I was curious now, and slightly worried. "Who is that?" I whispered as loudly as I could.
She held up her finger at me. "What if they have to do surgery or somethin'? Ya don't need to be alone. We'll get packed tonight and head out in the mornin'. — I don't care what ya think. You invited us to come visit, and now's a good time as any."
"Is that Margaret?"
She held up her finger again, which was really frustrating. "She'll be just fine. — Yes, I know how hospitals are. I'll get her some dark sunglasses and she'll be fine." Sunglasses? "Well, I know she's gonna wanna come see ya. — Just stop worryin' and relax."
"Is that Max?"
She held up her finger again. "You'd do the same for me, so hush. I'll talk to ya in the mornin' before we leave. — Okay, bye bye." She laid her phone down and turned her back to me, which frightened me.
"What's wrong?" I almost started to cry until she finally turned around and I saw that she wasn't crying, which made me feel slightly better.
She took a deep breath. "Max had a heart attack."
Chapter 24
HAUNTED
Beau
Malyn opted to sit in the back seat with me on the way to Savannah. I never thought I'd ever love a girl as much as I do her. Her head was leaned up against the window while she had her feet laid up in my lap. Since she was asleep, I could stare at her as much as I wanted without her gettin' creeped out on me. The sun beat down on her long, dark hair, remindin' me of the first time I saw her. I reached over and slid my fingers down a strand of it, which I'd wanted to do on that first day. Her skin was a little bit darker now where she'd been out in the sun, makin' it possible to see a few freckles. I ran my hand across her leg, thankful that Nellie was in the car with us. I had to admit, Malyn had some nice gams on her, even though they barely reached across the seat. I pulled 'em close to me and rubbed my thumb back and forth across her shin bone, lookin' out the window watchin' this new world go by. That's the only thing that kept me from closin' my eyes and joinin' her.
We had been sharin' our dreams ever since we found out we could. And as much as I wanted to right now, and make this trip go by faster, I just couldn't close my eyes and take the chance of missin' somethin'. I'd watched a lot of television before the livers moved out and Nellie and Malyn moved in, and this was like that, only better. I rolled my window down so I could feel the wind on my face, which was nice, even though it let a lot of hot air in.
It's strange ridin' in a car. All we ever used were horses, sometimes the buggy if we were all goin'. The world had changed so much in the past century that it's like I was on some other planet. My pa would roll over in his grave if he seen all this—all these buildin's that're everywhere and all the machines they got doin' all the work. It seems that workin' for a livin' didn't involve a whole lotta work now days.
I had quit school and started workin' the fields helpin' take care of my family when I was sixteen. Now people have to go to school forever just to be able to get a good job. Just didn't make much sense. I was watchin' all the towns as we passed by, gettin' lost in my own thoughts, when Nellie interrupted 'em.
"So, do ya think?"
"'Bout what, ma'am?"
"Our trip so far."
"It's…different." Different was an understatement.
"I'd reckon it is."
She turned the radio on to one of her country stations and started singin' along. "Do ya miss singin'?"
"What do ya mean? I am singin'."
"No, I mean on stage. Do ya miss it?"
She thought it over a minute. "Yes and no. I loved entertainin' people and seein' new places, but not the schedule of it all. I'd have to be in one town one night and another'n clear across the country the next." She looked at me in the review mirror and grinned. "And contrary to how I look, I was gettin' too old for all that." She told me a few stories 'bout her singin' days until we pulled into a gas station to fill up.
I had to laugh at some of her tales. "You beat all I ever saw."
"Don't I, though?" She laughed and motioned to Malyn. "Better wake her up. I'm sure she's hungry."
"Yeah, seein' as how she's always hungry." I waited on Nellie to get out before I leaned over and ran my lips across Malyn's cheek. "Rise and shine, sleepy head."
"Are we there?" she asked, tryin' to open her eyes to look around.
"Not yet. But we thought you'd be hungry. Want me to getcha somethin' or ya wanna go in?"
"No, I'll go in. I need to stretch my legs."
"That shouldn't take long since ya ain't got much to stretch," I teased her.
"Ha ha."
Nellie got gas while Malyn went inside to stock up. When she finally came back out, her arms were full. I was shakin' my head and smilin' at her when I noticed she had a worried look on her face and kept lookin' back over her shoulder. Once she got closer to the car, I knew why. A goner was followin' her.
"Hurry, let's get out of here," she told Nellie as I opened the door for her. She tossed her provisions onto my lap as she got in the car. "You can't turn off the pump, Beau, you can't or you'll—"
"Don't worry, I won't," I interrupted her. Malyn was panicked, but since it was just us in the lot, I didn't feel too alarmed. I watched as the girl walked to our car. She looked to be just a little older than me and had blonde hair that was pulled up with a red ribbon around it that matched her lips and the flowers on her dress. She seemed rather calm, which surprised me, since all the other goners we'd got 'round went nutty on us.
"Please," she said to Malyn from the side of the car. Then she leaned her head through the closed window and said, "Help me. I know you can."
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you." Malyn looked at me with a confused look on her face, then at Nellie, who had gotten into the car. "She's leaning through the window. Why is she not solid?"
"Because I'm dead," the girl answered while Nellie just shrugged. "You knew that. But how? How can you see me? And him? He can see me, too." She looked at me all strange like and said, "You're dead like me."
"Yep." I didn't know what else to say.
"One of you needs to tell me what's going on," Nellie said, lookin' over the seat at us.
"I want you to help me like you’re helping him."
Malyn repeated what the girl said to Nellie then looked back at the girl. "All I can tell you is to move stuff around. Touch people. Open and shut doors. Show yourself to people. Make yourself known."
The girl laughed at her. "How is that supposed to help?"
"You can do what I say, or be stuck here longer. It's your call. But that's all I can do to help you. I’m sorry." Malyn told Nellie we needed to go, and that's exactly what we did. The girl just stood there and watched us leave. We were all quiet 'til Malyn said, "What else could I do?" Malyn was lookin' out her window and I could tell she was upset, but had no idea what to say, so I just grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"There's nothin' ya could've done," Nellie told her, but then started to laugh. "But I bet that store ain't gonna be open too much longer—stuff flyin' off the shelves and all."
When we got through laughin', Malyn asked, "Why didn't the pump work on her like it does Beau? She was right there next to it."
"I don't know," Nellie answered, shruggin' her shoulders. "That's a Max question. And it won't be too much longer and ya can ask him."
We didn't stop the rest of the trip, which seemed to go by pretty quick. Before I knew it, we were passin' a sign for Savannah. I felt Malyn take a deep breath, so I asked her what was wrong.
"I don't know if we mentioned it or not, but Savannah's supposed to be one of the most haunted cities in America."
I just shook my head and said, "For the love of all that's holy." I was wonderin' how this was ever gonna work. Or if I'd be stuck inside every day. Or if I was gonna surprise all the dead people with my magic box.
"Well, look at it this way," she said, pattin' my leg, "at least you'll fit right in."
Chapter 25
FAIRY TALES
As we pulled onto Max's street, I was in awe. I had never seen where he lived, or even thought to ask him about it, so I was rather taken aback. I thought Dandridge was beautiful, but it almost paled in comparison. Spanish moss hung hauntingly from the trees, hanging over the street, which was narrow and lined with bushes covered by wisteria vines. The architecture of the homes made me feel like I was in some sort of Disney movie. They were mostly two-story cottages that were nestled right up against each other. And of course, Max's was the one painted an aqua color while the other ones were more neutral. He had a small porch that connected to a bay window that jutted out the front of the house, which was all trimmed in white. I loved it.
We had stopped in front of his house when I noticed a small drive that ran up the side. "He has a driveway?" None of the other housed did, and they were too close together to add one.
We were pulling up the narrow path when I heard Grandmama say, "Yes, he does. And it leads to a garage."
I looked up and noticed that the path ended at a small one car garage that was attached to the back of his house. "Private parking and a garage? Bet this place cost him a small fortune."
"I know it did, especially bein' right here near Forsyth Park."
Beau had been quiet for a while, so I looked over to see what he was doing. He was turned around looking out the back window toward the road. "What are you looking at?" I figured he saw a dead person or something, but when I turned around, I didn't see any.
"The trees. I've never seen anything like 'em."
"Yeah, I've only seen them in pictures. They're beautiful."
We all got out of the car and were looking around when Grandmama went to one of the bushes in the front of the house, got down on her knees, and started crawling around.
"What in the Sam Hill are ya doin', Nellie?"
"Lookin' for the key. It's supposed to be under a rock around one of these bushes."
Beau got down and helped her look while I walked up onto the porch and peeked into one of the windows. Since Max lived here alone, I was curious as to how he had decorated.
"Malyn, you could be helpin' us, ya know," Grandmama mumbled from underneath a bush.
No sooner I turned to go help them, Beau had found it. "Sorry," I told her. "I just wanted to see the inside." When I turned back around to look into the window, a face was staring back out at me. I jumped back so quick that I fell over the chair that was behind me.
"Malyn? Ya okay?" Beau asked, already coming to help me up.
"In the window!" I turned to show him, but no one was there. "They were right there. I saw him."
"Who?" he asked.
I stood up and brushed myself off. "I don't know." I was getting a little anxious and was not as excited to go in as I had been just a minute ago.
"What happened?" Grandmama asked, walking up the steps.
"I went to look in the window and someone was there. They scared me and I fell back. Is someone supposed to be here?"
"Not that I know of." We all stood there as if we were debating on going in or not.
"Here, I'll go in first," Beau said, holding his hand out for the key. "It's not like they can hurt me or anything." He unlocked the door and went in. "Let me look 'round, y'all wait out here." He went inside, shutting the door behind him.
I walked to the edge of the porch and leaned against the railing. "What if he doesn't see anyone? I know someone's in there. I saw them."
"Was it a man or a woman?"
"A man. He's about as tall as Beau, maybe in his late thirties, and he had a beard."
"Hmm."
"And he looked mean."
"Mean?"
"Yeah, like he was mad at me." I took a deep breath and turned around to look at the beautiful neighborhood. Even though I didn't think Beau could get hurt, it still made me nervous. Then all of a sudden we heard a commotion coming from inside. "Beau?" I yelled in the door. When he didn't answer, I yelled again. Still no answer. "What do we do?"
"Just wait a minute," she told me, turning her head to listen.
The door suddenly opened, causing both of us to jump. "Yes, Sir, ya scared her half to death." Beau was laughing, so I assumed he wasn't in any imminent danger.
The mean looking man stepped around the corner and looked at me, but much less intimidating than he had looked before. He had startled me so bad before that I hadn't noticed that he was dead. "I'm really sorry about that. I heard you all and thought someone might be trying to force their entry. Maxwell didn't tell me anyone was coming." He had a British accent, which made him sound much nicer than he looked.
"That's okay. He didn't know we were coming. When we heard what happened yesterday, we came on down to be with him. He's like a grandfather to me."
"Yes, it's tragic. But he seemed to be in rather good spirits when they took him away, so I'm hoping for a speedy recovery." We all just stood there looking at each other before he finally said, "My apologies. My name is Henry Howe. And I'm assuming you are the only seer?" he asked, looking from me to Grandmama, who was clueless as to who I was talking to. "Yes. She can sense you, but can't see or hear you. And of course, he's like you."
He looked at Beau and I saw the corner of his mouth turn up slightly, but he still didn't smile. "Yes, I recognized him as one of my own."
I realized for the first time that he wasn't solid like Beau. The pump wasn't working on him, either. "Do you mind if we come in?"
"My apologies again. Where are my manners? Please, come in." He stepped aside and let us in first.
As I passed him, I noticed his clothes appeared to be from a long time ago. "Do you mind me asking when you died?"
"Not at all. I died in 1779. I am not quite sure if I was shot or stabbed, since they took my body soon after."
Beau shut the door and looked at Henry. "Ya mean to tell me you've been stuck here that long?" He looked at me with shock on his face and I knew exactly what he was thinking. He opened the door back up and said, "I'm gonna go get our stuff," and he walked out.
"What's wrong with him?" Grandmama asked, not hearing what Henry had said, so I filled her in.
"Oh, yeah, that's a long time."
"I concur," Henry agreed. "And Maxwell has introduced me to those devices like you use, but they don't seem to work as well for me as they do for your friend. They are fascinating, however." He smiled for the first time. "I have one of those lightening globes at my writing desk, but that is the only time I use it. I am grateful to Maxwell for giving me the gift of the pen again." He explained how he had been a journalist during the American Revolution. "My position was the reason I suffered an untimely death. Not everyone appreciates the truth, obviously. But none the less, I have seen many come and go over the years, but none like Maxwell. He is a brilliant, brilliant man who has helped me tremendously."
"Yeah, he is." I looked at Grandmama. "Can we go see Max now?" I wanted to see him and make sure he was okay.
"Sure, honey. Let's get our things put up and we'll go."
"I shall stay elsewhere while you are here, if you would prefer. It matters not to me."
"No, stay wherever you'd like. You were here first."
He smiled again and nodded. "Thank you for your kindness. I will try to make myself scarce during your stay. But if you shall need me, just ask." He nodded again as he got up and said, "Good day," and walked out through the wall.
I looked at Grandmama. "Why didn't Max tell us about Henry?" I threw my hands up, shook my head, and laughed. "He becomes roomies with some dead Brittish guy and doesn't tell us?"
Beau came in with our suitcases. "Where do y'all want these?"
Grandmama got up and said, "Just leave 'em there and we'll put our stuff up when we get back. Let's go to the hospital."
Hospitals are the worst for having an overabundance of dead people. I've always stayed away from them, but sometimes going to see loved ones who are alive is more important than seeing the ones who are dead. And I didn't care how many
dead people I had to overlook, I was going to see Max. I brought dark sunglasses to wear so if I accidentally looked at one of them they wouldn't be able to tell. Beau said he'd just look at the floor. "This should be interesting," I said as the doors opened and we walked in.
"Don't worry," Grandmama tried to reassure me. "Just stick to our plan."
We had decided that if a spirit got too close to Beau and they became solid like him that we would just act surprised and clueless like everyone else. We were in Savannah, after all, so most people expected to see a ghost, anyway, and today may be their lucky day.
Beau squeezed my hand and smiled. "If somethin' goes wrong, I'll turn off the pump and use Nellie's phone to call ya when I get back home." He seemed to be in a better mood than he was back at Max's house. "That is, if I can figure out how to use it."
We followed the signs down a long hall toward the elevator. Even with my sunglasses on, I still tried not to look at all the dead people, which were everywhere. "Wonder how old this hospital is?"
"I don't know, but I'm guessin' pretty old," she said as she shivered slightly. I assumed she could sense all that I was seeing.
"Uh, yeah." I looked over at Beau, who was still looking down at the ground, and laughed. "Between my shades and your total oblivion, I'm sure we look like we're up to no good."
Grandmama looked over her shoulder at us and laughed. "Or just crazy."
As we got on the elevator, there was a dead woman standing in the corner. Grandmama must've sensed her because she stood to the front away from her. I didn't want her thinking anything, so I stood right next to her with Beau on the other side of me. As soon as the doors closed, this creepy woman got right in my face like she was trying to see into my sunglasses, which scared the crap out of me. I took a deep breath to try to cover the fact that she startled me and leaned my head back and close my eyes, hoping she would just think I was tired. I didn't want to open my eyes, afraid she would still be in my face, so I stretched my arms out to see if could feel her at all. When I didn't, I opened my eyes. I almost laughed out loud when I saw her in Grandmama's face. The doors finally opened and we got out on Max's floor.
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