by Jane Hinchey
"Mom!" I answered, hearing Galloway barking into his own phone, clearly not happy with whoever was on the other end.
"Audrey, love, how are you?" Mom's voice was all sympathy and warm hugs and I sagged a little, a sudden yearning to be wrapped in her arms, to rest my head on her shoulder.
"I'm okay," I said. And I was. Sort of. I didn't know how I'd be coping if Ben weren’t around in ghost form, but I was adjusting reasonably fast to my new normal. Of course, I couldn't tell her that.
"Darling, you don't have to lie to me. I'm your mother. And Ben was your best friend. Gosh, I can't remember a time when the two of you weren't joined at the hip." She went off on a trip down memory lane and I smiled, my eyes misty. Ben and I sure had racked up a lot of memories. I tuned back in, catching the tail end. "...need help with?"
I looked around at the mess the police had left Ben's house in and on a whim suggested a cleaning party.
"We can certainly do that," Mom agreed and I realized she was grieving too. Ben was another son to her. And having something tangible to do helped.
"Remember, Mom, earth-friendly products. Actually Ben probably has everything he needs here."
"Here? You're at Ben's house?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I should've called you, but it's been hectic. Ben left me everything in his will. His lawyer called me into his office today."
"Oh!" It was one of those things that came as a shock, but then when you took a minute and thought about it, it made perfect sense. Which was exactly what mom said. "That makes sense." I could visualize her on the other end of the phone, nodding. "I know your dad, Laura and Dustin would like to help too," she said.
"Sure. Everyone is welcome. It'll be nice to get this place cleaned up. Ben would hate to see it like this and it would take me hours on my own."
"It's not...there's not..." Mom trailed off and I frowned before realizing what she was asking. She was worried there might be blood.
I shook my head. "Nothing like that, Mom. Just fingerprint dust and they've pulled stuff out of cupboards that needs putting away, that's all."
"Good, good. Well, I'll rally the troops."
"See you soon." We said our goodbyes and hung up. Galloway had finished his call and was standing a few feet away waiting for me to finish mine.
"Sounds like you have plans," he said.
I nodded. "Family is coming over. We're having a cleaning bee." I waved my hand at the disarray around us.
"Good. Well." He held out his hand to shake mine and I automatically took it. His grip was firm and warm, and my hand was dwarfed in his. "Thanks for your help. I'll hold up my end of the bargain, but in the meantime get yourself enrolled in PI school. There will be paperwork I'll have to sign to confirm I'll be your supervisor."
"Right. Will do." I didn't know why we were awkward with each other, but to say we were was an understatement. I walked him to the door, leaning back against it after he'd left, wondering if I'd just made a colossal mistake.
"What's up?" Ben asked, hovering in front of me.
"Am I making a mistake trusting him?" I asked, chewing a nail.
"Who, Kade?" Ben sounded surprised. "Absolutely not. He's one of the good guys, Audrey. Hell, do you think I'd have left you alone with him if I didn't trust him?"
"Pft. Like you could have done anything if he'd attacked me." I mean, really! Ben was incorporeal. He couldn't touch a thing, let alone help me if someone was out to hurt me.
"That's not the point." He huffed. "The point is, you can trust him. You have nothing to worry about from Kade Galloway."
The sun was dipping over the horizon, the sky a riot of reds, oranges, and pinks.
"Corker of a sunset," Dad said, lowering himself to sit next to me on the edge of the deck, my one-year-old niece Isabelle cradled on his lap.
"It sure is." I smiled at Dad. "Thanks for helping today." My family had been amazing. Everyone had turned up. Brad, Dustin, and Amanda had come straight from work, Dustin wrangling Madeline and Nathaniel from daycare. The kids had stopped their whining at leaving the funnest place on earth as soon as they'd spotted their favorite aunty and had immediately set to playing on the back lawn while the adults got busy inside. Except for me. I'd been shooed out the back door and designated babysitting duty, which was honestly no hardship at all. Ben had been agitated to begin with, having his belongings touched by other people. Just the thought of it had him all twitchy until I eventually muttered under my breath to calm down. He had. He'd taken a breath and then sat down by my side—thankfully the opposite side to Dad; otherwise Dad would have sat right on top of him. Or in him. Eeeew.
"This is what family does," Dad said. "I'm sorry about Ben." Dad patted my back, voice gruff.
"Yeah. Me too." I sighed. This was hard, being around sad people was making me sad. And I should be sad. It was only right that I was, but I was the lucky one—I had the ghost version of Ben right by my side and I'd take that over no Ben at all, any day.
"Pizza's here!" Mom called from the doorway. Madeline, a three-year-old after my own heart, immediately dropped the ball she'd been playing with and moved at lightning speed across the lawn, elbowing her way between me and Dad to get to the pizza. Her little brother Nathaniel toddled after her. I scooped him up and propped him on my hip while Dad carried Isabelle inside.
Laura had spread a checkered tablecloth on the floor and Madeline was already sitting on it, pizza in hand, a look of delight on her face at the impromptu indoor picnic.
"Good idea." I sat Nathaniel next to his cousin and Mom handed over a bite-sized piece of pizza for him, which he immediately shoved into his mouth. Isabelle was next, she'd already managed to snag pizza before Dad had even sat her on the tablecloth and I chuckled at her passion for food. They were good kids, and I loved being around them. I ignored the ache in my ovaries that reminded me that time was passing and if I wanted this for myself...well, I didn't want babies bad enough to settle down with the wrong man. And that was the problem. According to Ben, anyway. Apparently I was too choosy. Personally I didn't think that was a bad thing.
"You okay there, Audrey?" My brother, Dustin, nudged my shoulder and I realized I'd been daydreaming.
I shook myself out of it. "Yep. All good."
Sitting around Ben's dining table, two massive pizza's spread out between us, we ate. There was teasing, laughter and love. Naturally I spilled my drink. It was a given. Mom had been ready with the paper towels and I looked across the table, where Ben was standing behind my dad’s left shoulder, laughing along with the rest of them.
"Awwww geez, Fitz." Ben sobered, noticing the misty look in my eyes. "Don't. Don't get all sad on me."
"Sorry," I whispered, sniffing and blinking rapidly to dispel the moisture.
My big sister, Laura, who was sitting on my right, slung an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. "No need to apologize, Aud. I know some people give you a hard time about being clumsy"—she shot a sharp look at my sister-in-law, Amanda— "but it's what makes you uniquely you. And we wouldn't have you any other way."
Before I knew it, they were all raising their glasses and giving clumsy Audrey a toast.
"Oh good, pizza!" Thor busted through the cat door and made a beeline for the three children sitting on the floor, discarded pieces of pizza scattered around them.
"Thor," I warned. "You really shouldn't be eating people food. It's not good for you."
"Why not?" he replied, mouth full. "It's so delicious." He actually started purring as he ate and I laughed out loud when Thor, who usually made himself scarce whenever my nieces and nephews were around, tolerated the rough pats and cuddles all three bestowed on him while he stole their pizza.
"You're incorrigible." I sighed, knowing the kids would riot if I pulled the cat away. Dustin had whipped out his phone and began snapping pictures.
"So I hear you inherited Ben's estate?" Amanda said. It was a rhetorical question because I knew Mom would have told them all already, so I nodded, eyes sweeping over her. D
espite the fact that she'd been at work all day she looked immaculate. She'd slipped off her jacket and shoes, but still, in her pencil skirt and white blouse she looked crisp and fresh and I knew if our positions were reversed I'd be a mess by now. I'd have various stains on the shirt and my hair wouldn't be that dead straight waterfall that looked like it had never been ruffled in its life; instead it would be a beehive, with strands sticking out every which way. I sighed. I really needed to stop comparing myself to Amanda.
"I did."
"What's the plan?" she asked next. "Are you going to sell?"
"Sell?!" I was taken aback. "Of course not." Geez, I would never sell Ben's home.
"You could make a very good profit—after taxes of course—and buy something nicer. Beasley, Tate and Associates are available to assist with any estate planning needs you may have," she offered. I knew she meant to be helpful, but holy heck. We hadn't even buried Ben yet and she was thinking about liquidating his assets.
"Amanda!" Dustin snapped, glaring at her. "Now's not the time. Or the place. For Christ's sake."
"Oh. Sorry." Amanda shrugged and I wondered, not for the first time, if she was somewhere on the Autism Spectrum.
"Babe, you okay?" Brad, Laura's husband, the quiet one of the bunch who you often forget was around because he was that quiet, peered at his wife who had her face buried in her hands.
"Laura?" I joined him in my concern. Her shoulders were shaking and I wasn't sure if she was crying or laughing. God, I hoped it was laughing. For if Laura started crying then I was going to follow and I'd been holding myself together pretty well. It would be a shame to come unraveled at this point. She dropped her hands, lifted her face, and despite her cheeks being wet, they were tears of laughter. I sagged in relief. "What's so funny?" I asked.
Laura waved at Amanda, choked on her words, and peeled into streams of laughter again. We all looked on, a little puzzled, but her giggles were infectious and pretty soon the whole table was laughing with no idea why. Eventually, we sobered, pulling ourselves together, cheeks wet from tears. It actually felt really good to laugh like that, very cathartic.
Even uptight Amanda had laughed with us. "Okay, but seriously, what's the plan, Audrey?"
"Considering I only found out about it this afternoon? I haven't planned anything. But I won't be selling," I hastened to add. "I am taking over Ben's business though."
"Oh, that's wonderful." Mom clapped, then glanced at Dad. "Isn't it?"
But Dad was nodding. "I could see you in the investigative line of work. Always said to Ben you'd make a good partner."
"You did?" That was a surprise. I didn't know Dad had told Ben that.
"You've got a very sharp, very inquisitive mind." Ben had said those exact words to me.
My smile was wide and my chest puffed out with pride. "Thank you." I sighed and took a sip of my wine. "I've got to go to PI school though. Apparently you need a license to be an investigator."
"And insurance," Amanda added. Of course, she'd know.
"Sure. All of those things." I shrugged.
"School? Does that mean you have to move away?"
"Nope. I'd been worried about that too, but I can study online as long as I have a supervisor."
"But who will supervise you?" Laura asked.
"Detective Galloway." I saw the way they all exchanged looks. It was no secret how I felt about law enforcement.
"Oh, he's lovely." Amanda nodded in apparent approval. "Very nice to look at too." And then she winked at me. Winked! Okay, we were definitely in some sort of alternate universe.
"You know him?" Laura asked her.
"He's been into work a time or two." She shrugged. "Always friendly, polite, professional."
"Now I've gotta look this guy up," Laura muttered, pulling out her phone, and bringing up the Facebook app, she began stalking. It didn’t take long. She let out a wolf whistle. "Oh, Audrey Fitzgerald, you sly dog. Trust you to choose the hottest guy in the Firefly Bay Police force." She nudged me with her elbow.
"I didn't choose him," I protested, feeling my cheeks heat. "He chose me." Oh God, that sounded worse. After another round of teasing had subsided, I said, "He's the detective investigating Ben's murder. He did me a solid by explaining how the licensing works and that if I wanted to run Ben's business, I'd need to become a qualified investigator. He offered to help. End of story." Sort of. I left out the part how he was part of a secret task force to take down certain members of the Firefly Bay Police Department.
"Which reminds me," I continued, "while I have you here—I'm going to need help planning Ben's funeral. As soon as his body is released by the coroner I'm going to have the funeral home on the phone and I've got no idea what to do."
I should have known Mom would be all over it. She rummaged in her bag and slapped a notebook on the table, flipped it open to a page already filled with notes, or, —I squinted to get a better look—questions, it seemed. Casket? Burial or cremation? I was glad I had them here to help, but we were going to need a whole lot more wine.
As if I'd magicked it up by my thoughts alone, another bottle of red appeared in front of me. Brad smiled and patted my shoulder. "You look like you could use this," was all he said.
16
Groaning, I reached out an arm, felt around on the nightstand for my phone, managed to grab it before I knocked it to the floor, then managed to catapult it into my forehead. Again. This morning just smacks of deja vu.
"You have got to be kidding me." Cracking open an eye, I peered at the window. The blind was down, but light was peeking in around the edges. Okay, that was a start. Now to ascertain how early or late in the day it was. Sitting up, I swung my legs out of bed, then balanced on the edge of my mattress for a minute until the room had stopped spinning.
"Oh good, you're awake." Ben's gratingly cheerful voice reached my ears. I glanced up to see him sitting on my kitchen bench.
"Whaaaa?" I grumbled. "What happened?"
He chuckled. "You and a bottle of red wine."
Right. I remembered that. We'd been planning his funeral. Urgh, I still didn't want to think about it. Standing up, I hurried into the bathroom, waved a hand at Ben and instructed him to "stay there." For once, he obeyed and was still sitting on the kitchen bench when I returned.
"Brad drove you home in your car. You didn't want to stay at my place." There was a tone in his voice. I cocked my head trying to identify it. Hurt? Annoyed?
"I didn't want to stay at your house...without you." My own voice sounded pitiful to my own ears. "It's strange there without you—and I know you're here, but you're not, not really. And I need time to adjust. So yeah, I didn't want to wake up in that house alone." I blurted. Of course, I knew I'd have to, eventually. It didn't make sense for me to keep my apartment and Ben's house, and let's face it, his place is a million times nicer than my shoebox.
"Oh."
"Did I hurt your feelings?" I asked.
"I didn't think so, not initially, but now you've explained that...yeah...I think my feelings were a little hurt," he admitted.
I eyeballed him. "Toughen up, princess."
His head tipped back and he laughed. "Thought I had you there for a minute." He chuckled.
"Nice try." Gathering up my clothes, I headed into the bathroom, stood under the shower and remembered Ben's guest bathroom and the non-stop hot water. Not the on again, off again disaster of my current bathroom. The thought of moving was becoming more and more appealing, I just wasn't quite ready...yet.
Coming out of the bathroom, I searched for my phone. After it had bounced off my forehead I'd lost track of it. Eventually, I found it under the bed, only to discover it had two percent battery left. Sitting back on my haunches, I stared up at the ceiling, having one of those why me moments. A headache was thrumming away behind my eyeballs and I badly—badly—needed coffee. I crawled to my nightstand and reached for the power cord only to find it missing. Rising up to my knees I looked all around, but the damn thing was gone. "Yo
u have got to be kidding me." I swear there's an alternate universe where all of my pens, hair clips, earrings, and phone cords live. How could I have possibly lost it when it had been plugged into the wall next to my bed?
"You took it with you yesterday," Ben offered up, "shoved it in your bag in case your phone went flat. Said something about it not holding its charge these days?"
"Oh. Right." I sat back on my haunches and tried to remember, had a vague recollection. Spying my bag on the sofa, I dug through it and sure enough, there was my power cord. With my phone finally charging, I headed to my Keurig, opened the overhead cupboard to grab a pod, only my hand met emptiness.
"Noooooo!" I wailed, hand flailing around as I searched for a pod. Standing on tiptoe, I peered into the cupboard. No pods. "There are no pods," I whispered, voice bordering on hysterical. "No. Pods."
"Better call a state of emergency," Ben teased.
I rounded on him. "It's okay for you, you don't need coffee anymore. I need coffee. I cannot function without coffee."
"Okay, okay, calm down," he soothed, sliding off the counter. "We'll go out for coffee. You need to drop by my place and check on Thor anyway. We can get coffee on the way."
Oh my god, I'd forgotten about Thor. I hadn't even noticed he wasn't here. I was a shit pet parent. Ben burst out laughing. "You might have some explaining to do with your family."
"Did I talk to Thor in front of them?" I bet I had. "Or more precisely, did Thor and I have a conversation in front of them?"
Ben nodded. "If it's any consolation, they were quite entertained as the two of you argued, only of course all they could hear from Thor was various meows and odd little noises. But they did comment that it was uncanny how the two of you appeared to be actually talking."
I ran a hand through my wet hair, debated spending time drying it, but coffee won out. Grabbing my bag, shoving my phone and charger into it, I slid my feet into my flip flops and headed for the door. "So I'm guessing Thor didn't want to come back here? He'd rather stay at your place? Alone?" I said over my shoulder as I left my apartment. Ben walked through the door to join me.