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“A few words but they have to be spoken really slowly and they have to be about the days of the week or trips to the grocery store.”
Thiago calls from across the room to us. “He said it’s very safe. He would give this to his granddaughter.”
“Oh well then,” I mutter.
“I’m doing it,” Gwen says. “Don Romulo is a highly respected healer. He’s not going to risk his reputation by making someone like you sick.”
“Someone like me?”
“Someone with deep pockets who can sue his ass off. But more importantly, I trust Dr. Napper, and if he thought this would be good for us, I believe it will be.” With that, she tips back the cup. When she sets it down, she says, “That was pretty tasty, actually. Not even a hint of poison.”
I chuckle a little and shake my head at what I’m about to do. She’s right—Richard would never risk any of our lives. “Okay, fine. It’s not going to affect me anyway.”
“Exactly, we might feel a little tipsy is all.”
I drink it down, only to find out that Gwen was right. It does taste nice—like warm spices and rum. “Huh, it kind of tasted like Christmas.”
Don Romulo smiles around at all of us and says something to Thiago, who translates. “He says relax and listen to his song. By the end of it, your deepest desires and your core truth will come to the surface.”
“Not likely,” I mutter.
He starts to sing, and I lay back, listening to the melody as it ebbs and flows. I lose all track of time while he’s singing. It could be five minutes or it could be hours, but by the time he’s done, I find myself obsessed with one relentless thought: I’m in love with Gwen Fox. So clearly, whatever I just took is affecting me somehow because that’s not possible.
Around the circle, I hear the voices of the rest of the group as people start talking to each other. Niles is saying something about how he watched the movie Ghost a hundred times and, every time, he cries like a baby when Demi Moore says ‘ditto’ at the end.
“Same!” Karen yells. “And how they say ‘see yah’ instead of goodbye because they know they’ll be together again.”
She reaches for Niles and they clutch hands and talk about how perfect that movie was. I turn to Gwen. “Wow, that certainly hit them hard.”
“That’s for sure.”
“Makes sense though because they’re both highly impressionable,” I tell her.
“Do you feel anything?”
Shaking my head, I say, “Nothing. You?”
“No.”
Savannah holds up her hand and says, “I can’t get out of debt because I’m obsessed with Beanie Babies. I wish I could stop but I love them too much to quit. My house is full of them. Like, totally full. They’re taking over my life. I think I need to get help.”
“Oh wow,” Gwen mutters.
Don Romulo says something to Thiago, who translates. “Good. This is good. Let the truth come forward and you will heal yourself tonight.”
“I will?” Savannah asks. “Does this mean when I get home, I’ll be able to finally shut off my Beanie Baby E-Bay notifications?”
Don Romulo nods and smiles at her, patting her on the hands.
“Oh, thank God,” she answers.
“Say, how did he know what she was saying if he doesn’t speak English?” Gwen asks me.
“Good question. Maybe he understands it but won’t speak it?” I offer, noticing that she looks like an angel with a bright light around her. I lean in, staring at her and feel myself swaying a little. “Do you feel anything yet?”
“Maybe a little,” she says. “You?”
“Nah. It’s not going to affect me.”
