Chapter 15 #2
In spirituality, mysticism, and the occult, he found peace because these practices didn’t force answers on him. In his practice, he was allowed to be uncertain and to ask questions. There was nuance, and there was balance.
Irma had taught him that, and she was much better at accepting it than he was. He was still learning, but he considered her almost a master of her craft.
In the living room, she had set everything up for the séance.
She had cleansed the air by burning lavender and incense.
She had moved the couches and chairs to form a loose circle, and within that she had placed her ouija board and four candles.
Crystals were set up for protection—the occult wasn’t inherently evil, but it also wasn’t inherently good, and it was better to be proactive than reactive—and Irma’s Tarot deck kept watch above the board.
Evan and Aubrey sat beside each other on one of the couches, looking mildly intrigued. From next to Gabriel, Drew watched with interest, a mug of coffee in his hands.
“Some pretty cool witchy fuckery,” he murmured to Gabriel, and Gabriel pinched his arm.
“Okay,” Irma said. She didn’t hear Drew’s commentary, or didn’t care. “Everything is ready.”
They sat gathered around the Ouija board. Irma went about everything with a practical, businesslike manner. She was calm and efficient. First, she picked up her Tarot deck.
“I want to set an intention for this séance,” she said. “Something to keep us focused and help guide us.”
Everyone nodded—it seemed practical.
Irma shuffled her cards. Two popped out.
“Okay,” she said. “Interesting.”
She set the two cards below the Ouija board. Gabriel looked at them with interest and decided to wait for her interpretation. He could make his own, but he wanted to know what she would say.
“We have two cards here,” Irma said. “The first is the Page of Swords. I don’t get this card often.
It represents going into a situation with an open mind, or looking for and finding new ideas.
I think that applies well right now. This card can mean that as you approach a challenge, or a new idea, you’re going in with positive energy and an open mind.
Considering our current circumstance and purpose, I believe it suggests that we need to be open to wherever tonight could take us. Be curious and nonjudgmental.”
“Fitting,” Drew whispered to Gabriel, bumping his shoulder. “I’m still amazed by these cards.”
“Right?” Gabriel said. “As long as you keep your intentions open, it works, doesn’t it?”
“What’s the next card?” Evan said, leaning in close.
Irma grinned. “This card? It’s the Lovers.”
Gabriel had noticed that card immediately.
He had his own interpretation, and he wanted to know what Irma’s was.
He had gone into the Tarot reading thinking about what they could learn about any spirits in the area, but also thinking about what he could learn personally.
He found that the spiritual and mystical world often provided insights into the physical world beyond what he knew.
He hoped for some clarity, specifically about Drew.
His personal reading of the cards, related to his situation, was that the Page of Swords was telling him to be open when it came to the new romantic connection he was exploring with Drew.
The Lovers card in the Major Arcana did not necessarily mean romantic love.
It could mean anything related to a deep and intense connection.
It emphasized the importance of communication, and sometimes signaled the need for an important sacrifice, in order to pursue something of greater worth.
He and Drew had formed an undeniable connection.
It was special and not like anything he had experienced before.
He didn’t want to lose it. The cards guided his thoughts, telling him that he needed to be open to what the future held.
He knew that all choices required sacrifice.
Nothing in life was free, even if that cost wasn’t monetary.
He hadn’t even considered that he and Drew could be together long term.
Maybe they could be, though that would require a sacrifice.
He was getting distracted by his own thoughts, and he needed to listen to Irma. She was about to give her interpretation of the cards and how they applied to their séance.
She explained to the others what Gabriel had just thought about the Lovers—how the card didn’t just signal romance, but could signal other connections.
“I’ll admit I’m not entirely sure what this means,” Irma said. “It encourages choosing a path, so maybe that is something to keep in mind.” She looked around at the gathered people. “Are we ready to call the spirits?”
Aubrey shivered, and Gabriel felt excited. “Ready,” he said, and the others agreed.
Irma closed her eyes. “Spirits,” she said. “We welcome you here. We welcome specifically those who know what is going on at the Orion’s Belt Hockey Camp. You are safe here if you do not harm us.”
She opened her eyes and looked at everyone. “Now let’s join hands.” They all joined hands, and Gabriel squeezed Drew’s hand. “And in unison, we’ll repeat, ‘You are welcome here.’”
They chanted the phrase in unison, their voices a low chorus. It was dark in the living room except for the candles. Gabriel suppressed a shiver. The moment felt sacred and important.
There was a noise, or maybe it was in Gabriel’s mind. It sounded like the wind.
“Now we put our hands on the planchette,” Irma instructed. They leaned forward, gently playing their fingers on the triangle of wood.
“I’ll ask the questions,” Irma said. “Is there someone here with us?”
Nothing happened at first. Then Gabriel felt like the planchette was urging him to move. It tugged towards the corner of the board, landing on “yes.”
Evan gasped. “Who moved it?”
“It wasn’t me,” Aubrey said.
“Shh,” said Irma. She spoke into the air. “Thank you for making yourself known. Who is here?”
The planchette didn’t move at first. Then, it shivered around the board. Slowly, it spelled out the letters for “friend.”
“Okay,” Aubrey whispered. “A friend. And everyone swears they’re not moving it?”
“I’m not,” Gabriel murmured, and the others agreed.
“Why are you here?” Irma asked gently, speaking to the air, or to the spirits.
There was another pause, and then the planchette drifted around the board, spelling out help.
“Do you need help?” Irma clarified.
The planchette landed on no.
“Are you here to help us?” Irma asked.
Yes.
“Do you know what’s going on at Orion’s Belt Hockey Camp?”
Strangely, the planchette slid back and forth between yes and no rapidly.
“Is the camp haunted?” Irma asked.
The planchette stopped directly in the middle between yes and no.
Gabriel exchanged a look with Drew. What did that mean? Irma asked for clarity, but the planchette didn’t move.
“Is there anything else you would like to say?” Irma asked politely. The planchette moved to no.
“Thank you,” Irma said.
The planchette moved to goodbye.
Everyone sat back and dropped hands. Gabriel still clutched Drew’s. He wasn’t scared by the séance or by the spirits, but he was unnerved by the encounter. Though he believed in the mystical world, there was always a part of him that wondered in scenarios like this how true the experience had been.
The séance was over. They all sat still for a short while, thinking about what they had learned. There was a spirit, and it said it was a friend. They said they were here to help, but had given very little helpful information. Was the camp haunted or not? Their answer seemed to be yes and no.
“So, something is going on,” Aubrey said.
“At the camp,” Evan finished for her.
“And the spirit didn’t know for sure?” Drew said. He squeezed Gabriel’s hand.
“Are we even sure it was a spirit?” Evan asked. “Could we have moved the planchette on our own?”
Irma shrugged. “Would that have made it any less real? What makes something real?”
None of them had an answer to that.
They stayed for a while longer, and then Evan said he had to get back home first. Aubrey left him, and they were talking quietly to each other as they left.
Gabriel grinned at Drew. Maybe the séance hadn’t been fully successful, but they had succeeded in their other goal: setting up Evan and Aubrey.
“Thanks for the help,” Gabriel said to Irma. He helped her pack everything up.
She gave him a hug. “Maybe we’ll get more answers later. Keep your heart open.”
When she left, he wondered if she meant to keep his heart open about the ghost, or about something else. Maybe she knew that there was another reading to the Tarot cards she had pulled.
It was a soft, dark night, and Gabriel was tired. It had been a long week at camp, and he missed being in Drew’s arms. He went back inside and let Drew wrap him in a full embrace.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Hi,” Drew said.
Gabriel kissed him. “I missed you.”
Drew laughed. “You were just outside.”
“I know. I missed you. I always miss you.”
Drew’s smile was tender and sweet. “Come to bed,” he whispered.
Gabriel followed Drew to Drew’s bed, which he was starting to think of as their bed.
They gently took off each other’s clothes, and when they were naked, they lay down together on the bed.
Gabriel kissed Drew deeply, and they slotted their bodies together, grasping at each other, clutching each other.
It was gentle, passionate lovemaking. Drew got on top of Gabriel, straddling him while they kissed.
He had a bottle of lube on the side table and applied some to Gabriel’s cock.
Gabriel moaned while Drew stroked him, each stroke loving and tender.
He wanted to cum. No, he needed to cum inside of Drew.
Drew’s head fell back, and he cried out as he came, shooting cum all over Gabriel. Gabriel gasped and his body tensed, and he came inside of Drew, filling him with his seed.
Both spent, they collapsed next to each other, and kissed, and then Drew rolled off the bed to clean up in the bathroom. When he came back, bringing with him a glass of water, he kissed Gabriel again. Gabriel could stay there forever with Drew. He wanted to stay there forever with Drew.
Drew reclined next to him on the bed. Moonlight slanted through the windows, lacing his form with pearly light. His eyes were soft, and his lips were swollen from kisses.
“Gabriel,” he whispered.
“Drew,” Gabriel replied, and stroked Drew’s face. He wished he could cast this moment in amber and hold onto it forever.
“Can I tell you something?” Drew whispered.
“Anything.” He could stare into Drew’s eyes forever and be happy about it.
Drew’s voice was very soft, but he spoke with confidence and assuredness. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
There was a time in Gabriel’s life when hearing those words would’ve terrified him.
The rational part of his brain told him that hearing those words now probably should terrify him.
Love had no place in what he and Drew had agreed to.
That had agreed on a simple summer romance, a fling, and nothing more.
They would be companions and sexual partners for the summer, and they would have fun, and then Drew would leave, and they would go back to their normal lives from before.
But that wasn’t what had happened. They had built something else, and it was better and truer than what Gabriel could have expected.
And, despite every rational and pragmatic reason to not let himself fall, he was.
He cupped Drew’s chin in his hands and kissed him gently. “I’m falling in love with you, too.”
Drew gave a small laugh. There were soft tears sparkling in the corners of his eyes. “And what are we going to do about that?”
Gabriel took a breath to steady his heartbeat and his emotions. Both wanted to run away on him, and he wouldn’t let them. “We enjoy the time we have,” he said softly. “And we always, always treasure the summer we shared where we learned about love.”