Night Journey (36 page)

One year later

Emma exhaled, opened her eyes and smiled when Moonbeam walked into her office. She uncurled her legs, wiggled her toes, and stretched before rising from the cushioned Yoga mat. Phoebe jumped up as well, ran to her friend, and hugged her.

“How’re the cousins?” Moonbeam headed for the cradle where both babies napped, side-by-side.

Phoebe’s face lit up. “Ivy Ann just started crawling.”

“And what about Harry Theodore?” asked Moonbeam, her voice crisp. Emma noted the absence of the tongue piercing. She’d let her hair grow out, cut back on the makeup, and her face glowed with an inner radiance.

“Teddy won’t be far behind,” replied Emma, smiling at her sleeping son. “He’s already trying to sit up and I think he’s cutting a tooth. What’s up with you?”

“The Chief and I are getting married!”

Phoebe grabbed Moonbeam and pulled her around to face her. “You’re holding out on us. Tell us the rest.”

“Okay, okay, you’ve got me,” Moonbeam giggled. “It’s a boy! See?”

She pulled out her scrying mirror and, to Emma’s amazement, she could clearly see the image of a fat baby boy in the black glass. So much for sonograms.

“Moonbeam, that’s wonderful,” replied Emma. Nothing shocked her anymore. The three women embraced and chattered happily.

“Have you decided on a name yet?” asked Phoebe.

“Um hm. He’ll be a Junior, after his daddy.”

Emma paused. “Well, now I’m curious. I’ve always wondered. What
is
the Chief’s first name?”

Moonbeam smiled and replied. “Chief.”

Emma laughed. She’d always thought it was a title. “When’s the wedding?”

“This weekend. There was a cancellation at Thorncrown Chapel, so we grabbed it.”

“We’re going back to Eureka Springs?” Phoebe squealed and jumped with excitement. “I’ve got to call Allen.” Her face suddenly fell. “I forgot. Didn’t you promise our new client we’d finish his web page this weekend so he can launch his IPO next week?”

Emma shrugged. “Some things are more important than business. Where’re we going to stay?”

“Where else?” Moonbeam grinned. “I’ve already made reservations at the Crescent for everybody. I also invited your parents and Monica.”

Emma picked up the phone and called Zan to tell him the news. “Yes, honey…me too…I can’t wait either…” She winked at her friends. “I agree. It’s time to start working on a baby sister for Teddy…okay, see you later…love you too.”

“I’m glad we’re finally going back,” said Moonbeam. “Theodora and Great-Granny Cordelia want to see the kids—and Emma.”

“They want to see me? How do you know?”

“My scrying mirror. I see them all the time through it and they talk to me,” said Moonbeam. “Great-Granny has permanently moved into the Crescent with Theodora. They’re helping the earthbound spirits who are still there find their way to the other side.”

“What about the bad spirits—like Dr. Baker, Roberta, and Earl?”

“I’m not sure, but I think they’ve either crossed over or their ghosts are somehow contained. They don’t seem to have the power to cause trouble to the hotel guests anymore, thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me?”

Moonbeam nodded. “Great-Granny and Theodora told me that if it hadn’t been for you, evil would have completely taken over the hotel. The spirits who remain are simply lost souls who are working their way toward the next level. Except for Michael. He’ll never leave.”

Emma looked around at the evidence of her happy life. She had her son, a husband she adored, a wonderful family, and her friends. She was so lucky. What more could she ask for?

She paused to remember what she would always think of as her Dark Night of the Soul—the painful process in which consciousness became clouded by uncertainty—where only her love and courage sustained her through an ocean of fear—where awareness of her true place in the universe was ultimately revealed—her Night Journey.

Goldie (Beth) Browning’s twisted imagination and fascination with the paranormal began in early childhood with her grandmother’s ghost stories and her brother’s retelling of classic fairy tales, such as Snow White and the Seven Little Frankensteins and Cinderacula. Almost every vacation she takes includes a stay at a haunted hotel or castle, as well as visits to famous cemeteries or catacombs. She loves anything by Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King, or Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Her first and favorite job was as a secretary at a military mortuary in West Germany, followed by more mundane employment which included being a newspaper reporter, a real estate agent, a substitute school teacher, and a legal secretary. She finally settled down to a long career as a courtroom deputy clerk for two federal judges before retiring and getting to do what she wants to do when she grows up—be a writer.

Not long after finishing Night Journey she was stricken with cardiomyopathy. She received an implanted cardio-defibrillator and was evaluated for a heart transplant, which ironically paralleled the plot of Night Journey. Luckily, time and medication worked their miracle and she made a full recovery. Her experience, as well as someone near and dear to her in need of an organ transplant, has transformed Goldie into an advocate for Organ Donation and Living Wills.

The best thing she ever did was marry her high school sweetheart Alan a long, long time ago. She’s living happily ever after with husband and family, which includes a menagerie of fur people, on a wooded hill in rural North Texas.

Visit Goldie at www.GoldieBrowning.com