Passion and Pearls (The pearl series) (7 page)

She remembered her Mother talking about the connection she and Aqua’s father had. How she could tune-in to his thoughts.  Aqua wondered if this was what she had been talking about. She wished her Mother was here to ask, or that she had someone she could consult, but this was one of those things she would have to figure out on her own.

At just past midnight Blu woke up and rolled over looking for Aqua. Not finding her woke him up completely and he sat up noticing the clock. The rumbling of his stomach reminded him they hadn’t eaten and he got up and dressed. He found her in the living room with the kitten and loved the smile she gave him when she first saw him round the corner. He went to her scooped her up and sat back down with her on his lap. He held her for a while kissing her now and then until his stomach rumbled again.

Aqua patted his flat belly and stood up. “Come on it’s time for dinner. Seems som
e
one distracted me earlier.” Blu laughed and followed her to the kitchen. They fixed dinner together and laughed at each other’s antics. They were a good couple, relaxed and respectful. When they sat down to eat Blu took a bite of his potatoes and slightly frowned. Aqua without really thinking about it flipped the switch and immediately his thoughts filled her mind. “Yeah, I’m sure I do have some sour cream in the fridge,” she answered him although he hadn’t actually voiced his question. Blu got up and got it out before it hit him that he hadn’t said a word.

Aqua had left the switch on when he realized he hadn’t spoken out loud and felt his trepidation the moment it hit him. She could see him pull a little away from her. He didn’t know what had just happened but she could feel that he didn’t like it. He sat back down and continued eating, now quiet.

“I guess I’m a little more tuned in to you now. I’m not sure how but, I seem to be able to hear your thoughts pretty clearly. My Mom was like that with Dad, they got used to it and even liked it. I’m sure we will too.” Aqua thought this explanation would ease his uncertainty and calm Blu’s thoughts. It didn’t, in fact it made them race faster and in several directions.

Blu was reeling.
Could she really tell what he was thinking? Would she know everything he did and said? How could this happen, he didn’t even believe in psychics? That last though
t
of Blu’s came through loud and clear to Aqua.

“You don’t believe in psychics?” she stood and asked him. He was startled again that she had known exactly what he’d been thinking.   A shiver of old time deep seated fear washed over him as it must have back when the Salem witch hunts had been common. Aqua was stunned. He was afraid of her?  She loved him, he loved her and yet she could feel that he was afraid of her.  She could hear his thoughts tumble forward.
F
reak? He thought she was a freak? Aqua turned the switch off no longer able to handle the pain of his thoughts.

“I think you had better leave,” she told him. Satin hissed and took a swipe at his ankle before Aqua scooped the hissing kitten up and started out of the room. With her back to him she added, “don’t bother coming back until you figure out if I’m a freak or not.  I’ll not sleep with a man who is afraid of me no matter how much I love him.” She walked to the bedroom, shut the door flipping the lock and then fell to the bed. Her moan of pain and the tears could not be stopped and the kitten snuggled up to her as much as possible trying to ease her anguish.

Blu was in shock. What had just happened? It was like some horror movie where something wonderful goes horribly wrong. How did she know what he
had been
thinking? This couldn’t be happening. This kind of thing didn’t happen to him. He didn’t believe in psychic mumbo jumbo.  Even though he told himself that, he kept asking himself how she’d known
.
Not just vaguely but precisely what had been going through his mind. He put away the food, gathered his things and walked toward the bedroom door. He could hear her sobbing on the other side of the wood and it made him feel like the worst kind of bastard but he didn’t know what or how to deal with her. He turned and walked back to the kitchen and out the door.

Aqua was thankful it was
Sunday
and she didn’t have to face customers in the store. Her eyes were swollen and red from her continued crying jag. She resisted the temptation to tap into Blu’s mind. She could see the switch and knew she would be able to read his thoughts no matter where he was. This deeper connection must have opened once they both fell in love. That was the only explanation she could think of. Aqua didn’t want to know what he was thinking now though. She was afraid of his feeling for her, and couldn’t face him backing away from her, from what she thought they shared. It was more than she could handle and so she left the connection closed.

Satin wouldn’t leave her side. The kitten was giving her what comfort he could. She had cried herself out by the time Monday morning came. Although she looked pale and her smile wasn’t reaching her eyes, she was open for business and getting through her day. She hoped that Blu wouldn’t come near her as she was still on shaky footing.

Just before closing time Wanda came in dangling a bag of cookies ready to get to the bottom of her friend’s problem. She didn’t know what had happened but she wasn’t about to let her friend continue moping without some chocolate to console her. Aqua looked up from the counter and smiled. “It’s chocolate and answers times,” Wanda told her as she opened the bakery bag and fished out one of Aqua’s favorites. She waved it in front of the poor woman and as only a friend can, demanded answers as payment for her fix.

One bite and Aqua broke. She knew she was risking the loss of Wanda’s friendship but Aqua knew the woman was going to drag the whole story out of her anyway. Wanda’s eyes got big and she dipped into the bag and ate two cookies herself and patted Aqua on the hand now and then. When the tear filled story was finally out Wanda got up and hugged Aqua tight and said, “that bastard,” like only a true friend would.

Aqua was stunned and yet so relieved that Wanda hadn’t run screaming from her store that she cried again. “You believe me?”

“Of course I do, Girl. Now the question is do you want to get that damn man back or not, cause I’m considering hurting him myself right now.” Wanda said while handing Aqua another cookie.

Aqua munched and thought about that question. Did she want him back, what if he believed her and they could be happy together? She knew that there was a strong connection and that she was in love with him. Even now she could tune in to his thoughts if she wanted. When she calmly thought it through she realized that asking him to believe her without proof was asking a lot. She would have loved it if he had but his logical cop mind didn’t let him believe that way.  He was a prove it kind of man and if she really loved him she was going to have to keep that in mind.

“Yep, he’s toast and gonna be mine,” she finally said with a smile. Wanda laughed and the pair ordered pizza and spent the next couple hours discussing ways to show the man the light. For the first time since he’d left her apartment Aqua flipped the switch and tuned in to his thought. She would need all the help she could get to make a believer out of Blu.

Blu was still torn about what had happened. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it and found himself trying to rationalize what Aqua had said. Deep down he knew what he was doing was wrong but he couldn’t help himself. That he didn’t call her or stop by to make sure she was alright was telling as to how unsettled he was. His guilt was driving him crazy. He turned on the radio to his favorite station to try and block out his thoughts.

“That folks was ‘
The Crime I’m Guilty
Of’ by Blue Moon Rising,” the announcer told the listeners. Blu’s mouth dropped open and he pulled over and shut the Bronco off. He just sat there for a few minutes before he laughed at himself and shaking his head got back on the road. That was just one of those crazy coincidences he told himself. “Coming up next is ‘
The Big Ones Get Away
’
, title track from Buffy Sainte-Marie’s ‘Coincidence & Likely Stories’ album.” Blu hurried and turned the radio off and headed home. He needed a beer. Bad.

Aqua turned the switch off and poured herself and Wanda another glass of wine. This was kind of fun, in a mean way. They watched a movie and Aqua told Wanda how lucky she felt to have her as a friend. Aqua slept peacefully that night for the first times since Blu had walked out. She had a plan.

Aqua had decided that she didn’t want to freak Blu out completely so they would go slow with his further introduction to physic phenomenon.  So, she only tuned into his thoughts now and then and didn’t do anything for a few days until the next weekend. She knew he had Saturday off and she thought it would be better not to freak him out on the job.

Saturday morning Blu slept in but woke up, after dreaming about Aqua, in a bad mood. He was frustrated but didn’t know what to do next. He made a cup of coffee and looked at his list of chores that needed done for the weekend. He decided he’d
rather
head to the ranch to see his how his Mom was doing and he could catch up on the ranch books while he was there. He knew there would be bills to pay.  He fixed a quick breakfast got dressed and headed out to the ranch. He sang to himself, still not daring to turn the radio back on.

Blu enjoyed a nice visit with his folks and went to the barn to see the horses. He was calmer and felt more relaxed after spending some time at the ranch which always centered him. After dinner he headed to the office to work on the books. He hated the work but was the only one that could make sense of his father’s system. He caught up fairly quickly but was frustrated when he had everything done except printing the checks. The flashing of the “out of ink” made him start a
thorough
search of drawers when he heard the fax machine beep. He picked up the fax and was surprised to see it was from Aqua’s store.

He frowned when he read the invoice for replacement ink and a note that indicated it would be delivered on Monday or he could pick it up if he’d prefer. He sat down hard in the chair and read the invoice again. How could she have known, especially on a Saturday
evening?
His mind was reeling and he wondered if he should call her and ask. A minute later another fax came through. It was a plain piece of paper with a hand written note that read. ‘Don’t call me yet, I’m still a little mad at you.’ It was signed with an A. Blu dropped the paper and sat down at the desk again. This couldn’t be happening, he was really losing his mind. He got up went to the bar and poured himself a large shot of whiskey. It looks like he’d be staying at the ranch tonight because he planned on and
proceeded
to get very drunk.

Sunday morning brought a beautiful day that Blu couldn’t even begin to enjoy.  His father insisted he go to church in town with him and his Mother as added penitence for his drinking, as if the mother of all hangovers wasn’t enough. Blu followed his folks into town and sat through the service doing his best not to be ill. When the Pastor finished and Blu said his goodbyes he climbed into his Bronco and rested his head against the steering wheel feeling miserable. That’s when the smell of toast hit him and drew his gaze to the passenger seat. There sat a small paper sack. He opened the sack and inside was a bottle of aspirin and warm toast. The note only said ‘the coffee is hot
- A
.’ He looked down at the cup holder and sure enough there was a paper cup with steam coming out from the lid. He opened the aspirin and shook a few out, picked up the coffee and with the first sip took his medicine. The toast was welcomed by his stomach and as he sat there for a while he started to feel marginally better.

Blu later realized that his Mother, who was not happy that Blu wasn’t seeing Aqua any longer, must have let Aqua know he was hung-over. There were logical explanations for everything. He wasn’t going to fall for some crazy physic scheme. Feeling a bit better about the whole thing he headed home.

Aqua flipped the switch laughing at how the poor man was trying to come up with logical explanations. She and Wanda would have to come up with some more ideas to bring him around. There were so many possibilities now that she was so connected to him. She was careful to try not to be to invasive in her tuning in though. Aqua was sensitive to how it would feel to have someone privy to her every thought.

Blu’s sister Amanda came into the store
the next
Monday afternoon. Aqua wasn’t sure what to expect but Amana walked right up and hugged her and said. “Hey, how’s it going? Have you and my idiot brother patched things up yet?”

“Afraid not, but I’m working on him in my own way. I hope he’ll come around sometime soon before I have to just smack him good.” Aqua was smiling and Amanda laughed.

“Well, I hear he and the boys are going to the Acorn tonight so maybe we should have a
girl’s
night out. We could ignore them completely and see if we can stir up some trouble.”

Wanda had just walked in and hugging Amanda said, “Oh my, can I get in on that action?” The three women laughed and made plans to meet that evening.

Aqua knocked on Wanda’s apartment door and walked in. Wanda took one look at Aqua’s outfit and shook her head, took her hand and drug her to the bedroom. “That is not going to do it, let’s see if I can come up with something that will do the trick.”

Aqua wasn’t sure what was wrong with her pants and blouse but wasn’t going to argue. Wanda dug through her closet and started bring out items.  Soon she had Aqua changing and in a matter of minutes had moved on to Aqua’s makeup and hair. In less than half an hour Aqua was looking in the mirror with a shocked look on her face.