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The private residence consisted of a huge master bedroom and a fairly large den divided by a bathroom. They looked around the den, and everything looked in order, neat and
"felt," to Jesse, recently used. When Jesse told this to Julia, she rolled her eyes.
"You said the Reeds just saw them today, so of course it's recently used. Don't apply for that psychic hotline number yet." Jesse stuck her tongue out at her sister and said, "Stop being such a grouch." They went through the bathroom to check the bedroom, and something peculiar caught their attention. The remote control to the television was perched on top of the toilet seat.
"I think this is our next clue." Jesse suggested.
"You mean there have been others?" Julia remarked.
"Which TV should we try first?"
"I don't care. You check the one in the den, I'll check theirs." Julia replied with annoyance. Jesse was beginning to feel a sense of anticipation that was exciting. The mystery was about to unfold.
"It's this one, Jules, there's a tape inside the VCR marked, 'JJ'. Okay. Like dad would say, buckle up, we're going for a ride."
Julia and Jesse sat next to each other on the couch facing the television. Still holding the clue, Jesse pressed play. They saw their mom sitting on this very couch looking expectantly at what could only be their dad.
"Is it on?" Their mom asked.
"Hell, I don't know. It says ‘recording,' so I guess." The sound of their dad's voice was followed by him coming into view and peering closely into the screen. Their folks were slow to join the twenty-first century.
"Come over here and sit." Claire instructed. He did.
"Hello, girls." Their mom announced to what she expected was the two of them. "We know this is a bit, oh, what's the word Garrett?"
"Macabre." He filled in.
"No, not macabre, but like that. Anyway, we're fine. We're sorry to do this
so cloak-and-daggers, is that what I mean?" She turns to her husband with a wave of her hand as if in question.
"I don't know, this is your show." He said humorlessly. Garrett Mason can be a showman when he has center stage and the spotlight is on him, but he is otherwise a bit rough around the edges. His laughter can fill a small village, though, and all three children inherited his boisterous laugh. None of them minded being the ones in a room to break the silence barrier with laughter. Their mom continued, unperturbed by his sarcasm. No one in this house survives without the ability to be unperturbed by sarcasm. The two had their own style of relating, their own method of communicating, and unless you had a Claire-to-English dictionary, and Teflon skin, stay beyond their range of fire. They were not above taking someone out in the crossfire of their well-camouflaged passion for each other.
"We're glad you made it safely. We have two things to tell you, and both of them are probably going to be a surprise." Julia reached for Jesse's hand.
"First, we're finished here. Your father and I bought a motor home, and after doing a little traveling we're going to settle down in Arizona. Sedona, to be exact. It's, uh.." her voice trailed off as if she changed her mind about what she wanted to say, and she shifted self consciously on the couch. Yes, mom, try to be as exact as possible here, Jesse thought.
"...the place is yours. We know this is a bit abrupt..." they couldn't hold back and both said, "Ya think?"
"...but the time is right for us." She went on for a few minutes, explaining some essential details about the business, and after listening for a bit, Jesse pressed pause. She needed to absorb, and judging by the look on Julia's face she wanted new parents. Julia instantly started to vent, and Jesse knew it was best to just let her go. Julia demands more than searches for earth answers, and that's her style, but Jesse looks beyond the physical, and it was clear this was a pivotal moment in her life, and she wanted to analyze the implications in the privacy of her own mind.
She did not see this one coming, she thought, then recalled her Florida comment earlier which made her wonder. The idea of running this place
had always been able to rest safely on the back burner of Jesse's plans (not that planning is a great strength), and because their folks
were so young, she expected at least another ten or fifteen years before it became an issue. In some ways, she had sensed a big change coming for a while now, but never imagined this scenario. Clearing the psychic garden of old attitudes and pulling out the weeds of misperception can only but bring new growth. We make ready our soil onto which life spreads its seed in the direction that, when we are wise, and keep our opinions to ourselves, we let God direct. Perhaps she had let the winds of change blow her in too many different directions, and rarely has she harbored long in one port. She
loved being changeable and moveable, but perhaps maturation required certain roots to form and bond us to a place that grows on us as we grow into it. Neither hurricane, tsunami or tornado could blow Julia off her course, and Jesse admired this about her sister. Jesse loved her life, however, and she was at what she considered the pinnacle of her success. From some questionable beginnings, she has moved by the grace of God into a place by both earthly and spiritual terms she
considered successful. So, maybe from this platform of newly formed confidence, I'm ready to forge a new frontier, she wondered.
What about Julia? She looked over at her older sister, who was still deep in the grips of outrage, and could not imagine being linked to someone more unlike herself.
The gods must be crazy, she thought. Love what is? Really, God, even this? She closed her eyes and breathed, then noticed paradoxically she was no longer uneasy. Surrender, Dorothy, and the scene from her favorite movie made her smile. Julia's voice got louder, and this brought her back.
"How can they do this to us?! Don't you have anything to say; and don't say some weird I'm-not-going-to-understand-it-anyway-thing?!" She was mad, and Jesse could understand her anger. She was
right; this was not a time for one of her spiritual platitudes. They each had to arrive at their predetermined destination in their own time and in their own way.
"When someone is in the eye of the tornado, it's really not the best time to talk about the weather. It's a lot to take in, Jules. Let's finish the tape." Jesse said timidly.
"Oh, great, more good news." Julia moaned. Jesse pressed play.
Their mom was on the screen, and their dad was moving toward the camera again.
"How do we know if this thing's still on?" He asked.
"Does it still say recording?" Mom suggested.
"Yeah." They watched him come back and sit down on the couch shaking his head. They must have borrowed this
camcorder; it's way too high tech for them, Jesse thought. Dad still gets flustered when the message light blinks on the answering machine.
Claire's voice continues.
"Now, you won't be able to call us, but we'll call you every week or so to see how things are going. You shouldn't have any problems. The first reservation isn't until the beginning of May, so you'll have a couple of months to prepare, and there's only a couple of people wintering in the campground. We've been letting people know the store and bar might be closed for a little while, so don't hurry back up. We realize you need to make arrangements with your jobs and homes.
Julia interrupted, "Nice of them to consider our lives."
"Dad has made a list of the maintenance stuff that has to be done. Everything is in the desk in the den, Julianna. The keys to truck are on the hook, and when we do call we have to keep the conversation short, so we're only going to talk about business." Her voice changed, and she was sounding ominous, looking out the window and fidgeting.
"Okay, now, the second thing we have to tell you", she paused and looked at her husband, but he kept his eyes faced forward,
"is going to sound a little, shall we say, bizarre." Right, Mom, Jesse thought,
like so far this is just your typical family discussion, "So let me preface it by saying that we can't tell you very much."
Oh, and I was concerned she was going to be vague, Jesse thought.
"Conrad has known this for several years now and is not at liberty to discuss it." Jesse could see out of the corner of her eye that Julia was about ready to jump through the screen and shake the words out of her. She wouldn't have to.
"We're angels. All of us. Your dad, me, and you kids. We're all angels, and we all have a mission to accomplish. Oh, and here's the part that's funny that I couldn't say before about Sedona: it's where all angels go to retire!" She laughed at her own cleverness. Julia and Jesse didn't. They weren't even sure they were still breathing.
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