Salem Moon (14 page)

James abruptly stopped walking, turned and walked back the way they
’
d come. They
’
d reached Lily
’
s house. He would never step foot into the Snow
’
s front yard.

A
s Gabriel walked down the long, cobblestone walkway toward the entrance to Lily
’
s home, he could not help being impressed by the vivid colors of the many flowers blooming. The mingling scents of the flowers were intoxicating. And here and there, the delicate wings of many butterflies, hovered about.

Even the front entrance way was graced with huge potted plants of different varieties. The entire home exuded wealth and was meticulously maintained.
And it looked
vaguely familiar somehow.

The front door opened before Gabriel touched the ornate, colonial door knocker. There, in the doorway stood a formidable women, large boned with perfectly colored and coiffed brown hair and small pale gray eyes that looked down a nose that was too small for her face. She was intimidating, to say the least.

“
I
’
ve…come to call on Lily, m
a
’
am,
”
Gabriel said.

“
So, you
’
re Gabriel Blackstone.  I
’
m Summer Snow, Lily
’
s mother. You may call me Mrs. Snow,
”
she said in a brisk, cool voice.

“
Oh, mother, I see you
’
ve met Gabriel already,
”
Lily said, breathless, probably from trying to beat her mother to the door.

“
Yes, I have, although he has yet to introduce himself properly.
”
Summer Snow
’
s tone wasn
’
t just cool now, it was downright frigid.

“
Allow me to introduce myself, Mrs. Snow. I am Gabriel Blackstone.
”

He had a feeling that this woman was not a very pleasant person to be around. She hated him simply because he existed, that was obvious. She also had that air about her, entitled, arrogant, believing she was better than others. He had a fleeting thought that the name
“
Winter
”
suited her better than
“
Summer
.
”

But then, Lily stepped out into the bright sunlight and Gabriel ceased to think about or care about anything else. She was stunning in a simple white linen shirt and matching white pants. Even her shoes were white, with tiny, pink butterflies embroidered into the sides. The contrast of her all white outfit, jet black hair, sky blue,
and cat
shaped eyes and slightly tanned skin was glorious. Even in this lush atmosphere, the beauty of the flowers paled in comparison to her.

He must have been openly staring at her, because she looked down, shyly, very uncommon for Lily who was not usually shy
.
There was little doubt in Lily
’
s mind that even at only eighteen years old, Gabriel was every bit a man, unlike any boy she
’
d ever known.

Summer Snow had her arms crossed defensively across her chest, opened her mouth to speak and seemed to think better of it before turning away and slamming the front door shut.

Alone with her at last, Gabriel felt bashful and was sure he was blushing. Unlike Lily, Gabriel had always been a little on the shy side. However, it hadn
’
t mattered because he
’
d never taken a bit of interest in any girl but this one.

No other female on earth had ever affected him as she did. His heart beat fast, his palms were sweaty and he felt a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The pair walked in awkward silence, stealing glances at one another until they reached the corner of Essex and North Streets where Gabriel stopped short, staring in amazement at the structure in front of him. There stood a house that had been the source of many a fear in
1692
. His face drained of all color at the sight of it.

“
Gabriel…are you…okay?
”

“
What is this place, Lily?
”

“
Oh, this is The Witch House.
”
She walked up to the very door of the place.
“
Come on, Gabriel. There
’
s a plaque here that tells all about it.
”

Gabriel did not need to read any plaque to know that this was the home of the witch trial judge, Jonathon Corwin. Gabriel walked cautiously toward the building. Lily looked at him curiously.

“
This is the only structure still standing that has direct ties to the infamous witch trials of
1692
,
”
Lily explained without emotion, as if quoting from a history book.

“
Do you want to tour the home? It
’
s really interesting and the city of Salem takes great pride in keeping up with restorations.
”

“
No.
”
He abruptly turned away from the house and from her. Of course, she could speak of this
dwelling
in a detached way, she did not realize the true horror of this place, but Gabriel
did
.

“
Let
’
s walk through the McIntyre Historic District, it
’
s only about a forty-five minute walk, and it
’
s full of over
300
historic structures. Many tourists come here and walk along this route because it has the most magnificent houses, some of them, sea captains homes. Many were built by renowned architect Samuel McIntyre.
”

Lily sensed Gabriel was hesitant to go on after seeing the Witch House, although she didn
’
t know why. Seeking to soothe his anxiety, she took his hand in her
s
.

Marveling at the feel of her flesh against his, he realized how petite and fragile her hands were and how very lovely, perfect even right up to her tiny wrist. They meandered down the street, in comfortable silence.

As they walked, Gabriel noticed a strange symbol on a number of posts and the streets themselves. He asked Lily what they were.

“
The entire route is marked by a sheaf of wheat on the posts and sidewalks, also designed by Samuel McIntyre. They are meant to symbolize Salem
’
s prosperity,
”
she explained.

Now, away from the wretched Witch House,
Gabriel was mesmerized by all he saw. The grandeur of the sea captains homes, with their widow
’
s walks and sturdy colonial build
,
constructed to withstand the fiercest of storms coming in from the harbor.

Ah, this must be Heaven
, Gabriel thought, God must surely weep when his eyes swept over this vista
.
For him, the added pleasure of being in the presence of this beguiling girl made it all the more wondrous
.

“
This place is spectacular, Lily
. N
o wonder you love it so
.
”

“
Oh, you just wait. The best is yet to come
.
”
She had a playful smile on her lips. Gabriel was enthralled with the loveliness of it.

Their shyness toward each other was forgotten. They marveled at the wonder of being together
. A
nd she sharing this special place with him, unaware that this was as much his home as it was hers.

T
he building, reminiscent of a castle of old, where Gabriel had first met Lily and Lilac came sharply into view and as they moved closer to the entrance way together, Gabriel
’
s eyes swept over the building, taking in every little detail.

Rising high into the air
were two large turrets on either side of the perfectly proportioned body of the main part of the structure. The enormous cathedral style window, right above the large, heavy doors, was adorned with heavy, intricately scrolled wrought iron. According to Lily, the museum had at one time, been a church. Above this door in bold black letters
“
Salem Witch Museum
”
was embossed into a large wooden sign.

To one side, a flag waved, bearing a very well
-
known figure of a woman with a large pitch black hat on top of her head
,
her straggly hair flying out behind her as she sat perched upon an airborne broom.

So, this is the new perception of witches? A woman who
flies
through the air on a broom
.
Ludicrous!
Gabriel thought.

“
Yeah, I know. Pretty twisted, huh?
”
Lily commented, as if she could read his mind.

“
This portrayal of witches angers many members of Wicca. It is totally incorrect.
”

“
You have no idea…
”
Gabriel mumbled.

“
I
’
m sorry. What did you say?
”

“
Nothing. Nothing at all.
”

“
I work here part-
time, so we can just go right in.
”
She tried to make light of the moment and quiet the unease she sensed in Gabriel. They walked briskly by those waiting in line to gain admittance to the Museum.

A w
hoosh of cool air hit them when they walked through the large doors.
Ah, air conditioning, a true marvel of this time
, Gabriel thought.

As they walked through the main lobby, a woman who appeared to be in her forties, meticulously dressed in business garb
,
white shirt, gray suit and matching gray pumps walked swiftly toward them.

“
Ms. Swanson,
”
Lily addressed her respectfully.

The woman smiled graciously. She was attractive, with short, stylish dirty blond hair and a patrician nose, small green eyes which were perfectly made up with olive colored eye shadow and
she wore
pale pink lipstick.

“
Lily, so nice to see you here today
. A
nd with such a handsome young man.
”

*****

Brianna Swanson had never seen Lily with a boy. But
this
one, why, he was nothing short of gorgeous
. She
discreetly looked him over, noting the lustrous brown hair, the strong jaw and those violet eyes, not to mention his physique which was perfectly shown off in the tight black tee-shirt and jeans he wore.
Mmm…if only she were younger
.

“
Gabriel, I
’
d like to introduce you to Ms. Swanson. She
’
s the curator here.
”

“
Nice to meet you, Gabriel.
”
She was practically tripping over her words.

“
The pleasure is all mine, I assure you.
”

He took her hand and lightly kissed it, just like a gentlemen in an old movie. She was enthralled with him and also envious of Lily. For there was little doubt by the way they looked at one another that there was a strong attraction between them.

“
Well, I
’
ll leave you
two
alone. Much work to do
.
Lily
,
how
are you coming along with the documents?
”

“
Oh, I
’
m almost done with them.
”

“
Good, because there are plenty more in this old place
. One
thing we love here in Salem is our illustrious history
.
”
Leaving them with a warm smile, she walked away,
toward the back of the building where her office was.

The paperwork Lily had forgotten to pick up was still in the middle of her disheveled desk. She decided to file it before any harm came to the newly discovered document. Lily could always take a look at it when she came to work. Briefly, she looked at the heading on the document which read,
“
The history of one Abigail Blackstone
,
”
and absentmindedly filed it in the cabinet and locked it with a key, forgetting all about it.