Following Bliss (The Quest series) Page 3

  “Kaley, that sounds perfect. I’m confident you’re going to love this story as much as I do, and as much as readers will.”

  Who was this guy that made sweeping gestures to attractive women he had only recently met and claimed complete confidence in his writing? He wasn’t sure, but he was loving this new version of himself— that had apparently been birthed when he met Shelby.

  Kaley stood up, extending her hand once again. “Thank you, Daniel. It was a pleasure. And whatever it is that you’re doing to radiate this kind of energy, please keep it up. The world needs more of it.”

  Daniel smiled, shook her hand—noticing this time that it was a lot less crushing and said, “You’ve got it, Kaley. I look forward to speaking with you next week.”

  And while Daniel couldn’t fully comprehend how beautifully things were unfolding, he felt a sense of calm and ease, along with a knowing that all was exactly as it was meant to be.

  # # #

  Shelby walked away from Daniel in a state of ecstasy. She couldn’t believe the amount of electricity she felt in her body while they were talking. It was as if some type of electrical current system was zigzagging throughout her entire body. It was so intense, focusing on the content of their conversation was nearly impossible. And he wanted to see her again! Shelby felt giddy at the possibility of getting to know Daniel better. Now, the trick was not to sit around and stew about when he would call and what would happen next. She knew that by worrying about the details, she would be energetically pushing away what she wanted.

  Laney had turned her onto that insight—and Shelby had experienced it time and time again. Whenever she needed something to happen, it didn’t seem to happen or it took forever to come to fruition. When she didn’t care much or was able to trust it would work out the way it was meant to, things seemed to happen right away. A fact was a fact and Shelby knew it—people/places/things flowed into her experience more rapidly when she detached from needing it to happen.

  But, even so, she made sure her phone volume was on high—at all times.

  That night her friend Kathryn called—they had met several months ago at a healing circle facilitated by healer and intuitive Derrick Milestone. Laney had insisted that Shelby check it out, reminding her that if she wanted to run her jewelry business full-time and eventually meet the love of her life, she was going to have to do some healing work.

  “Listen Shelb, I love you. But sitting around making pros-and-cons lists and mentally trying to willpower your new life into fruition is not going to work,” Laney had said, sounding almost like their mother, who was known for her killer ability to scold just about anyone.

  “It’s not?” Shelby had stared over at her blankly as the two speed-walked their way from OMSI to Sellwood and back on the Springwater Corridor.

  Laney squealed. “And who’s the older sister here? You can’t force things to happen. You need to clear whatever blocks are keeping you from having what you want. Willpower is soooo 2008, by the way. It’s 2013, get with the program,” with that Laney had sprinted up ahead of Shelby, leaving her with the distinct feeling that Laney—although her younger sis—was far wiser than Shelby at times.

  Shelby had spent her life strong-arming her way through. She literally will-powered her way through workouts, job interviews, dating—even grocery shopping. What if she relaxed a bit and let the Universe take the wheel? She decided that it was time to give some of Laney’s woo-woo-ness a try.

  Before she knew it, she was sitting in the metaphysical bookstore Healing Waters & Sacred Spaces receiving energy healing work from Derrick. Sitting next to her was Kathryn, a lovely woman with curly brown locks, an infectious smile and sparkling blue eyes. The two started chatting during a break, bonding over their mutual love of macaroons and consignment shopping.

  Kathryn had recently come together with her true love, Scott, and Shelby loved her conversations with Kathryn about love and all of the possibilities of the Universe. Up until Kathryn, Shelby had only Laney to talk to about mystical occurrences in her life. Now, that’s all she and Kathryn did, preferably while eating macaroons, of course. Shelby had to give massive props to Laney for telling her about Derrick’s healing circle. Although a newbie to the new thought community, she was enjoying playing with the concept of the Law of Attraction and working more deliberately with non-physical energy.

  And so, as soon as she heard Kathryn’s voice on the other end of the line the evening after the writer’s conference, she blurted out, “Kathryn, you’ll never believe what happened today. I think I met the guy. In fact, when I met him, I heard a voice that said, “This is the guy.” I have never had that happen!”

  “OMG Shelby, this is soooo exciting. Do you think he felt it too?” Kathryn inquired with almost the same level of intensity Shelby was feeling.

  “I’m pretty sure, he was beaming the entire time we spoke and said he had to see me again. So…I’m taking that as a sign that we’re on the right track.”

  “Love it! And I love that you are so open to what’s happening. I wish I would have been more open with Scott. As you know, when I met him, he felt it right away, but I was too busy chasing some dude around that had the same name and occupation that a psychic had given me several months back. God, I was so unbelievably lame back then,” Kathryn laughed.

  Kathryn had shared with Shelby that she had spent a lot of time questing for her true love, but was subconsciously sabotaging and pushing it away. Shelby had been very lucky in love throughout her life, always attracting wonderful men, but never feeling the spark that made her want to commit. And while she wanted children, she was only 29 years old and didn’t feel any need to force things. She had always felt like that part of her life would work itself out. She had never struggled to have a relationship and Laney assured her this was based on her strong belief system that it would be effortless, and so it was. Apparently, what one believes always manifests into their physical reality. Laney made sure to repeat this message to Shelby whenever she had the chance.

  “This is how the Universe works Shelby, get on board, apply the same principles you do with men and relationships to your career and you’ll have the same blessings!” Laney had often reminded her.

  Somehow, when it came to the Universe, Laney always had the answers. And as hard as it was sometimes to admit, from what Shelby was learning, Laney was right. She always assumed she would meet the perfect guy for her when the time was right and, as a byproduct, they would get married and have babies. But, it certainly wasn’t something she worried about. Her career, on the other hand, was something she was always trying to “figure out.” And no matter what she did, it seemed like she always ended up in the same place—at a job she hated while subsequently spending most of her time busying herself with meaningless tasks and dreaming about leaving.

  Hearing Kathryn and Scott’s true love story caused Shelby to think about more about the kind of life she wanted—not merely focusing on her career or feeling passive about love. From what she was learning, if she wanted the life of her dreams, she needed to be intentional about her desires. All her desires. Segmenting life into blocks of focus wasn’t necessarily the best way to manifest. Everything worked together as a whole. And the more she got to know Kathryn, the more she realized that a true love partnership had the ability to allow one to grow in ways you couldn’t grow on your own. That by deeply loving, the other parts of one’s life also expanded and grew. As an example, Kathryn had not been interested in having children before meeting Scott, but through the depth of their connection, she realized there was deep healing work that needed to be done around this area of her life. She had embarked on a healing journey, and now she and Scott were talking about the possibility of having children—after their commitment ceremony, that was. They were also finding ways to create a unique partnership that didn’t fall into the usual paradigms of relationship in the Western world.

  To Shelby, it was a sign that anything was possible where love and life was concerned—no
matter if you were questing for it or waiting to receive it. Now, in light of meeting Daniel, her intentionality for what she wanted in a romantic relationship was becoming more clear. Just meeting him made her want more…of him.

  “But look how everything turned out Kathryn? You and Scott are planning your commitment ceremony and talking about having children—something you never thought you’d do. And for me, ever since that healing circle we went to several months ago, I feel lighter and I have more confidence that everything is always working out for me. I even bounce back from being triggered by my boss more quickly than before. It used to take me days of seething at Dillion before I felt back to normal. But, through my healing work and our friendship, everything is changing. And now Daniel. He was so very sweet, animated and really present, which I love. I gave him my card and now I’m doing everything I can to not stare at my phone until it rings.”

  They both laughed.

  “Well, you know how the Universe works, so the second you stop looking at the phone and go do something else—he’ll call,” Kathryn reminded her.

  “I know, I know. I’ve got to do something to distract myself.”

  “By the way, Scott and I are having a few friends over for dinner Friday night—you interested?”

  “Yes, I would love to! What should I bring?”

  “If you can, just bring some red wine. You know me with all my food allergies, so we’ll have the food covered. You’re such a lucky girl, you can eat whatever you want. Just don’t bring any mac n’ cheese to torture me with and we’ll be fine.”

  “Deal. And you know I wouldn’t taunt you with gluten and dairy—well, not at your own party anyway. For the wine, I’m presuming a good Malbec is in order?”

  Kathryn was a known lover of the Argentine red wine.

  “You know me well. Besides, I’ve got to enjoy as much of it as I can before we get pregnant. Speaking of…I better get going to bed. Scott is already there.”

  “You two are so adorable. Thanks so much for listening Kathryn. Sleep well and I’ll talk to you soon. Oh, and send good thoughts about my guy.”

  “Oh, he’s calling. As soon as you’re away from your phone, that is.”

  # # #

  Go to him. Give him my message. He has to know the truth.

  Shelby sat up in bed with a start, looking around. She could have sworn she heard a woman’s voice.

  You have to tell him to meditate, every day. He needs to do this. He needs to open up his heart. Only you can do this.

  Shelby rubbed her eyes. She looked around her bedroom, but didn’t see anyone. Just her white-washed nightstand, a vision board that she and Laney created one night while watching The Bachelor and drinking red wine (complete with all that she hoped to manifest in the next several years—a new jewelry station, a Canon Rebel, and a vacation to Paris, among other things) and her grandparents maple TV stand that she converted into a dresser. Was she dreaming? She had been in a dead sleep and wasn’t sure if the voice was happening in her dream or outside of her sleep state.

  She lay back down, but as soon as she closed her eyes, she heard the voice again.

  He needs you. You must give him this message.

  “Who???” Shelby yelled out loud. She was a combination of freaked out and angry. No one messed with her sleep—not even non-physical beings from beyond or weird dreams within dreams, or whatever this was.

  Silence. She didn’t hear a thing.

  “Oh, so now you don’t have anything to say?? Thanks a lot. Who am I supposed to give this message to and why is it so important that you tell me at…” Shelby grabbed her cell phone off of the nightstand. “3:35 a.m.? You know what, if you want me to give a message to someone, you’re going to have to do a better job than this at delivering it to me. How about sending me an email? That would be a lot more convenient!”

  Shelby lay back down with a loud sigh. Waiting, wondering what the hell was going on. Nothing. Just dead, middle-of-the-night silence filled the air. But now, Shelby was so amped up that she couldn’t go back to sleep. She laid there for some time before she finally felt the pull of sleep come over her.

  At 8 a.m., Shelby’s alarm (the lovely sounds of a cello) awoke her. She was thick with sleep, the images from a dream still hanging on. As she laid in bed, attempting to wake-up, the details of the dream became more clear. So clear, that Shelby was shocked at the content.

  Daniel was there. He was in a garden, sitting on a park bench. He was smiling so handsomely that she wanted to run to him, jump into his arms and never leave—and possibly spend a lot of time making out with him while in those strong, sexy arms. But that wasn’t the point of this dream. He was smiling at something off in the distance. Then, Shelby watched as a young woman and her small son walked by. Daniel was watching them. The woman stopped to help her son put on his jacket, and even Shelby—as the observer— felt a chill hit the air. The little boy put his arms around his mother and said, “I love you mommy.” Shelby watched as Daniel’s eyes filled with tears. He slowly got up, and walked away. As he was walking away the woman turned to Shelby.

  You have to tell him. Tell him I’m here and that it’s time. It’s time for him to open his heart. You are the only one that can do this Shelby.

  Shelby looked at the woman more closely. She had brown, almost black hair, pinned back and was wearing a fitted navy dress, in the style you would see in the late 1950s—dressed somewhat like the perfect Stepford wife. Her brown eyes were dark, and the way she looked at Shelby made her feel very uncomfortable.

  Why do I need to tell him? Why are you coming to me? Shelby asked in her dream state.

  Because he’ll listen to you, Shelby. Please. I’ve tried everything and I need your help.

  The alarm had cut short the rest of the dream. Now that Shelby was more awake, the events of the night came rushing back to her. The voice at 3 a.m., the anger she felt, then somehow falling back to sleep only to have this dream. Daniel was the one she was supposed to tell. But, what would she tell him? She was sure he or anyone else would think she was a complete freak. She shook her head. She had just met this man. She was not about to get involved in his business.

  Getting messages via dreams—and potentially from beyond—wasn’t exactly foreign to Shelby. She had received a visit from her grandfather two months after he passed away last year. It was part of what convinced her that Laney may be on to something and not merely some brainwashed Portland hippie dippy. She had been in Kauai with her then-boyfriend and woke up to the sound of her grandfather speaking to her. She could smell him and feel his hand holding hers. Only, there wasn’t anything there. She was so freaked out that she asked him to leave—she was too afraid.

  He had asked her to be quiet, so he could tell her something, but she was too freaked out to hear what he had to say. Two nights later he tried again, visiting her in a dream with a message for her grandmother (who did not believe in the afterlife and would probably think Shelby was crazy). But, her grandfather had insisted that she deliver the message, even giving her some information about the electrical wiring in the house as proof. When Shelby called her grandmother the next morning, her grandma had been a bit cautious in her response, but did not write Shelby off the way she had imagined she would.

  She had simply said, “You know, it’s funny you mention the electricity here at the house (Shelby’s grandfather had shown her a broken lamp in the living room with a frayed cord and indicated something could happen to cause a fire if it wasn’t fixed)—we had an electrician out here yesterday because we were having problems.”

  Shelby had been ecstatic to hear this, because it meant she wasn’t crazy (what a relief!), and her grandfather really had delivered a message to her. Her grandma continued, “Dreams are really funny, Shelby. I don’t know where they come from, but they are certainly interesting.”

  This was her grandma’s way of saying that Shelby’s grandfather had also appeared in her dreams, but because her grandma didn’t believe in the afterlife,
she couldn’t make sense of it.

  So, even though Shelby had been overwhelmed by the visit from her grandfather, she felt good that she had delivered the message and that on some level her grandmother had been able to receive it. She had done the right thing.

  But, giving Daniel a message seemed too far out of her comfort zone. Who was this woman anyway? And why was Shelby the only one who could give him this message? In any event, she had an out—she didn’t have Daniel’s contact information—so if that woman wanted the message to be delivered, she was going to have to make sure Daniel contacted Shelby.

  # # #

  Daniel was covered in sweat and completely flustered. He had torn apart his entire car, retraced his steps from his car to his studio and still he could not find Shelby’s number. He had practically shredded his khaki pants in search for her number. It was nowhere to be found. He had considered calling the hotel to find out if someone had turned it in, but there were thousands of business cards being passed back and forth at the conference—no one would turn in a card at the front desk.

  He was beside himself. Meeting Shelby had completely shifted his energy that day. Just looking into her eyes was like taking a walk on the beach, with a cool breeze blowing in whenever needed. Connecting with her had transformed him in some way and had completely altered the course of his big meeting with Kaley. Fully submerged in the bliss of having met Shelby, he was able to truly be himself, unattached to an outcome and passionate about his work. He had never had an experience like that before, and he definitely wanted more of it. In fact, if he hadn’t met Shelby in person he would swear she was an angel.