Chapter 11
Dahlia had just opened her laptop and was going to start working on a business card design when Harlow knocked on her open door.
“Hey, you busy?” Harlow asked.
“No. Not yet.” She waved Harlow into her office.
It was Saturday and her first official day in the office.
They’d placed an A-frame sign outside advertising Dahlia’s services and hoped for the best. Dahlia had just booked some advertising in order to start building a client base, but in the meantime, she was more than happy to take walk-ins.
Harlow hurried in and closed the door behind her. “You have your first clients!”
Dahlia blinked at her. “I do? Where?”
“They’re in the lobby. They saw the sign and just wandered in. I wanted to give you a heads-up in case you need to prepare or center yourself or anything like that.”
“Um, no, I don’t think so,” Dahlia said with a little laugh. “At least I’ve never had to do that before. Do you have to prepare?”
“Oh, yeah.” Harlow made a face. “I usually need spells and protection spells and meditation. In my line of work, people are usually calling because a spirit is angry and difficult, so I need to be prepared.”
“Makes sense.” Dahlia closed her laptop and stood. “Thanks for giving me a heads-up. I’ll go get them.”
Harlow followed her out. As she retreated to her desk she whispered, “Good luck!”
“Thanks,” Dahlia whispered back and then went to meet her very first clients.
“Are you sure about this?” A young man with two full sleeves of tattoos sat next to a woman with bright red hair and a nose piercing. He was giving her a concerned look. “We don’t have to do this.”
“No, I want to,” the redhead said. “I’m dying to know who owned this ring.”
The young man didn’t look at all convinced that he wanted any part of meeting a ghost, but the young woman was practically vibrating with anticipation.
“Hello,” Dahlia said, holding her hand out. “I’m Dahlia Day, the resident medium.”
“Oh my gosh. I’m so jealous of your gift,” the redhead said as she jumped up and shook Dahlia’s hand. “I have always been fascinated by the afterlife. I mean, the very idea that spirits are hanging around, watching what we do, it’s just mind-blowing, don’t you think?”
Mind-blowing wasn’t exactly the phrase that Dahlia would have used, but she appreciated the woman’s enthusiasm.
Hopefully it didn’t scare any ghosts away.
Which did happen sometimes. They all had different personalities, just like the living.
Some absolutely did not want to be reminded that they’d died, and once someone started focusing on that, they vanished pretty quickly.
“It’s always interesting,” Dahlia said diplomatically. “I understand you’re here for a session. If you’re ready, we can go into my office and get started.”
“Rocky is,” the man said, indicating his companion. “I’m… I don’t know.”
“You’re coming, Jesse,” Rocky insisted as she grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. “We both know if you miss meeting a ghost you’re going to regret it forever.”
“Ugh, I hate it when you’re right,” Jesse said and hung his head as he allowed Rocky to tug him toward the office.
Once the pair were settled on the couch that Harlow had put in Dahlia’s office, she shut the door and then turned to her clients. “Okay, so who are we trying to reach today?”
“We have no idea.” Rocky perched on the very edge of the couch, her knee bouncing with excitement.
“We found this antique cocktail ring at an estate sale a few months ago and I tried to see if I could trace its history, but there just aren’t any records past about ten years ago when the previous owner purchased it from a private seller. ”
Dahlia pulled a chair up, sat in front of Rocky, and eyed the ring.
The art deco-style ring was stunning with a large sapphire blue stone in the middle and tiny little diamond chips surrounding it in the silver setting.
Dahlia gently wrapped her fingers around Rocky’s and tilted her hand so she could see the ring better. “Wow. What a great find.”
“Isn’t it? I just adore it.” Rocky beamed, while Jesse looked a little green.
“Are you all right, Jesse?” Dahlia asked. “Do you need some water? Or an antacid, maybe?”
Rocky glanced at him. “You’re not going to be sick, are you?”
“No. I’m fine.” He sat up and made an effort not to look so pathetic, though he wasn’t fooling anyone.
Dahlia made note of the round trash container next to her desk just in case he needed it.
“Okay, what do we need to do? Light candles? Say a protection spell? Do a chant to summon any ghosts?” Rocky asked, her face lit up with excitement.
“Oh, uh, no, nothing like that,” Dahlia said, giving her a patient smile.
Though inside, she was dreading this reading.
Rocky’s zealousness made the appointment feel like some kind of side show instead of just inviting a ghost to join them.
“All I need is the ring. I’ll hold it in my hand, and then we’ll wait to see who might show up. ”
“That’s it?” Rocky asked. “You don’t do a protection spell?” Suddenly her expression mirrored Jesse’s. “What if an evil spirit decides to visit?”
“Then we’ll know the ring is cursed and we can do something about that. But no need to worry. If that happens, I’ll just stop touching it. Then the ghost will disappear.”
“Rocky, are you sure about this?” Jesse asked.
That seemed to solidify her determination because she sat up straight, nodded, and then handed the ring to Dahlia.
The energy flowing around the ring was very positive. It felt like joy and lightness. Dahlia smiled, already knowing she was going to enjoy this interaction. As she closed her fist around the ring, she felt the presence of someone else in the room.
Rocky gasped and pressed her fingertips to her lips, while Jesse stared with his eyes wide and his mouth open.
Dahlia almost laughed. While she was used to ghosts just popping in, it was entertaining to see the reactions of other people. She’d long gotten past the phase of being shocked by any ghost that popped up in her presence.
“There’s my ring,” a woman called out in a slow southern drawl. “Oh my gosh, it’s just as lovely as it was the day Beauregard gave it to me.”
Dahlia turned to the left and spotted a curvy woman with a tiny waist wearing an off-the-shoulder blue dress and black fishnet stockings. Her kitten heels were black and slightly scuffed, looking a little worse for the wear.
“Oh my gosh,” Rocky whispered. “You are gorgeous.”
The ghost gave her a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin as she fluffed her golden-brown curls. “Why thank you, darlin’. You’re a sexy little minx, aren’t you?”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Rocky said, flushing slightly.
“And who is this?” The ghost floated over to Jesse and lowered herself until it looked like she was sitting on his knee. Then she wrapped her ghostly hand around his bicep and squeezed, though it was unlikely Jesse felt anything but a slight chill.
“My name is Jesse,” he said, staring at her in awe. “Where are you from?”
“New Orleans,” she said, her voice drawing out the words in a slow drawl. “And that ring was given to me by my favorite client.” She eyed the ring in Dahlia’s hand wistfully. “I sure wish I’d died with it on, then I could still see it every day.”
“What’s your name?” Rocky asked, giving the ghost her full attention.
“Ida May. Yours?”
“Um, Rocky. And that guy you’re sitting on, he’s Jesse, my boyfriend.”
“Oh, the boyfriend. He’s hot.” Ida May gave her an exaggerated wink. “He’s almost as delicious as my boyfriend, Diesel. Jesse just needs a little more muscle.” She gave him a flirty smile and said, “More gym time wouldn’t hurt. You know what I’m saying, gorgeous?”
He just stared up at her, awestruck.
Dahlia swallowed a chuckle. “Hello, Ida May. I’m Dahlia, a medium. And Rocky and Jesse found your ring at an estate sale a few months ago. They are really interested in finding out its history. Do you know much about it?”
“A medium, huh?” She glanced around. “Where are we, some sad science lab?”
Dahlia looked around at the blank walls and couldn’t blame her for assuming such a thing. “No. It’s an office in a pretty cool brick building, actually. I just haven’t had time to make it my own yet. We’re in Keating Hollow, California.”
“California!” Ida May exclaimed. “This was the Wild West in my day.”
“And when was that?” Dahlia asked.
“I was born in the late 1800s,” Ida May said. “I grew up in New Orleans and lived and worked in Storyville during the 1920s. Do you know what that is?”
“The brothels,” Rocky said quietly, looking sad.
Ida May narrowed her eyes at her. “Don’t look at me like that. I did what I had to do to survive. There’s no place for pity here. I ended up with that ring, didn’t I?”
“You did,” Dahlia said. “From Beauregard. Who was he?”
“Oh, Beau? He was a judge. Very sweet man to the ladies.” Ida May’s lips formed a wistful smile. “He wanted to marry me, but unfortunately, he already had a wife who refused to divorce him. That was fine with me, though. I didn’t want to marry Beau. He was a little too old for me.”
“How old?” Dahlia asked, fascinated.
“Oh, old Beau was about forty years my senior. In fact, I think he died of a heart attack a few months after he gave me that ring. I sure did miss him.” She cackled. “Listen to me going on and on about Beau. Diesel is gonna hate that.”
“Diesel is your current boyfriend?” Dahlia asked.
“Oh, yes. He’s terrific.” Ida May beamed. She eyed Jesse. “Be good to Rocky or I’ll come back to haunt you, understand?”
He turned green again. “How?”
“I’ll haunt your dreams, and it won’t be pretty. I’ll… I don’t know, make it so you never dream of boobs again.”
Dahlia laughed at that, while Jesse sank into the couch, looking as if the outlandish ghost had just threatened to cut off his balls.
Ida May threw her head back and cackled. Then she grinned at Dahlia, waggled her fingers, and disappeared.
“Oh. My. Gods.” Rocky was barely breathing as she clutched her chest. “That was wild!”
“That ghost was insane,” Jesse said. “Hot, but insane.”
“Wasn’t she?” Rocky was enthralled. She turned to Dahlia. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Though Dahlia felt weird about taking any credit. All she’d done was hold the ring. Ida May had been the entertaining one.
“I will definitely be back,” Rocky said. “I’m gonna go through all my stuff and see what else might have an interesting story.” She reached out for the ring and slid it back on her finger.
“I’ll be here,” Dahlia said as she walked them to the door.
“I’ll stay home,” Jesse said. “Ida May was… interesting, but the fewer ghosts that threaten to haunt me, the better.”
“She was just kidding,” Rocky said.
Dahlia wasn’t so sure. Ida May was a character who had strong energy. Something told her that if Ida May wanted to haunt Jesse she would, and it wouldn’t take a medium to make it happen.
“You don’t know that,” Jesse said as they walked out.
Rocky sang her praises of the reading to Harlow before she left, and when the door finally closed behind them, Harlow walked over to Dahlia.
“Tell me everything,” Harlow demanded.
“We summoned a ghost from the 1920s who worked at a brothel in Storyville. She was quite colorful.”
“No. Way. And I missed it!” Harlow looked positively distraught. “That’s amazing and way better than any ghosts I usually deal with.”
“She wasn’t the banishing kind. I bet she regularly haunts people just to stay entertained.”
“You know, I bet she does to.” Harlow slipped her arm through Dahlia’s. “I already love this partnership. With clients that happy, you’re destined for greatness.”
“One can only hope,” Dahlia said.
“Let’s celebrate with lunch at the brewery.” Harlow was already grabbing her sweater and handbag before Dahlia could even answer. “Come on. My treat.”
“With an offer like that…” Dahlia grinned. “I’m in.”
“Dahlia,” Harlow said, “at the risk of sounding cliché, I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.”
Feeling like she’d just hit the jackpot in the friends department, Dahlia walked arm in arm with Harlow, once again grateful for the new life she’d found in Keating Hollow.