The Empath Cycle: 2001 It Takes One - Book 2

They turned to find a pixie of an older woman looking at them with laughter in her eyes. Ryanna and Julia immediately each opened an arm so she could join them.

"Sylvie, Jade, this lovely lady is Lee Ann. The legend goes that one day, she just appeared at the gate with her suitcase, on foot and no one had seen or heard a car drop her off. She told the gatekeeper she had been called here. Before anyone in authority could decide what to do with her, all the children of the compound poured out of the school, buildings and houses. They ran over, laughing, and swarmed her. By the time parents and teachers arrived, mammy Juliette was there. She said it was high time she got here and walked her to the House, followed by the children, just like in the fairy tale. People were a little worried at first, but the mammies told them everything was all right and when each little one had received his or her hug, things went back to normal."

"Whatever that means around here." Lee Ann giggled. "A good hug is a terrible thing to waste, I always say. So..."

They all laughed as she joined them.

All gloomy thoughts blew to the winds when children came running from all directions followed by adults, just as enthusiastically if at a more dignified pace. Many of them had been in the original group of children who had greeted the woman and they too wanted their hug.

After she had hugged all the children, she gathered them to her. "This here is my friend Sylvie and she needs a hug too." She told them.

The words had barely left her mouth that it was Sylvie's turn to be mugged. She didn't have time to panic before she was surrounded by laughing little ones. She went down to her knees before she fell in their midst, afraid to hurt them. There were tears of joy and happiness in her eyes by the time they all had their chance to hug her and tell her they loved her.

When she took Jade's offered hand to get to her feet, she found that all the adults were still there. They came to hug her gently, tell her she was loved and to welcome her home.

The four young women looked at each other, nearly overwhelmed by the intense emotional event which had just taken place. Lee Ann brought them back in their group hug to give them an anchor point.

"Now you girls run to your apartment and change into your own clothes. In fact, you should begin to move your things home. I'm sure there is a pick-up laying around somewhere and some strong arms ready to help you get a start on things. While you're doing that, I'll walk our friends home to meet the rest of the family."

As they walked to their house, Sylvie had time to reflect on what had just happened. She looked at the diminutive woman walking between Jade and her, a hand under each of their arms. She certainly seemed to be one of those people for whom physical contact was important.

"I don't mean to offend, but who are you? How do you know so much about us? And how did you know Ryanna and Julia needed to move their stuff to the house where we now live?" She asked.

"How could you offend by asking questions? It is always better to ask than to assume. You know why?" Lee Ann grinned as she asked her own questions.

"Yes I do." Sylvie laughed. "Because when you assume, you risk making an... ass out of you and me." The last bit was said by all three women in unison.

They were still laughing when they arrived at the house where a small suitcase waited for them by the door. Lee Ann picked it up as she let the young women walk in. They had taken their boots off and were hugging Patricia who had met them at the door.

"Are you going to ask your friend in or will you just let her freeze on the porch?" She asked them.

"Sorry Lee Ann, we thought you had come in." Sylvie apologized.

"I never enter a house unless I'm invited." She replied with a grin.

"I got it!" Jade exclaimed. "You're a vampire! Where's the garlic, mom?"

"Not a vampire." Lee Ann said, once they were seated on the couch and had caught their breath after a good side-splitting laugh. "Just someone who has lived long and traveled far enough to know the proprieties. It's always better to err on the side of caution. I've never been faulted for being polite."

"I've been telling my daughter just that forever and it took her getting hitched to a lawyer for her to finally learn it." Patricia said, putting the back of her hand to her forehead with an air of long suffering.

"Well, lawyers are more terrifying than mothers... or vampires, after all. You probably didn't spank her enough as a child, I'm sure." Lee Ann countered.

By then Sylvie had heard enough. The woman seemed harmless enough, but this was taking off-the-cuff remarks far enough.

"Since you said you don't mind my asking questions, are you ever going to answer them or will you continue to play at deflecting our attention? We know you are a Benny Hill fan, though I suspect the reference was mostly because we are. I'm waiting for the 'It's only a flesh wound' quote because we also love Monty Python."

"I must be losing my touch in my old age. It usually takes longer for someone to notice these things and then only after I'm gone." Lee Ann said softly, looking at Sylvie quizzically.

"Well..."

"Dear old Cat was right, I see." She muttered, so low Sylvie wasn't sure she had heard correctly. "I met Sarah at a conference in the late 50s where she was laughed off the stage by the good old boys who had their heads so far up their asses, they couldn't have recognized an original idea without a colonoscopy. I caught her just before she belted the Dean of the university hosting the thing. I gave her a hug and told her she was brilliant and shouldn't waste her energy getting angry at such a bunch of nincompoops. We were still laughing when we arrived at the bar where we promptly proceeded to get drunk. We found that we shared the view that the holistic approach was better when dealing with deep psychological trauma than treating the symptoms separately."

"So you are a psychologist too." Sylvie asked.

"Not at all. I travel around and distribute hugs where they are needed the most. Like Sarah would say 'I'm not a doctor'."

Before Sylvie could pursue her inquiries, there was a commotion outside. They hadn't reached the door to see what was happening, when there was an enthusiastic knock. Patricia opened it to be met by a grinning Julia and a dozen of people behind her.

"Can we come in, please?" She asked.

"You don't have to ask, sweetie. This is your home now. But who are all these people?"

"They are the reason we are back so quickly. It seems Joannie made some calls early this morning and by the time we arrived at the apartment, all our stuff was already packed and loaded. We don't know how, but she knew we would move here today."

"Well, don't just stand there. We'll have to find you a room."

"Joannie said we should take her old room. She said it's the warmest in the winter, has the best air flow in the summer and the best view."

Most of the team took their boots off and formed a chain from the door to the first floor and made short work of moving boxes, bags and suitcases, all in a joyous atmosphere under the bemused eyes of the women who had been told firmly if politely that their help was not required.

Before the task was done, Joannie and Jack White arrived. If they were surprised to see Lee Ann there, they didn't show it as they made their rounds of hugs.

"Good morning, ladies." Jack laughed. "I see the family is growing by leaps and bounds."

"How did you know to organize a work group this morning?" Sylvie asked.

"Considering the amount of love that poured from this house last night, it didn't take a rocket scientist to understand what had happened when auntie called me this morning to tell me the kids had stayed after she left."

"What do you mean 'love poured from this house'?" Sylvie asked.

"Dear, if anybody needed more proof that you are my long lost sister, you all dispelled any doubt forever. You said you had some little talent originally and that our mother opened a limited channel between the four of you. Well it seems that the six of you together took that and multiplied it exponentially. A wave of love flowed across the whole compound like we haven't felt in many years. Since Catherine passed and Martine followed her, in fact." Joannie told her. "After that, it always felt as if a part of the whole was missing and when Sarah left, it seemed to us like Juliette and Arianna were only marking time until they could join them."

"That's so sad." Jade sniffed. "At least they are together now."

"In a way it is." Joannie continued. "But it was a wondrous love story and it has a happy ending."

They all took a moment to reflect on this before Jack brought them back to the there and then.

"Now that we have paid homage to the past, it's time to celebrate the present. I suppose you ladies haven't had time to explore the house." At their blush, he grinned. "Over the many years, through heirlooms, purchases and gifts, this house had become the best decorated around. Every year, in early December, the mammies had a party when everybody who was available came over and helped decorate. If it's all right with you, we'll move this troop around and bring the decorations down from the attic."

The four women looked at each other, a glint in their eyes.

"By all means, Patricia laughed. "We ourselves are pack rats and have accumulated decorations to the point where we have too much even for both of our apartments. We have to pick and choose every year."

After a call from Jack to initiate the telephone tree, more people arrived with ladders, tool boxes and a ten-foot fir. It took the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon, but by the time they were done, there were lights on the outside of the house and in the surrounding trees. All the rooms in use, the stairways and the whole ground floor were decorated.

There was no more doubt that this was a home filled with love and happiness.

It even smelled like it as Patricia and some of the women who had come to help had spent hours baking Christmas cookies and other seasonal delicacies for the people and children who came and went through the day.

Eventually, the six women were left alone to prepare for the Christmas Eve supper and the following party.

The women were cuddling on the couch, soaking in the Christmas feel of the house, while Julia and Ryanna were upstairs, getting settled in their room.

"This is beginning to feel like a home." Patricia said. "The fire adds a romantic touch I could get used to."

"The decorations are fine, but all I need is you here with me to make it my home, love." Sylvie told her. "I read somewhere that 'home is where the heart is'."

"Aw, shucks." Jade laughed. "You girls are so sweet, I feel my diabetes flaring up as we speak."

"Don't listen to her." Karlie grinned. "She told me the same thing when she held me back in the attic once everybody was done there."

"So that's where you were." Patricia laughed. "The other women in the kitchen commented on how we looked flushed. We couldn't tell them we were feeling the backlash of your loving."

"Oops. I guess we're going to have to find the limits of this talent. It could get embarrassing."

"Yes, baby, and we're at the right place for it. Remember the shields the girls told us about. Since I have to see the support therapist anyway, I'll ask if we can all learn to block our projections or at least control them."

"Are you serious, Jade? Are you seriously considering changing your career track based on what is essentially a dream?"

"The pragmatic lawyer in you is showing, Karlie." Sylvie said, and Patricia opined vigorously. "This was no dream as we understand it. It was an actual visitation by what we should call 'spirits' for lack of a better term. There is no doubt in my mind that these ladies found a way or, as they said, were given special dispensation to communicate with us. I for one am keeping an open mind regarding the whole thing."

"Aww shucks, you've read too many Fantasy novels. There are no such things as ghosts."

"As there is no such thing as an island in my subconscious? Or empaths? Haven't we gone through enough strange and unexplainable things in the last few weeks? What's one more?"

"I guess..." Karlie hesitantly agreed. "Still, it's quite a leap to decide to go from kinesiology, which Jade loves, to support therapist. Which, by the way, nobody has heard of before."

"Come on, baby, it's a career track that has existed for over fifty years. What if we haven't heard of it? Deep psychological trauma is not our field or anything we've ever heard about either."

"Okay, but I still say you should get a lot more information about it before you make such a major life changing decision."

"Of course I will. And we'll discuss the pros and cons together, like we always do before making an important decision."

"I too have to gather information on a possible career shift though, as Jade so aptly pointed out, a professional life as an engineer was never such an important goal for me. So if I decide to follow Juliette's suggestion, it won't be such a major thing for me." Seeing Sylvie's crestfallen expression, she hastily took her in her arms and added. "It won't happen overnight, love. First, I have to research Catherine's foundation to see what it does and if I can bring anything to the table. Second, I don't even know if they'll have me, a perfect stranger with no credentials. Third, I doubt it would be a full time job anyway. I could replace my hours in the labs with outside work like you do at the firm. I will still be at the university with you."

Though she tried her best, Sylvie's voice still quavered. "From what Joannie told us, the foundation does important work and I'm sure you would be great at it. I will manage on my own at the Polytechnique. I won't be so completely alone now. There will be our friends in the study group and I'm getting better at dealing with strangers. Please, don't let me stand in your way of doing something you want. Especially since it's something in which you could make a positive difference for so many people like you've done for me."

Knowing how much courage it took her love to say this, it nearly broke Patricia's heart to see her willing to sacrifice her newfound inner peace for her sake. Looking over, her feeling was confirmed when she saw her daughter's and her partner's eyes brimming with tears.

They were all coming together for a group hug to support Sylvie, when they heard what could only be described as a stampede in the stairs. They all turned to see what the commotion was about and saw two wild eyed naked young women rushing down.

"What's wrong?" Julia exclaimed. They came to a stop in front of the group huddled together. Seeing the tearful eyes, they rushed over to join them.

"It's nothing, girls." Sylvie assured them, trying her best to control her tremulous voice. "I feel better now and will continue to improve will all your love to support me."

If there was ever a moment when Ryanna and Julia were glad for their talent, this was it. They brought all their not inconsiderable determination to bear in projecting strength and confidence. Only their years of training at controlling their inner emotions kept Ryanna from breaking down herself.

They were helped by the love shared by everyone in the room and soon Sylvie calmed down and regained her equilibrium.

"I see what Cathy meant when she said I would need your help. I thought I had made better progress than this. I wasn't so fragile when I was on my own because I never let anyone close enough that I would suffer from separation anxiety at the mere thought of being without them. I apologize to you all."

"You never have to be sorry for who you are, my love." Patricia told her. "You've shown great strength of character by getting where you are and you have to remember that you will never again be alone to face your demons, or anything else for that matter. We are all here for you."

"Yeah, sis. You have your own personal support group. Plus you've just discovered that your extended family is made up of 'psys' of all kinds." Jade declared. "But that's only the external shoring. I suspect that you have enough internal strength to put all of us to shame. Remember that you've begun to come out of your shell only weeks ago. You can't be expected to be a social butterfly when you're still at the larval stage."

"Jay, Sylvie is definitely not a creepy crawly insect. She is a beautiful adult who only needs to gain some confidence before she can spread her wings and soar." Karlie said emphatically.

"I know she's beautiful. Speaking of which. Why are you girls in the buff again? At least you're not all wet this time. Or are you?" Jade teased, to change the subject.

The cousins looked at each other and blushed.

"We were putting our clothes away and trying to decide what we would wear tonight." Ryanna began.

"We began by modeling some outfits and..." Julia went on before she stopped, her blush deepening and spreading.

Jade bent down and took a deep breath. "Unless I'm greatly mistaking, I detect the scrumptious aroma of arousal here."

"Well..." Julia tried so say.

"It's all right, Julia. Did your inner slut decide to come out and play?" Jade teased.

"You bet she did!" Ryanna laughed. "I was bending to put some clothes in the bottom drawer when she goosed me. When I turned around, she was completely naked and gave me such a sultry look that I couldn't resist, so I followed suit. I had barely taken her in my arms when we felt Sylvie's distress, so we rushed over. If you want, we can go get dressed."

"Why would you?" Karlie asked. "We told you that we are nudists in our home and since this to be our home away from home, we will join you instead in the great state of undress."

So saying, she reached for Patricia who was closest to her and began to undo the buttons of her blouse. Originally she had only meant to remove her clothes, but their link caused the effect on Patricia by the light brushes of Karlie's fingers on her chest to be returned to her and her own arousal to be reflected back. By the time she made it to the last button, her fingers were shaking.

When she looked up from the generous bust so revealed, her desire was clearly mirrored in Patricia's eyes who gently took Karlie's face in her hands and leaned in so their lips almost touched. "Honey, I realize we will have to do something about controlling this link at some point, but for now, let's revel in the love we share."

Open mouths met for a soft wet kiss. Soon they were tasting their mixed tears of joy.

Patricia strained Karlie's silky auburn hair through her fingers, enjoying its softness. She had always admired it but had never had occasion to feel it until relatively recently. Now it was a major turn-on for her. She found every occasion she could to touch it, to smell the sweet scent of Karlie's floral shampoo combined with her unique feminine aroma, to bury her face in it.

"I love you, sweetie." She whispered.

"I love you too." Karlie replied, her heart swelling with happiness.

The two women went on kissing, gently caressing each other's faces, hugging tenderly. They could have gone on forever, satisfied in this communion of spirit, but soon, too soon for them, stronger feelings of arousal intruded on their peaceful moment.

Karlie grinned on Patricia's mouth. "The young'uns are getting restless it seems. Do you want to put some distance between them and us so we can continue this at our leisurely pace?"

"Why don't we? I enjoy a good rump as much as the next girl, but I find that I'm in the mood for some sweet loving."

The older women rose and, stepping over Julia and Jade locked in a noisy sixty-nine on the carpet while the other couple were furiously fingering each other on the couch, they walked, arms around each other, to the stairs.