Soulmates
Chapter One - 6-27-1977
Jaime guessed that the old woman had to be at least 100 years old, but as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Madame Sophia looked directly at her and smiled warmly. "Eighty-one, Sweetie." She placed a cup of tea and a tray of cookies on the coffee table, in front of Jaime.
"Ma'am," Jaime said gently, "you said you had something extremely urgent to talk to me about. Thank you for the hospitality, but tea and cookies aren't exactly urgent. Why am I here?"
"Soon, Sweetie. And please - call me Sophia."
"Sophia, I can't -" Jaime was interrupted by the doorbell.
"Excuse me, Sweetie. I'll be right back."
Jaime couldn't help listening, and although the psychic and the newcomer spoke in muted tones, Jaime knew the male voice was the last person on Earth she wanted to see: Steve. They hadn't spoken in nearly a year, since the ugly blow-up that their co-workers called ' The Battle of the Century'. The two of them, in all their years together, had never fought, but this single incident had made up for that in spades. It had been loud, vicious and extremely public.
Steve followed the psychic to the parlor, where Jaime was already on her feet. "You set this up!" she hissed at Steve. "I should've known this woman wouldn't call me out of the clear blue sky after ten years. And I am not staying!"
"Sweetie, he knew no more about this than you did. You need to sit down and hear me out. Please?"
Steve sat down in the chair next to the loveseat where Jaime had been. He snuck a look at his former lover and his heart began to melt when he saw the tears in her eyes. "If she doesn't want to be here," he said to the elderly psychic, "I am not gonna let you force her!"
"Sweetie," Sophia said gently, "of course you don't have to stay. If you can allow me just five minutes, though, I promise you won't regret it."
Jaime stole a look at Steve as she sank back into the cushions. Their eyes met, but she was too angry and too frightened by the unknown to hold the gaze.
"Thank you," the psychic said. "Now, I know from speaking with you on the phone that you both remember your previous visit with me, ten years ago today..."
6-27-1967
"Wow, you look good in that uniform!" Jaime said, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at Steve. For years, being with him had made her weak in the knees, light-headed - the works. Now that she was 18 and they could be a legal couple, she had confidence that his arm around her waist was all she'd ever need to hold her up.
Steve kissed her as they reached Madame Sophia's doorstep. Psychics of any sort were extremely rare, but they'd been told this woman was the real deal. Maybe, maybe not, but Steve thought it would be a fun way to start Jaime's 18th birthday celebration.
The door opened before they knocked. "Hello, Children. Welcome!" She led them into the parlor and handed them each a cup of tea. "Part of this journey involves taking tea together." She looked at Jaime, who was as close to Steve as possible on the loveseat. "Happy birthday, Sweetie!"
Jaime looked questioningly at Steve, who shrugged. "I didn't tell her."
"And I'd like to commend you, Steve," Sophia continued. "Your love, and the love of your family have gone a long way toward helping Jaime cope with the loss of her parents." Steve felt Jaime shiver slightly, and he tightened his arm around her waist.
"Are there questions you wish to ask, or would you like a general reading?"
Jaime's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Anything you think we should know..." she replied.
"Ok. Now, I may be jumping the gun in terms of where your relationship is right now, but I'm sure you both realize that you share something very real and very strong. People toss around the word soulmate very lightly, but the real thing is so rare that, in all my years I've only known two couples who were genuine soulmates - put on this planet solely for each other. One couple, I knew over 30 years ago. The other couple...is you."