He Thought He Saw – Part 44

Brian, Jordan and their parents spend most of the day going over the information in the papers Brian got from his house. They read aloud so that Maribelle can hear it too. Brian suggests contacting Chase, but is dubious about calling Marissa.

“Good point. And Marissa just loves me so much, she’s never going to tell me anything.”

“What, not BFFs?” Brian teased.

“Shut up. As if I’d be friends with that anorexic Barbie doll.”

“That isn’t really important,” Heath reminded them. “Getting through the rest of this, is.”

“I want to know more about the necklace,” Brian said. “I wonder where it came from and who made it.”

“Oh, now this is interesting,” Heath said. He pulled out a sheet of paper he’d been studying and laid it on the table. “This is very interesting.”

The teenagers glanced at it, shaking their heads. It didn’t look all that impressive to either of them.

“It’s a family tree,” Heath persisted, wanting them to see its importance. He shook the paper at them rather emphatically.

The women came in with a platter of sandwiches and a big bowl of chips. Heath and Brian took the serving dishes, setting them on the table.

“Honey, I found something kind of cool,” Heath said as he held his wife, helping her sit.

“Really? What?”

“It’s just some dumb family tree,” Jordan said before taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Yes, but it’s got an interesting name on it,” Heath said.

“Dad, you just want it to be cool,” Jordan said, mouth full.

Her father huffed an irritated sigh. “I bet your mother and Maribelle will see it differently. Maribelle, did you know that your husband’s family is distantly related to Edgar Cayce?”

“The man who had visions?” Jackie’s surprise was evident.

Maribelle smiled, nodding. “Yes, it’s a distant link and one that most of the family doesn’t acknowledge. They changed the spelling of the last name sometime after he started getting his visions and cut him off.”

“Why? He was so brilliant,” Jackie sounded awed.

“He was considered a raving lunatic,” Maribelle said. “No one wanted to be associated with a crazy man.”

“But you see why this is interesting?”

“Yes,” Maribelle replied. “That sensitivity is inherent in the family line. There are others who had the talent for telling the future or seeing things that weren’t there. When Brian was little, he had horrible nightmares. After talking to members of Miles’ family, we realized they weren’t just nightmares, they were visions. He still has them, sometimes, but they don’t wake him up like they used to.”

“Is that true, Brian?” Jackie asked.

“Yeah, but I can’t remember them when I wake up.”

“At one point, Miles was so worried, he took Brian to a sleep specialist. They put all those electrodes on him and filmed him as he slept.”

“Why don’t I remember that?” Brian asked.

“You were very young,” his mother replied. “Maybe four or five. Whatever they found out, Miles never fully shared it with me. He told me it wasn’t life threatening and not to worry. Of course, I did anyway. He never showed me the tapes they made.”

“Do you—have them?” Brian asked. “Did Dad keep them?”

“I think he did. They’re probably in his office somewhere. Why?”

“I want to see them,” Brian demanded. “Can we get them?”

“Sure, kid,” Heath said. “I’ll take you by after lunch. The women can go through this information.”

“I want to go too,” Jordan said. “We all need a break from this.”

“Honestly, I’d like a nap,” Jackie said. “I bet Maribelle wouldn’t mind one.”

“I would love a nap,” Maribelle said with a smile.

“Then let’s put the papers up and call it a day,” Heath said.

He picked up the stacks they’d gone through and put a red, industrial sized rubber band around them. He put a blue one around the smaller stack that they hadn’t gone through. Brian put them back in the briefcase and Heath locked them in the safe in his office.

The three of them bundled up before going out. It was snowing again. Fluffy flakes fell in a festive flurry. The teenagers bundled in the back of the SUV while Heath hopped in the front. He turned the heat on full and turned on the seat warmers.

“Best invention ever made for cars,” he commented as he waited for his car to warm up.

© 2016 Dellani Oakes 

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