Out of BODY by Susan Wittig Albert

Author:Susan Wittig Albert [Albert, Susan Wittig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Persevero Press
Published: 2019-06-18T05:00:00+00:00

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Fridays are always busy at the shop, with classes in the back room, the phone ringing, and customers in and out all day long, many with questions to be answered. Given the esoteric and sometimes mysterious nature of the Crystal Cave’s merchandise, people don’t always know how to use whatever they came to buy, and sometimes, they have only a vague idea of what they’re looking for. They ask for explanations, which Ruby is always glad to give. Teaching is one of the most enjoyable things she does at the Cave.

But since this is a big holiday weekend—Halloween, Samhain, All Souls’ Day, and the Mexican Day of the Dead—it is extra busy. Every year, in the front corner of the shop, Ruby sets up a Día de los Muertos altar. Over it, she builds an arch of mesquite branches decorated with bright orange marigolds: cempaspuchitl, the flower of the dead.

On the altar are loaves of pan de muertos, the sweet, egg-glazed Day of the Dead bread, decorated with pieces of dough in the shape of bones. There is also a crystal goblet of water (for thirsty spirits), skulls gaily decorated with colorful flowers, black and orange pillar candles, and a black enamel tray of calaveras, or white sugar skulls, along with a marking pen. Ruby encourages people to write the name of a deceased friend or loved one on a skull and put it on the altar shelf, along with a photo of the person. The Day of the Dead is a festive celebration of both the dead and the living, in what amounts to a family reunion that dissolves the boundary between this world and the next, between those who are in the body and those who are disembodied spirits. The photos—there are quite a few of them already—make it all seem deeply personal.

Because of the holiday, Ruby is wearing the same gypsy costume she’d worn to China’s party, along with her high-heeled black lace-up boots and a black half-mask. Throughout the morning, the Cave is full of people looking for holiday items: candles of all kinds and sizes, especially black and orange ones; divination tools (tarot, runes, scrying mirrors, pendulums); and personal journals and Books of Shadows.

Next door, in Thyme and Seasons, China has set up a punch bowl filled with warm apple cider mulled with cinnamon and spices, and customers move between the two shops and upstairs to Lori Lowry’s yarn shop and weaving studio. At lunchtime, the tea room serves slices of Cass’ pumpkin quiche along with a creamy tomato bisque and salad.

Shortly after lunch, Ruby’s cell rings. It’s Ethan. “Sorry to miss last night’s party,” he says. “But that narcotics case wrapped up pretty quickly, and it looks like I can get away tonight. How about dinner?”

Ruby hesitates. She has to admit that she wants to see him, more than she should, probably. He’s an intelligent, confident, and good-looking man, and she thought, after the weekend at the festival, that he had come to trust her—to believe in her psychic skills.

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