Wake County
Heather is the first guest Mrs. Candle has had since Robert’s funeral. She’s come to Garner for dinner at the Candle home per Bobby’s invitation to begin emotional resolution from her past with Bobby and to break her promise. For the dinner menu, Mrs. Candle planned a traditional and Southern meal. She pan-fried chicken, boiled turnip greens in chicken broth, hand-mashed white russet potatoes, and baked sweet cornbread. Bobby and Heather are waiting for dessert in the living room. The white-walled living room is accessible through a doorway from the dining room and around the corner from the kitchen. Decoration in the living room includes various gold lamps, plastic floral arrangements, two-day-old peace lilies, and light blue potted mums from the funeral. The Candles furnished the room with a cream-colored couch and two blue-colored accent armchairs.
Mrs. Candle is in her kitchen cutting slices of pecan pie. “Who wants ice cream with their pie?” she yells. Bobby says he doesn’t want any, and Heather asks for Vanilla flavored ice cream.
“Thanks for coming tonight,” Bobby tells Heather, who’s wearing a green mock-neck sweater, mid-rise straight blue jeans, and suede tan ankle boots. On his fourth local Craft beer, the Governor’s son is a little tipsy. The Heathen mask makes him fearless. Without the cover, he’s cowardly and vulnerable. He always drinks alcohol to numb his human weaknesses and senses. The expectations for tonight’s séance are hardcore.
“No problem, I’m having a good time. I’ve missed your Mom. She’s great.” Heather positions herself between two decorative pillows on the living room couch. Bobby watches her shift back and forth for comfort through a pint glass. Mrs. Candle enters the living room carrying two pieces of pie on glass plates. She hands the pie a la mode to Heather and slices without ice cream to Bobby, who is sitting in a blue armchair. “Thanks,” they both tell her.
Bobby begins eating pie when he realizes his Mom doesn’t have any dessert. “Are you not having any pie?” he asks her.
“Not tonight, dear. I’m still full from dinner.” Mrs. Candle takes a seat in the empty chair beside her son. “How’s the pie?” Pause. She looks at Heather sitting on the couch. Robert used to sit there; he would’ve loved to see Heather tonight; I am never going to see him again, she sadly thinks.
“The pie is delicious. Everything tonight was great. Thanks for having me.” Heather carefully spoons the last of her pie and ice cream into her mouth, but Bobby beats her to the last bite and places his empty plate and fork on a glass coffee table. Mrs. Candle starts to reach for the plate. “Mrs. Candle, please let me,” Heather offers. She takes the empty plates and walks to the kitchen.
Mrs. Candle and Bobby are shortly alone in the living room. “Are Heather and you getting back together?” Mrs. Candle asks her son, who’s taking his last sip of beer, which Bobby almost spits out. “She hates me,” he tells his Mom.
“I don’t know about that. She’s been looking at you all night – I didn’t notice any hate in those looks. Call it mother’s intuition.” Bobby’s reply makes Mrs. Candle look at her son with sorrowful eyes. The dinner with Heather was a pleasant interruption from Robert’s death for her, but the emotional break is over. What if Bobby and Heather get married, and Bobby dies, she imagines? The thoughts make her hurt again. Heather reenters the living room and sits on the couch. Bobby is buzzed and slack-jawed, and Mrs. Candle looks sullen.
“Well, I’m going to excuse myself,” Mrs. Candle announces.
“Are you okay?” Bobby asks.
“I am just tired. Heather, this has been a delight. Please come around more often. Bobby, don’t drink too much more,” Mrs. Candle says.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Thank you for having me, Mrs. Candle. I am sorry for Mr. Candle. He will be missed deeply.” Heather quickly realizes that she probably shouldn’t have said it. She could smack her head right now.
“Thank you. We’re missing Robert.” Mrs. Candle choked up, but not from what Heather said. “Good night, children.” She leaves them for her upstairs bedroom.
“Goodnight, Mrs. Candle.”
“Goodnight, Mom.” Bobby waits for his widow’s Mom to be out of sight. “Why’d you say that,” he snaps.
“I don’t know. It just came out. I’m sorry,” Heather apologizes.
“She knows you’re sorry. You coming tonight shows that. It’s only been a few days since – well, you know.”
“We both know why I really came,” Heather eludes, crossing her arms. I came here for you, she thinks. Pause. Bobby scratches his head and looks at his empty pint glass on the coffee table. He lets out a deep breath.
“Are you ready to do it?” Bobby mumbles.
“Excuse me,” Heather roars.
Bobby becomes bug-eyed and curious. “The séance. Are you ready to do the séance? Geez, Heather. That is why you came here?” he teases her.
Heather rolls her eyes. Bobby is still annoying, she thinks. “Yes, the séance – I’m reluctantly ready to do that.”
—-
Bobby and Heather put on their coats and leave the Candle House through the living room backdoor. The fall evening is breezy and bright from a full moon. A wooden privacy fence and vibrant oak trees surround the backyard. Bobby leads Heather past the underground pool to the outdoor pool house that Robert Candle used for an office. They enter the office and see a dark wooden desk, two 5-shelf bookcases filled with old textbooks and North Carolina travel guides, a worn plaid couch, and a cottage-style wet bar. Behind the desk hangs a framed North Carolina highway map. A gloss object on a bookcase shelf attracts Bobby like a raccoon to something shiny. He picks up the ceremonial Key to the City of Raleigh. “I remember when my Dad got this,” he reminisces.
“You never told me what happened.” Heather has the superhuman ability to communicate with spirits, but subtlety with the living is an ability she doesn’t have.
Bobby places the grand Key back on its wooden stand. “Well, Mom called Dad’s phone several times to tell him supper was ready. He never picked up. She walked into the pool house and found him lying atop his desk, facing down. His arms spread out wide. The paramedics declared him dead on the spot. He had a heart attack.” Bobby looks at his Dad’s desk. I need something substantial for this, he thinks. “Do you want anything to drink?” he asks Heather.
“Some water would be nice,” Heather orders. Bobby grabs two clean rock glasses from the cabinet at the wet bar. He decides to pour some bourbon into a glass for himself and fills the other glass with tap water for Heather. He hands her the glass. “Thanks.” She takes a sip of water and places the refreshment atop the desk. Bobby slammed his bourbon, already pouring his next drink. “Did you bring the restraints?”
“Yeah, they’re in a box outside,” Bobby tells her, “I’ll go fetch them.” Left inside, Heather feels the desk surface with her palms. She feels a presence (Robert Candle’s spirit). Bobby reenters the pool house carrying a banker’s box. He sinks into the old couch and removes the box lid. “Okay, I have handcuffs, electrical tape, and strips of cloth I cut from an old tee shirt.”
Heather laughs, “Bobby, this isn’t some S&M dungeon or interrogation.” Bobby gives her a sardonic smile. “Sorry, the cloth strips will work,” she decides. He grabs the strips from the box and rests the box on the floor.
“Your message about séance supplies wasn’t very descriptive,” Bobby slurs, “whatever. Can we get on with it?”
“Sure,” Heather says in a scared and hesitant tone.
“What now?”
“Well, you’re going to tie me to the chair. I’ll reach out to your Dad. Then, hopefully, he’ll respond to the summons and possess me,” Heather explains, leaning against the desk.
“Then what?” Bobby wonders.
“You have a conversation with your Dad. You get the closure we set into motion,” Heather assures him. Sitting in Robert Candle’s office chair, Heather allows Bobby to tie strips of white cloth around her wrists and office chair arms. “Not too tight,” she rips into him. The restraints Heather asked for Bobby and her safety. The possession process can become violent when a spirit takes over. The last séance, a deceased member of the Body Guard crime gang, took over her body and murdered his crime partner, Eyes, who was an informant for the NCSSA. Because of this, she vowed never to use her abilities again. Heather doesn’t believe Robert will use her body to hurt his son, but she can’t risk the chance. Fool me twice, shame on me, she thought. Now restrained to the chair, Heather closes her eyes. She feels Robert’s spirit moving around her. “Robert, I give flesh to the fleshless. There’s someone here to see you. I present a shell to thee without a shell. He wants to speak to you. Permit Bobby an audience,” she chants.
Bobby’s tremoring hand is making bourbon waves in his glass. He’s watching Heather jiggle in the office chair. I guess it works, he thinks. Heather shrieks like a bolt of lightning just hit her. Her strained body becomes an awkward arch. Pause. She recoils into a straight-back position with enough force to move the chair back. Her head rises, and she says, “Hello, Son.”
“Dad, Robert, is that you?” Bobby asks with uncertainty.
“My mind, at least,” Robert assumes.
“Okay, Robert’s mind, prove it. Tell me the truth,” Bobby demands.
“When you were young, you loved Mr. T, you called your mom a fool, and we washed your mouth out with soap,” Robert states.
Bobby takes a sip of his liquor drink. “Easy one. You’ve told everyone that story – why did you throw me into the Supernatural Sheriffs program?”
“The government was looking for recruits. I have a son with special abilities. It made sense to sign you up, Bobby.” Robert looks at the pieces of cloth tied around Heather’s wrists.
“What are we for?”
“Never mind those. I don’t remember that situation being that simple. I almost believe you’re really my aloof Dad in Heather’s body.” Bobby sees a confused come over the face before him. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“No, really,” Robert admits.
“Do you remember my former fiancé, Heather? You know. One of them is Sheriff recruits. In case you forgot, she can communicate with the dead. I asked her to conjure your ghost. You’ve taken over her body. The ties are for everyone’s safety,” Bobby explains. He takes a sip of his Dad’s bourbon.
“I see. I also see you’ve been in my liquor cabinet again,” the former Governor points out.
“That sounds like the man I called Dad. I absolutely believe you’re him now – so, I ask you, Truth or Dare.” Bobby takes the last gulp of whiskey and lets the glass fall onto the couch. He notices Robert is watching him with Heather’s eyes.
“Truth or Dare. I don’t want to play,” Robert reacts.
Bobby stands up from the couch. He throws his tantrum hands atop Robert’s desk, giving him an enraged look. “Truth or Dare. I’m not gaming right now,” he says sternly.
“Geez…Son…okay…truth,” Robert chooses.
“Why did you do it? Why did you poison yourself?” Bobby asks.
“What are you talking about, Bobby? I didn’t. I had a heart attack,” Robert refutes.
“Come on, Dad; you choose truth. Please respect the conditions.” Bobby looks with determined eyes.
“There are things I never told you about our family. Yes, you’re superhuman. You have super strength and reflexes. So, do I–“
“–what do you mean?” Bobby interrupts.
“Hundreds of years ago, we were once brothers and became cursed. Once we die, the curse is that we are resurrected as the next Candle male born, to live as many for eternity. We’ve been each other’s brothers, cousins, uncles, and….dads. I know this isn’t very clear. This curse on our family is why I threw you into the Sheriff’s program. I hoped they could teach you to cope,” Robert rambles.
“Cope with what?” Bobby wonders.
“The voices and memories. With all those voices and memories,” Robert becomes vulnerable, a side that Bobby has never seen. “You see, resurrection comes with a price—our sanity. The older us Candle men get, the more we remember. Hundreds of years of past experiences are stored in our minds. Each day a new one becomes unlocked. You get to the point where you start questioning what’s yours from theirs. I couldn’t do it anymore. I became mad. I had to end the voices.”
“That’s bullshit,” Bobby screams.
“It was my way out. Curse the Candle legacy. I’m sitting here spilling my guts. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Robert apologizes.
“Okay, I think we’re done. You can go now, Dad. Good luck in the afterlife.” Bobby becomes hateful and annoyed. Heather’s body starts to vibrate like a jackhammer on an asphalt road. Next, she moves like a dancer without rhythm. Robert Candle’s spirit leaves her body.
“That was unbelievable. I never had such an intense conversation with him before,” Bobby reveals. He steps back toward the couch.
“Before you sit, please free me from these rags,” Heather asks.
“Yeah, sorry. I’m a little frazzled.” Bobby finds a cutting knife in the wet bar. He walks over to where Heather sits and cuts her free from the office chair. He releases his bottled emotions and starts to cry. Heather looks up at him. She was there for the whole conversation.
“Some closure,” Heather says like an idiot. She stands up and embraces Bobby, hugging him for dear life. She whispers, “I’m sorry.” Heather comforts him. Bobby buries his face into Heather’s chest. They stand still for a long moment. Feelings of old love fill their bodies. Heather will never get over Bobby’s abandoning her. She will always love him. They spend the night together.
Gaston County
It is barely a new year in Mount Holly. Several months have passed since the divination with Robert Candle. Bobby is cursed. His fate is to become a madman with age, die, and be born again as another Candle. Bobby hides the Heathen outfit and weapons in a secret closet compartment inside his millhouse. Outside, someone is walking up to his front door. Whack! Whack! He’s not expecting anyone this time of night. At his front door, holding a Rambo-style knife, he braces for whatever has come knocking. With a turn of a knob, the door swings open. He sees his night visitor is Heather, who he hasn’t seen since the séance. Long pause. “Are you going to invite me in?” asks Heather. She’s bundled up in a Columbia ski jacket and aqua-colored scarf.
“Please, come on in. I’ll make us some hot chocolate.” Moments later, Bobby walks into his den with mugs. He hands one to Heather, who’s rocking in place on his couch. Bobby mixes some Bailey’s Irish Crème in his. “Do you want any?” he offers. Heather shakes her head no. “So what brings you by 2 a.m.?”
“I’m worried, Bobby.” Heather takes a sip from her mug. She’s brooding Bobby’s senses.
“What’s going on, Heather.”
“So, were you out tonight kicking butt and taking names,” Heather procrastinates.
“Yes, in the name of the Sheriffs. I had to kick an old squatter friend’s butt. Never mind that. What have you rounded up?” Bobby asks.
“I am pregnant, Bobby,” Heather reveals. Bobby spits out hot chocolate, almost spraying his ex-fiancé. He wasn’t expecting that.
“What, are you sure?” unsure Bobby whimpers.
“Yes, I’ve taken multiple tests. You’re the Father.” Heather informs him. A blank expression takes over Bobby’s face. He becomes absent from their conversation. “I don’t think you get it, Bobby. You’re the Father, a cursed Candle. Your Father, also a cursed Candle, just died, which equals our cursed baby. When you showed up that day at the bank. I hated you with a passion. All those old emotions between us came back in full force. I worked through them all except for my love for you. That one will never go away. It took you coming back into my life to realize that. Let’s have this child and revisit the life that the Sheriffs stole from us,” Heather pleads, waiting for Bobby’s reaction.
Bobby pours more Baileys into his hot chocolate. He cannot process what Heather just dropped on him. He can only say, “Let’s talk about this in the morning.”
Heather looks at him with disbelief. She can’t believe that’s all he has to say. “You selfish prick. Why did I come here? You’re just a coward like your Dad.”
“Enough. Either leave or come to bed,” Bobby yells. “I’m not Robert Candle. I can’t bare this right now. I am going to my bedroom to sleep. You’re welcome to join.”
—-
The following day, Heather wakes up alone in Bobby’s king-size bed. She leaves the bed and walks around the millhouse to see Bobby is not home. She finds herself in the kitchen making coffee for them. Bobby’s coffee is cold when he finally gets home. He enters the kitchen swearing most of his Heathen outfit. His eye is bruised, and his lip is busted.
“Good morning, Heathen. I see you’ve been fighting in the yard again.”
“Shut up for once, Heather,” Bobby says. He walks up to her and gives her a passionate kiss on the lips.
“What was that for?” a sensual Heather asks.
“I’ve made my decision.” Bobby gets down on one knee before Heather. He reaches into his stained tactical pant pockets and pulls out their engagement ring. “Heather Vaughn, I love you with all my heart. I know I’ve made mistakes. I want us to have the fairy tale. We deserved it. Will you marry me again?” he proposes.
“Technically, we never got married,” Heather spouts.
“Heather, I’m waiting.”
Heather sits above Bobby in a chair whose still on bended knee. She looks at him. “Yes, you selfish prick, I’ll marry you.” Bobby slides the engagement ring onto her finger. They embrace. Seven months later, they have a baby boy named Arthur Candle. Three months after the birth, they are married in Lakeview Baptist Church in Garner.
<END OF PART 2>
<HEATHER AND THE HEATHEN WILL RETURN>
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