CHAPTER SEVEN
Hours later, Theresa thought about the situation with Levi and knew she should feel guilty. Not that having Levi's undivided attention was a terrible thing, but now she wondered if his sudden declarations of desire and need were because he truly wanted to be with her or because of that stupid potion.
Could the potion have worked? No. That was absurd. Yup, she was losing her mind.
Of course, it hadn't worked. It was all hocus-pocus and she'd fallen for the trap. Letting the mysticism of the bayou get to her, she allowed herself to get wrapped up in the fantasy of having her most fervent wish granted.
But, wow, the lovemaking had been out of this world. Levi had been true to his word delivered on every promise. They hadn't left the room all day. Their sole focus had been each other. The man had been insatiable. She'd forced him out of her room when she couldn't take anymore. They both had to get ready for the evening dinner and she needed alone time to make herself pretty.
She didn't feel too bad about kicking him out. He'd still get what he wanted from her later tonight. Sending him off with a promise to pick up where they'd left off, she took a few deep breaths. Heart racing, she listened to the quietness of the room. His scent still lingered, and her stomach clenched in agony. It had only been a few minutes, but she missed him already.
That's when the guilt had set in. What had been in that potion? How long did it stay in the system? The voodoo lady--because that's what she thought of her as at this point--had told her something about forty-eight hours.
Did she mean forty-eight hours from the time she drank the potion? Or forty-eight hours for her soul mate to find her? The more she thought about it, the more unclear she was about this entire situation.
As she sat in her room overlooking the busy, bustling streets, she knew she needed answers. But they wouldn't be found here. She needed to find Madame Sophie.
Levi was supposed to meet her at the dinner at six-thirty and it was only five-thirty now. That meant she had one hour to get to the tarot reader's shop and back in time for dinner.
She could totally do this.
Grabbing up her clutch, she quickly exited her room and made her way down the elevator and out of the hotel. Praying no one would see her sneaking out, especially Levi, she practically ran down Bourbon Street toward the end of the road where she’d stumbled upon that damn shop.
Arriving to the old storefront in under ten minutes, which she considered a very good omen, she saw the sign still outside the door. Madame Sophie - Tarot Readings and More. Entering the establishment, it looked the same as it did yesterday. She wasn't sure what she'd expected it to be; for some reason, she was surprised the place was still here and hadn't disappeared on her.
Now she knew her mind had been taken over by the bayou. That kind of thinking was just crazy talk. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she looked around for the old lady, but didn't see her. Theresa wandered through the crush of T-shirts, skulls, shrunken heads, beads, and other touristy paraphernalia looking for any sign of Madame Sophie.
"May I help you," a voice called out.
Thinking she'd finally found her, Theresa turned around, ready to pounce on the old woman, to demand she stop speaking in riddles and tell her the truth about the potion.
As she finished turning, she stopped short. Standing in front of her was a very different woman, one who looked nothing like the old lady from yesterday.
"Uh. Yes. I'm looking for Madame Sophie. I met her yesterday and she gave me a gift. I just need to ask her some questions," she finished. Plastering a smile on her face, she waited for the woman to scurry off and bring Madame Sophie back with her.
When the woman simply stared at her and didn't move, Theresa repeated her request.
"Is Madame Sophie around? I'm not sure of her work hours, but maybe you could help me find her."
The clerk looked uncomfortable, shifting from side to side, as she gave Theresa a patient smile. "Ma'am, there is no Madame Sophie here."
"Oh, right. She's probably off today. What time will she be back tomorrow? I'd like to speak with her," she pressed. Looking at her watch, she realized another ten minutes had passed. She needed to make her way back to the hotel and had no plans to run like a bat out of hell to get there.
"Maybe you misunderstood. There is no Madame Sophie who works here. The sign outside is a holdover from when there was a Madame Sophie, but that's no longer the case. We just never changed it. Maybe it was someone else who helped you," the clerk said politely, but firmly.
Theresa's mind swirled with possibilities. She tried to think of a reason why the clerk had no idea who she was talking about. None of the answers she came up with made any sense. No, there had to be an explanation.
Shaking her head at the woman, Theresa tried again. "No, you're mistaken. I'm positive I met her here. The lady told me her name was Madame Sophie." She looked around as if she would force the woman to appear from sheer will alone. Had she come into the wrong place? No, this was the exact spot she, Cecilia, and Angela had entered yesterday. She was sure of it.
"Can you describe her for me? Sometimes people can get confused due to all the shops they go in, or get names mixed up."
Theresa was starting to get annoyed. She knew the name the lady gave her. There was no confusion. This was the only shop she'd entered. Looking around again, she began rattling off what the woman looked like.
"Well, she looked to be about sixty or so due to her gray hair and wrinkles, but her voice was that of someone much younger. Her voice was kind...soft...but firm," her voice trailed off as her eyes caught sight of a picture on the wall.
"Ma'am, are you okay?"
Lifting her hand, she motioned toward the picture on the wall. "That's her," she said with a giddy voice. She knew she wasn't crazy. "Madame Sophie. You even have a picture of her. Why did you tell me she doesn't work here?" she asked in a huff.
Glancing down at her watch, she realized more than fifteen minutes had passed since she'd walked inside. If she was going to make it to the rehearsal dinner in time, she needed to find Madame Sophie and get her ass back to the hotel before anyone noticed she was gone.
She noticed the clerk hadn't answered her question, so she turned her head and gave her a hard look. "Well? Is she here?"
"Ma'am... Um," the young woman stuttered. "Yes, that's Madame Sophie, but she doesn't work here."
"Then why is her picture on the wall? Maybe she just visited the other day. After all, the place is named after her," Theresa said in a sarcastic tone, lifting her hand again to point at the picture.
Damn, all she needed was answers about the fucking potion.
"No, that's not possible, either." The woman was starting to look worried.
"Listen, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Can you tell me why it's not possible? Is she sick? Do you have a restraining order against her or something?" Exasperation was clear in her voice. The woman's words made no sense.
"No, nothing like that. Well...you see...Madame Sophie's been dead for the past twenty years."
The words penetrated her brain, but she couldn't understand what the woman was saying. Theresa glanced at the picture to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Nope, not going crazy. The woman in the photo was the same one she'd seen and spoken to yesterday. There was no doubt.
"Then someone who looks a lot like her spoke to me yesterday. She even gave me a gift." She didn't want to say what it was now. Especially if the person who gave it to her had no right to do so. She didn't want to be accused of stealing. She was tough, but she sure as hell wasn't made for anyone's jail.
The woman across from her sighed deeply. "I was afraid of that. Ma'am, I don't know how comfortable you're going to be with what I have to say. But I'm gonna say it anyway."
Theresa crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm listening."
"New Orleans is a city filled with all the things no one talks about, and some other things that people would be too scared to understand. Madame Sophie was a woman who had her own way of doing things. She'd always said her work would never be done. That those who needed her would always find her. And she would be waiting." The lady leaned against a sturdy table against the wall with colorful T-shirts displayed on the flat surface.
"And this matters to me why?" She didn't want to say it out loud, but Theresa was getting a bit freaked out. Plus, she had to leave in a few minutes to make it back to the hotel.
"Over the years, we've had a few other people come in here, swearing they'd seen Madame Sophie. Some men, some women. But each of them said she gave them a gift. I bet I know what the gift was," she said with an all-knowing smirk on her face.
Biting her lip, Theresa began pacing the floor. No. No. No. She'd better not say what I think she's going to say. "So... Madame Sophie?"
"It definitely could have been her you met yesterday. She always liked to play matchmaker. Her calling card was a vial of potion. It's said her potion has been used by many people who needed to know if the one they were with was their true love."
Theresa laughed under her breath. Now she was really falling off the deep end, if her next question was anything to go by. "She was a ghost?"
"If you want to call her that. I'd never call Madame Sophie a ghost. I'd say she's like an eccentric aunt who only comes around when someone needs her, who only gives you what you need most. If she felt you needed the potion, then she's the one who gave it to you."
"That's crazy. Ghosts giving out love potions," Theresa said under her breath and then caught herself. Eyes wide, she looked up at the lady standing across from her with a smirk on her face.
"I know what she gave you. It's the same potion she gives everyone. And by the look on your face, I'd say you've tried it out on someone. Am I right?" The clerk stood, pulling her long, thick tresses over her shoulder.
Nodding her head, Theresa began to feel uncomfortable in her nice evening dress, heels, and diamond studs, while she stood in a voodoo shop asking about a dead witch...voodoo priestess...whatever.
What the hell had gotten into her?
She couldn't help but giggle when the answer popped into her head.
"Levi is what got into you, girl. Quit acting like your brain don't work."
"So, now what do I do?" she asked after a few seconds of silence.
"You let the magic work for you. If you were gifted with the potion, then you needed it for a reason. But I think you have a bigger question on your mind," the clerk said with a kind, knowing smile.
Torn between appearing like a very silly woman and having the one person she needed in her life, Theresa stood frozen in place. Thoughts ran through her mind at a rapid-fire pace, but one question kept coming to the forefront. Knowing she had little time left, Theresa took a deep breath and spoke.
"What if I want him to be the one so badly that I'm seeing something that's not there? What if everything he feels for me this weekend is because of the potion? When it wears off tomorrow, then what?"
The woman nodded her head sadly. "And that's the other side of the coin. You won't know until it's too late."