Chapter Two: Destiny Can Kiss My Ass
Jamie and Margerate looked at each other as Candace spoke. When she finished, she took a deep breath.
“I shouldn’t have told you all of that. Now you will think I’m crazy and lock me away.”
Jamie chuckled. “No, but Jacob Jr. might. Senior will find it amusing.”
“Jacob would do that?” Candace asked with a cry.
Margerate squeezed her close to comfort her as Jamie let out a heavy sigh.
“This Jacob is not like the one you are used to.” Jamie said as she watched Candace. “Jacob Eugene Postal Junior; does not trust women. The man you met, in your time, had been dead for ten years. He had had enough time to come to terms with everything that had happened in his life. And his death. This Jacob is like…”
“A blank canvas.” Margerate filled in for her granddaughter.
“A blank canvas?” Candace asked.
Jamie chuckled. “Accurate analogy, Nana. Yes, a blank canvas. He has not had those experiences, which had opened his eyes to so many things. It is up to you to paint the picture for him.”
Candace looked at them as if they were the ones who were nuts.
“You must remind him of who he was with you. Only then will he trust you; completely.” Margerate whispered.
“How?” Candace asked with a cry. “Our time together was in my time… How can he remember what has not happened for him?”
Jamie smiled. “Fate and Destiny are a pair of wonders that are beyond the imagination.”
Candace squinted her eyes at Jamie.
“Trust me.” Jamie said. “Are you hungry?”
Candace nodded.
“I will get you some breakfast.” Jamie said as she left the room.
“Do you feel better?” Margerate asked as she moved a stray hair from Candace’s forehead.
Candace nodded, then shook her head.
Margerate sighed. “Things will come to light, you will see.”
“Why has fate, or destiny, or God, or whoever, brought me here?”
Margerate looked to be mulling over the question, then smiled. “I believe it is so you can right a wrong.”
“You mean Jacob’s death?” Candace asked in a whisper.
Margerate nodded once. “And the others.”
“Others?” Candace asked, confused.
“Jacob Sr. and Jacob Jr. Are the end of the Postal line. Maybe you are here to continue the line.”
“But I’m on the pill.” Candace said as she scrunched up her face.
Margerate chuckled. “May not be as easy as that.” She said as she patted the girl’s arm.
Jamie returned with a cart loaded down with food, and Candace’s stomach growled. Jamie smiled as she made the girl a plate of food, then her grandmother and herself, and sat in the chair beside the bed.
When they finished eating, Jamie pushed the cart out into the hall, then returned to the bed, where she helped her grandmother to her feet and back into the chair beside the bed.
“First, we must get you some clothes.” Jamie said as she smiled at Candace.
Candace looked down at her nightgown and robe and grunted.
“I must have looked like a complete loon last night, or a crazed adulteress.”
Jamie and Margerate chuckled.
“I may have some sweats you can borrow, but they may still be a little tight on you. You have a magnificent body.” Jamie said as she looked Candace up and down.
Candace flushed under the woman’s perusal of her curves. She has always been curvy, even as a teen. Short and curvy.
“How Old Are You?” Jamie asked as she looked into the girl’s dark blue eyes.
“Twenty-six.”
Jamie nodded. “Sixteen, that’s a good age difference.”
What month is it? Candace wondered as she looked at Jamie. “I’m fifteen; my birthday is coming up.”
Jamie nodded.
“Too young.” Margerate grumbled.
Jamie laughed. “Yes, Nana. But we have Candace, the woman.” She said as she motioned towards Candace.
“How are you two taking this at face value? I could be some loon…”
Jamie and Margerate looked at each other with a smile.
Jamie turned to Candace. “We believe in fate, destiny, soulmates, God… Not necessarily in that order.” She said as she pointed at Candace.
“But what about time travel?” Candace asked.
“I don’t think it was time travel, but yes, we wouldn’t deny it is possible, especially when magic’s involved.”
“Magic?” Candace asked with a squeal.
“Magic, fate, miracle, destiny, they’re all linked.” Jamie said with a smile.
“We think one of us called to you in your version of the future.” Margerate said as she watched Candace.
“Called for me?” Candace asked. “My version of the future?”
“When Jacob and his father died, we figure one of us called for a miracle, and they gave us you.” Jamie said.
“Me? But why me?”
“Because you are Jacob’s soulmate, are you not?” Margerate asked.
“Ye… yes.”
“Fate showed you what happened, then sent you back to fix it.” Jamie said with a smile.
“So, fate brought me, and Jacob’s ghost together, then took it away and tossed me back in time, where he has no clue who I am, so that I could do what?” Candace asked with a cry.
“So, you can fix a horrible wrong.” Jamie said as she placed her hand on Candace’s clenched fist.
“Twer not that I could.” Candace said with a soft cry.
Jamie and Margerate shared a knowing look. She already talks like Jacob.
Candace took in a deep breath. As crazy as this all is, it’s true. Look where she is, ten years in her past. She wondered what her fifteen-year-old self was up to and thought about it for a moment. If she was fifteen when senior died, and sixteen when Jacob died. Maybe she’s meant to save them both?
“What is the date today?” She asked as she looked at the other two women.
“June twenty-seventh.” Jamie said.
“One week before Jacob’s father died.” Candace whispered.
Jamie jumped to her feet. “You had said that the fireworks had blown up on the fourth of July?”
Candace nodded. “Yes. That is what Jacob had told me.”
“So that gives us one week.” Jamie said as she paced the floor.
Candace looked around the room for the first time. The walls were a beautiful shade of sky blue, and the bedspread was a dark blue, almost as dark as her own eyes. Without realizing it, Jacob had placed her in a room full of her favorite color. Maybe their connection is just as secure with him alive, as it was when he was dead.
“Even stronger.” Margerate whispered.
Candace stared at the older woman. Had she heard my thoughts? She wondered.
Margerate looked at the younger woman with a knowing smile.
“How do I get Jacob to believe me?” Candace asked.
“Get him to remember.” Jamie said with a smile.
Candace looked at her new friend. What did she mean by, ‘Get him to remember’?
“Jamie.” Margerate said as she pointed at Candace’s confused face.
Jamie stopped and studied Candace. Yes, the fates are insane sometimes, but they know what they’re doing. And they know what we needed to fix this.
“Candace.” Jamie whispered.
Candace looked at her.
Jamie smiled. “He’s your soulmate, he will remember.”
Candace squinted her eyes. “Everything?”
Jamie chuckled. “Everything.”
Candace took a deep breath. “How do I do it?”
Jamie clapped her hands together as she grinned. “First, we must get you some new clothes.”
Candace nodded.
“I will have a maid wash those.” Margerate said as she pointed to Candace’s nightgown.
Candace nodded. “Thank you.”
“Anything you need, my dear.” Margerate said as she patted Candace’s hand.
Candace smiled at the older woman as she got to her feet and left the room.
~*~
“Won’t Jacob get upset because you bought me clothes?” Candace asked as they walked along the row of shops in town. A man followed close behind them, carrying their bags.
“This is my money.” Jamie said with a smile.
“I can’t let you do this.” Candace said as she stopped.
The man behind them caught himself before he walked into her.
Jamie stopped and turned to Candace with a smile. “Candace, love. I have worked hard for this money. I will spend it on you if I want. Besides, I have nothing else to spend it on.” She said as she took hold of Candace’s arm and pulled her down the sidewalk with her.
“Yourself?” Candace asked.
Jamie laughed. “Maybe.” She said with a smirk. “Now, what shall we buy first? A bikini?”
Candace’s cheeks turned beet red, and Jamie grinned.
“Yes, definitely a bikini.”
~*~
Candace stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked even better in this floral bikini; then she had in her old black one.
What if he doesn’t notice me?
She spoke her thoughts out loud when she opened the bathroom door, and Jamie stared at her.
“He will notice.” Jamie said with a gleam in her eyes. “If he had as a dead man, he’s going to as a very much alive man.”
Candace smiled. “I hope so. I love this bikini.”
Jamie smiled. “I will save it for you.”
Candace’s eyes squinted at her, and Jamie laughed.
“Let’s go swimming.” Jamie said with a grin.
Candace nodded as she let Jamie lead her from the bathroom towards the back door that led out to the pool. No one was at the pool, but that didn’t stop them from jumping in. They laughed and splashed for an hour before Candace gave up. He wasn’t going to join them.
“Don’t lose hope.” Jamie said as she took hold of Candace’s arm. “He is watching from a window.” Candace turned to look, and Jamie stopped her. “Don’t let him know that we know he’s watching.”
Candace nodded as she took a deep breath. “What now?” She asked.
Jamie smiled. “Do what you did before.”
Candace stared at her.
Jamie chuckled. “You know that performance was for Jacob and not that horrible ex of yours.”
Candace smiled. Yeah, it had been for Jacob’s eyes only. And so will this one. Taking a breath for courage, she turned and headed for the stairs. As she walked up the stairs, she made sure the sun glistened off the droplets of water on her skin.
Yes, Jacob Postal, this is for you.
~*~
Jacob stood inside, watching the beauty as she emerged from the pool. His heart skipped a beat, and his pants tightened. What a bewitching woman. Too bad she’s a certifiable nut. He couldn’t even get his father to listen. The man found it entertaining.
Jacob grunted when the woman tossed her hair over her shoulder, and her breasts bounced with the movement. And what magnificent breasts they were.
A vision of him sucking on those breasts invaded his mind, and he scowled. What is this woman doing to him? When she sat in a lawn chair and laid back, he let go of the curtain and stormed off to his room.
Two can play at this game.
~*~
Candace sighed. He probably hadn’t even seen her get out of the pool.
“Don’t look so deflated, Candy.” Jamie said with a laugh. “He saw you emerge from the pool.”
“But did it do anything?” Candace whispered.
Jamie laughed. “If he’s a real man, it did.”
Jacob walked out onto the back deck and stared at the woman who plagued his dreams. In his sleep, and when he’s awake. Why not give her what she wants? What will it hurt? And it’s not like he’s not turned on by her. He was still nursing a hard-on from watching her ascending from the pool.
“See.” Jamie hissed.
Candace opened her eyes a crack, and her heart soared. Jacob was walking towards her in a pair of swim trunks. She has seen this man in boxers and in the buff. But he had never looked as good, as he did now, coming towards her in those swim trunks.
“Hello.” He said as he stopped beside her.
“Hi.” Candace said as she smiled up at him.
Jacob paused when a vision of her smiling at him, (in what he now realized to be the Postal Gardens) invaded his thoughts again.
“Oh, look at the time, I need to go pick up Nana.” Jamie said as she jumped to her feet.
“Smooth.” Candace mumbled.
Jamie smiled at her as she left her alone with Jacob.
