He Thought He Saw – Part 31

Brian shows Jordan his necklace and talks to her about the stones and metals in it. He inadvertently insults her when he calls all the talk of properties hoodoo voodoo.

Jordan’s mouth tightened and she glared at him. “Just because you don’t understand, doesn’t make it any less true. You told me your mother makes teas from different herbs.”

“Yeah, so? They all do different things.”

“So, think of these stones as being the herbs. Each one has different properties and strengths. The blue ones help with healing, psychic projection and opening the third eye.”

“Now I know you’re making things up. We don’t have a third eye.”

Jordan thumped the center of his forehead. Brian’s hand flew to his face, eyes watering.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“For being an idiot! Could you put aside the fact that you’re a moron and just listen for a couple minutes? This is real, documented evidence. Just because it’s not in the science books doesn’t make it any less true.”

“How do you know? Because your parents told you?” His tone was rude and scathing.

Jordan flushed, her cheeks an angry red. “No. For your information, douchebag, I’ve had an out of body experience. I’ve viewed auras and I’ve been healed with crystals. I’ve seen more amazing stuff in the last five years than you’ve seen in a lifetime. My parents may be kind of out there, but they know things that could be very helpful to us. In fact, they need to see your necklace.”

“Why? So they can admire it?”

“No, dummy. Because there’s no one who knows more about this kind of thing than my mother. She’s worked with metals and crystals for years.”

“How do you know she’ll be of any help? Your psychic powers?”

Jordan snatched the laptop and accessed one of the websites his father had referenced. There was a picture of Jacqueline Barrett’s smiling face.

“Mom wasn’t always a drug rep. She has graduate degrees in geology and metallurgy as well as a doctorate in metaphysics. So she needs to see the necklace now. This was made for a very specific purpose. Even you should be able to figure that out—if your dense brain will let you accept something beyond your own micro-existence.”

Brain put his hand on hers. Jordan tried to snatch her hand away, but he gripped more firmly, willing her to look at him. He kept his voice calm, his face open and receptive.

“I’m sorry, okay? In case you haven’t noticed, a lot of weird shit has happened to me—to us, lately. I’m scared out of my mind and it seems easier to call this crap and move on with my life. Because if this real, then the rest is real and I’m not ready to face it. I want to turn my back, walk away and forget it’s happening.”

“You’re not the type to turn your back on anything.”

“Thank you. Neither are you. But wouldn’t you love to be able to pass this all off with a shrug and pretend you are?”

“Yeah.” Jordan took both his hands in hers as she gazed into his eyes.

“Let’s go talk to our folks. I have a feeling my mom and your dad could also be helpful.”

“Me too.”

They carried Brian’s laptop to the kitchen, prepared to talk to their parents. A man they didn’t know sat with them, sipping tea. He was the strangest looking man Brian had ever seen. His features looked African American, though his nose was very flat and pointy, the nostrils almost slits. His hair hung in heavy dreads, well past his shoulders and wore shabby clothing like a tramp. The thing that really set him apart was his skin color. He wasn’t some normal shade of brown. His skin looked as if he’d bathed in black paint. His eyes were pools of black against a sclera so white, it glowed. His teeth were the whitest Brian had ever seen, though his lips seemed almost blue.

“Honey,” Maribelle Casey said with a smile. “This is Mr. Deidrich. He’s going to stay with us for awhile.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” she replied. “He’s agreed to come to the house and live there until your father comes home.”

“That could be awhile,” Brian said rather rudely to Mr. Deidrich.

“Not a problem, son. As an old family friend, I came when I was called.”

“If you’re such an old family friend, why haven’t I ever met you or even heard of you before?” Brian’s eyes became slits.

“Oh, Maribelle, you never mentioned me to your darling boy? I’m hurt!”

“The subject never came up, Gavin.”

Brian’s lip curled in disgust. “Nice to meet you.”

“And you too, young man.” Gavin Deidrich held out his hand for Brian to shake it.

© 2016 Dellani Oakes 

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