Once Upon an Equinox Read online

  Delaney focused her eyes on the view beyond The Tilted Plume’s front gate. A beautiful modern cabin, which sat perched on a knoll, glowed in the sun. Behind the rise was a generous expanse of chaparral. Then the rugged land dropped off into the steep East Fork canyon.

  The cabin’s natural wood planks were varnished and glistened like a jar of natural honey.

  Delaney’s heart quickened. She couldn't wait to see the awe-inspiring view from the private bedroom she’d been promised at the back of the house. She and the other students might sit on the deck and watch the sunset that evening.

  Delaney steered down the gravel driveway with caution. There were a few potholes, but they were avoidable. She craned her neck toward the cabin, hoping to see several of the other students’ cars. Oddly enough, there was just one lone black Land Cruiser.

  With a fair amount of apprehension, Delaney parked next to the high-end vehicle. She cut the engine to her own car and stepped onto the gravel driveway. “I really didn’t want to be the first one here, Samuel.” She smoothed the front of her wrinkled smock over her sweet tummy.

  Before Delaney had a chance to study the front door of the house, she heard the latch being thrown from the inside.

  “Hello! Hello” a voice sounded as the door swung open. “Welcome!” A tall, thin woman, who looked to be in her late fifties, stepped out onto the porch. A shock of dyed cherry red hair crowned her long, softly wrinkled face. The pointed toes of her black ankle boots poked out from beneath her crimson knit skirt. “You must be Delaney.” The renowned author’s black eyes twitched in response to her guest’s obvious fertility. “Welcome to both of you!”

  “How did you guess?” Delaney was astounded by her teacher’s confidence in addressing her new student by name.

  Mavis extended her papery manicured hand for a bony handshake. She didn’t answer Delaney’s question.

  “I expected at least one or two of the other students to arrive ahead of me,” Delaney chattered. “When are they due to show up?”

  “Oh, it looks like they’ve had a change of plans.” Mavis spoke so quietly that a gentle wind could have easily blown her words away. She busied herself with unloading Delaney's belongings from the Mustang’s trunk.

  “A change of plans?” Delaney persisted. “What happened?”

  “Well, one of them came down with the flu,” Mavis explained. “The other two – who were coming together – were supposed to get here a day early. Yesterday, to be exact. I waited all day, and they never showed up. Last night I finally gave them a call. Apparently, they started up Mineral King Road and were headed this way. But for some unknown reason, they thought they were lost. So they turned around and went home.”

  Or they were run off by some cowboy, Delaney thought. For the time being, she decided to refrain from telling Miss Beasom about her inhospitable neighbor.

  Mavis picked up Delaney’s suitcase. “Did you have any trouble finding my place?”

  “I didn’t get lost … if that’s what you mean.” Delaney tried her best not to grimace. “But I did feel like I might not ever get here because of all the curves and dips and inclines.” She grabbed her purse, manuscript satchel, and the quilt she'd bought for Samuel. Then she followed Mavis inside the house. “So is your phone reliable?" Delaney asked.

  “Not up here. It seems like a tree is always falling on the line or some such thing.”

  Delaney’s chest began to tighten. “What do you do in an emergency?”

  Mavis shrugged her thin shoulders. “I guess that’s the price people up here pay in exchange for living on a fabulous – but isolated – piece of real estate.”

  Delaney tried to keep her voice even and rational. “I need to get ahold of my husband and let him know I arrived safe and sound.”

  Mavis nodded, but her gesture wasn’t convincing. She led Delaney into her custom home and down a long open hall. Their destination was Delaney’s reserved bedroom. “Here are your sleeping quarters,” Mavis said as she placed her guest’s suitcase on the single bed. “If you don’t mind, I would like to get our business matters out of the way first.”

  Delaney glanced around to see what her hard earned-money was buying. The bedroom was adequate and inviting. The bed itself was twin size. The bedspread was a rustic red with bears printed along its borders. Picture windows on the two corner walls allowed for plenty of light and provided an excellent view. A writer’s desk with an electric typewriter was centered beneath the back window. The view from the desk chair was of the breathtaking canyon and mountains beyond. Double French doors opened onto the back deck. “This is lovely!” Delaney gasped with approval. Maybe, she chided herself, she would enjoy her vacation if she stopped fretting so much about being away from her husband. Certainly Chad was fine. He would call soon enough.

  Without any further discussion, Delaney took her wallet from her purse and began to write out a rather large check.

  Miss Beasom’s brow furrowed. Her black eyes hardened. “Oh no, dear. There must be some sort of misunderstanding.”

  Delaney studied her teacher’s face. “I guess I am confused.”

  “I only accept cash.”

  “Cash?

  “It’s stated clearly on my brochure” Mavis smiled with an air of feigned benevolence.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t remember seeing that.” Delaney cradled her head in her hands. How, she wondered, could she have missed the disclosure? She had spent hours poring over all the information.

  “Do you have a debit card?” Mavis asked. Her voice remained soft and metered.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you what, Laney. We're going to town this evening, anyway, for that ice cream social I was telling you about. We can just stop by an ATM machine and get some cash.”

  Delaney was flustered, but she was trying hard not to show it. “Gosh, it sounds like a good idea, but I believe my bank only lets me have 200 dollars at a time. That’s not enough to cover what I owe you.”

  Mavis smiled. “You’ll be here for a few days. We’ll be going into town at least twice more while you are here. We’ll take care of the matter then.”

  “We will?” Delaney asked. “I thought we would be writing.”

  “Oh, there will be plenty of time for that.” Mavis smiled at her guest. “How about a cup of peppermint tea?” she offered. “You look like you are all tuckered out from your drive.”

  It was only then that Delaney realized that she was, in fact, quite tired. “Yes, that would be nice.”

  Mavis motioned for her student to follow her to a den at the opposite end of the house. An unlit fireplace was the focal point of the room. Its mantel was decorated with an assortment of curiosities. There were candles, spring flowers, feathers, crystal eggs, rabbit figurines, a chalice, and an exquisite crown woven of twigs.

  “What an amazing creation!” Delaney crooned.

  Mavis smiled and pointed toward a mirror in the entryway. “Why don’t you try it on?”

  “Oh, may I?” With sensitive fingers, Delaney lifted the crown from the mantel. She stepped to the mirror just inside the front door, then placed the meticulously fashioned coronet on her head. She glowed beneath its essence.

  “That really suits you, my dear.”

  “Thank you.” Delaney gently lifted the garland away from her lavender hair and returned it to the mantel.

  “Sit here, Delaney.” Her towering hostess pointed toward a comfortable recliner. It had been pulled away from the wall and placed in the middle of the carpeted room.

  Although Delaney was confused by the chair’s awkward placement, she complied with her teacher’s request. The soft upholstered leather lounger did feel good after her busy day. She lifted the footrest and put her head back.

  “Let me get the tea started.” Mavis disappeared into the kitchen. She must have already had the tea brewing because she returned with two steaming cups in a minute or so. “Here you go, Delaney. “Would you like some honey?”

  “N
o, thank you.” As Delaney sipped the earthy tea, she began to relax, muscle by muscle, nerve by nerve. By the time she had finished her cup, she was just a blink or two away from sleep.

  Mavis interrupted her complete surrender to the sandman. “Are you sure you are going to be up to attending that ice cream social at my church this evening?”

  An involuntary smile captured Delaney’s face. “Of course! I would never turn down ice cream.” Besides, she had already promised Mavis she would go along to the bank.

  “It’s interesting that we are members of the same church,” Miss Beasom noted. She was referring to information she and Delaney had shared during their correspondence. They didn’t attend exactly the same community church – just affiliates in different locations. That similarity was a key factor in Delaney’s final decision to sign up for the writers’ retreat.

  “Perhaps you would benefit from a little energy balancing,” Mavis suggested.

  “Energy balancing?”

  Mavis folded her onion skinned hands. “It’s just something I learned at a class I attended about healing with crystals. Do you want to give it a try?”

  Startled, Delaney sat up in her chair. “Will it hurt my baby?” Then she thought better of her reaction and felt a little embarrassed. After all, everybody knew those rocks didn’t hold any special powers. And who would want to harm her child? She had to be certain, though. “The energy balancing won’t cause me to go into labor too soon or something, will it?”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake! Of course, not.” Mavis laughed as she pulled out a clear white crystal on a slender chain from the pocket of her black lace tunic. “This pendulum will just show me where your energy is blocked. Trust me. It’s relaxing.”

  Delaney settled back into the easy chair with her legs extended on the footrest.

  Mavis leaned over her, dangling the pendulum from what looked to be the chain of a necklace. She started at Delaney’s feet and progressed toward her head, inch by inch. She paused every minute or so. Without her hand or arm seeming to move, the crystal swung in a circular motion. Mavis positioned her head directly above it and stared intently. The corners of her mouth drew back at each stop.

  “Well, what is the crystal saying?” Delaney asked. She tried not to sound too bothered by her hostess’s rude and quirky initiation.

  Mavis shushed her student. “I’m checking your chakras.” With great focus, she dangled the crystal over Delaney’s growing belly. The pendulum swing in a soft circular orbit.

  Delaney tried to press back her thoughts, but on some level, she felt like she was being molested. She wanted to bolt upright and put an end to the odd and intrusive procedure. Then she reminded herself that she really wasn’t being harmed. Perhaps it would be better just to play along. If she endured the woman's quirks, she might receive some good advice in regards to her writing.

  By the time Mavis brought the pendulum near her student’s lavender head, Delaney had almost fallen asleep. At that point, Mavis set the crystal aside. Then she began sweeping her hands through Delaney’s aura, moving up and down the full length of her body with her long white fingers. At first, the motions were smooth. But every once in a while, Mavis would flick her hands away from Delaney’s aura like she was shaking dirty water from her fingers.

  Delaney tried to keep her eyes open, but her day had already been much too long.

  “How about some dinner?” Mavis extended her hands and offered to help Delaney sit up straight.

  Delaney rubbed her eyes. “How long was I asleep?”

  “Just an hour or so.” Mavis set a large mug of soup and a saucer of crackers on a TV tray next to Delaney’s chair. “Your husband called for you on my phone, but I couldn’t bear to wake you. He understood.”

  “Did he and Roger make it to the lake?”

  “Yes, they did. And it sounded like they were having a good time. Now, how about some soup?”

  Delaney gazed into the cup. “What kind is it?”

  Mavis chuckled. “Oh, it changes. I just add something new to the pot every day.”

  “I see …” Delaney poked through the mishmash with her spoon. She wanted to cry. Who knew how long some of the ingredients had been in the mystery soup? When considering the price she had paid for accommodations, she expected a little better.

  Mavis sprinkled her own mug of soup with a generous shower of hot sauce, then dug in.

  Delaney ate her crackers, then poured her soup down the sink in the kitchen when Mavis excused herself for a trip to the restroom. Delaney clamped down her emotions. She was still hungry. She would be having protein bars and apples for dinner. Perhaps she should have bought more.

  When Mavis returned from the restroom, she raised her pointy eyebrows at Delaney’s empty cup. “Would you like some more?”

  “No, thanks.” Delaney helped load their dishes into the dishwasher. The busy work did nothing to relieve her anxiety. She was eager to begin working on her manuscripts, and so far, she hadn’t composed a single sentence. “I am excited about spending some time writing, Mavis. When do you think we will get to that?”

  “Oh, there will be plenty of time.” Mavis shot her student a stingy smile. “But I’ll tell you what. If you have anything you want me to edit, why don’t you give it to me now? I have this obnoxious habit of waking too early in the morning, so I can take a look at it then. I can give you a full report tomorrow!”

  Delaney hurried to her room to get a manuscript. Her thoughts were murky with indecision. She had several children’s stories that were in various stages of completion. Mavis just didn’t seem to be the type to enjoy children’s literature, though. Delaney had only one other choice. “It’s going to have to be the thriller,” she mumbled. “The one about the quirky spinster who dabbles in witchcraft and ends up dead.” Delaney closed the clasp on the envelope that contained the provocative story and returned to the kitchen.

  Mavis was putting her big pot of mystery soup back into the refrigerator.

  Delaney had no doubt the pot would reappear every day. “Here’s my manuscript, Mavis. I hope you enjoy it.”

  Mavis accepted the envelope without a hint of curiosity. “Like I said, I will get to it early tomorrow morning.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “We should leave for the ice cream social by seven o’clock,” Mavis announced. “I think it’s best I drive since I’m familiar with the road.”

  Delaney hadn’t considered that she would have to drive into town on the dark and twisty road. After all, Miss Beasom was the hostess. Delaney had no guarantees, however, in regards to whether Mavis was a good driver. Interestingly enough, she was more concerned about what she should wear. “Will a comfy skirt and top be appropriate for the social? And my black jacket?”

  Mavis’s pasty face seemed to light up like a bulb beneath a parchment lampshade. “Oh, yes! I will be wearing my black tonight.” Her pale hand swept all the way from her shoulder, across her torso in an oblique motion, then ended at her opposite hip. And with that, she tucked her student’s manuscript under her arm and disappeared into her bedroom.

  It was time to dress for the party.

  Delaney did her best to eat her protein bar without rattling the wrapper. The apple was going to leave a core. She would have to figure out what to do with that later. Perhaps, she could toss it out the back door for the ground squirrels to eat. She had noticed several of them scampering about the property.

  With reluctance, Delaney dressed. She was really too tired to go anywhere. She yawned as she went to wait for her mentor by the front door.

  Mavis swept out of her bedroom like a black winter wind. An unmistakable black pointed hood enveloped her long face. A long black cape fluttered behind her bony frame. “We’d better get a move on if we expect to get there on time.” Mavis prodded. She pressed a long skinny pointer finger into the middle of her guest’s back. She nudged Delaney out the front door and toward the black Land Cruiser.

  Delaney’s breath caught in her throat. H
er mind raced. How could she have been so stupid? Why hadn’t the obvious registered in her thick brain while Mavis was dangling that pesky crystal over her body? And why – of all manuscripts – had Delaney chosen to share the one about witchcraft?

  That was the moment when Delaney was certain she’d made the wrong choice to come to The Tilted Plume.

  “Maybe I should follow you in my car,” Delaney suggested. “I need to stop at the convenience store on the way back.” She was hoping to use the pay phone to reach Chad at the fishing shack. Of course, there would be nothing he could do from 244 miles away. She also needed to get a cache of food. Heaven only knew what Mavis was planning to serve for the duration of the retreat.

  “Looks like a storm is coming in, Delaney. You’d better ride with me.” Mavis herded her student into the passenger seat of her Land Cruiser. “We can stop at the store after the ice cream social.”

  Feeling a little better in the wake of her teacher’s promise, Delaney slid into the front passenger seat of the fancy wagon. The soft upholstery felt good beneath her tired legs.

  The sun was already threatening to tuck itself behind the steep Sierra Nevada Mountains. As the sun dipped, so did the temperature.

  Mavis flicked on her vehicle’s headlights. She donned a pair of driving glasses, and off they went down the long driveway toward Mineral King Road. Once there, the eerie pilot turned toward Three Rivers. She had committed Delaney to the seven miles of hairpin turns, crumbling roads, and the breathtaking canyon cliffs that lay ahead.

  Delaney offered a silent prayer to any god who might be listening. to her as . She hoped Mavis knew what she was doing as she sped along the isolated canyon ridge

  “Have you always lived in California?” Mavis asked her student as her dark vehicle motored through the dusky mountain air.

  “Yes, I have.”

  “Always in Visalia?”

  “No, but always in the Central Valley.”

  “Whereabouts?” Mavis prodded.