Olivia and I stared at each other. “I’m afraid to order my drink,” she said.
“The girl here wants her drink, too,” Thelma yelled.
“Then she can come order it herself,” Del shouted back.
“Excuse me,” Olivia said. She walked to the counter, her shoulders slumped, and I suspected, fearing for her life.
Del lived for that kind of thing. Her favorite pastime was wearing her permanent bad mood on her shoulders, and she excelled at it.
I glanced at her as she prepared the drinks. An unfamiliar expression flashed on her face, but when she caught me watching, it disappeared.
“I saw that Delphina Beauregard.”
She refused to make eye contact.
“You’re not fooling me.”
“What did you see?” Thelma asked.
I adjusted myself back into my seat facing the table. “She smiled.”
Thelma threw her hands in the air. “Sweet baby Jesus, it’s a miracle.”
“I heard that,” Del yelled.
Thelma winked at me and chatted away. Olivia had returned and listened intently, but I hadn’t heard a word. I excused myself for a moment and walked over to Del. “Sweetie, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, that woman has been yanking my chain for years now.”
I moved around to her side of the counter. “No, I’m sorry about Bobby. I know you thought of him as family. I hadn’t thought about how this would affect you, and I’m sorry for that, too.” I hugged her, and she hugged me back.
“Bobby wasn’t the most popular man in town. I’m surprised it took this long for something to happen.”
“You don’t really feel that way.”
She nodded. “He was kin to me, and I loved his momma like the dickens, but that boy, no matter what anyone said or did, he had a fire ball of anger inside of him, and nothing nobody could do could put it out. When you live like that, you’re bound to die in a pit of flames.” She gave me a soft smile. “He’s with his momma now, the Lord willin’, and I’m happy for that.” She handed me Olivia’s drink. “Help me get these to them, will ya?”
I obliged.
“I can’t believe what’s happened,” Olivia said.
Thelma shook her head. “Don’t know who could have done something so terrible.”
“I bet there’s a long list,” Del said.
Thelma gasped. “Delphia Beauregard, do not speak ill of the dead.”
“I’m not saying anything I wouldn’t have said to Bobby’s face, and he knows it.”
Olivia and I made eye contact. She went to speak, but I shook my head. Better safe than sorry, I thought.
Del’s face lit up, and her eyes widened. “But you know what? There’s a way to find out who did this to Bobby. I was just telling Chantilly here about it.”
“I don’t think we should talk about—"
Olivia leaned in, curiosity spreading across her face. “What’s that?”
“A séance, that’s how.”
Thelma coughed. “Those things where you call for the dead to come?” She shook her head. “I don’t know. My cousin did one of those once and his house burned to the ground.” She sipped her drink. “Firemen came and said it was the cat knocking over a candle, but he ran off and never came back, so we’ll never know.”
“Every time you open your mouth something crazy comes out,” Del said.
“Takes one to know one,” Thelma said.
“Miss Thelma,” Olivia whispered. “That doesn’t make sense.”
Del shook her head. “See what I mean?”
“Goodness, you two are going to be the death of me. I really need to make friends my own age,” I said.
Del jabbed me on the arm. “I bet Lonna’s going to have some free time soon.”
“Hush.”
She laughed. “I’m serious about the séance. I think we all go over to Hamilton House and see if we can get Bobby or Agnes to chat with us. They might could give us a hinkerin’ about what happened.”
Olivia rubbed her hands together. “Oh, that sounds like fun. My favorite movie is Casper. I’ve always wanted to see a ghost.”
Del rolled her eyes. “That’s a cartoon character.”
“In the movie he was computerized,” Olivia said.
I stared into my almost empty cup. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
“It’s awfully dangerous,” Thelma said.
“What bad can come from Hamilton House?” Del asked.
“Bobby Joe Pruitt wasn’t a nice man. I bet he’s not a nice ghost, either.”
“Don’t you worry about him. I can handle Bobby just fine.”
Olivia chimed in. “I’ve read ghosts are only mean when something bad’s happened.”
We all stared at her.
“Oh, well, I didn’t think that through before I said it, did I?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Del said.
“Delphina, be nice,” I said.
“I’ve seen a bunch of them on the TV. They don’t seem all that hard, but no cats.” Thelma shook her head. “Definitely no cats.”
I raised both of my eyebrows at Delphina.
“At least we agree on something,” she said.
“What exactly did you find agreeable to in that?” I asked.
“We both watch them on TV. We know what to do.”
“I’m not sure I—”
Del cut Thelma off. “I know what to do.”
“Miss Delphina, when did you want to do this?” Olivia asked. “Aren’t they supposed to be done at night?”
“That’s usually how it works.”
“I go to bed at nine-thirty. I need me my beauty sleep,” Thelma said.
“It ain’t helpin’,” Del said.
Thelma patted her face and then pulled her compact out of her purse. “Oh dear, she might be right.”
“I don’t want to be out too late. I don’t like leaving Austin home alone at night.”
“It’s best we do it tonight or the day after tomorrow. I don’t wash my hair on these nights,” Olivia said.
“All y’all need to get out more.” Del huffed loudly. “Tonight it is. We’ll meet here at eight o’clock. That’ll give everyone enough time for their beauty treatments before they turn back to pumpkins.” She smiled at me. “And maybe that new friend of yours can watch over your son for a bit.”
__________
I PACKED A BAG OF CANDLES from the kitchen and tossed in two matchbooks from the drawer in the pantry. Momma always grabbed matchbooks whenever we went out, and she’d leave them in a bowl in the front hall. I couldn’t bear to toss them, so I stuffed them in a drawer in the kitchen pantry. As I packed the bag, I told Austin I had a meeting, which wasn’t exactly a lie.
“Why’re you bringing candles?”
“Oh, Delphina asked me to loan her some.” I hated lying, and I wasn’t very good at it. Who returned burned candles? “Bed time is ten o’clock, and I mean it.” I shut off the overhead kitchen light. “No video games until your homework is done either, okay?”
“I know the rules, Momma. I’m not a child.”
“Says who?”
“Says everyone my age.”
“And there you go.” I kissed his cheek. “Behave, you old man. Love you.”
“Love you too, old lady.”
Ouch.
I wasn’t the last to arrive at Community Café. Thelma showed up five minutes after me in her pajamas and robe.
Del tilted her head almost ninety degrees when she saw her. “What in the devil are you doing out like that?”
“Like what?”
She waved her hand up and down. “Like you got out of bed and drove straight here.”
“I thought we’d be out late, and I didn’t want to have to get ready for bed so late, so I decided to do it before I got here.”
Del just stood there, unable to respond.
Olivia raised her hand “Excuse me, but how exactly are we supposed to get into Hamilton
House?”
From the look on Del’s face, I knew it was going to be a long night, at least for her. “I got a key, that’s how,” she said.
“Oh.”
“I brought candles. I figured we’d need them, but I’d like to say one more time I don’t think this is smart. We could be getting in over our heads.”
Olivia slumped into a chair inside the café. “I agree. We could hire a professional. You know, one of those psychic’s from the county fair?”
“We don’t need one of them. I know what I’m doing. Y’all just got to trust me.”
I stood and stretched. I hadn’t realized I was so tired.
“You sure you’re okay to be doing this?” Olivia asked. “You have a concussion, maybe you should go home and get some rest.”
“I’m fine, really. I’m not sure why I even decided this was a good idea, but we’re all here, so let’s just go and get it over with.”
Del locked the door behind us.
Olivia grabbed my arm as we walked over to Hamilton House. “We can’t get in trouble for this, can we? My daddy will have a heart attack if I get arrested. Our good name will be ruined.”
“We won’t get arrested,” Del said.
Thelma tightened the belt of her robe. “I sure hope not. I would look horrible in my mugshot with my hair like this.”
Even though I couldn’t see her, I knew with one hundred percent confidence that Delphina just rolled her eyes. Del unlocked the back door to the kitchen and let us all in before she walked in and locked it behind her.
“It’s different here,” Thelma said.
“It sure is,” Olivia said.
“What’d you expect? Bobby’s dead. It won’t ever be the same.”
Thelma whispered, “I’m going to miss the way he always acted so cranky.”
Del stopped. “That wasn’t an act.”
We crept into the main dining area, guided of course, by Del’s flashlight. I peered up at the ceiling rafters, but thankfully, I didn’t see anything. Everyone else looked up there too.
“Hard as I’ve tried, I’ve never seen Agnes Hamilton or none of the ghosts said to be haunting Castleberry,” Thelma said.
Olivia stared up at the rafters again. “I saw the spirit at the cemetery when I was a teenager. The one in the long white dress with the crazy hair. What’s her name again?”
“America Hall,” both Thelma and Delphina said.
“Yes, America Hall. A lovely name.”
I’d forgotten about America Hall’s story. The history in Castleberry was rich, like most old towns, especially the ones in the South. The Civil War took its toll on Georgia, but if anything, it left us with a deeper commitment to our roots, and a whole lot of ghost stories to tell on Christmas.
Why we did that, I had no idea, but it was tradition.
America Hall was pregnant during the last part of the War, and miscarried when she got the news that her husband had died in battle. The pain and shock over losing both her husband and her child sent her over the edge and understandably so. One morning towns people found her lying on her husband’s grave, like she’d fallen asleep and then just died. In fact, at first they thought she was sleeping, but when they touched her to wake her, she was cold. They said she died of a broken heart, and since then, her spirit’s been haunting the cemetery, looking for her husband and child.
As a child I always wondered if she’d ever find them, but I suspected she hadn’t.
“This ought to work.” Delphina set her bag on a table in the center part of the dining room. “Chantilly, on second thought, spread your candles out in a circle about three quarters out, but not too close to the edge. We need some room.”
Thelma moved around the room. “There aren’t any cats in here, are there?”
“It’s a restaurant, Thelma,” Del said. She lit some incense and waved at the small stream of smoke as it floated from the thin stick.
Thelma pinched her nose with her fingers. “Pee-ew. That smells horrible.”
“It ain’t supposed to smell good to us. It’s supposed to attract spirits.”
“Smells like it’s gonna attract something all right. Something like a cat. Or maybe a rat. Rats can knock down candles, too.”
Olivia held her hand to her chest. “Oh, I’m afraid of rats. Their long skinny tails give me the willies.”
“You and me both,” I said.
Del shook her head and sighed. “Bless your ever loving hearts, you two are crazier than all get out. It’s for the spirits. Spirits and rats don’t like the same smells.”
“Excuse me, but how exactly do you know that?” Olivia asked.
“I got connections.”
Okay. Whatever that meant.
Del pulled out the chair in the center of the table. “Everyone take a seat. We’ve got to hold hands and recite a séance starting thingamajig.”
Thelma pursed her lips. “What’s a séance starting thingamajig?”
“Just pop a squat and repeat after me.”
We all did as she said because when Delphina’s tone bordered on terse, like it did then, we all knew we’d better listen. We feared what could happen otherwise.
“Now, let’s hold hands, and everyone close your eyes.”
I held on to Thelma and Del, but I would have preferred discussing the BBQ competition instead.
“We’re calling on the light from above,” Del said. She opened her left eye. I knew because I’d been watching her intently. “I said close your eyes.”
I glanced at Olivia and Thelma, and their eyes were open, too.
“I had my eyes closed ‘til you started talking,” Thelma said.
“I’m sorry, Miss Delphina. I prefer to keep my eyes open. I’m not all that interested in surprises,” Olivia said.
“You got to keep your eyes closed during the visitation request. That’s the rules.”
“Who wrote these rules?” Thelma asked.
Delphina growled, and I wasn’t exaggerating.
“Ladies, I think there is a way of doing this, and Del’s trying to follow it. She’s researched this specifically for this evening, so it’s probably best we do as she says.” I hoped that would calm the battle before it started.
“Don’t know why she’s got to always be in charge,” Thelma said.
“Because it was my idea,” Del said.
“I have ideas, too.”
Del stood, but I motioned for her to sit. “Y’all, I’ve got a son at home I’d like to get back to before sunrise, so how about we shelf the bickering until tomorrow? Besides, if Bobby’s even considering coming by for a visit, he’s not going to when everyone’s got your undies in a bunch.”
“I’m not wearing any undies,” Thelma said. “These jammies got built in liners. I got them at the Walmart down in Gainesville last week. They’re comfy, too.”
Del rolled her eyes again. She did that a lot around Thelma. “TMI, Thelma. TMI.” She started her thingamajig to summon Bobby Joe Pruitt’s spirit again. “We’re calling on the great and glorious light from above. We ask for your guidance and wish for your love to fill the room. We ask for only the spirit of Bobby Joe Pruitt, so may his soul forever rest in peace. Once we’re done helping him do that, that is. We’re here to help him go to home. Bobby Joe Pruitt, are you here?”
A chill swept over me. I shivered. Thelma squeezed my hand tightly.
“Bobby Joe Pruitt, come to us,” Del said.
Olivia coughed. “Excuse me.”
The table trembled below our hands, and Thelma dug her fake nail tips into the palm of mine.
“Did you feel that?” Olivia whispered.
I nodded. “It’s okay. Happens all the time.”
“All the time? Why, it’s never happened to me. The only thing that shakes around me are my boobies, but I got a new bra, and it’s made all the difference,” Thelma said.
I chuckled and quickly pressed my lips together to stop myself. I stared up at the ceiling rafter, feeling the cold air fill
my lungs as I breathed in. When I exhaled, I saw my breath.
Something was happening.
Olivia shivered. “It’s awfully cold in here now. How low does Bobby keep the air conditioner?”
Delphina whispered, “It ain’t the air conditioner, sweetie. It’s Bobby.”
She was definitely right. It wasn’t the air conditioner, but it wasn’t Bobby either.
It was Agnes Hamilton.
And I knew that because she was glowing right behind Delphina and staring directly at me.
Chapter Five
“DO YOU SEE THAT?” I asked. I pointed behind Delphina, shaking my finger at the cloudy image of a woman that had been dead for over a hundred years.
Delphina swiveled around. “See what?”
I jabbed my finger toward the spirit. “That. Agnes. She’s right there, behind you.”
Thelma squinted. “I don’t see a thing.”
“It’s her concussion. She’s been forgetting things, and now she’s seeing things, too,” Olivia said.
I turned toward her. “Olivia, I am not seeing things. She’s right there.” I pointed toward the spirit again. “How can you not see her?” I stared at the spirit, my mouth hanging open, and my eyes popped like I’d just gone down the big hill on a rollercoaster. Sure, I’d had fleeting moments, times when I thought I saw part of her dress, a time or two when I believed I’d seen Agnes herself, but they were nothing like the spirit standing behind Delphina’s chair. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought we were in the middle of a movie production with a well made up actress and excellent staging. But I did know better.
Del shrugged. “Well don’t just stare at her. Ask her what she wants.”
“I...uh, I’m...what do you want?”
Agnes didn’t respond.
“What’s she saying?” Thelma asked.
“Nothing. She’s just kind of standing there.”
Del’s entire body stiffened, except for her mouth, which she moved as carefully as possible. “Are you Agnes Hamilton?”
I didn’t know if Agnes was ignoring Delphina, or if she couldn’t hear her. I would have asked her, but I was too afraid.
“What’s she saying? Did she answer?” Thelma asked.
I slowly shook my head.
“Then how do you know it’s her?”
Get Up and Ghost Page 7