Chapter 181: Family Meeting

Saturday, June 26, 1971

Narvenia remained silent as I considered her surprising gesture while I dressed, then together we headed back to the dining room. Not another word had been spoken as we both seemed to be lost in thought.

The large dining room seemed crowded as I surveyed my family. Just because I am empathic, doesn’t mean that I understood the atmosphere that permeated the air as we walked in. David was seated now at the dining room table, drinking coffee and talking with Catherine, Beth, and Nicky. Anna was also there, talking with Sandy and having a bite of something to eat. She looked none the worse for her experience.

Adriana and Grace were hovering over Vickie, who actually looked to have fared worse than David or Anna. Vickie smiled weakly at me as I sat down. Sunny was in my lap before I could pick up the mug of coffee Abby placed in front of me.

“I think I am going back to bed,” Kathy Lynn said with a big yawn. “For some reason, I can barely keep my eyes open this morning.”

“Quit bragging!” Eve called out as everyone else laughed.

“Go ahead,” Nicky told her. “We’ll keep an eye on Sunny. Besides, it doesn’t look like you could blast her out of Michael’s lap right now.”

“Thanks,” Kathy Lynn replied sleepily as she headed for the stairs.

“C’mon, sis,” Kip told Karla. “I’m supposed to check in with Penny in a few minutes and I’m sure I’ll need your help explaining to her what happened.”

“But we don’t know WHAT happened,” Karla told her younger brother, confused.

“Exactly! And since I don’t have Michael’s ability to share my memories, I’ll need you to make sure that I don’t leave anything out,” Kip said as they headed for the security office.

I noted that Jimmy was again at the other end of the large dining room table, surrounded by Abby, Hanna, Rose, Sandy, Eve, Ileana, Allie, Amy, and Shelly. There had to be some way to convert the smile on his face to electricity. I could have lit all of Long Island with it. I made a mental note to spend some time checking out the repair work Anna and I had started on him earlier this week.

Cindy, Melanie, and Robert were in the large overstuffed chairs near the windows, talking quietly among themselves. It sounded like his wife and her sister were trying to explain what had happened prior to his arrival. Their tones were hushed and worried. Kalani was telling Izzy and Deedee the story of how her nation had come to possess the sword and the ring.

Ivana just nodded to Catherine as she called to Trealyn and Sturgey. When I scanned her, I discovered that they were headed out to go house-shopping. Ivana had decided she was tired of the DC scene and was looking to find a place in the local school district for Sturgey and Trealyn.

Trealyn raced over to me and leaned around Sunny to kiss my cheek. “What you did was so-o-o cool! It’s too bad my mother says I can’t tell anyone,” she said in a voice so low, it was almost a whisper. “But that’s okay, ‘cause no one would believe it anyway!” Then with a giggle, she followed her mother and brother out the door.

“That’s okay, as long as you still love me when you’re old and out of high school,” I thought to her.

“Don’t worry,” she thought back. “I will!”

It was then that I noticed three things. I noticed that with the departures, the dining room seemed a little less crowded. I also noticed that the noise level in the room had dropped to almost nothing. The third thing I noticed was that everyone was looking to me, expectantly.

“Well, are you going to tell us what happened?” Nicky asked.

“Well, I was down at the pool with Grace and Beth and Allie when I heard Ileana’s scream. When I got here, I saw David lying on the floor with the sword still in his hand. At first, because of Kalani and Ileana’s warnings, I thought he was dead.”

“So did we,” Kalani interjected. “It scared all of us who saw him drop.”

There was a general murmuring of agreement as they recounted their terror, then I continued.

“Anyway, I went to remove the sword and decided to scan him. That’s when I found that David wasn’t dead, just unconscious. So I connected Anna to me as I checked out this weird flashing along the neurons in his brain. Suddenly, hers were doing the same thing and she passed out too,” I explained. “Sorry about that.”

Anna smiled as she told me, “That’s okay, Michael. You couldn’t have known.”

“Then, there was this loud hammering sound, like someone was trying to pound their way into my head. I put up my heavy-duty shield to try and keep it out, but it didn’t appear to be working. That was when Ileana and the others started feeding me their love and my shield got stronger,” I said. Then turning to Ileana I added, “Thanks, by-the-way.”

“I’m sorry it wasn’t enough, Michael,” Ileana said quietly.

“I don’t know that even if all of you had been connected, if it would have been enough. The force, whatever it was, was tremendously powerful. I appreciate everything that each of you did. Especially you, Vickie. If you’ll remind me later, we’ll work some more on your range.”

“Ah, okay, Michael,” Vickie replied. I could sense her guilt at not having been able to do more, but I knew that now was not the time to push it with her. So I continued my story.

“However, even with your love, it still wasn’t enough. Then right before I was about to pass out, I heard Sunny’s voice in my head, telling me that ‘my big knife’ was trying to talk to me,” I said, squeezing the four-year-old on my lap in a gentle hug. “You were wonderful too. Thank you.”

Sunny just hugged me in return.

“Once she said that, I decided to drop my shield so I could hear it better,” I told them.

“What made you leap to that conclusion?” Adriana asked.

I sensed both her confusion and concern.

“I mean it sounds like dropping my shield would be the last thing I would do in that case.”

“I don’t know. I can only tell you that once Sunny told me that my ‘big knife’, as she called it, was trying to speak to me, it only made sense to listen to what it had to say.”

“But what if it had killed you?” Amy asked.

“Somehow, I just suddenly knew that it wasn’t trying to hurt me. It only wanted to talk to me.”

“Talk to you?” Izzy asked. “What did it say?”

“It was only one word... ‘return’ ... and then, I guess I did pass out, sort of.”

“Sort of ... What do you mean, sort of?” Izzy pushed.

“Well, it’s hard to explain, but it was like I was hovering over the three of us, looking down at everything that was going on in the room. I felt really good and I knew that David and Anna were alright. It made me sad that everyone else was upset, but I still didn’t want the feeling to end. That’s how good it felt.”

“But I checked. None of you had a pulse!” Cindy cried. I had forgotten that she was a nurse.

I gave her my best teenaged shrug. “When I first got to David, I didn’t think he had one either. But somehow, I could still detect some life in him. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“So David wasn’t dead? Are you sure that you didn’t do something to bring him back to life?” Izzy asked.

I looked at Izzy. I wasn’t sure I liked where this was going. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I sensed that she was heading into her ‘cross-examination-of-the-witness’ mode. I had seen Penny do this, but I could easily tell why Izzy was paid the big bucks, just by-the-way she framed her questions. They seemed to naturally generate fear, and I had done nothing wrong or bad. I mentally strapped myself in for a bumpy ride.

“Like I said, when I removed the sword from his hand, it was already slightly stiff and I thought he was dead. But then I sensed some life and scanned his brain. That’s when I saw the flashes and connected Anna. I was hoping she could explain what was happening,” I explained again.

I was trying to remain patient. I knew that all they wanted was to understand what had happened. And the last thing I wanted was David with a Lazarus complex. I seemed to be hearing an awful lot of Michael-the-god kind of talk lately.

But ... but...” Cindy sputtered.

“Maybe you should share one of your memories with her, Michael,” Anna suggested softly. “So she can understand what you mean.”

I don’t know why I chose that one. Maybe it was because she was now standing next to his wheelchair. But I began to replay the work Anna and I had done on Jimmy’s spine last week.

Cindy closed her eyes as I replayed the images for about thirty seconds. After she opened her eyes, she looked first to me, then quickly to Jimmy and back to me. Maybe that’s where her daughters got it from. Cindy Castleberry was nobody’s fool. I could tell she had figured out not only what she was seeing, but whose it was.

When I winked at her in response to her unasked question, her eyes quickly softened and a big grin spread over her face. It was a much happier and more relaxed Cindy that returned to her seat between her husband and sister. I saw her reach out for her sister’s hand, but she said nothing for the moment.

“That’s it?” Izzy asked, returning to the point at hand. She really was good and I made a mental note to get her with Anna and Sandy on the gold as soon as I could. “That’s everything, Michael?”

“Everything except for my conversation with Bieta,” I told them.

“Wait!” cried Catherine, jumping to her feet as a multitude of sharp gasps filled the air. Then she turned to Amy.

“Amy? Would you and Shelly mind taking Sunny up to the nursery for a while? We need to hold a quick family meeting.”

“Sure,” Amy told Catherine as she and Shelly took the four-year-old by the hand and headed upstairs.

“Thank you,” Catherine told the retreating girls. Then turning to Beth she asked, “Would you mind taking David back to his room? I’m sure he would like to freshen up after ... his ordeal. I’ll call you if we need you.”

“Cindy, you and Robert and Melanie, have only recently joined our..., er, family. Before Michael continues, I have to ask you if you’re prepared to make a commitment to us?”

“What do you mean, Catherine?” Robert asked.

“What I mean, is that I trust Michael,” Catherine said. “And I know that he has chosen to share many unusual and confidential things with you. Things, that if they got out, could spell disaster and even death for all of us. However, what Michael has just alluded to, is even more unique and personal than what he has already shared. It’s not the best analogy, but a marriage is always more than just two people being joined together. It’s the joining of two families as well. And while Michael’s relationships with your daughters are not exactly a marriage, it’s close. That means that our respective families are also joined. And in this case, it is irrevocable. There can be no backing out later.”

I could see Robert and Cindy nodding their heads in agreement.

“So I ask you, are you certain you want to continue this relationship?” Catherine asked them pointedly. “If you’re not sure or not ready to make a commitment, I’m going to ask you to excuse us now. You may wait in the living room or out on the terrace.”

“Does that include me?” Jimmy cried suddenly. “I mean, do I have to leave too?”

Everyone turned to look at me, but I remained silent. I was waiting on the Castleberry’s whispered conference to finish. I didn’t have to wait long.

Robert stood before he started speaking, addressing his words to me instead of Catherine.

“I want to start by saying that we appreciate both your situation and your taking us this far into your confidences,” Robert told me. “And while I dislike agreeing to open ended commitments, my wife, and my sister-in-law have assured me that we are committed. For the long haul. I also think I am speaking for Jimmy as well. Of course, I believe our daughters have already done this for themselves.”

“Thank you, Robert,” Catherine resumed without missing a beat, ignoring the fact that Robert had addressed me instead of her.

I wondered just then, how many times in her life that she had been overlooked just because she was a woman. I guess owning a large piece of one of the largest privately held companies in the country wasn’t enough to overcome the general attitude men seemed to have about women at this time in the twentieth century.

“However, I now put the same question to you, young man,” Catherine spoke directly to Jimmy. “Are you willing to commit to being a permanent part of this family, and keeping its confidences?”

“Oh, he does,” Melanie quickly answered for him.

“MOM!” Jimmy cried. “I’m almost twenty years old, for god’s sake. And just because I’m in this wheelchair, doesn’t mean I can’t answer for myself!”

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” murmured a humbled Melanie.

“I’m sorry that my mother interrupted you,” Jimmy resumed, dropping the condescending tone. “If you’re asking me if I’ll keep your confidences, Mrs. Wagner, the answer is, of course I will. If you’re asking me to be a part of your family, well, I’ll tell you that I would jump out of this chair and dance for you, if I could. I haven’t had as much fun in my whole life, as I have this last week with all of you.”

“Very well put,” Catherine told him graciously. “I can see that I am going to have to set aside more time to get to know you. And your mom.”

Jimmy was beaming as his mom looked at him with a mother’s pride. Somehow, she felt he had accomplished something for himself this morning.

“Hanna?” Catherine just looked the question to her.

“Oh, yes! You know I love Michael,” Hanna told her happily. But she wasn’t looking at Catherine as she said it, because our eyes were locked on each other.

“I love you, too,” I thought to her.

Catherine turned to face Allie directly.

“I guess that brings us to you. Do you want to be called by your given name, ‘Alice’? Or would you prefer Allie, as I’ve heard Michael call you?”

“Allie’s fine,” she replied.

“Then, Allie, the ball, it seems, is in your court, to use the modern vernacular. Do you understand what your ability to overhear Michael’s thoughts implies?” Catherine asked.

Allie shook her head from side to side. I could sense she had an idea, but she was afraid to give her feelings a voice in front of her parents. I quickly showed Catherine what Allie was feeling.

“Those of us that can feel his emotions and overhear his thoughts,” Catherine said, sweeping her hand to indicate the other girls in the room, “refer to it as having a ‘special connection’ with Michael. As you have become aware, there are both good sides and bad sides to this particular affliction, for lack of a better word. On the down side, there are more than a few of us. And since this special connection to him is rooted in his abilities as an empath, it is, by its nature, very emotional. It also tends to be very intimate, which sometimes means we are sharing that intimacy with other women, and often at the same time.”

Catherine paused, looking directly at Allie. I had left Catherine connected to her, so that she could judge Allie’s reactions for herself. I could sense Catherine’s concern. Allie was the big unknown in all this.

“The other down side, although most of us find it somewhat liberating, is that there are never any secrets from him. He knows what we are feeling and the thoughts associated with those feelings. That can sometimes lead to embarrassing situations. You might want to ask Anna to tell you about the time she thought about killing him.”