Hall Rockettes. There were times when she did not find their antics amusing. She flipped her hand, and they dispersed to the trees across the street, where they began to squawk up a storm. Even birds did not like to be dismissed.
“You seem distracted,” Milly said. “Is something wrong?”
Holly bit her lip and shook her head.
“You’re red in the face. Are you getting sick?”
“I feel perfectly well, Aunt Milly. Thank you for asking.”
“Good. Now here’s what I need you to do. I want you to contact Peter, and find out what he’s said to the FBI. Loose lips sink ships, as they say. Make certain that he isn’t talking to anyone else. He has a girlfriend, doesn’t he?”
“You mean Liza?”
“Do you know her?”
“She’s Peter’s assistant. I saw her at his show. She’s very beautiful.”
“Do you think he’s sleeping with her?”
“Aunt Milly!”
“Don’t act so shocked, my dear. It’s a perfectly legitimate question.”
“I would think so. They live together.”
“Damn.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Men are idiots when it comes to sex, and I’m sure Peter is no exception.”
Her niece was blushing. They’d talked about sex before, and it had been perfectly comfortable. Something was on her niece’s mind.
“Look at me,” Milly said.
Holly turned from the window to look at her aunt. A long moment passed.
“Oh, my God. You’re in love with him.”
Holly swallowed hard and nodded. “He loves me too. He said as much over the phone this morning. I’ve been in love with Peter ever since I could remember, and I think he’s always loved me. It just took something dreadful to happen for us to both acknowledge it.”
“But he has a girlfriend.”
“This is different.”
“You think he’ll leave her for you?”
“I’m not thinking that far ahead. Peter will decide when the time is right.”
Milly rose from the couch and crossed the room. She put her hand on her niece’s shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. “You are heading down a dangerous path, my dear. For your own good, please reconsider.”
Holly’s face clouded. “No.”
“Not even for my sake?”
“No. I won’t turn him away. Not even for you.”
Milly felt the air escape from her lungs. She had no one to blame but herself. It was her doing that Peter and Holly had formed a bond when they were young; what had she thought was going to happen? This was real, and there was no changing it.
Milly stared out the window. Of late, it seemed like so much of her time was spent here, gazing at the lush oasis of the park across the street. The habits of an old woman, she supposed. In the glass’s reflection, Holly slipped her arm around her aunt’s waist.
“Are you mad at me?” her niece asked.
“Never,” Milly replied.
“Disappointed?”
“Ask me after the shock wears off.”
Holly let out a little laugh, then her face grew serious. “Do you believe that things happen for a reason? Or is life just a random series of events that we have no control over?”
“Everything on this earth happens for a reason,” Milly said. “It is the nature of the order of the universe, whose mysteries we are forever trying to fathom.”
“I agree. Everything
“But how? What is the link?”
“If I knew that, I’d be the smartest person in the world.” Holly gave her aunt a squeeze. “What I do know is, we must let the good things happen, and make sure the bad things don’t happen. You told me that when I discovered I was a witch, and I’ve always believed it.”
“And you think your being in love with Peter is a good thing,” Milly said.
“How could it not be?”
Her niece had never been in love. If she had, she would have known how destructive a force it could be. Milly would have given anything to be so young and naive again.
“Let’s hope you’re right,” Milly said.
22
Peter told Liza everything.
He took her to Sojourn on East 79th Street, whose interior was filled with warm oak and red tones, and sat at a corner table where they split a carafe of the house Chablis. In a subdued voice, he explained how as a boy he’d gotten a surprise visit by Hecate, spirit of magic, who’d come to his family’s apartment in response to a seance being held by his parents, but ended up in his bedroom instead. Hecate had been talking to him ever since, along with a variety of other spirits and ghosts. Their waiter delivered a plate of roasted figs and prosciutto to the table.
“You’re going to have to bear with me for a minute here,” Liza said when the waiter was gone. “What exactly was a ghost doing in your bedroom?”
“I think her GPS was broken.”
“Come on, be serious. I’m having a hard time grasping this.”
“She mistook my bedroom for my father’s study, which was down the hall,” he explained. “She hovered over my bed, and woke me up, and we ended up having a conversation.”
“You weren’t afraid?”
“I’d been seeing ghosts since I was little. Late at night they’d come into my bedroom, and make a nuisance of themselves. There’s nothing scary about them.”
“I’m finding this hard to believe.”
“It’s true. You have to understand the spirit world, and the beings that inhabit it.”
“Since I don’t, why don’t you explain it to me?”
He paused to gather his thoughts. It was hard to explain a place that Liza had never seen, let alone imagined, and he chose his words carefully. “There are two worlds. The physical world which we inhabit, and the spirit world which spirits, ghosts, and castaway angels inhabit. At one time, the inhabitants of the spirit world were human, and as a result, are just as flawed as humans are. They make mistakes and get lost, and sometimes do really stupid things. In that regard, they’re no different than we are.”
“What’s a castaway angel?”
“A demon.”
“Oh. Do you ever speak with them?”
“No. They’re dangerous, and in league with the Devil.”
“So you’re telling me there really is a Devil.”
“Of course. He’s responsible for just about every bad thing in the world.”
