Soul Dancing with the Brass Band (The Brass Band Series) (12 page)

The day was a clear and sunny one. The sky was an intense blue without a cloud in sight. Squirrels were chattering at the top of their little lungs, totally pissed off that I dared invade their territory. The robins hadn’t started their flight south yet, which meant mild weather would be around for a while longer. Then, I heard a familiar bird song, or rather a “squawk.” I leaned forward and searched the trees until I spotted him. On the top most branch of the tree in the neighbor’s yard was a big black crow.

“Hey there buddy. Do I know you?” He flew to a tree that was closer to me and cocked his head. “Are you Gus? Did Mom send you to find me?” He just cawed and flew away. Over the summer I had became fascinated with Mom’s crow and I absolutely believed it was within Mom’s talents to turn her crow into a carrier pigeon.

I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. “Come on Ruth. I’m ready to go,” I yelled as I walked back into the apartment and looked up to see Ruth waiting at the front door, keys in hand.

The University Commons was about a one-mile walk from our house, on the other side of the Union parking lot. It was a large and inviting open park area accented by a bell tower. By the time we got there the bells were ringing 2:00 p.m. Ruth thought ahead and brought a blanket, so we could lie under one of the old oak trees.

“Hillary?’

“Yes, Ruth?” I answered, after lying back on my backpack pillow.

“Do you think they are as dreamy as we remember?”

“Hope so. Don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“We only have a week to wait; that is if they email us back.”

Ruth sat up. “I hope they’re both great. Then we can double date. Have a double wedding.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I laughed. It was just like her to take this to the extreme. “We are already double dating. They seem to come as a pair.”

Ruth got up to take a walk around and by the time I caught up with her, she was reading the Full Moon Celebration poster that was taped to the lamppost. “It’s going to be a
Pagan
thing. Look at this,” she said pointing at the poster, “I love Pagan.”

Reading it over her shoulder because of the four inches I had on Ruth, I felt my mood darken and my skin crawl with déjà vu. Across the open space, not twenty yards from us, I noticed the man from the Student Union sitting down on a park bench and waving.

“Don’t look now, but when we go back to pick up our things, tell me if you recognize the guy on the bench.”

“Are we leaving already?” Ruth whined as we walked to our blanket. “Am I supposed to know him?”

“No, I’ve just seen him around campus and something about him seems off. It’s no big deal. I just get a creepy feeling… like I know him, and wonder if maybe I recognize him from Kansas City or something.”

Ruth turned as nonchalantly as a drama major can, letting the breeze blow her hair away from her face. Leaning down to pick up her backpack
, she agreed that he was seriously creepy. “It’s like he sucks the wind out of your sail. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Once we cleared the parking structure, our moods lightened and Ruth chimed in, “What were we talking about?”

“What normal people will be wearing to the mixer. If I see Gilbert, I’ll ask him or maybe I’ll ask around the library. I really don’t want to be dressed like Goddess Hera while everyone else is in jeans,” I commented.

“WHAT ARE Will and George doing? Are they trying to worry us sick or just dump us?” Ruth said in a huff. “It’s Tuesday and we don’t have a place to meet them yet. Do you think we’re going to hear from them again?”

“Yes. They’re probably busy. I’m sure they feel like there’s plenty of time,” I said not knowing if I really believed it myself
. “Saturday is still a long way away. I’m planning on going to the mixer whether we hear from Will and George or not. Life goes on, Ruth. Don’t get your panties in a twist over a couple of guys we don’t really know. There will be hundreds of other people there.”

The whole town was crazy with the upcoming celebration. All of the off campus stores were looking for a way to join in and make a buck. There were sidewalk sales with clothing, food and all kinds of trinkets. It seemed like the
new age store had their entire stock out on the street.

“Come on, Ruth. Stop pouting. Let’s get a soda and go shop,” I said. Shopping always cheered her up and my first paycheck was burning a hole in my pocket.

At dusk, the old style lampposts lining Manhattan Avenue began to light. It seemed like the restaurants were purposely blowing the smell of the food out onto the sidewalks to make us hungry. We both got a piece of pizza to go, and walked up and down the streets, looking at everything.

“What’s this?” I asked Ruth with a string of wooden beads hanging from my hand. “They come in different sizes.”

“I don’t think you want to know,” she said as she looked up to check out the store name.

My eyes followed hers to a sign that read Toys for all Reasons
, with a half clad female.

“Yu
ck!” I dropped them back into the fur-lined box and wiped my hands with my napkin.

“I don’t think as a virgin, you’re ready for those yet,” Ruth said out loud, “but maybe some cute pajamas. Do you want to look?”

“No, let’s go,” I blushed and hurried off to the next booth. “Hey Ruth look at this.” I wanted to hurry her along. “It is an astrology place. Have you ever had any of this done?”

“Yeah, my sister and I love this stuff. Do you know what time of day you were born?”

“No, why would I need to know that?” I asked.

“Why don’t you email your mom and have her send you a copy of your birth certificate. We can come back another day for a star chart, but for now this looks interesting.” Ruth picked up a box of cards. “I kept a box of cards like these under my bed at boarding school. We used to do readings for each other after lights out. It’s always better by candlelight.”

She handed me a box of Goddess Oracle Cards to check out and as I read the instructions, Ruth handed another box to the clerk.

“What scents do you like?” she asked while sniffing
each candle one by one.

“You pick. You’re the one that knows what you’re doing.”

Ruth settled on a spicy scent, along with a stick of sage and handed them to the clerk.

“We might need to smudge the house before we do this. No telling what spirits are still hang’n around an old house like ours!” With Oracle cards in hand, Ruth seemed to cheer up a bit. “Let’s get home and I’ll give you a reading!”

We didn’t even need the porch light to see the keyhole in our door lock. The front of our house was brightly lit by the approaching full moon. I flipped on the lights and we headed toward the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee.

“Not coffee, Hillary; tea. The bags are in the second drawer,” Ruth ordered.

Ruth’s mom, or staff, sent her back to school with a fully stocked kitchen. Who knew we had tea? I opened the drawer and it was stuffed to the brim with exotic looking boxes.

“What kind should I make?” I asked.

“Hmmmm…I’m thinking gunpowder green tea, with a splash the coca that was grown in Machu Picchu for the high priests. That’s a good combo for tonight. See if you can find a bowl for the sage… and bring the salt shaker, too.”

“Next thing you’re going to say is that you have a Ouija board,” I said jokingly.

“Not with me. It’s at home in Kansas City. Bring that stuff over here and let’s get started.” Ruth lit the smudge stick and started to walk around from room to room, waving it and shaking the ashes into the bowl. “Bring the salt, Hillary. You need to shake a little in the outside corners of the rooms.”

“Ruth, you’re going to get us in so much trouble. The sage smoke smells just like pot!”

“If the cops come, I’ll do a reading for them, too,” she said while mumbling some kind of chant under her breath.

“Where did you learn all of this stuff?” I asked.

“Quiet; I’ll tell you in a minute.” We made one circle around each room, opened the closets and shower curtain for a quick wave of sage and ended at the dining room table.

“Thanks Ruth. Now all of my clothes smell like pot. I don’t think a ghost was hiding in my closet.”

She ignored my comment and ordered me to get the tea while she set up the candles and cards. When I returned with our steaming mugs, the cards were in a stack on the table with a crystal sitting on top.

“Where’d that crystal come from?” I asked.

Ruth shrugged. “Everyone has a crystal or two lying around, don’t they?”

“I don’t,” and then remembered, “my mom has a few in her jewelry box at home, but I don’t think they have anything to do with card readings.”

“Maybe…. after she put you to bed as a child, she snuck out behind the chicken coop, to dance around the Maypole with all the other Pagan farmer wives… always keeping the crystals in her pockets to gather goddess energy!”

Ruth’s visuals always cracked me up. “How do you know so much? Are you a Pagan?”

“No, I’m a Catholic. Haven’t I ever told you about the boarding school I went to?”

“Are you still a virgin?” It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

Ruth looked me straight in the eye and said, “Not as much as you are. I haven’t gone all the way, but I’ve played on the fringes.”

“I didn’t realize virginity came in degrees. I thought it was either yes or no,” I said as we both began to laugh. “Just deal the cards.”

“You’re right handed, so hold the deck of cards in your left,” Ruth instructed. “That’s your
receiving
side. It’ll take a couple of minutes for your energy to permeate the cards. You can drink your tea while I light the candle and turn out the lights.”

“The candle smells great, but the room’s a little dark. Will you be able to see the cards? I think we need to turn on the kitchen light or something,” I said as I strained my eyes to read the small print on the cards.

Suddenly, the room was filled with a weird bluish glow. “I think this will work better. It’s a little less direct.” Ruth had turned on our computers and put them in opposite corners of the living room.

“Is this supposed to be spooky or enlightening?” I asked, truly not knowing what Ruth would do next.

“Uplifting and informative! We’ll get better lighting for next time, but for now this will have to do.”

“Now, tap your right knuckles on the top of the deck to clear all of the old energy out. Really Hillary, just do it. I had Angel Cards at school, but I figure this deck works the same way.”

I followed her instructions.

“Now, shuffle the cards and ask a question at the same time. Stop whenever you feel you are finished.”

“Well great, you should have told me earlier that I had to come up with a question. What kind of question do I ask?” I said as I finished shuffling.

“Ask anything. I know what I’d ask, wink, wink.”

“You’ll be relentless if I don’t. I’ll ask about Will, but what?”

“Let’s see.” Ruth said as she tapped her nails on her teacup. “Let’s ask how Will feels about you!”

“Okay, but I’m not sure I like this. I feel a little bit like a stalker.” I wondered what right I had poking around in Will’s head. “Let’s get going, Ruth, before I change my mind.”

“Put three cards on the table, side by side, and then tell me what the one on the left says. It’s what Will is feeling right now.” I turned them over and Ruth picked up the handbook, ready to
reveal its meaning.

It didn’t look good for Will’s masculinity when his first card was
The Butterfly Maiden. At the bottom it said,
you are experiencing enormous changes right now
. “Is this card supposed to be me or Will?”

“It’s Will. Just picture
The Butterfly Maiden with blue eyes and wearing pants,” Ruth said and began to read from the little handbook.

“
As you go through this period of change, it’s normal for you to wonder if the future is safe. To bring in your desired newness, you must first allow old parts of your life to fall away
.”