Chapter ONE HUNDRED & NINETY THREE – Needs Must When the Devil Compels You
I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.
Albert Einstein
(German born American Physicist who developed the special & general theories of relativity. Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. 1879-1955)
"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?" asked Celeste calmly.
"Well you're half right," said Kate with a twist of her lips.
"I'm not disturbing you am I Kate?" she asked her.
"Yes," said Kate flatly, "I was just on my way out."
"Have you seen my shoe?"
Celeste arched an eyebrow and looked around Kate, seeing the shirtless Ky walking out of the bathroom with only one shoe on.
"He's the plumber," said Kate without missing a beat, "I had an early morning plumbing emergency that had to be seen to."
"Well I'm sure that the young man was very efficient at unclogging your drains," said Celeste coolly, a second look telling her that the man in question was barely in his twenties, "Although I'm surprised such a young person would know what to do with such old pipes."
Kate pursed her lips and looked back at Celeste, obviously not appreciating her little jab.
"I should be going," said Ky, standing behind Kate now, having found his shoe and his shirt.
"Fine," said Kate evenly and gave him a dismissive nod.
Ky looked a little uncertain for a moment but then clearly sensed he wasn't needed right then.
"Don't you have to pay him?" asked Celeste after Ky had edged past her out of the door.
"I have a tab," said Kate blithely.
"I bet you do," said Celeste with a roll of her eyes.
"What do you want Celeste?" asked Kate impatiently, "I have somewhere I have to be."
"Are you off to see Stefano perhaps?" asked Celeste easily.
"I don't think I have to give any kind of account of my actions to you Celeste," said Kate shortly.
"Why would you want to move in with Stefano Kate?" asked Celeste, looking at her intently.
"I'll answer that if you tell me why Stefano asked you to move in," said Kate, her eyes narrowing.
Celeste smiled, Kate was checking out the competition but that was the furthest thing from her mind. She didn't want Stefano, just her daughter back.
"You'd have to ask him that yourself dahling," she said with a little shrug, "I think the man is lonely and feeling his mortality. But that is not why I am here."
"So why are you here," Kate prompted her impatiently, "Do you want something from me Celeste?"
oooOOOOooo
"Let us see what the cards have to say mon enfant," said Miss Perpétue, handing the tarot cards to Celeste to shuffle.
Celeste shuffled them and handed them back to the old woman who began laying them out on the table.
"Ask your questions," she instructed her.
Celeste had asked this many times of the cards and was always frightened of the answer.
"Is my daughter still alive?" she asked painfully.
Miss Perpétue began to turn over the cards, both women viewing them carefully.
"La Mort – Death," stated Miss Perpétue, "But it is reversed."
Celeste blew out a relieved breath at seeing the card ominous card upside down.
"Your child has experienced change that is both painful and unpleasant," said Miss Perpétue tapping the card with one aged finger, "She is in an agonising period of transition – inert, full of lethargy, mental and emotional exhaustion."
"But she is alive," said Celeste unevenly.
She had gotten a similar reading many times over but had always worried that it was her own great need that was directing the power of the cards. To have Miss Perpétue, a well seasoned practitioner of the cards come to the same conclusions was a great weight off Celeste's mind.
"So the cards say," agreed Miss Perpétue, "For now."
"How can I save my child?" asked Celeste, her voice breaking along with her heart at being separated from the one that she loved.
Miss Perpétue turned over the next card.
"Le Pendu – the Hanged Man," she named the card, "The person you seek has had their own dreams suspended but does what they can to adapt. They look to the future to reap the benefit of that which is lost in the present. They are in wait, stationary until they can be reborn, sacrificing all for one perfect hope and their life is turned on its head with the waiting."
Miss Perpétue looked at Celeste then, her green eyes burning brightly.
"You must find this person, the le pendu and this is the one who will save you and your child Celeste," she told her forcefully, "The cards do not lie."
Celeste sat back in her chair and had to wonder if the cards were talking about Kate. Her visions had shown her many strange things of late and Kate seemed to always be there – her and Lucas inextricably bound. Certainly they were mother and son but it felt like more than that to Celeste – some long held secrets between them finally bubbling to the surface and changing both of their worlds forever. It was so dark and convoluted between the two of them that Celeste had trouble seeing into their futures, only know that they were impossibly linked. But even so Kate might be the one whose Celeste's only hope of finding her daughter rested with. If she was to move into the mansion instead of Celeste Stefano wouldn't be expecting her to be looking for Alexandra. If Celeste could get Kate to work as a kind of spy for her she would have a much better chance of finding out what exactly did happen to her daughter.
"I don't know what to do Miss Perpétue," she confessed to the older woman, "I feel like I need to do something but-"
"The cards will decide," she interrupted her and drew out a last card, "Think on the person that you wonder about child."
Celeste looked down at the cards, thinking of Kate as Miss Perpétue flipped a last card and her question was answered.
"The Eight of Wands," she whispered.
The card promised understanding and harmony and that the time and conditions were right to facilitate success. It was a card of hope...
oooOOOOooo
"Well?" asked Kate, clearly growing impatient now.
"I wish you every happiness in your future plans with Stefano," said Celeste smoothly.
"Is that it?" asked Kate flatly, "You made me late for that?"
"I didn't want there to be any unpleasantness between us," said Celeste sweetly.
"That sentiment is a bit late isn't it after the old pipes comment?" she asked acerbically.
"Better late than never I say," said Celeste with a little smile.
oooOOOOooo
"The Eight of Wands," she whispered.
The card promised understanding and harmony and that the time and conditions were right to facilitate success. It was a card of hope.
At least it would have been if it hadn't been reversed.
Instead it signalled disputes and disagreements and silly spontaneous actions, not looking before you leapt.
"The cards do not think your course of action is a wise one," said Miss Perpétue knowingly.
"No," said Celeste quietly, looking down at the card, "They don't."
"What are you going to do?" asked the older woman.
"I don't know," said Celeste with a sigh, "But this card doesn't only apply to me Miss Perpétue. I must try and warn Kate about what she is doing."
"Do you think she will listen?" she asked.
"No," said Celeste regretfully, "But I have to try."
oooOOOOooo
"You know when Stefano and I get married," said Kate with an unpleasant smile on her face, "And I can promise you that day isn't very far away Celeste, I don't think we'll be requiring your services at the mansion any longer."
"Services?" queried Celeste with an arched eyebrow.
"I know Stefano likes to keep you around like some little freak show for his amusement but don't think for one moment that you have me fooled with all of your psychic side show crap," Kate snapped, "You're a fraud Celeste, everyone in town knows it."
"I wish for your sake that I was Kate," said Celeste softly, the sense of impending doom washing over her again as she spoke with the other woman.
"Is that meant to scare me?" Kate scoffed.
"Stefano is a dangerous man Kate," Celeste warned her.
"And one that I can handle," Kate sniffed before continuing on sarcastically, "Thanks for the warning though but it's unnecessarily."
"Many people have thought that exact same thing," said Celeste darkly, "To their own folly."
"Well I'm not many people Celeste," said Kate coolly, "I can take care of myself – history has proven that."
"Let us hope that history indeed repeats itself in this case," said Celeste, her tone suggesting that she didn't believe it would.
"Spare me Celeste," said Kate with a roll of her eyes, "All of this vague and breathless observations of supposedly impending doom is getting decidedly old. If you have something to say then just say it okay? Stop hiding behind cryptic and vague statements and just spit it out."
Celeste paused and frowned at that.
"I wish I could Kate," she said at last, "But all I can say is that your present course, the choices you are making now will only lead you to a dark place."
"You know nothing about my life or my choices," said Kate coolly.
"I think you should reconsider getting involved with Stefano," said Celeste worriedly.
"Oh there it is," she sneered, "The real reason for your visit. You want me out of the way so you can have a clear path with Stefano, don't you?"
"No," said Celeste seriously, "My involvements in the past with that man have only caused me pain."
"And yet you somehow manage to get yourself an invitation to go and stay at the mansion," said Kate, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, "How did that happen exactly?"
Celeste didn't immediately reply. The last thing she was going to do was tell Kate about her plans to find out about Alexandra. For a brief moment she'd considered it but the cards had been very clear that it would have been a mistake. Whilst Celeste was certainly no fan of Kate she had still felt the need to come by and warn her about getting involved with the man in anyway. Something that clearly wasn't appreciated by Kate.
"You must not do this thing Kate," said Celeste unhappily, "It will end badly."
"Right," said Kate flatly, "I'll take that under advisement Celeste, thanks so much for dropping by."
Celeste made an unhappy face at Kate's obvious disdain for such good advice but Celeste decided that she'd done all that she could. She couldn't help but give one last piece of advice though.
"Well if you must do this thing Kate," she said with a warning look, "I just hope that you have no more plumbing problems because I don't see Stefano being very understanding about such things."
"If you say one word to Stefano about anything that you think you saw today I will ruin you," said Kate, her eyes hardening.
"Do not worry Kate," said Celeste calmly, "My intent is to try and save you from trouble, not make it."
"I'm sure," said Kate in a clearly disbelieving tone.
"I'll be going now," she said quietly.
"Good," said Kate coldly, "Thanks so much for dropping by."
The door slammed shut behind Celeste as she turned around and she grimaced. That had not gone as she'd hoped but then perhaps it was all too late already, the dye had been cast and all the pieces were in place for the end of life in Salem as many knew it.
It was a harrowing thought.
oooOOOOooo
Later that afternoon Celeste sat at her favourite coffee shop, drinking a coffee and reading the local newspaper. She suddenly had this intense feeling of being watched. Looking up Celeste looked around herself and only saw people going about their business but the sensation persisted. She pressed her lips together in an unhappy line. This was to be expected of course. She'd gone to see Stefano earlier that day to decline his offer of moving into the mansion and he'd accepted it readily enough but of course Celeste had known that would not be the end of it.
It didn't surprise her that Stefano was now having her watched and she was certain he was. The trouble was that this meant she had to be very careful about how she went about things from now on. Seeing as using Kate wasn't an option right then Celeste found herself suddenly limited in what she could do. The only recourse left opened to her right then was to simply wait this out. The thought
killed Celeste but she wouldn't be able to do her daughter any good if Stefano became too suspicious and decided to put her into a dungeon of her own again. Celeste's mother heart broke at the thought of not being able to help Lexi right then but she wasn't giving up.
"I'll never give up," she said painfully, no one in the crowded coffee shop paying her any attention, "Never."
oooOOOOooo
Sami stood at the window, looking unseeingly out of it and nervously playing with the bracelet EJ had given her.
"Sweetheart," said EJ gently from behind her, "You don't have to do this."
She felt his hands go to the top of her arms and gently squeeze them reassuringly as he dropped a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
"Yes I do," said Sami sadly, leaning back against him, "Lucas is Wills father and I can't just let him die when I know I could do something about it. At the very least I can make his last days relatively happy ones."
"You are a magnificent creature Samantha," said EJ as he turned her around in his arms to look at her.
"I don't feel magnificent," said Sami with a tremulous smile, "I feel scared."
She suddenly clutched at his shirt front then and looked up at him a little panicked.
"Please EJ," she implored him, "Please tell me that this isn't going to change anything between us! Please tell me that I'm not ruining everything for us!"
"Of course you're not sweetheart," said EJ quickly, putting his arms around her and hugging her tightly, "Everything is going to work out – I promise you."
"And you won't get sick of waiting for me and move on?" asked Sami emotionally, "I mean how are you going to cope with seeing Lucas and I together all the time?"
"I'll probably start drinking," said EJ straight faced.
"EJ!" Sami groaned, burying her head in his chest, "Be serious."
"I was being serious," said EJ wryly.
He paused then and made her look up at him.
"Samantha," he said steadily, "I love you and yes, it is going to be hard the next little while but I'd do anything, endure anything to be with you."
"I feel the same way," said Sami unsteadily, "But-"
"No," said EJ firmly with a shake of his head, "There is no but sweetheart, not for us. We've found each other, just as Colleen and Santo did and our love is written in the stars. We were always fated to be Samantha and this is merely a little detour in our road to happiness – nothing more."
"You're always so certain," said Sami enviously.
"I'm certain that nothing can shake us," said EJ confidently, "Darling we are the thing that they write sonnets about, pen poetry and write timeless novels about. Our love is untouchable – I swear to you."
Sami gave him a soft smile, letting herself believe utterly what he was telling her and it gave her the strength to go and see Lucas now.
"Do you believe me sweetheart?" he asked her tenderly.
"I do," she whispered, "Nothing can touch us EJ, nothing."
