Broad Street Goddesses Read online

  Paige handed over the box as they waited for direction. Lifting the wooden lid, Etta removed a bundle of sage, a brilliantly clear crystal as big as her hand, a stone bowl, and a feather. She arranged the sage into the bowl and lit it. With the feather she fanned the purification of the sage to herself and then passed it around. She moved to the center of the circle and placed the crystal on the floor. Etta closed her eyes and took in three deep breaths, letting her shoulders relax.

  “I draw up from the mother of red dirt my strength. I draw down from the heavens of these foothills my vision, I breathe in clarity of thought and intention, and I exhale my inhibitions and fears asking that they be transformed into guidance and light.” Etta opened her eyes , “Ladies, please join me in this. I draw up from the mother of Red Dirt my strength,” she nodded at Patti who was hesitating. He blinked hard and joined in, “I draw down from the heavens of these foothills my vision, I breathe in clarity of thought and intention, and I exhale my inhibitions and fears asking that they be transformed into guidance and light.” All together, holding hands the chanting grew in strength and volume.

  “And so it is…” Etta bowed her head.

  “And so it is…” the group followed.

  “I now ask that whatever message this house has for us that it be made clear tonight. We are here to help Paige follow her dream of returning this mansion to its former grandeur. We are here in an effort to preserve this house and its heritage in Nevada City.” Around the circle eyes were closed and they nodded in agreement as Etta spoke, “Georgia, we want you to know we are fighting to save this great mansion. We want you to know that your history is important. The city is trying to tear this house down. What can you tell us that may help…”

  One deep breath, nothing. Two deep breaths, stillness. On the third breath the double doors of the library blew open with a rage of wind, cold and chilling. A wrath of fury assaulted Paige as her hair filled with a storm of electricity flew out around her face. They grabbed her hands, desperate to hold her as if she might be blown away. The lights flickered, Georgia’s voiced boomed with a ferociousness that was new to her. “THIS IS MY HOUSE! This is all I have… everything you need is here! I am all you need….” There was a quiet sob in Georgia’s voice, “I’ve always been here… but I was never enough.” A sudden stillness filled in the air with calm they all felt. Like a thick blanket of snow on the room, sound was muffled, the room was peaceful. Georgia dissipated.

  “Did you hear that?” Paige asked tentatively, “She sounded so sad. Like a little girl.”

  “They heard that in Auburn,” Patti said shaking. Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, he studied the other’s faces.

  Etta broke the circle, walked to the foyer and stared up at the attic door, “Della, you and Patti were both drawn to the stairs, any idea what that’s all about?”

  “I was?” Della asked.

  “We were?” Patti worried.

  “There is something in the attic that Georgia wants us to have. She’s not showing me what it is,” Etta said.

  “The other day when Jake and I were up there, one door kept opening. When we closed it, it crept open again. Then it slammed.”

  “What’s in there? That’s a whole lotta guidance if you ask me…” Mim said.

  “Well, trunks and boxes and books.” Paige answered, “I’ve been so focused on the restoration projects, I thought I’d go through the room next year when I have some down time. It looks like boxes of books, possibly from the library.”

  “Georgia has other ideas and we’ll find our answer in that room.” Etta led the five of them through the foyer. As they climbed the stairs they stuck close to one another.

  “How exciting,” Della’s voice filled with adventure.

  “It’s creepy,” Patti grumbled. “Why did she say MINE? Paige I don’t like that… like she’s possessed you.”

  “Oh stop it Patti,” Mim scolded, “you’ll scare us all stupid.”

  Up the staircase like the keystone cops in a haunted house they ascended. Trying to stay close, bumping and jumpy with one another they stopped short outside the attic door as it creaked open. They exchanged looks in the silence, each hoping the other would run for the light. Patti widened his eyes at Etta and shrugged his shoulders. Rolling her eyes, Etta made one big jump for the light cord. Dull vacillating light pulsed out of the single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Paige grabbed Etta’s hand and fearlessly they climbed the attic stairs together.

  They gathered outside the door Paige pointed to. From the middle of a very small huddle, came Patti’s voice, “so this is the slamming, opening door?” His eyes bugged out.

  “This is the one,” Paige said. Stepping forward she grabbed the handle, determined and flung it open. The smell of old books and a hundred years of dust swirled out in a smothering cloud. It was dark inside the room; the only sound in the attic was of their own heavy breathing.

  “Hello dark scary room… what do you have for us?” Patti found a new wave of bravery as he flipped the light switch. The bulb exploded with a loud pop.

  Etta stepped forward, touching Patti’s sleeve, “its ok. Georgia’s very active, but she’s not controlling her energy well. She’s not trying to scare us, she’s excited and we must be close. We all need to take a moment and calm down.”

  Mim located a lantern. As she lit it, the glow illuminated their faces, creating dancing shadows on the walls. She stood outside the door waiting for focus. “We are all ok… let’s just take a moment to remember what we’re here for.”

  They nodded in unison as they approached the room. Paige entered first. She turned around in the tiny space, neatly stacked trunks and wooden boxes stood in rows nearly filling the room to the rafters. Answers were everywhere, illusive and right there in front of them, if they just knew where to look. Piling in behind her, crowding the space even more, they shuffled in, stuffing the room with butts, boobs and arms. “It will take us months to read through all of this.” Paige whispered.

  “Oh look, that one’s been moved!” Della pointed her finger to a box at the very top of a stack in the farthest corner. She squeezed past Patti, who lifted his arms and rolled his eyes as her pudgy bosoms squished past his waist. Maneuvering her way through the rows to the corner, Della moved a box to use as a step. Her bejeweled foot landed with purpose on top of the box and as she hefted herself up it collapsed in a choking cloud of dust, throwing her back against Patti again.

  “Oh Honey, you have clearly exceeded the weight limit for that old thing… here, let me help you.” Patti linked his fingers together and created a step for Della.

  “Oh you’ve got to be kidding, I could crush you!” Della gasped.

  “Just do it,” Patti shook his hands impatiently.

  Della stepped up quickly and reached for the box. She caught one corner of the box but flopped back down to the floor. Patti nudged her to step up again, which she did, this time she grabbed, “Got it.” Something fluttered out of the corner and landed in her hair.

  “Holy Mother of…” She threw her arms around Patti’s head, “Get it out! Get it out!” But it was flapping in her hair. She threw a leg around his middle. They lost balance and fell to the floor in a tangled heap; the rest of the group tumbled and splayed out on their fannies. Addy pushed against the wall behind Patti’s butt. Della was squealing, swinging at her head as a tiny bat released her hair and flew out the door, followed by at least half a dozen of his friends who rushed down from the corner. Della blinked down into her cleavage and saw Patti’s eyes staring straight up at her. She jumped up to release him.

  “We shall not speak of this again.” Patti jumped up, smoothing out his pants, “Well, my heart rate’s up girls, nice rack Della,” he gave her a wicked smile, “And you smell divine.”

  Addy had fallen against the boxes. Paige and Etta laughed hysterically, clinging to each other as they lay on the dusty floor.

  “Oh my god, I’m going to PUKE! I’ve had the wings of Satan in my hair!”
Della was out of breath. Her hair was wrapped around from one side and standing straight out on the other. “Am I going to have to have Rabies shots?”

  “I think we have what we need.” Mim’s motherly voice was hushed; everyone turned to see her face in shock, holding the box that fell down from Della’s whirl.

  “I think we should take this down stairs,” Etta said, “into better light.”

  What no one noticed was what Georgia had intended them to find and it was hidden in plain site.

  It was after one in the morning. Papers littered the room. Books, brittle and darkened by age were piled into organized stacks.

  “It’s all so convoluted,” Addy sighed.

  “There has to be answers, but all I’m finding are receipts and ledgers for boarding.” Patti said, his sweaty hair completely flattened against his head.

  “Do we just keep bringing boxes down?” Paige asked, “What we need has to be up there… Georgia says so!”

  “We’re only half way through this one.” Etta said, “And we need answers fast.”

  “Wait a minute,” paige said, “I have had some very bizarre dreams about this place.”

  “Go on…” Etta urged.

  “It’s not from our current time it’s like before the turn of the century. And I’m a…” she stopped talking weighing if she could say it out loud. “I’m entertaining gentlemen in this house.”

  The silence was defining.

  “I was thinking if there are boarding receipts… those may have been working girls renting a room from, well, a Madam?”

  “Well,” said Della, “There have certainly been a lot of rumors over the years. But Nevada City isn’t really proud of its salty history. I’d bet my last dollar that’s what this house was used for, but we can hardly convince our city council that’s a good reason to save the property. I say we get some pictures, start the community buzz about what’s going on here and get some clout behind us. Concentrating on Jed is only going to make us crazy. He has no soul.”

  “Hell no, Jed will never make a decision in our favor without the pressure of the community. We’ll hit it hard.” Mim paced as she talked, “Paige… with our help, do you think we could organize a public tour of the mansion, complete with the sketches and the finished rooms? Let’s focus on the future instead of the past. We’ll have a wine tour. I bet Hardy and the winery will help us out.”

  “When?” Paige asked.

  “As soon as possible. Before the city council meeting next week.” Mim looked at her friends, “If you all think we can pull it off…”

  “I’ll call my cousin at the paper and have him come over tomorrow.” Della looked at her watch, “well, today actually. We’ll have a piece in the paper by Wednesday announcing our open house on Sunday. We’ll plan it for after church hours and hopefully we’ll have a bunch coming to the town meeting on Tuesday.”

  “Great planning,” Paige said, “whatever you think we need to do. I’ll work around the clock.”

  Patti stood throwing his hands into the air, “I’m having a total recall of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland having a show in Uncle Bucks barn! How fun!”

  CHAPTER 17

  It was surreal and thrilling as everyone in Paige’s circle of friends pitched in to create the vision that spread out over her lawn. Linen covered tables under white tents surrounded the wine barrel bar. Thousands of tiny white Christmas lights glimmered. The only thing missing was Jake. He hadn’t set foot on her property and she’d been too consumed to think much about it. He was free to be with Betty and she couldn’t interfere. She deserved the anxiety she was feeling, it kept her honest. It was probably best that way, Paige justified.

  “Are you ok?” Etta asked softly.

  “Yeah….”

  “He’ll come around Paige. He’s feeling guilty and horrid. I know my brother. He is racking his brain to come up with a way to save the day. It’s his way you know.”

  “Yes, the messiah complex.” Paige smiled weakly. “Etta, this isn’t the first time this insanity has consumed my life… and last time…” Her breath stuck in a panic and she began to tear, “It’s a reoccurring theme in my past lives apparently too.”

  Etta put her hand on Paige’s shoulder and spoke softly, feeling Paige’s uncertainty, “But, now you’re here and you’re not alone. Let’s get ready for this open house, It’s the perfect time to wear your Donna Karin black dress.” Etta led her into the house and to the closet.

  The Goddesses had gathered by the time Paige was dressed. High heels, hair up, sparkling dangly earrings she was ready for the tours and talking and showing off her creation. Mim was heading up the coalition of women, supplying clip boards and paper for note taking, giving everyone last minute instructions. They stood in the foyer in a circle of flowing garments and glimmering jewelry.

  “Y’all look like a million bucks.” Mim smiled broadly at her dearest friends. She draped a brilliant green shawl over Paige’s shoulders and winked, “for color, Darlin’.”

  “It’s how we take on the world.” Della said as a matter of fact. “Anything worth doing is worth looking good for.”

  The tone of highly polished Italian leather shoes on the wooden floor caused all the women to turn, “Amen, Sister!” Patti whooshed through the front doors with his long charcoal tails flying behind him. He placed his sunglasses on top of his freshly spiked hair and said, “Now, let’s do this thing.” He reached for Mim’s hand.

  “I hope at least a few people show up.” Paige sighed.

  “Honey, look!” Patti pointed to the front yard.

  From the front porch they looked out over Broad Street. It looked like metal to a magnet. From every angle people were walking towards the mansion.

  “Oh….” Paige wiped at an unexpected tear working down her cheek.

  “It’s show time,” Della said as she walked halfway down the porch steps and stopped, waiting for the stragglers to come close.

  “May I have your attention?” Her voice was like a soft boom among the crowd and the rustling quieted down. You could tell theater was her life. “I want to thank you all so much for coming out today. As you know, our dear Paige purchased this mansion a few months back and has returned to the city of her birth to renovate and open a beautiful new addition to our community.” Della motioned for Paige to join her. “So far she’s done an amazing job; you will be stunned when you see the completed rooms, and the renderings for the rest of the place. Right now, we’d like to invite you back to the event lawn where Hardy has set up the wine bar. We’ll show you a potential wedding site and then we’ll open up the house for tours. Mim, Addy, Paige, Pat, Etta and I will all be here to answer questions but mostly we want information. If you know anyone who has interesting knowledge about this place, please share it with us. The city council has this magnificent piece of our history on its roster for demolition and we’d like your support on Tuesday night if you feel you’d like to see the mansion stay with us another hundred years or so.”

  Paige looked at the bare wood on the side of the house and then out to the gathering crowd, “This mansion is so dear to me. If you can ignore our projects and look at the renderings inside I will show you the final project.” Samson, the jeweler nodded a greeting from the crowd, “In the meantime, please join us out back for a glass of wine and something to nibble on. And we’ll get the tours started!”

  The women led the way down the stairs. Each one wearing her signature color created a flow of violet, green, fuscia, gold and black flowing behind them as they led the crowd down the walk way to the event lawn. Hundred year old oak trees fingering across the yard created patches of cool shade. Delightfully dressed with floating candles, bouquets of peonies and sweet peas in cut crystal vases graced the top of each spring green table cloths. From behind the wine bar Paige looked out over the crowd of at least one hundred faces, familiar and happy. Etta squeezed Paige’s hand.

  Sixty minutes into the evening, Paige questioned the wisdom of her shoe choice. With
each step in the softened ground her three inch spiky heels dug in, creating a sharp pain in the ball of her foot and a dull burning ache in her ankle. She hobbled to a chair close to the back edge of the yard and flopped down, disheartened by the pain. The yard vibrated with conversation, tinkling wine glasses all aglow with candles and little white lights. Ernie, having turned in his overalls for a banana yellow bowling shirt and Levis, leaned on the bar while pouring wine as he told stories and laughed with the guests.

  Eyes dancing and arms spread wide, Mim lead another tour from the side of the house. No doubt she was spinning a stunning visual of what was to come at the mansion. Paige put her elbow on the table and allowed her head to rest into her hand. She absorbed the scene as a snapshot memory in her mind. She was loved, appreciated and more than anything, she didn’t want to lose it. The thought brought on an inconsolable wave of anger and resentment.

  Reaching down to rub the back of her leg she heard a voice that stopped the breath in her lungs. Slowly, she turned in her chair to see Jake talking to a small group across the yard from her. She continued to rub her calf. Seeing his crisp white shirt tucked into his jeans, sleeves rolled up with his hair neatly combed back was a sharp jab. She looked back to him and noticed his hands on a clipboard. She blushed at the memory of where those hands had touched her body, where she had demanded they go. Determined to stay focused, the pout fell away and she sniffed up the courage to abandon the shoes and start another round of socializing.

  With naked feet she resolved to ignore Jake Jenkins and his perfect mouth, and his beautiful strong hands. She made a B-line to the front of the house, smiling and nodding at everyone in her path. Patti and Della were standing by the stairs talking to someone Paige didn’t recognize. As she approached the front porch, Paige slipped into a lopsided embrace from Patti. He gave her a squeeze and a loud smacking kiss on top of her curly head. She smiled at the small elderly woman sitting on the porch steps.