“The next day she didn’t remember anything at all,” Velda said. “When we asked her about it, she denied it. She cried. I believe she began to think there was a conspiracy against her. None of us could convince her she had actually hit Davis with a chair. She just seemed to give up after a while. She withdrew from everyone, and eventually we rarely saw her. There were four incidents about a month or so apart. Finally Harry took her to the hospital. No one’s really talked to her since.” Velda’s hand trembled as she reached for the talisman hanging on a chain around her neck. “I was her friend. I should have continued to visit her.” She looked down at the ground. “I all but forgot her.”
“Velda,” Destiny said in a soothing tone. “Blythe knows you’re a good friend. She’s unable to cope at this time, but perhaps we’ll find some information that will help her.” She was turning Velda’s words over and over in her mind.
A mirror shattered, Nicolae. The other night, just before John Paul’s strange behavior, the streetlights shattered. There must be a connection. She reached for him easily, naturally. Nicolae. Her other half.
I knew you felt that way.
His voice was far too complacent for her liking.
You are my other half, I’ll admit, but you’re the worst half. The ridiculous, impetuous half that must be monitored continually.
Ah, that word again. Impetuous. Spontaneous, reckless, a lover without measure.
Destiny laughed out loud.
Where did that come from? You’re dreaming again.
“Thank you for telling me, Velda, I know it isn’t easy to bring up difficult memories. You’re always so generous.” Destiny studied the two eccentric women. The pink and purple hair. The flashy tennis shoes. Inez with her overdone makeup and Velda with a cleanly scrubbed face.
“You’re extraordinary women.” Destiny knew it was true. They gave service to others, watching over and caring for the people they loved. Some thought them busybodies, others thought them silly, but those were the people who didn’t take time to know them. To see who they really were. “I feel privileged to have met you.”
“We’re not extraordinary at all, dear,” Velda denied. “We live life very simply, without fear of rejection. Others don’t have to understand us.” As if realizing they were getting close to the topic of her hidden talents, she completely changed the subject, patting Destiny’s hand as if that would distract her. “I heard what you did for that little boy. Father Mulligan came by this morning and mentioned you brought him the child. Inez and I would gladly give him a home, but we’re too old.” She glanced at her sister. “I’m too old, and Inez must take care of me. She has her hands full with that, don’t you, Sister?”
“You’re never a bother, Velda. Of course we’ll take the child if he has no one else. Velda fusses and spoils them, but I’d see to it that he ate properly and went to school. She’d be useless, taking him for outings all the time and giving him junk food.”
“Father Mulligan has a family in mind,” Velda said. “A couple who have always wanted children and could never have any. He’s helping them fill out the necessary paperwork and talking with the social workers now. I believe he was meeting your young man and taking him along.”
So that’s what you’re up to, smoothing the way. Hope blossomed in the pit of her stomach, a starburst she tried hard to squelch. She had lived most of her life without hope, without allowing others into her life. Velda and Inez lived their lives without fear of rejection. They dressed the way they wanted to dress, and they chose to have fun in their lives. Father Mulligan had told her to have courage. She was beginning to realize that meant the courage to actually enjoy her life.
She suddenly wanted to be with Nicolae, to feel his arms around her. He had had the courage to take tainted blood from her. So she would never feel like an outcast, never feel alone. She was afraid to allow the full scope of such a magnificent sacrifice into her mind, into her heart, because she feared she might love him too much.
Destiny was instantly ashamed of herself. Nicolae deserved better than what he was getting. Impulsively she leaned over to kiss Velda, and then Inez, on their cheeks. “Thank you both. You’re the best! I’m going to go grill Mary Ann. Have you seen her?”
“Well, no, dear. This is Thursday. She always does her books on Thursday and isn’t fit for company.”
Destiny’s eyebrow shot up. That sounded intriguing. She never paid attention to what day of the week it was, but Thursday with Mary Ann sounded interesting. Destiny found the woman in her office, scowling down at a book filled with numbers. “You don’t look as though you’re having fun, my friend,” she greeted with a sunny smile.