by H L Bur
“How about smoke on the water?” I asked, slightly sarcastically, willing my eyes not to roll back into my head.
“Oh, what do you know? That doesn’t even make sense,” Gigi snapped back at me.
“SMOKE ON THE WATER!” the contestant shouted out, jumping up and down. Pat Sajak opened the envelope to reveal a $35,000 prize, while the man’s wife ran out to join him on stage.
This time I couldn’t help it, I did roll my eyes. It was a reflex.
I took my food and curled up on my favorite chair next to the fireplace just as the intro music to Jeopardy! was coming on.
Quinn and I had had infinite discussions about Gigi’s ghost and her abilities, and neither of us could come up with any logical explanation. It was more like she was alive than not, except she could appear and disappear at will. She could touch and move objects, but if we tried to touch her, our arms went right through her and it felt like you had just stuck your hand through a cold mist. I shivered even thinking about it. We didn’t dare ask her specifics (she could be quite menacing when she wanted to be), and she sure as heck wasn’t volunteering any information. Unsure what else to do, we left her bedroom at the back of the house the way it was - you know, just in case she needed to sleep or lie down - but to be perfectly honest, we never really knew too much of her comings and goings.
Ten minutes later, after inhaling my burger and fries, I was once again feeling stuffed to the max and I leaned back into the oversized chair, raised my legs up on the ottoman, and pulled a throw blanket over my lap.
“Batman’s home town,” Alex Trebek read the clue.
“Garden City,” Gigi answered, confidently.
“What is Gotham City?” contestant Randall replied.
“Close enough” Gigi said, fist pumping into the air.
“Celebrated creator of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” Alex read.
“J.R.R. Tolkien,” Gigi shouted.
“Who is J.K. Rowling?” contestant Lois answered.
“Woohoo, got another one!” said Gigi.
I stifled a sigh.
After Final Jeopardy, I got up to make my way upstairs to shower and bed, wishing Gigi a good night. I honestly wasn’t sure if she slept (do ghosts sleep?), or if she just hung out in her bedroom, or if she went haunting, or what exactly she did. Our family tended to be a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ type of family.
After quickly drying my hair, I pulled on some stretchy leggings and a soft cami and climbed into bed. When I finally laid down on my super comfy king-sized pillow top mattress, I must’ve fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Chapter Three
Ξ
I woke up just as the sky was starting to brighten with the first rays of morning light. I squinted my eyes to check the time, but with my bad vision I still couldn’t make the clock out. I reached for my glasses on my nightstand and put them up to my face to see the clock more clearly. Five forty-five a.m. it glowed happily at me. I gave the clock the finger and flung myself back down on my pillows, hoping to catch another forty-five minutes of sleep.
“Caaadddyyy!” The screeching sound came from the hallway.
You’ve got to be kidding me, I thought.
“Cady, I need some backup down here,” Quinn hollered up the staircase.
“Ugggghhh, can’t a girl sleep in even a little bit around here?” I groaned.
I reluctantly left the warmth of my down comforter and pulled on my light brown fuzzy boots and my worn navy Riverton’s 16th annual Raft the River sweatshirt.
As I made my way downstairs I could hear arguing coming from the kitchen.
“What could you possibly need me for before six a.m.?” I grumbled.
Quinn and Gigi were both standing in the kitchen, facing away from each other, arms crossed over their chests, both with pouty looks on their faces. I felt like I had just walked into a kindergarten fight. If the kindergarteners were a grown woman and one frail elderly ghost, that is.
“Gigi will not leave me alone and she is purposely blocking the coffee maker,” Quinn pouted.
My eyes once again reflexively made their way toward the ceiling. Quinn could have easily gotten past - or through, rather - Gigi, but she didn’t like the cold mist feeling, so she refused and Gigi, always up for tormenting a poor soul, utilized this bit of knowledge every chance she got.
“Well, she shouldn’t be out whoring herself around then. If she doesn’t want my opinion on her personal matters, she shouldn’t live under my roof,” Gigi retorted.
“I wasn’t ‘whoring myself around.’ Quinn gestured air quotes wildly. “I was home by ten thirty last night!” she snapped.
“Grandma, to be fair, you left us this house in your will and you are technically dead, so I don’t think it actually counts as being your roof anymore,” I pointed out.
“I also left it to your sister and Quinn’s brother, but I don’t see them getting any use out of it,” Gigi retorted accusingly.
“Grandma, you know very well that Sloane and Aiden have families of their own and we bought them out of the house,” I reminded her. “You are just trying to be mean.”
“You two are nothing but a pair of ungrateful brats!” Gigi huffed.
“Gigi, we are very grateful and we love you very much. Don’t we, Quinn?”
“Speak for yourself. Last time I checked, I was twenty-eight years old and I could stay out until ten thirty without needing permission,” she countered as she quickly slid past Gigi to the coffee maker and started a fresh pot.
I gave her my best please just go with it so we can get this over with and pour ourselves some coffee look, but either she didn’t notice or refused to acknowledge.
“Don’t act like you weren’t trying to sneak in last night without me knowing,” Gigi accused her.
“I was trying to be quiet so I wouldn’t wake anyone up! All the lights were off, how was I supposed to know you were going to be waiting in my bedroom for me when I flipped my light on? And what were you doing in my room anyway?” Quinn demanded.
“I was worried about you and wanted to make sure you made it home okay,” Gigi replied innocently.
“Oh, baloney! You were not worried about me. You were being nosy! Don’t try to deny it.” Quinn placed her hands on her hips and looked like an angry mother scolding her toddler.
“That’s not true!” Gigi cried.
“Then how come when I flipped the light on you were going through my nightstand drawer?” Quinn countered.
“I was looking for something to do. I was bored.” Gigi lifted her hands and shoulders in an exaggerated shrug, as if the reason she would be rifling through Quinn’s drawer should’ve been obvious.
The noise that escaped Quinn’s lips was something between a grunt and confusion. Think Tim the Toolman Taylor.
“You sound like an ape,” Gigi told her matter-of-factly.
As Quinn recovered her composure, I could see her trying to force the pure rage out of her voice. “Whatever! I just don’t understand why you care who I was out with last night. I’m a grown woman.”
“Then maybe you should act like one,” Gigi retorted. “You are bringing shame and dishonor to this family running around with that pathetic excuse for a human boyfriend of yours.”
Quinn opened her mouth to retort when I interrupted. “Okay, hold on everyone. Let’s just calm down and talk rationally for a second. Grandma, Quinn is not a whore and Brent is not her boyfriend. Quinn, Grandma just doesn’t want to see you get hurt again. Isn’t that right, Gigi?”
“Sure…I mean yes, that’s right.” Gigi recovered and agreed. “I just don’t trust that boy is all. There has always been something off about him. His mother didn’t teach him any scruples. I just worry about the two of you.” She sighed.
“Well you don’t have to worry. Cady is right…Brent is most definitely not my boyfriend. We had a business dinner last night and one drink afterwards. One drink!” Quinn had started out calm, but her voice
was quickly escalating again.
“Let’s get a cup of coffee and try to move on for now,” I quickly interrupted before things got out of hand again.
The smell of the freshly brewed coffee was making my mouth water and also making me realize just how tired I was. I desperately needed to diffuse the situation so I could get my morning cuppa joe on. I stared at the pot of muddy brown liquid longingly.
“Fine,” Quinn snapped.
“Fine,” Gigi relented.
Oh thank you, Coffee Gods.
I got my two favorite cat-shaped mugs down from the cupboard and poured both Quinn and myself a cup of coffee. Black for Quinn and two creams, two sugars for me. I wandered through the living room to our little breakfast nook at the very front of the house to take in the morning light. It looked like it was going to be another beautiful day outside. The breakfast nook consisted of an L-shaped weathered oak bench with cushioned seats facing a matching small square table, which stood next to a large bay window with a light grey cushioned window seat and two blue and grey patterned throw pillows.
I plopped myself down onto the window seat and curled my legs up to my chest, sipping my coffee with pleasure. The rays of sun were reaching the treetops now, making the fall colored leaves burn with fire in the morning light.
The sounds of bickering were starting back up in the kitchen. I groaned and slinked away to the stairs before I could get dragged back into it.
I switched my cozy pajama leggings for navy workout ones, a dark grey sports bra and a light grey loose fitting tank. I pulled on my navy and turquoise Nike’s, grabbed my white water bottle, threw my long brown hair up into a high ponytail, and made sure my phone was on the charger before I quietly made my way back downstairs. I snuck to the side door that led from the living room outside to the wrap-around porch.
“I’m going for a quick jog,” I yelled toward the kitchen and slipped out the door before they could pull me back into their argument.
The screen door slammed shut behind me and I hopped off the porch, making my way down the driveway and turned left, heading further down our road. About a mile down the road there was a trailhead that wended its way through Littlefield Park. I entered the woods there and ended up by the shoreline of Lake Huron. There and back to the house was just over three miles. It was the perfect distance for me to clear my head and focus on what was important.
When I made it to the shoreline I slowed to a walk to catch my breath. I took a long drink from my water bottle and walked the stony shore for a bit, taking in the fresh air and cool breeze. I could make out the old lighthouse further up the shore, and way off in the distance to the east, where the landscape sloped further out into the great body of water, I could just make out the old sawmill. That reminded me, I had to ask Quinn if she found out what Brent wanted with that manuscript.
I stood there, looking out over the water for a few minutes when I had a sudden chill run up my spine. I had the feeling I was being watched. I looked back, scanning the edge of the woods. I swore I saw something move against the tree line just to the right of the trailhead. I blinked a few times, not knowing for sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me in the bright morning sun. I scanned the tree line once more, but didn’t see anything else. Figuring it was nothing I started to make my way back along the stony shore. I headed back the way I came to pick up the trailhead again. I tended to get creeped out when I was in the woods by myself anyway, so I brushed off that eerie feeling that I had as nothing more than my imagination. I picked up my pace, but continued to scan in each direction every once in a while. When I was back on the running path, I made my way back through the park without incident and my nerves began to calm themselves. There was a mother with her two young daughters playing on the merry-go-round. I gave her a smile and a quick wave and continued on my way.
When I got back home, Quinn’s black Chevy Malibu was gone. She must have already gone to the bookstore. I hurried and got ready for work, stopping to make a quick piece of toast topped with peanut butter on my way out. When I left, Gigi was watching Hallmark’s Home & Family and was laughing at some bad dad joke that the host had just made.
“Gigi, I’m headed to work. Can I do anything for you before I go?” I asked, not fully aware of why I was asking a ghost if she needed anything in the first place.
“Yeah, warm me a cup of coffee in the microwave, would you? I like it warmed for one minute exactly,” she insisted.
I stood there considering the fact that she couldn’t actually drink the coffee, being dead and all. Or could she? I wasn’t actually sure.
She must have noticed the confused look on my face.
“What? I like the smell of it and having it sit on the coffee table in front of me makes me feel like I’m still alive,” she answered before I had a chance to ask.
Who was I to argue with that logic?
“Okay…sure…whatever you say, Grandma.” I poured her a cup and set the microwave for sixty seconds. I tapped my nails on the sparkly white marble kitchen countertop as I waited for the microwave to ding.
I walked over to set the mug down on the coffee table in front of her. “Did you and Quinn make up?” I asked.
“What do you mean? We weren’t fighting,” she responded. “And why are you standing in the way of the TV?”
I put my hands on my hips. “Don’t be sassy with me, I was just trying to help.”
“Well why don’t you mind your own business for once and get out of the way of the TV while you’re at it.”
I rolled my eyes and walked away. Clearly she was in a special mood today. I made a mental note to add one more thing to Quinn and my To Do List: look into ways to make ghosts move on, i.e. closure? séances? exorcisms/demonic expulsions?
I walked out of the house in a bad mood. I jumped into my car and took off down the drive. I swear when I looked back in my rearview mirror I saw Gigi standing in the living room window flipping me the bird. I was so distracted that when I went to make a right out of the driveway, I didn’t notice the black SUV that was headed right for me. I slammed on my brakes as the other vehicle swerved to miss me. I sat there for a moment, heart pounding, and watched the other car drive away. That’s weird, I thought. I had never seen that vehicle before and there are only a few houses down our road, so I typically recognized all of the cars that went by. I shook myself to clear my head. Get a grip, Cade. After deciding I was being crazy and paranoid, I finally left the driveway and headed to the bookstore.
It was just after nine a.m., opening time, when I walked into the bookstore. Today, I had parked on the street in front of the store and used the front entrance of the old brick building. Quinn was sitting at the register working on the daily crossword.
“Hey! What’s up?” I asked.
“Hey, Cady. How did it go with Gigi when you got back from your run? I seriously cannot believe her,” she jumped in without waiting for my answer. “You should have seen her last night. When I flipped my bedroom light on it was like catching a deer in the headlights. She knew she was caught so she immediately turned it around on me and made me the bad guy to try to throw guilt off herself. I don’t understand it! I mean, why is she even here? What does she want? And why does she insist on being so evil?”
“You should’ve seen her before I left today. She actually told me you two weren’t arguing this morning. Did she forget I was there, too?”
“She’s out of control,” Quinn stated simply.
“I’m just glad she’s focusing more on you right now.”
“Gee, thanks! You’re too kind,” she said, dryly.
“I know. We really do need to figure out what to do with her, though.” I sighed. “Okay, new topic! Details please! What the heck happened last night? Why were you home so early?” I asked.
She groaned. “Well it started off fine. We went to Karma and had a glass of wine and each ordered a burger. I told him I tracked down the manuscript and he got all excited and then kept asking me questions about it. I
told him I didn’t really know anything about it and that I would have it by Friday morning. He got all distracted and hardly talked to me through dinner. He didn’t even invite me over after. Not that I would’ve gone anyway!”
“Uh, right, whatever you say. Hmm, it does sound like he’s acting strange, though. I wonder what he’s up to?”
“I’m not sure, but I agree he’s acting shady. What do you say we take a look through that manuscript before I give it to him and see if we can figure out what he’s doing?” Quinn suggested.
“It’s like you can read my mind.”
“Well, duh!” she said. “What a waste of an evening, though. I would’ve been better off just going home with you. It would’ve been more entertaining and would’ve saved me a lot of trouble with Gigi, anyway. At least he picked up the tab.”
“Well, a knight in shining armor!” I joked.
The front door chimed and two young women who looked to be in their early twenties walked into the store.
“Welcome!” I greeted them. “Anything we can help you find?”
“Just browsing, thanks,” one of the girls replied. They made a stark contrast. The one who had spoken had jet-black hair with pale skin, while the other had platinum blonde hair with olive skin. They made their way over to the fiction aisles.
I turned back to Quinn.
“What’s a 5-letter word for Tawny Cats, starts with ‘L’?” she asked.
“Hmm, let me think…Lynx? No, Lions!”
“Oh yup! It fits!” she thanked me.
A few minutes later the two young women came to the counter with their purchases. As Quinn rang them up, I started some small talk.
“So, are you girls from around here?” I asked.
“No, we’re from downstate. We’re just here for Autumn Fest this weekend,” the girl with jet-black hair replied.
“Oh, how fun,” I said. “Well, be sure to check out our booth at the Town Center on Saturday. It is seriously so much fun. There will food booths and a ton of vendors and different games. And there are drawings where you can win prizes from the different vendors.”