by Alexie Aaron
“You know I would never even think such a thing in regards to Beverly,” Gerald told her earnestly.
“I know this, but we Cooper women carry a gene in us that at the mere thought of any kind of imprisonment, we prepare to flee. Do you know if any of us were burned at the stake?”
“Not sure, possibly. I see what you are getting at. I am battling hundreds of years of oppression, not just Bev’s ideas that marriage is a fraud and unnecessary.”
“Maybe, anything is possible with Aunt Bev,” Mia cautioned. “Gerald, to your knowledge, is Father Santos going to be able to make it here tomorrow evening?”
“As far as I know, it is his intention. Will everything be ready?”
“We will have the usual suspects gathered. I may want to retrieve Murphy just in case one gets away from us. Oh, before I forget, we still have the duelists, any word on their transport?”
“Father Santos will bring them back with him. Just keep them salted and secure.”
“Will do. And Gerald…”
“Yes, Mia?”
“Hang in there. I suspect my aunt is worth the trouble.”
“I know she is,” Gerald said before hanging up.
Mia walked back to the group. Four heads popped up from their tasks and looked at her expectantly. “It’s a go. Father Santos will be here as planned.”
“Cool, Father Santos,” Ted said, drawing out the priest’s name in reverence. “He’s the coolest of the cool.”
“I think we all know that,” Beth chided him. “He’s still the best paranormal researcher on the planet.”
Mike nodded, commenting, “Came through in spades in the hollow.”
“Speaking of the hollow, I wonder what Murphy’s doing?” Burt said looking at Mia.
She shrugged, offering, “Probably chopping wood. What else does the bastard have to do all day?” Her body tingled oddly, and she shivered.
“Cold?” Burt asked, reaching for her hoodie. He handed it to her.
She took it and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Low blood pressure, blood of a lizard, someone walking over my grave,” she listed the excuses, all except one. Desire.
Chapter Thirty-five
Mia prepared to set off early from the Hofmann house. She had taken the first watch of the house which left Burt and Ted to catch some rest to carry them through the early morning. Beth arrived, and Mia smiled sleepily at her as she passed her in the driveway.
“I’m going home to cleanup, and I’ll stop by and see if Murphy wants to attend the festivities tonight.”
“Remember to warn him about Father Santos,” Beth mentioned.
“Don’t worry, those are the first words out of my mouth, after asking him if he wants to go for a ride. Otherwise it will be like taking a dog to the vet. You get him in the car, he thinks he is going to collect smells of the world, and the poor soul ends up getting probed by a thermometer.”
Beth laughed. “I guess you speak from experience.”
“Yes, if you exchange the vet for the dentist then you have my life,” she sighed. “Um Beth…” Mia started.
“Yes?”
“You’ve done a wonderful job here. I think you should lead the activities tonight. I put a bug in Burt’s ear. I don’t know if it carries any weight these days, but I gave him my two cents.”
“I appreciate that, Mia,” Beth said and restrained herself from asking Mia why the light had faded in her eyes that used to be there when she talked about Burt. To her knowledge, the two didn’t have a squabble. She would have to ask Ted. He had more perspective when it came to Mia and Burt’s relationship. She watched Mia go to her truck, noticing she didn’t stop in the back to say goodbye to Burt. Something was up.
Burt was busy working with Ted on the edit of the material that they would show the Hofmann family. Susan Hofmann called, and the expected turnout was five. The two daughters-in-law would be joining the father and two sons. Mike had promised to stop at Best Buy and pick up the replacement for Big Bertha. Ted hadn’t a name for it yet, saying he had to see “her” first to know what to call “her.”
Beth walked up and nearly scared the crap out of Ted who was facing away from her. “Whoa, Dudette, you almost made me ruin my drawers!”
“Why is he so jumpy?”
Burt stepped aside and displayed the lineup of caffeine-in-a-can empties. He explained, “He’s been up all night working.”
Ted reached for another can, and Beth wrestled it out of his hand. “You’re cut off, mister. Now go in and hit the cot and sleep before you implode.”
Ted looked at Burt and he nodded. “Go. Beth can help me with this last piece.”
“Ah ma and dad…” Ted whined and seeing that he was getting no sympathy picked up his hoodie and got up to go. “You will…”
“Wake you up if anything interesting happens,” Burt filled in. “Get some sleep, I have a feeling tonight we‘re going to need you at two hundred percent, capiche?”
“Si signore,” Ted said and trudged his way towards the trailer.
“Do you think he is going to make it there?” Beth asked worried.
“He’ll make it, but I bet five bucks he ends up sleeping on the floor.”
She held out her hand and took the bet. “What do you need me to do?”
“I’m working on a slideshow of Grandma stills. We couldn’t capture her on video, but the broad spectrum camera has some dandy shots. Let me show you what I have so far.”
Beth sat down in the chair Ted had vacated and puzzled over the fact that Burt didn’t ask where Mia was. Something was definitely up. She would have to investigate after they completed their business this evening
~
Mia took her time showering. She needed to think, and the hot, cascading water eased the tension out of her neck. She noticed that the shampoo supply was low, the bar soap was full of Burt hairs, and there wasn’t a fresh towel to be found. She accepted that her lifestyle had to change to accommodate Burt when he was in town. And to his credit, he made sure there was good coffee and enough food in the house, things that didn’t matter much to Mia. But it seemed more and more that the drudgery aspect of their shared coupledom fell to her.
Burt was raised in a household where his mother did everything: all the domestic chores, waited until everyone was served before taking her portion of the food left over to eat. Mia was independent, not exactly by choice, at an early age. She was used to doing things herself, but on her own timetable and not Burt’s.
She shook the thoughts from her head as she blow-dried her hair. The bruising Sire’s slap caused had faded to a yellow brown, and a little cover-up would help hide that from the Hofmanns. The bruises on her arms had not faded. They stood out in rage -purple and blue. A memory flashed in her mind of standing here sorting out another set of bruises, Whit’s. He, unintentionally, had caused similar bruises on Mia’s fair skin.
“Why do I still think of you?” she said out loud, her words hanging in the air. She knew she was wrong to have wanted this man. He had a wife at the time. A wife who didn’t want him, but he was married all the same. When Sherry died so horribly out at the hollow, Mia helped Whit through his mourning. She had hoped that in the future maybe he would look upon her differently. Instead, he seemed to reject her, and she hadn’t heard from him since. Even Angelo acknowledged that he wasn’t the one for her. They all, with the exception of her aunt and Ralph, seemed pleased that she and Burt hit it off so well.
Burt wasn’t scared off by her weirdness. He exploited it, sure, but she was a member of PEEPs now. Or was she? Did her reluctance to travel and be under the constant strain of paranormal investigations cause her to be set aside? Beth and Ted treated her as an equal, but Mike and Burt either revered her or showed minor contempt when she took lead. It was hard not to when her gifts and common sense screamed that the alpha males were doing it wrong.
She gathered up the towels and walked through the house to the laundry. Mia opened the washer and winced as Burt’s clo
thes were still in it. She was happy, at least, that he did his own laundry, but she was irked as she glanced at the hamper that he could have added a few of her things too but hadn’t. Reason told her that he didn’t want to inadvertently ruin something of hers, but emotionally, today, Mia saw it as another example of separateness. She tossed his stuff into the dryer and started the washer before making herself a pot of coffee. She needed a clear head.
The last few days seemed like a dream. She had done things that were impossible according to physics books. But they had happened. And then there was Murphy. What to do about Murphy? It’s not like they could have a conversation and discuss their feelings, not unless she was in a state of bi-location. The smell of the freshly brewed coffee brought her briefly out of her head. My, it smelled good. She poured herself a mug and took it out onto the deck where she could be comforted by her beautiful view.
Summer brought out the boaters and jet skiers. She didn’t mind the drone of their engines as it was the toll she must pay to live on this beautiful lake. It was only this one season that the wet-suited males showed off to the bikini clad girls on the far beach. Because of the rocks on her end of the lake they never ventured close enough to cause an extra ripple with their wake.
Murphy couldn’t live here. No trees to be chopped on, with the exception of the ornamental ones she had planted, more to keep fairies away then for looks. Plus if she let in one ghost then…
Mia sat up straight in her chair. No, no, no, what the ef was she thinking? Her and Murphy? Nope, nada, she wasn’t going to be the crazy lady playing kissy kissy with a dead man.
~
Mike was greeted with nods from Burt and Beth. Ted ran up and hugged him insisting to see the new girl.
“Girl?”
“Camera, Dude,” Ted explained.
“I left it in the truck,” Mike said, handing him the keys.
“You left her all alone?” Ted gasped and ran towards the front of the house and the truck.
Mike held up his hands and asked, “What did I do?”
Beth and Burt just smiled.
“You know how he is about his electronics,” Beth said solemnly.
“Maybe I better go and apologize,” Mike offered.
“Nah, give Ted time to bond with the camera. He won’t remember a thing once he has her battery in. I wonder what he’ll call her,” Beth pondered.
“Five bucks it will be Big something,” Burt said.
“No, she’s smaller than Big Bertha,” Mike thought aloud. “I’ll take that bet because I think it will be something else.
Beth looked from one man-boy to the other and said, “I have to go with Mike on this one. Five on it’s something other than Big.”
“Dudes, I’m in love!” Ted confessed as he walked over, petting his prize. “Beautiful Betty and I are already an item.”
Mike and Beth put their hands out, and Burt dug out his wallet.
~
Mia took time with her appearance and smiled as she was even sure Ralph would be proud of her. She even turned a few heads at the MacDonald’s on Route 59. Murphy didn’t appear when she drove up to the farm. She waited a half hour and decided to take the axe head anyway. There wasn’t an exact science to this ghost wrangling. Do you ask permission every time you move one? But Murphy was her friend, and she thought she owed him an explanation. So as she drove through the countryside headed for the Hofmann’s residence, she talked to him as if he were sitting next to her.
“I thought you may want to be in on this, but make sure you stay clear of Father Santos, as I’m not sure he’s too pleased that you’ve not moved on yet.” Mia turned onto the street and whistled at the amount of cars that hugged the curbs. She pulled into a drive and turned the truck around and parked it heading out of the subdivision. She opted to take the axe head with her. She didn’t want anyone stealing her truck with Murphy in it. A truck she could replace, but Murphy was one of a kind.
The quartet was singing “Where Did Our Love Go” by the Supremes as Mia passed them. She stopped a moment to take in the words, letting a tear drop from her eye. She sniffed and moved on towards the house.
She found Gerald and Father Santos ensconced in the trailer. Gerald was on the phone, and the priest was enjoying a cup of coffee. He looked at her and smiled warmly.
“Mia, you look wonderful. I approve of this costume much more than that flimsy thing.”
She held up her hand in a bible swearing position and said, “That was Bev’s doing not mine.” Mia craned her head around Gerald asking, “Any more coffee?”
Gerald moved further down the hall and let Mia get to the pot. She poured herself a mug and sat down across from the Father placing the heavy canvas bag beside her.
“Any news on whether the Hungarians get to stay?” she asked.
“It’s looking better and better. The island, however, will remain in trust for whoever Bakersfield denoted as his heir.”
“Too bad, it would be a great place for housing spirits,” Mia said jokingly.
“You know everyone has to move on,” the priest said seriously. “Your friend Stephen, too.”
“I think he would have an argument on that one, Father. No offence.”
“None taken. As long as he does no harm, I will leave him alone. But if he crosses the line between the living and the dead I will act, Mia. I will do this to protect you and others.”
Gerald’s head turned abruptly towards Mia and then back to his phone call.
She winced and thought, “Get out of my head. It’s none of your business, Gerald. Remember you owe me.” She felt a sigh and then he was gone.
Mia walked quietly across the lawn. She watched the PEEPs team gear up for their presentation. Ted was caressing, in a discomforting way, a new digital video camera. She walked up to him and said, “She’s beautiful. Does she have a name yet?”
“Beautiful Betty, but you can call her BB for short,” he said and winked.
“Hello BB.” Mia winced inwardly as she and Burt used “bebe” as a pet name between them. Burt turned her way and smiled. Mia smiled back and wished that his smile reached his eyes. She nodded at him.
“I see you have Murphy with you,” he pointed out.
“Yes, part of him is here. I can’t guarantee the rest of him is. This is heavy, but I don’t want to leave it. Any ideas?”
“I’ve got a small backpack,” Beth said getting up. “Let’s wrap a PEEPs hoodie around it so it won’t cut through the pack or your back.”
“Excellent idea,” Mia said. She and Beth moved to the far side of the command post and fussed with the canvas bag. “I didn’t know we had hoodies.”
“We do now. Mike ordered them and had a few shipped here overnight express. I know it’s hot out, but I want to put one on. Aren’t they cute?” Beth said as she held one up.
Mia smiled and fingered the material. “Soft too.”
“Ladies, are you about finished? We have people waiting,” Burt said gruffly.
“Give us a minute,” Beth said.
“What’s his problem?” Mia whispered.
“I thought you’d know.”
“Nope, I’m not a mind reader. Lately I feel like I’m always in trouble though,” she confessed under her breath.
“I don’t know, Mia, men confuse me,” Beth admitted.
“You? I thought you had it all together. You work with these bozos all the time. You’re one of the guys.”
“Exactly, one of the guys, but yet given woman’s work. It’s very confusing.”
Mia sighed as she carefully wrapped the axe head in the PEEPs hoodie and placed it in the bottom of the mini pack. Beth helped her put the heavy pack on, and once they adjusted the straps, Mia felt less like she was being pulled backward and more one with the axe.
Mia sought out Burt and found him in the PEEPs van by himself.
“What’s going on?” Mia asked. “What’s with the attitude? It isn’t you.”
“My problem is that I can’t
count on you being a member of PEEPs, can I?”
“Whoa, buster, you better explain yourself.”
“You just take off and…”
“I left because my friend was in trouble, plus I put myself in jeopardy to clear this group’s debts with Gerald.”
“Who asked you to?”
“No… no one,” Mia answered. “I did it for you.”
“Why?”
“I can’t fucking believe you are asking me this. I thought I did all of this for love, regard, friendship, whatever the fuck we have!” Mia stamped her foot. “Maybe I have this wrong? Maybe we have nothing anymore…”
“Don’t be like that. I’m just trying to lead a team here that you keep getting in the way of.”
Mia put her hand on her chest. “Are you frightened I’m going to take your limelight? Who the fuck are you - Mike? I want no part of this fame you two alpha males so seem to need. I don’t care who gets top billing. Or who gets invited to Comic Con? I am trying to help this family who’s got some serious problems. Generations of them.”
“Who asked you to?” Burt said again.
“I thought you did. I see I was wrong,” Mia said sadly. “I gotta go. See you inside.” Mia left the van and distracted herself with her appearance in the mirror of one of the trucks. She breathed deep and rolled her head to loosen the tension in her neck. She heard Burt leave the van and walk to the street and greet the Hofmann family. Mia walked swiftly into the backyard to avoid any other contact with Burt. It wasn’t the time to sort out her feelings. She was here to help the twins, Grandma, and perhaps even Klaus.
Chapter Thirty-six
Mia stood behind Ted as he worked the camera. The five Hofmanns were settled at the dining room table. Burt and Mike were anchored on either side of the table with Beth standing, giving the presentation.
Mia watched the five as films and recordings were shared. “This is a case of ghostly attachments,” Beth explained. “When we initially set up, we thought we were dealing with one ghost. This quickly became three, then five, and lastly we think that six entities that were attached to items in this home became active.”