Audra walked out of the Daylight Candle Shop to find Magic sitting on the hood of the BMW with the radio thumping a local garage rock & roll station. She got a lot of attention from those passing by. A group of young boys asked to take a picture with the car. Magic scooted off and snapped a photo on each of their phones.
"Aren't you Agent Wheeler?" one of the young men asked.
"Sheriff Wheeler now."
"Sweet!" he said.
Audra smiled and walked to her door as Magic handed the young man his phone and headed back to the driver's side. As Audra opened the door the young man called out, "Sheriff Wheeler!"
She and Magic turned to look up, and the young man snapped a photo on his camera phone.
"This is going on Instagram!"
The boys laughed and ran away.
As she drove away from the square, Magic took a sudden left turn.
"Okay Audra Wheeler, we've got to cruise," Magic declared. "I know this car just looks too good on me not to share with the rest of the town. If you ever get tired of it, let me know." Magic made a loop around Specter, being seen by as many people as possible. By the time Magic made it to the turn off that would take them out to the country, one of the teenagers that took a picture with the car had sent an Instagram received by the radio host.
"This one goes out to my girls, Magic and our town hero and current sheriff, Audra Wheeler, cruising the town in that sweet BMW!"
As they turned onto the open road, Magic cranked up the volume and crossed herself before pushing the pedal to the floor. Audra found the button to put the top down and loosened her hair to let the wind fly through it.
Magic drove those fifteen miles to the country in less than ten minutes. She slowed down as Ethan's two-story house came into view. Audra tried to prepare herself to see the house that Ethan owned, without him in it. She recalled that last time she dropped by before heading to New York. All the things she wished she had said ran through her mind. She tried to remember how long that last hug had lasted. She tried to remember how warm that last kiss had felt.
Magic sat patiently with her until she was ready to open the door and step onto the gravel driveway. Magic stood next to her, lending an arm to lean on as emotions began to overpower her. She was sobbing by the time she got to the door. Cordero stood just inside the house and came out onto the porch to hug her.
"This was the last place I saw him," she whispered through her sobs. "Why didn't I stay with him? If I had stayed…"
"Come on in the house, Audra." Cordero helped her walk passed the porch and inside.
Audra took a breath and let it out as she took in the warm country modern decorations. Cordero led her to the sofa and Magic took a seat next to her.
"I'm going to get you a glass of water," Cordero said and walked to the back of the house.
Audra tried to steel herself. She tried to push away the emotions and move on into the acceptance that he was really gone. She hadn't gone to the funeral. She didn't want to say goodbye, not like that. She knew that she was waiting for him to come back. He had to come back. If he could come back, he would come back for her. He had to. She heard herself telling him that her life was in New York. Why had she said that? She took it for granted that when she came back he would still be here. Why had she thought that?
Cordero returned with a glass of water and put it in Audra's hands.
"Drink it up," he instructed. "It will help you feel better."
Audra swallowed several gulps of water and felt the cool liquid begin to refresh her system. Breathing in and out she took another sip and placed the glass, half empty, on the coffee table.
"It's just about sunset," Cordero said. "I bought some lawn furniture in town so I could sit outside and be with nature. Come and sit with me. Magic, grab a six-pack from the fridge."
"Sure thing, big boy," Magic smiled and winked at him as she popped off of the sofa.
Audra chuckled at the flush that went over Cordero's face. He helped her stand.
"How are you feeling?" she finally thought to ask him.
"Well, Margret Shelley hired me a private nurse when I came out here. She took really good care of me."
"I'm sorry I couldn't get back here," Audra said as they walked to the back of the house.
"I completely understand."
"I thought I would go to the funeral but, I just couldn't."
"We all grieve in our own way," Cordero said. "I'm just sorry I couldn't be there for you."
"We're here now." Audra half smiled.
They walked past the kitchen and to the back door where Magic waited with a six-pack and a bottle of sherry.
"To help the beer go down," she explained.
She opened the door and led the way across the backyard to a wooden chair and table set just to the right of the dock. Audra took in the beautiful colors of the sky reflected on the water. They took a seat at the table as Magic passed the beers around. Audra took a sip and felt the liquid bubble through her mouth, down her throat, and into her stomach.
"I don't know why I stayed away from the country for so long," Cordero said. "New York is so loud and busy. Here, things are quiet and calm and slow. I forgot how nice the country is in that space between night and day."
"FBI turned poet," Magic commented. "I've never been out of the country. Sometimes I think I should leave, but I know I have everything I need right here. If I went to some big place like New York, I'm afraid I would just disappear."
"New York can swallow a person up," Audra admitted.
"So, Sheriff Wheeler? How did the job go today?" Cordero asked.
"Not bad, I'm looking at a few bids to rebuild the sheriff's station."
"Any good ones?"
"Just one good one. I have the plans out in the car if you want to take a look."
"Maybe tomorrow," Cordero said. "Are you ladies staying the night?"
Audra looked at Magic.
"I'm off work tomorrow. I can stay if you want to, Audra," Magic told her.
"Well, I want to stay, I'm just afraid of how it's going to feel to wake up and he's still not here."
There was a pause.
"But, I have to face it," she finally said.
"You won't have to face it alone," Magic assured her.
"I'm parking it on the sofa for another week," Cordero said. " You ladies can deal with the three rooms upstairs. FYI, I like blueberries in my pancakes."
"Pancakes?" Audra asked.
"Ya'll do plan to make breakfast, right?"
"I'm gonna pray on that one," Magic said and opened the bottle of sherry.
The sun began to set and Audra focused on the circle as it fell below the horizon. As the sun became nothing more than a patch of light Audra's phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was her mother.
"Hello?" Audra answered.
"Audra, honey," her mother's voice was excited.
"Yes mom. I'm sorry I forgot to call when I…"
"It's not that, Sweetie."
"What is it?"
Audra looked to Cordero and Magic as a feeling of dread fell over her.
"Are you sitting down, 'cause I know you and fainting these days…"
"Ma, you're killing me. What happened?"
"Kendra is awake."
"Kendra is awake," Audra repeated not truly feeling the impact.
Magic's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she put both hands up to cover it.
Cordero pulled the phone away from Audra's stunned grasp.
"Lisa? It's Jonathan. Yeah, Audra's here with me. She's awake? How is she? I'll come up with Audra to visit. Okay, here she is."
Cordero put the phone back into Audra's now shaky hands.
"Mom," Audra said. "Is she with you?"
"Yes, she wants to talk to you."
"Okay." Audra laughed a little as tears stung her eyes.
"Audra." The voice was a little weak and raspy, but she recognized her big sister's voice.
"Kendra!" Audra could not contain herself.
"How's my little sister?"
"Not so little any more," Audra told her. "I can't wait to see you."
There was a pause.
"Audra, I've always been with you," Kendra said. "I can't explain it but I know everything."
Audra swallowed. "You don't have to explain anything, Kendra. I understand."
"I'm feeling a little tired. But I want to see you soon, okay?"
"Definitely. I love you, Kendra."
"I love you too, Audra."
Audra hung up the phone and looked from Magic to Cordero. Magic leapt from her seat and gave Audra a big hug.
"I am so happy for you!" she said.
Audra tried to make it all make sense. Then she remembered the words of Raj Kapure. She looked in her phone for his number and called him.
"Agent Wheeler," he answered. "Is your sister awake?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Agent Wheeler, I have been studying these phenomena for a very long time. It is part of what I patented with my wife. I wish to explain more of it to you when you have the time."
"I should be there in a day or two," Audra assured him.
"I will clear my schedule," he promised.
Audra hung up with him and turned back to the horizon to see that the sun was completely gone. She let her eyes travel to the sky above and find the Pleiades cluster. As she smiled thinking of her sister, awake and alive in Boston, a familiar voice encased in an otherworldly echo traveled to her ears.
"Hello, Rook."
She swallowed, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again and turning to see the outline of a specter; Ethan Cole.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rasheedah Prioleau is a southern African American writer with an eclectic range of writing and ghostwriting credits. After a brief time in the corporate world she started over from the bottom as an unpaid intern and never looked back.
"I love to write because there are no limits. All it takes is a finite space of time and I can create a story from infinite possibilities."
Writers who have influenced her include Judy Blume, Jude Deveraux, V.C. Andrews, Octavia Butler, Stephanie Meyer, Charlaine Harris, Joss Whedon, William Nicholson, Shonda Rhimes, Quentin Tarantino, Tyler Perry, Mike Kelley, and J.J. Abrams... just to name a few.