For Always

by Janae Mitchell

  He smiled and nodded as I turned and headed out my door. "I’ll be waitin’ right here when ya get back."

  Sadly, I was very glad of that fact.

  * * *

  It was just a short ten-minute drive into the town of Dandridge, which was tiny. There was only one red light in the entire town. We parked on the street and headed toward Beau's stone first.

  "I wanted ya to see it while we were here," Grandmama said.

  We walked around the memorial garden looking at all the stones, and after stopping at Beau's, we headed back up the street. It was such an old, quaint little town. The buildings still had some of the original facades, so I got out my camera and started shooting away. Being busy taking pictures made it easier to ignore the spirits that were lingering around. Once it started to get dark, we made our way across the street, past the library, and down toward the lake.

  "We'll eat at Lakeside Grille. If Mrs. Stone's there, I'll introduce ya to her."

  "Okay. I can get an application to take with me."

  "No need," she informed me. "She done told me ya could work part-time if you'd like. Said they always need summer help."

  "Well, aren't you handy," I said to her as we walked to the marina. This was a great place for a restaurant; right on the lake with the beautiful mountains as a back drop. We walked in and waited to be seated. It wasn't a huge restaurant, and the decor made you feel welcome, so I liked it right away.

  "Is there just two of y'uns?" The hostess was a girl about my age with short, chin length, blonde hair. But the first thing you noticed about her was her emerald green eyes.

  "Yes," Grandmama replied, then looked toward me. "Do ya wanna sit on the deck, Malyn?"

  "Sure." I smiled at the hostess and let her lead the way.

  "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around," the hostess asked me.

  "Yeah, I just moved here a week ago from Nashville."

  "Oh, I bet it was cool livin' there. Ever see any country music stars?" She asked as she sat our menus on the table.

  "Not really…just this one," I replied as I pointed toward Grandmama, who beamed a smile at me.

  "Well, I didn't know you were a celebrity, Nellie. You’ve been holdin' out on us," she said as she smacked her on the shoulder.

  "That was a long time ago," she laughed and started looking at her menu. She was a modest woman.

  "Your server'll be here to get your drinks in a minute. My name's Beth, by the way."

  "I'm Malyn. It's nice to meet you."

  "You, too. Hope y'all enjoy your meal."

  "She was friendly," I said as I looked through my menu.

  "That's the owners’ daughter. She fills in a lot when they are shorthanded. So you'd get to work with her some. You'd get along good."

  "Yeah, I think we would." I needed to make some friends this summer and get away from the house…and Beau.

  * * *

  We walked around the marina after we ate and went into the bait shop to see if one of the owners were there. Mrs. Stone came out from behind the counter when she saw us enter. She was, of course, taller than me with long, wavy, chestnut colored hair. She was thin like her daughter and dressed rather nicely to be working in a bait shop. She had a big smile on her face that put me at ease instantly.

  "Well, hello, Nellie. This must be your granddaughter that you were telling me about," she said as she looked me over. "You didn't mention how gorgeous she was." Then she patted my arm and said, "Honey, my son's going to go nuts when he sees you."

  Oh, boy.

  "Now, Nellie said you'd like to help us out some. When do you want to start?"

  "Next week would be okay." But then a thought occurred to me. "What will I be doing, exactly?"

  "I'd have you train with Bethany for a week or so. You could learn how to be a hostess, and learn to run the register in here, too. It's easy. We just need someone to fill in sometimes. You'd probably get about twenty hours a week and it starts out at eight dollars an hour. Does that sound okay?"

  I had never had a job before, so I assumed if it wasn't okay that Grandmama would let me know. "Sure."

  "Great! Bethany is in the restaurant, so just give her your phone number so she can call and give you your schedule for next week. Welcome aboard!" She patted my shoulder as we headed out the door.

  Grandmama waited outside while I went in the restaurant to give Beth my cell number. "I'm so glad you're gonna be workin' here. I was afraid they'd hire some twit, which you happily don't seem to be. I'll call you this weekend, but if you wanna talk or have any questions, here's my number." She wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to me with a big smile. "Maybe we can hang out so I can introduce you to some people…show you 'round."

  "Okay, thanks. Sounds good." I took her number and headed outside. Knowing I would be working with her made me look forward to my new job a little more.

  * * *

  It was dark when we got back home and I was shocked by how scary the house looked from the road at night. "Dang, no wonder this place stayed empty for so long. It looks like it should be in a horror movie."

  Grandmama chuckled as she parked the car. "Yeah, I have to agree with ya on that one."

  We went inside and Beau was sitting at the kitchen bar waiting on us. "Did ya take any pictures?"

  "Of course.” I sat my purse down and got out my camera. I was anxious to see his reaction to how much things had changed.

  I leaned onto the counter in front of him and started scrolling through all of them. After I went through the ones from town, I got to some that I had taken at my old school and started to put my camera up. "Can I look at those, too?"

  I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess," I said as I started going through them. "This is my best friend, Melissa. I call her LeLe most of the time." I continued to click through them and he seemed to like seeing me and my friends. There was some of Margaret, too, which I was glad he got to see.

  "I appreciate ya takin' these for me. It's somethin' else seein' town look like that. It ain't nothin' like it used to be."

  I can't imagine being in his shoes. Even though I'm able to see ghosts, I don't understand it all. Why is he here? And for how long? I'd hate to wake up one morning and realize he’s gone. Deep down I'd be glad, I guess. But the selfish side of me wants him to stay here…with me.

  "Why ya lookin' at me like that?" Beau asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

  "Like what?"

  He just smiled at me, raising his eyebrow.

  Grandmama came over to the bar and said, "I think I'm finally gettin' used to y'all now. It's like I can mentally hear his side of the conversation, too, instead of it feelin' like you're talkin' to yourself."

  "What are you talking about? It's just crazy me here."

  "And you're a comedian now, I guess," she said as she wiped some crumbs into the sink and went into the living room, turning the TV on. "Always the funny one," she said under her breath.

  "Love ya, Grandmama," I said as I gathered my stuff and headed upstairs. "I'm going on to bed."

  "Love ya, too, honey. Goodnight."

  I told her goodnight and took the stairs two at a time out of habit. I put my purse and camera down on my dresser and proceeded to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I knew when I came out that Beau would be waiting for me. We had talked a lot over the past week about his family and the life he once lived, as well as mine. We stayed up all night one night and didn't even realize it until the sun started to come up.

  I had learned that Beau was the oldest of five kids. He worked here on their farm and would fill in when he had to in the general store that his Mom and sister, Anna, ran. They sold produce they had grown, as well as jellies, candies, and breads that his mom and sisters made. It used to sit directly across the street, but now you couldn't even tell it was ever there. He helped tend to the animals in the morning, and then would work almost all day in the fields with his dad and his brother, James. On the days they took a break, h
e and James would stay at the lake with his friends all day. They all worked hard, but lived a good life because of it. He was proud of his family.

  We also talked about past girlfriends and boyfriends, who I will admit, made me rather jealous. He had been quite the ladies’ man, which didn't surprise me. I had figured that by just looking at him. At some point we even talked about school and the different classes we had. Beau was amazed at all the things I did at school.

  "Art? The only thing I ever painted at school was the school," he had said, only half kidding. His school had only one room with just your basic classes. But I could tell he was smart, though, even if he did go to a small school with limited resources—very limited.

  I finished up in the bathroom, slipped on my pajamas, which consisted of a tank top and shorts, and walked back to my room. I hated sleeping in shorts, but had been sleeping in them and a big t-shirt all week because of Beau, who had been staying in my room with me until I got sleepy. Tonight he was gonna be in for a surprise.

  Already laying in my bed waiting for me, he gave me an appraising look as I entered, seeing more skin than usual. I went over and turned my stereo on low, which I did every night. I couldn't go to sleep unless music was playing, which Beau thought was odd.

  I got the music to a nice, soothing level and got into bed. Beau sat up, leaning on his elbow toward me. "Um…you look…different," he said as I slid under the covers and reached up to turn my lamp off. My bed was big enough that we had plenty of room between us so it wasn't awkward.

  "This is how I normally sleep." I reached under the covers and slipped my shorts off, dropping them to the floor. It was dark and he was lying on top of my blanket, so I figured it would be okay and that he probably wouldn't even notice. But as usual, I figured wrong. The air between us suddenly changed so that it felt like a lightning storm was brewing in my room. I laid back and pulled the covers up to my neck, even though it was rather warm.

  He was still propped up on his elbow, looking at me. "Did you just do what I think ya did?"

  Crap. I sighed out loud and whispered, "Maybe."

  He just laughed and rolled onto his back, putting his arms under his head. "You beat all I ever seen."

  "Sorry," I apologized, thinking I had made him uncomfortable somehow. But there was no way I was reaching down in the floor and retrieving my shorts to put them back on.

  He laughed even harder at my apology.

  "What's so funny?" I asked, as I lowered the blanket just enough to turn and look at him.

  He propped back up on his elbow so his face was above mine, still laughing.

  "Ya come in here half naked, then get in bed—with me—and take your shorts off," he said with static flowing off of every word. "This is like a dream come true for any fella, livin' or dead. So when ya said you're sorry, it just struck me as funny." He looked down at me with a curious expression. "Ya don't realize just how beautiful ya are, do ya?"

  Double crap. He had been in my bed for several nights now, but it had never gotten…this way. I'm sure he could feel my heart racing, which was beating so hard it was probably shaking the bed. "I'm sorry," I apologized, yet again. Why did I keep doing that? Why did I have to come to bed half naked? Why did I get even more naked after I laid down? He started to say something but I interrupted him. "I know; I'm apologizing again. I just didn't think. I've gotten too comfortable with you, I guess." Then I burst out laughing, mainly from nervousness. "I guess you're becoming like one of my girlfriends. We always walk around half naked in front of each other."

  He raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Oh, really?"

  We both laughed, which helped ease the electricity in the air, but only slightly.

  "I'll get some thermals to wear to bed from now on. I think that may make things…easier."

  He was still looking down at me, almost looking sad. He didn't say anything, but I could tell he was staring at me.

  "What's wrong?" He still didn't say anything. I turned towards him, hoping he would tell me what he was thinking. "Beau…what is it?"

  He shut his eyes for a few seconds before he opened them and whispered, "I love to hear ya say my name."

  "That's not what you were thinking." He was quiet for a minute as he stared at me. I could lay here and let him stare at me forever, but I wanted to know what was up with him. "Please tell me."

  He took a deep breath. "Why am I here?" He shocked me by his question, so I didn't say anything. "It's like I never died, but like everything and everyone I love was taken from me. I risked my life to save Thomas. Don't that count for somethin'?" I didn't know why he was asking me this or what to say, so I just listened. "Is this my hell? Bein' stuck here? Bein' alive but not bein' able to live? I still have the same feelin's I always had, I just can't act on 'em. I can't do anything." He rolled back, obviously frustrated.

  I sat up so I could look at him, making sure I stayed covered. This was the first time he had told me how he actually felt about this whole situation. "I don't know why you're still here. I wish I did." I thoughtlessly reached out to touch his sleeve, barely tracing my finger down the edge of it, watching in the dim light how it disappeared into his shirt. It was weird to see something so solid, yet not be able to touch it. "I've always wondered why spirits are still here and didn't move on." And why am I able to see them? Why am I this freak of nature? "Some say I have a gift, but more often than not it has felt like a curse." I didn't want to vent to him about it, though. He had his own problems. But one thing had been bothering me. "Sometimes I'm afraid I'll wake up and you'll be gone. I mean, how do we know when you'll…go?" I was still looking at his shirt when he rose up onto his elbow again. When I looked up, his face was right next to mine.

  He raised his hand and touched my cheek…touched it. "I'd never leave and not tell ya bye." He lowered his hand and smiled. "I promise."

  I dropped back onto my pillow and let out a rather loud breath, which I didn't realize I was holding. I seemed to do that a lot around him.

  "What?" he asked after hearing me exhale.

  I looked up at him, still propped up on his elbow. "What what?"

  "Ya just seem…" He smiled and shook his head, running his finger down my bare arm, making me get goose bumps. He laughed when I shivered. "Ya want me to leave? If ya do, just tell me."

  How could I ever want him to leave? He was sweet, charming, funny, gorgeous, good, bad—but most importantly, and what I seemed to keep forgetting, dead. "No, I don't want you to leave." Ever.

  Chapter 7

  REJECTIONS

  Malyn

  I called Beth on Friday to get my schedule and she invited me to go swimming. She thought this would be good so that we could talk and get to know each other before I started work Monday, so I had Grandmama drop me off Sunday afternoon at her house. When we turned onto her street, I felt a little out of my element. All of the houses were huge and conveniently located right on the lake, and her house was all the way at the back of a cul-de-sac. It was obvious that her family was doing well in the marina and restaurant business. We turned into her driveway, which circled around a large fountain. I looked at Grandmama and raised my eyebrows.

  "Well, that's a big waste of hard earned money," she said, inspecting the fancy lawn decor.

  "Ya think?" She always made me laugh. "Maybe that's where we're gonna be swimming."

  "It's big enough, that's for sure." It really wasn't. We pulled up the section of driveway that ran beside the house. "Just call when you're ready to come home and I'll come get ya."

  "Beth told me she'd bring me back home."

  She looked at me surprised. "She's drivin' already? That's scary. She seems too young." I thought she was gonna tell me no until she said, "Well, okay. Call before ya leave to head home, wear your seatbelt, and make sure she drives slow, with no distractions."

  I laughed. "Okay. And I'm sure they have a suit of armor in their main hall, so I'll put that on, too."

  "Ha ha. I love ya. Have fun," she said through
the window as she backed up.

  "I love you, too!"

  Beth met me at the door, already in her bathing suit. "Hey! I'm glad you came."

  "Thanks for inviting me." I followed her into the grand foyer, which was flanked by stairs on both sides. Two sets of stairs? She went up the set on the right, and I was right behind her, not wanting to get lost.

  "You can change in my room," she said as we made our way up the stairs. Her bedroom was the size of our entire living area. "Right in there's the bathroom."

  "Dang! Your bathroom is as big as my bedroom," I admitted.

  "It is big, ain't it! I love the fact that my parents went overboard when they built this place."

  I changed and came out of the bathroom. When Beth turned around, she did a double take, which I was used to when I sported a bathing suit.

  "I know…pole dancer material, right?" I laughed, stating the obvious. "I've yet to find a bathing suit that's baggy and stylish."

  "Girl, if I was built like that, I'd be showin' it off, shakin' what my mama gave me," she said as she shimmied down the hall. She went down a different set of stairs this time.

  "How many stairs do you have?"

  "Just the two in the front, these, and the ones to the den…I think."

  These stairs brought us out into the kitchen. We went through the family room, which was luxurious. The main wall consisted of a rock fireplace with a humongous flat screen over it. It was flanked by nothing but windows and French doors, showing off the view, which was breathtaking. We walked out onto the patio that wrapped around the pool, fully furnished with a slide and diving board.

  "This is awesome, Beth!" I couldn't contain my excitement. "I get to swim in a pool this nice and don't have to worry about google-eyed boys following me around. Yay!"

  "Nope, not today. But if my brother, Jace, and his friends were here, it might be a different story. His friends even eyeball me and I'm a stick." She wasn't lying. But even though she was a stick, she was pretty. She possessed a natural beauty that she didn't try to add to by putting makeup on. And she carried herself in a way that made you want to be around her.