by Alexie Aaron
“What?”
“No one ever brought you anything back from a trip?”
“Do bedbugs count?”
“No.”
“Then no.”
Gwen opened the door and ran back into the garage with a pink paper bag. She handed it to Mia explaining, “It’s from Cinderella’s castle.”
“Whoa.” Mia opened the bag and pulled out a glittering pink tiara. “It’s beautiful!”
“Put it on!”
Mia pulled off her Cubs hat and fumbled with the headpiece.
“Let me,” growled Gwen. She waited until Mia sat down. She smoothed the sensitive’s hair down, adding spit where it stuck up. Gwen then slid the tiara in place. She stood back and asked Cid, “What do you think?”
“I think it makes Auntie Mia look like a princess,” he commented.
“Good, because that’s what she is. She has four Knights in Shining armor and a wizard so I suspe… expected she is a princess in disguise.”
Mia put her hands to her mouth to feign surprise. “It’s a secret.”
“Like the bird man?”
“Um yes,” Mia wondered how Gwen knew about Angelo.
“I know another secret,” Gwen said as she raised her eyebrows. “Want to know what?”
“Not if you’re supposed to keep it a secret.”
Gwen looked at Cid and waved him away. “I can’t tell no one but you.”
“Cid, why don’t you…”
“I get the hint. I’ll be in the house,” he informed them.
Gwen looked around, and when she was satisfied, she grabbed Mia’s hand and spoke, “When the wizard took my bad dreams away, I had a peek inside his head. He’s not just a bird but many birds. And he’s lonely.”
“I’m sorry he’s lonely. Maybe I will give him a call on the phone and say hi.”
“That would be good. Auntie Mia, can I give you some pictures to give to the wizard?”
“Anytime you want.”
“My grandmother and mother want me to forget all about, you know, but I don’t want to.”
“As long as you know makes you happy and doesn’t stop you from being Gwen the golden girl, then what’s the harm?
“I like the way you think.”
“Did you get anything for yourself?”
“Oh, man, did I make out,” she said in a grown up voice. “Come on. I have a new doll. You can play with my old dolls.” She held a hand out to Mia, and they walked into the house together.
Mia smiled at the memory and swore she was going to wear her tiara to the next PEEPs meeting. There had been some changes made, and Mia was the only female presently. Beth left angry, and Burt feared they were going to get sued. Mike, however, notified him that she couldn’t sue according to the contract she signed. She couldn’t even badmouth the group or she would get sued. Mia didn’t like having enemies, but she was used to people not liking her so she wasn’t stressed about it. Ted just said, “Maybe she’ll get her Ph.D. now that she has the time.”
She heard the sound of a truck approaching. She glanced up and frowned. Not the rental truck she expected. It sped by, leaving behind a choking cloud of exhaust.
Tom was the one to tell Mia Whit’s news. He didn’t do it on purpose. They bumped into each other in the grocery store. Small talk commenced, and he couldn’t stop himself and blurted, “Whit’s got a job with the FBI and is leaving Big Bear Lake.”
“Whoa. I didn’t know he was looking for a suit and tie?”
“Sherriff Ryan liked the way he ran the crime scene at the farm. He was impressed with the way Whit dealt with the odd and the macabre and said so to a friend of his in DC. The guy asked for a resume and hired him after a phone interview. Whit’s headed for a unique division of the FBI.”
“Cool beans. Why not you? You’re more skilled than Whit.”
“I have mother issues,” Tom confessed.
“She’ll miss you, but I think…”
“No, I don’t want to leave home. Mom wants me out.”
“K.”
A light toot of a horn pulled Mia from her thoughts. A U-Haul towing Whit’s car pulled off the road and rolled up next to her. He parked the truck and got out and walked towards her.
“Whatcha doing on the side of the road?”
“I’m manning a speed trap,” she said.
“Are you a law enforcement professional?”
“No, but I played one on TV.” Mia looked up at him. “So I hear you’re being run out of town.”
“You heard wrong. I have me one of those governmental jobs that fall under other funding. Going to do what you do but get paid for it.”
“You’re going to hunt ghosts?”
“Not exactly, but if any come up I’ll give your guys a shout. I’m going to investigate the strange stuff. Ryan seems to think I have a talent for it.”
“There has to more to it than that,” Mia argued.
“I came back here with every intention of making a go of it, Mia, but I couldn’t get a foothold. Memories of Sherry are all over the damn town. I can’t even admire the sunset without thinking, ‘Sherry used to paint that.’ I thought I could stay because of you, but I can’t get past your involvement with what happened to her. You were so kind to me after we found her. I would have perished if it weren’t for you. But I look at you and see her, or the lack of her. It’s guilt or circumstance or a little bit of both. What happened with Beth was going to happen with someone else eventually. I couldn’t hurt you, but I couldn’t let you go either. Being friends, well you can’t go backwards, at least I can’t.”
“Those were a lot of words, you rehearse them?”
“In the shower every morning for a week.”
Mia nodded. “I can’t get past that the universe doesn’t want us together. The freak and the homecoming king, hell, it would make a great movie. But I guess we have different storylines to pursue. I wish you well, Whitney Pee Pants. Murphy will have to torture someone else for a while,” Mia said and reached out and hugged him.
They hugged for a moment, and Whit started humming a song. They slow danced on the side of the road. He stopped and looked down at her a moment before letting her go. They didn’t need any more words. They all had been said before.
Mia watched him pull away and stared at the spot on the horizon as the truck moved out of view. She brushed a tear off her face and started to walk back to the truck. She stopped, turned around and looked about her. Memories of a conversation held between them not too long ago flooded into her mind. She had been waiting for the PEEPs here. Mia smiled and smacked her knee, a bad habit she’d picked up from Murphy. She and Whit had come full circle.
Her phone vibrated with a text from Ted.
“Bring coffee, now!”
She typed back. “How do you know where I am? I could be in Chicago.”
“GPS.”
She grabbed her necklace and sighed. She had forgotten the charm was more than a charm. She wore it with love as she did the axe charm. She typed back, “Will any old coffee do?” knowing his reaction.
“Shame! A plague upon your house!”
“K. Give me twenty, I have to go into town.”
Mia got into the truck and smiled as she signaled. Life was great, and she was feeling good. So good she thought that she may even drive by the cemetery.
***
The Garden
A Hauntings novel by Alexie Aaron
The Gardener
The old woman rubbed her gnarled hands, easing the ache before continuing the letter. She took a moment to gaze out the window and take in the garden below her. Its ivy hid the stone walls beneath. The plant over the years had become part of the wall, working its way around stone and pebble until it had taken over. Now the wall would not stand without the ivy, and the ivy could not live without the wall.
I am confident you will care for my garden as I have done. You alone seem to understand the sacrifice it takes to nourish the roses. You have the strength to wield the a
xe, cutting away the dead wood in order to bring forth new life in the spring. A man of your qualities is hard to find.
She signed her name and winced, not recognizing her signature. Where was the free flowing script of her youth? Instead the ill formed letters wavered with the spasms of old age. Blotting the page before folding it and sliding it into the prepared envelope, she tilted her head and a smile escaped and planted itself on her features. Memories of summers past and the heady aroma of dew-covered rose petals filled the room. She got up gingerly and danced around the room humming a tune from her youth.
“Silly me,” she said and sat back down primly at her desk. She picked up the crystal bell given to her by a long forgotten beau. She shook it vigorously and smiled as she heard the footsteps of her maid making her way up the stairs.
“Yes, madam,” the middle-aged woman asked, smoothing her graying hair away from her brow. “Did you need me?”
“Hester, take a moment to catch your breath. Then take this letter to the post office, see if you can catch the afternoon post.”
Hester looked down at the envelope, read the address and pushed down the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. “I’ll have to leave you alone, Cook is at her dental appointment,” she informed her.
“Not a problem, dear. I’ll busy myself with gazing at my garden.”
“You do love that garden, don’t you?”
“Yes, it gives me great joy.” She smiled at the maid and tapped her watch. “You better hurry now.”
The maid left the room. She listened while a starched apron was hung up and an outer coat was put on. The sound of the rear door opening and the lock engaging signaled her that it was time.
She moved her chair out and away from the desk. She walked to the corner and fetched the library steps. Moving them to the window she climbed them with the grace of long ago summers and marveled at the view she had of her flowerbeds. She pushed back the heavy drapes taking the curtain tie and centering it in the middle of the cast-iron rod. Eleanor Bonner Gruber took the prepared noose and slid it over her head.
As she stepped off the ladder it occurred to her that her first memory was of the garden, and now it would be her last.
Alexie Aaron
After traveling the world, Alexie Aaron, a Midwestern native, returned to her roots where she’s been haunting for years. She now lives in a village outside of Chicago with her husband and family.
Her popular Haunted Series was born from her memories of fleeting shapes rushing around doorways, an heirloom chair that rocked itself, cold feelings of mysterious dread, and warm feelings from the traces of loved ones long gone.
Alexie also writes the Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries. These cozies set in England and south Florida combine action and intrigue with a liberal dose of humor.