"Soothsayer."

"Whatever. I told you I don't take stock in psychotics."

"Psychics," I said bluntly, getting agitated.

"Yeah, sure! It was all a bunch of malarkey."

"You're mad because she was right on about your sex life," I said shortly.

"Not that it's any of your business, but my sex life is far from dormant. In fact, it'd be safe to say it's booming," she said affably.

"Really?" I grinned.

"Nah, Ruth's still a hothead about the shrink's office."

"What? Does she think we violated some ethical principle?"

"Heck, no! She's sore because she missed the beginning of the news."

She laughed, but I didn't join in. My mind was too occupied with other thoughts.

"Hey Fran, you don't think David's going to die, do you?"

"Heck no!"

"But what do you think she meant by all that stuff about being free. Could it mean he needs to be free of our expectations? Maybe that's it," I said hopefully.

"Don't have the slightest idea what she meant. Shoot, she didn't know herself, but whatever it was, wouldn't lose sleep over it."

"What about that part about Destiny?" I said pensively. "You think she was talking about our living together?"

"Got me. I ain't psychic. First I've heard of it. You two been discussing shacking up?"

"A little." I tried to gauge her reaction before revealing more.

She nodded approvingly. "You've got good taste in women, Kris. Destiny Greaves is a find. Never get two of her in this lifetime."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said defensively. "Are you implying she's better than me?"

"Whoa, girl. Unsaddle that high horse and hop down. Doing nothing of the sort. What's the problem?"

"I don't know," I confessed. "I can't seem to make up my mind. When she first proposed the idea, it scared the hell out of me. Then it excited me. Then it distressed me. Then it cheered me up. Now, I have no idea how I feel."

The faster I talked, the faster I drove.

"I do know I love her, and I love to be with her. But what if something happens to hera"she does travel a lot, and she certainly has a high-risk job. Or what if some woman comes along and steals her awaya"they proposition her all the time. Right now, as a matter of fact, this woman who lives on the top floor of her house, Suzanne, I think she's chasing her. What am I supposed to do about that?"

"Take a breath and slow down, girl. You got it bad."

"What?"

"Happiness."

"Pardon me?" I said irritably.

"You're happy, and you're waiting for it to end. Gads, you might even blow it up yourself."

"How would I do that?"

"Lots of things you can do to sabotage a relationship. Ruth and I have done 'em all."

"Like what?"

"Pick fights, be unavailable, get totally needy or totally self-sufficient, make demands, get attached to someone or something else. Sweetie, there are as many ways to destroy a relationship as there are to nurture it."

I could feel my face redden.

"Spit it out: How many have you done?"

"Most of them," I said, sheepish.

Fran looked at me intently. "When that crackpot told you to think about the best day of your life, what was it?"

I stopped the car in front of her house. "The day I met Destiny."

Fran hopped out onto the curb, but poked her head through the open window. "Enough said."

"What was yours?" I called out as she began a militant stride toward the building.

"I had two. The day I went into the convent," she bellowed without bothering to turn, "and the day I left."

All the way home, I pondered Lauren's message, the one "sent but never received." I had always known her meticulously planned death had meaning, but the session with the psychic confirmed my intuition.

The source of irritation for Lauren's spirit stumped me, though. What was the meaning, and why was it not being understood?

That last bit, about "eyes that were dead" and "begging her to make a sound" spooked me.

Maybe Fran was right. Maybe we shouldn't have tampered with the unknown.

Fortunately, the balance of the day brought me solidly back from the spirit world into the tangible one, as I visited Marketing Consultants and prepared a quarterly financial report for our accountant.

From work, I dropped by Destiny's and picked her up. She slid into the car and kissed me on the lips. "What's this surprise? Where are we going?"

I brushed stray strands of hair from her cheek. "You'll see."

When I parked in front of Ramano's, Destiny gave me a quizzical look. "Here?"

I nodded. "I want to try it again."

"Try what?"

"You'll see."

Inside, after we had ordered, I took her hand and clasped it between both of mine. "If it's not too late," I said, my voice a little shaky, "I'd like to change the answer I gave you the last time we came here."

Destiny's face fell. Dismayed, she said, "You don't want to live together?"

My smile vanished. "No, I do!"

"But that's what you told me the first time we came."

"I did?"

She nodded strenuously.

"I don't think I meant it then, but I do now."

"You're serious?" she said, her features registering hope and vulnerability.

"Of course I am. I want to live with you, and I want to do it as soon as possible."

"What about the other night, when you said no."

"I didn't mean that either."

"Let me get this straight," she said, confounded. "You didn't mean it the first time you said yes or the last time you said no, but this yes is for real."

I smiled broadly. "Exactly!"

Destiny dove around the table to hug me. After she returned to her seat, she said, "Now don't take this the wrong way, but what made you change your mind?"

"Would you believe a psychic?"

"No," she said grinning. "I know you too well for that. But I am curious, what did this wise woman tell you?"

"She predicted I'd be happy beyond my wildest dreams."

"Wow!" she said, impressed.

"That wasn't what really swayed me, though."

"Was it the thought of my naked body lying next to you in our bed, every night of your life?"

"No," I said, briefly returning her wicked smile. "It was you saying you'd wait for me, as long as it took."

"I would," she said, her green eyes sparkling.

"I know. After I thought about it, I realized I'd wait for you, too. You're a huge part of my life. I'm just afraid to admit it, because I keep thinking I'll lose you the second anyone knows you're important to me."

"You won't," she said calmly. "I wish you could believe that."

"I can. It's taken me awhile, but I finally get it."

"Just in time," she said lightly. "I was about to start an affair with Suzanne."

"Very funny," I said grimly.

"I'm kidding, Kris. Really, I am!"

In record time, we concluded our dinner and went back to Destiny's house.

For the next three hours, we made love.

I let Destiny in. I let myself out.

19.

The weekend passed without drama. No work on the case, no visits with David. Quality time with Destiny and two nights of uninterrupted sleep buoyed me enough to stop by the hospital on my way to work Monday.

I had already deduced that the odds were good I wouldn't bump into my mothera"she had a pattern of inactivity before noona"but I never considered the chances of happening upon my father.

I spotted his lightweight jacket and golf cap resting on the edge of David's bed before I saw him. He wore his customary leisure uniform: baggy dark blue shorts, red golf shirt, white socks, tennis shoes. I couldn't help but notice the effects of liquor and age: bulbous nose, pot belly, flaccid skin, wrinkles across his forehead and around his eyes, black hair with tufts of gray barely covering the front of his head.

Every instinct told me to flee, but when he spotted me, I came into the room. He offered me a hug, which I returned loosely.

"I thought you'd be at work," I said accusingly.

"I took the day off. How about you?" he asked, cordial.

"I'm going in late."

"How's business?"

"Fine," I replied gruffly, unwilling to elaborate. Awkwardly, I stood near David's feet, opposite my father who sat near his head.

"Have you and Ann been here many times?"

"I have. She hasn't come at all."

"Why not?"

"You'd have to ask her," I replied, knowing full well he wouldn'ta" he and Ann hadn't spoken in monthsa"but I was tired of fronting for my sister.