She takes a deep breath and spills.
“I had a baby.”
She tells the whole story, and nobody says a word through the whole thing. Even Corinne is quiet and melancholy. Lanie is clearly equal parts speechless and shocked. Her mouth has hung open the entire time, and the creases at the corners of her eyes tell that she’s struggling to rein in her emotions.
“Which brings me to my travel pillar. I need to go to Providence. To search for Ian,” Nina says, leaning forward. “To ensure he’s alive. I’m ready to find out what happened to him.”
“What about your son?” Lanie asks, practically choking on the word. “Have you searched for him?”
“I haven’t, but now, I’m ready. I want to know that his parents were there for him in ways I couldn’t have been.”
Lanie nods, and Corinne bobs her head too.
“I don’t want to interrupt his life,” she continues. A tear slides down Nina’s cheek, and she doesn’t bother swiping it away. “I only want to know that he’s okay.”
“I’ll be right beside you,” I promise.
“Ditto. You had to know we were gonna help, right?” Lanie asks, sounding skeptical.
Nina’s quiet for several moments, chewing on her bottom lip, but eventually she looks up and nods.
“I’m ready for all the help you’re offering.” Another tear slips down her cheek, and Lanie and I rush her, throwing our arms around her.
Every time I hear the story, it just gets sadder. It’s clear that Nina never wanted to part with her son, or Ian for that matter. But she’s the first to admit that at that time of her life, she wasn’t responsible enough to care for another human being.
None of us would’ve been.
“You know, we don’t have to wait to ensure Ian’s alive.” We all look to Corinne, who’s picking at her nails, attempting to appear unaffected and failing miserably.
“We could do a séance right now,” she says, and my breath hitches.
It only takes one glance at Nina to know that’s exactly what’s about to go down. She’s wearing the same expression I must’ve worn the night of my birthday when the mention of a psychic came up. Determination. Hope.
This could go terribly wrong.
“Let’s do it,” Nina says, looking to me as if she can sense my unease. “Please.”
Lanie catches my eye, and I know she’s thinking what I’m thinking. Nina isn’t in a great place currently. She’s yet to find a therapist, which means whatever happens, the onus will fall on us to care for Nina.
I can only hope that Ian doesn’t show up, because if he does, it might just break Nina completely, and I’m ill-equipped to handle that.
Within a half hour, Corinne has my kitchen transformed and ready to go for our impromptu séance.
Three tall candles flicker in the middle of the table. Their light dances around the dark room in a mesmerizing show.
Corinne has removed a leaf from the oval table, making it round and easier for the four of us to join hands. I found a dark tablecloth to cover the light wood, recreating the night at Cori’s Nail Spa as close as possible.
The last time we did a séance here, Charlie Dunbar appeared before being thrust back into his body, ultimately surviving his wounds. He possessed Corinne in order to speak with us, and with my latest issue with the poltergeist, I’m not so sure I want to open any of us up to a hostile takeover.
Positive thinking. No ghost shall enter my body.
“Leave it to Alyssa to assure her backside is protected,” Lanie quips, and I crease my nose.
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” I fire back curtly.
Nina chortles but doesn’t agree or disagree with whatever Lanie is implying.
“It means you’ve conveniently chosen the only seat that backs up to a wall, leaving the rest of us exposed. And might I add that you’re the only one who can actually see spirits.”
