Midsummer's Eve (35 page)

“I see,” she said, perched on the edge o
f her chair
with a far away look in her eyes
. “Tell me about this
quandary and how I can help.”

“Well, there was this
lady, a slave lady, who lived close to where I live now on a plantation called Almond House.”

“Buttercup,” she said
looking at something or someone over my shoulder
.

    
             
It would seem that
Sylvia Browne defin
itely had some competition
.
“Yes. That’
s right. Her name was Buttercup.”

“Seth’
s mother,” she continued
,
slipping easily into a trance. “The child has been searching for his mother for over a century. He refuses to cross over
to the other side
without
her.”

“Can you tell me how Buttercup died?”

Her eyes took on a distressed gaze before she closed them and leaned back in her chair. Her pinched lips turned white as a soft, low moan escaped. “She was poisoned. It was a
horrible, painful death and she s
uffered tremendously… I see her
spitting up blood. Her body is on fire and the searing pain in her stomach is excruciating. The pain is eating through her stomach and she fears it will soon reach her baby.”

“She sees the woman who poisoned her sitting in the dark corner, smiling. Buttercup pleads for help. She pleads for her unborn child. She pleads for mercy. She pleads for Delbert. But the woman only laughs and says, “
Delbert can
no
t help you now. Rot in hell with your bastard children!”

It took a few minutes for Lady Wonder’s
eyes to focus and her expression to return to normal. “The woman in the corner was evil.”

“Undoubtedly.”

“
However
,
s
he knew nothing about running a plantation that size. Within three years after her husband’s death she was penniless. She died a lonely, miserable old woman filled with hatred. Even her own children turned against her in the end.”

“Where did she bury Buttercup?”

She glanced
over my shoulder, presumably at
her spirit guide, and said, “She lies beneath a buckeye tree.”

“A buckeye tree?” I had
never heard of such a tree. Of course, it would be a tree I had never heard of. I wouldn’t have expected less.                       

“Yes, a buckeye. A nut from the buckeye tree is thought to be a good luck charm. In those days, if you carried a buckeye in your pocket it was considered to bring you good luck. Some older people today still search for buckeye trees and carry the nuts in their pockets for luck. The same way you would carry a rabbit’s foot
today
.”

“The tree didn’
t bring Buttercup much luck, did it?”

“The tree wasn’
t there when Buttercup was buried. She carried a buckeye in her pocket for luck, as did most all slaves of her time. She was buried at the top of a hill in bright sunlight and the buckeye sprouted in the moist earth, took root, and grew into a tall tree shading her final resting place.

“You mean to tell me that the tree, that will lead us to where she is buried, grew from a nut that she carried in her pocket when she was murdered?”

“Yes.”

“Where is the tree?”

“I’m afraid I can’
t tell you that. I can only see the tall tree on top of a high hill in bright sunlight. There is moving water in the background.”

“A river?”

“Yes.”

“We think
Seth wants us
to
dig up his mother’
s remains and bury her in the family cemetery with him and his father.”

“That would be impossible to accomplish,” she said, shaking her head
sadly
.

“Why? We have to bury him with his mother!
That kid will haunt me forever if I don
’t!
”

“Because her bones are wrapped among the roots of the tree and would most likely be turned to dust by now.”

“Oh. I hadn’
t thought of that.”

“You will nee
d to dig up the child’
s remains and bury him
under
neath
the buckeye tree. He can’
t find where his mother was buried. That is why he searches night after night, year after year. That is why he came to you for help. He, like you, had bad experiences
as a child. Seth was frequently molested by an
overseer on the plantation. He sees you as a kindred spirit.”

She knew what had happened to me when I was four! She was the one person who could answer my remaining question. “The
man who hurt me
. Is he still alive?”

“Yes. He is in prison. He molested several more children before he was finally caught.”

“Will he be paroled?”

“No, he will die in prison at the hands of a fellow inmate.”

“Thank God.”

She took my hands in hers and squeezed them gently.
“If you bury Seth
under the tree with his mother they will both rest in peace.”

“We just have to find the tree.”

“Yes, you have to find the tree. “

I got up to l
eave, but decided that I couldn’
t
without asking one more question. “I know this is quite a departure from the subject, but how are
Adam
and Chia
doing?”

“Not good I’m afraid
. The love he felt for her is almost completely gone. He realizes that she never really loved him, only what he was capable of giving her. And give to her he did. He is on the verge of filing bankruptcy. Their marriage is over. Happiness for
Adam
is now a thing of the past.”

“Maybe he will meet someone else and be happy again.”

“No. He will never be happy again. I told you once before that he would suffer as you were suffering, only worse. That is coming to pass now.”

Yes, she had told me that. I actually felt sorry for
Adam
if he was destined to su
ffer worse than I had. I couldn’
t imagine anyone even surviving that. “Will I ever fall in love again?”

“Yes, but not this year
. You’r
e not ready yet. We will disc
uss that the next time
you come
.
”

“There might not be a next time. So you better tell me now,” I pleaded, impatiently.

“You w
ill come back
.” T
hen she held out her hand for her
money signaling that our time was up.

W
hen I was settled in the car
I called Teri
. “Buttercup is buried under a buckeye tree.”

“A what tree?”

“A buckeye tree.
Buttercup had a buckeye in her pocket, for luck, it sprouted and grew into a tall tree that now shades her grave. Have you ever heard anything so unbelievable?” She was speechless
,
so I guessed she hadn’t. “We just have to find the tree. I’
ll go online when I get home and try to find a picture of one
and send it to you
.”

“Did she tell you anything about
how
Buttercup
died
?”

“
Yes, unfortunately poor Buttercup
was poisoned and suffered a horrible, painful death at the hands of Mary
Beth
Almond.
The evil woman
sat in the corner smiling and told Buttercup and her bastard children to rot in hell. Can you believe
what a monster she
was?”

“The evil
conniving bitch.”

“
Lady Wonder
said she was evil, but she got hers.
She couldn’
t run the plantation and within three years she was penniless and died lonely and miserable.”

“
Well, that settles that. What about you? Did she tell you what to expect in the future
?”

“I am going to
fall in love again, but not this year
. I’m not ready. She will tell me more when
ever
I go for
my next visit
.”

“Anything else?”

“
Adam
is miserable and will never be happy again.”

“That made your day didn’t
it?”

“Not really. It was sort of ominous the way she said it, like his ship was headed for some stormy seas.”

“Serves the buffoon right.”

“Can you believe that I don’
t even care what happens to him anymore, one way or the other?
It’s like he was a part of my life ten years ago
,
instead of only a couple of months ago. Wow! It used to take me
years
to get over a man.
”

“
Marilyn is a miracle worker. She certainly turned your life around for the better.
But
I have a head to shampoo. I’
ll call you tonight.”

“Bye.”

At home, I immediately went online in search of info
rmation about buckeye trees. After typing
the nam
e into a search engine my f
irst several finds were about
trees grown in Ohio. That wasn’
t what I was looking for. I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and found a map. Yellow buckeyes were found in zones 4 and 8. So I was looking for a Yellow Buckeye Tree. This time the search engine found listings for everything from the National Forestry Service, that showed you
everything from
how to
grow a tree, to Magic Mojo web
sites that showed you how to cast a love spell.
Good thing I hadn’
t found
that
website months earlier!

One website claimed the buckeye had beneficial purposes for arthritis, rheumatism and male vigor. The wood had a variety of uses as well. Coffins and artificial limbs had once been made from the wood and, it was true, they were considered to be a good luck charm. I printed out a picture of the tree and called Teri with the information.

“I’
ll be over Friday when
I get off work,” she said. “
Seth will be just elated when we lead him to his mother!”

“Yeppers. Elated. I can hardly wait.”

As good as her word, Teri arrived at my house the following Friday night around midnight. “The husband thinks you and
I are having a lesbian affair!
”
She
laughed uproariously.

“Oh, good grie
f! What on earth makes the poor
decrepit soul think that?”

“Because I’ve been spending so much time with you lately. You know how jealous he’s always bee
n of our friendship anyway. Why
,
the man has taken to whining on a daily basis of how upsetting it is that I would rather be with you than him. Duh! I swear him and
Mallory
are two peas in a pod with all their caterwauling!

“Why didn’
t you just tell him the truth, about Seth?”

“Are you crazy! He could divorce me on grounds of insanity and sometimes I think he is just looking for a reason.”

“Ev
en if he didn’
t love you madly, which he does, he would never divorce you. Sometimes I get the feeling he is slightly intimidated by you.”

“If he isn’t, he
damn well
should be.”

“Well, it’
s late and I am
totally
exhausted. Are you ready for bed?” I stood provocatively at the foot of the bed and simpered,
“
Perhaps you should sleep in JoJo
’
s bed, since you evidently have the hots for me and might not be able to control your lust.”

“Honey, if I was interested in you or any other female, I wouldn’t have let them take a
scalpel to my pecker
.”

“
True
,
but dang,
” I teased as I was drifting into a dream filled sleep. “Here I thought I might get a little action tonight
after my long dry spell
.”