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Chapter Two
Freedom
“Sammy!” I exclaim, shaking the rain from my drowned hair. It hangs heavy and limply around my face and the water flies freely around me. Samuel sighs dramatically, which, of course, is just the response I’m going for.
“It’s Samuel,” he retorts rather heatedly, and I have to fight the smile.
Reaching up, I wring my brown hair out, watching small droplets of water fall on the floor. My long, Bohemian skirt clings to my legs and my top hangs awkwardly around my shoulders. “Seriously, this rain is nuts.”
“It was forecasted,” he replies, straightening his tie and avoiding eye contact. I’ve always felt like I made him nervous, which is why I go to such extended lengths to do just that. “I was just locking up,” he adds, finally turning those blue-green eyes my way. He watches me for a few seconds, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he swallows. “You know, they make these great inventions called umbrellas.”
I wave my hand dismissively. “Ehh, a little water isn’t going to hurt me.” I take in the darkened foyer and ask, “Were you leaving?”
He sighs again. “Yes, Freedom, I was heading out for the evening. I have to return at seven.”
“But didn’t Debbie tell you I was coming?”
He crosses his arms and I try to ignore how his arms look with his suit stretched over his biceps. “She did, but I was under the impression you were arriving at the end of the visitation. That was more than thirty minutes ago.”
“Where’s the fire? Or did you have plans this evening?” I ask, waggling my eyebrows suggestively.
Samuel clears his throat and straightens. “I could have had plans.”
“Of course you could have. I hear the coin club meets on Tuesday nights at the library.” I give him the best, sweetest smile I possess, showing all of my teeth.
Again, he straightens his necktie, almost like a nervous twitch. There’s something about his necktie that does weird things to my lady parts. I can almost picture Mr. Anal-Retentive wearing one of his fancy silk ties…and nothing else. “I’m not a part of the coin club, but I am starting to get hungry. Can we get the weird part of the evening over with, please?”
I strut past him, my wet skirt cooling my overheated legs. He doesn’t make a sound as he follows me to the parlor, my bangle bracelets clanking together as we go. Samuel turns the light back on and my client for this evening comes into view. Technically, Debbie is the client—my client—but that’s beside the point.
When she asked me at the end of our session on Sunday night to perform a Reiki treatment on her mother, I readily agreed. I didn’t realize her mother had passed until the end of the conversation, and there was no going back—especially when she agreed to pay me twice my fee to accommodate the odd circumstance.
Have I ever performed on a dead woman? Umm, that’s be a big fat no, but the dollar signs kept flashing through my mind, and honestly, I couldn’t turn down the job. Being a Reiki practitioner doesn’t exactly pay all the bills. That’s why I work part time at my bestie’s lingerie shop in town, as well as work as a part-time massage therapist. That’s actually what I went to school for, but I’m always interested in trying new things, which is how I became a certified Reiki healer too.
Samuel doesn’t say a word as I pull out my phone and find some meditation music, but I can feel his presence behind me. He stays back yet is close enough that goosebumps prickle my skin. Of course, it could be a result of being soaking wet too. Clearing my mind, I step up to the coffin, only slightly weirded out with what I’m about to do. I place my nondominant hand above her head and slowly start to scan down her body, keeping my hand four inches or so above her body.
“What are you doing?” Samuel’s words startle me. They’re soft and full of skepticism.
“I’m scanning her body to see if there is anywhere she needs additional healing,” I whisper, realizing this part of the process probably isn’t necessary, all things considered.
Samuel snorts a laugh. “Unless she’s going to get up and walk out of here, I don’t think any additional healing will help,” he mumbles.
Usually, my client would be lying on my massage table, but there really isn’t any other option here, so I take position at the head of the coffin, sliding over the pillar holding a massive flower arrangement as I go.
“Let me,” he says, carefully shifting the flowers until they’re out of my way and I can stand at her head.
I place my hand over her head, grimacing slightly at the thought of touching her. No, this is not my first deceased individual I’ve touched, but it is the first one I’ll be touching for a prolonged amount of time. Ignoring the shiver that slides down my spine, I position my hand above the third eye in her forehead.
For the next thirty minutes, I proceed to conduct Reiki over Debbie’s dead mother. Samuel remains quiet and out of the way while I work, though I can feel his presence in the room. When the session is complete, I feel confident Debbie’s mother is spiritually ready for her afterlife. “All finished,” I state, moving away from the coffin, turning off the meditation music playing from my cell phone.
Samuel stares at me as I approach. “That was…the biggest pile of bullshit I’ve ever witnessed.”
I gape at him, trying to give my best shocked expression, when all I really want to do is laugh. Samuel is the last person on earth I’d expect to trust and believe in the healing powers of Reiki. He’s more of a hold it in your hand or witness it with your own eyes to believe it man. “I can’t believe you said that, Sammy. After witnessing her relaxation and ultimate spiritual healing in the flesh, you still doubt the power.”
The tips of his ears turn red. “It’s Samuel, and I’m pretty sure she’s already as relaxed as she can get.”
It’s pretty much my goal in life to argue and make him as uncomfortable as humanly possible, which is why I follow up with, “I think you could benefit from a few Reiki treatments.” I step closer, invading his personal space. His Adam’s apple bobs again, letting me know I’m affecting him. “Oh, what I would do to get ahold of your…chakra.” Yes, I intentionally make it sound dirty just to watch him blush.
He does.
