to the museum and see if I can help them finish up.” Kevin got to his feet.
My heart said, No! Please stay! But my mouth said, “Thanks for giving me a ride over here. I’ll see you later.”
He smiled, hesitated as though wanting to say something else, but then said good-bye and left the shop. As usual, there seemed to be more left unsaid between us.
“I’m glad he’s gone.” Shayla let out a deep sigh. “The air was so thick in here. It’s that tension between him and me when we get together. There are too many unresolved issues between us, but until he takes a better look at it, there’s no helping him.”
Shayla was a wonderful medium, but sometimes she could be a little thick.
“I’m glad you’re here. A lot has happened.” I swallowed my disappointment that Kevin was gone. It was probably for the best anyway, like Gramps always said.
“Let me make some tea,” she interrupted before I got started. “Do you want something?”
I told her everything, and she listened while she buffed her nails and drank her tea. When I was finished, she shook her head. “No wonder you’re such a mess! You should’ve come to me right away. You need your energies balanced. It’s a good thing I stopped by.”
She took my hands before I could stop her. There was nothing to it. She closed her eyes and advised me to do the same. I drifted into that special spot where I could see if someone has lost something. I saw Shayla’s gold charm bracelet behind her desk and smiled.
My ability to find missing items through simple human contact was still part of me. My new gift seemed confined to my getting information from inanimate objects when I touched them. How these things could have such exacting specifications was beyond me. Maybe later when I understood the new ability better, it would make more sense.
“There now!” Shayla raised her head, opened her dark eyes and smiled. “How do you feel?”
“Better. Thanks.” I was able to answer honestly. “And I know where your lost bracelet is.”
“I guess you can still find things then. I’ve been looking for that since last Sunday.”
“You should’ve asked me.”
“I should’ve. It would’ve saved me from tearing my place apart. That bracelet belonged to my grandmother. And you knew where it was all the time.”
“We always seem to help each other.”
“I’m glad I could help out.” She stared hard at me. “Your color is a little better, but your chakra still needs some work. Let’s schedule another session at my place tomorrow. I’m gonna have to charge you for this one, Dae. A girl has to pay the rent, you know.”
That was Shayla. I smiled as she put the appointment into her BlackBerry. She glanced up at me. “So, what exactly did Kevin say about me while you all were talking?”
“He didn’t mention you,” I answered, hoping it wouldn’t hurt her feelings.
“See? That’s what I’m talking about. The man can’t stand himself without me. I have to wonder how long he can take the torture.” She sighed, said she’d see me later and click-clacked out of Missing Pieces on her high-heeled sandals.