Pip grabbed her robe and ran down the hall to Richard’s room. She didn’t even bother knocking; she just opened the door and went in. As soon as she touched his arm to wake him, he pulled her on top of him and ravished her mouth. His hand ran up and down her legs and came dangerously close to her bottom. Pip was near to succumbing to him totally, when Bertram appeared, “He’s still sleeping. Wake him up!”
Pip pulled away from Richard and said, “Richard, please, you have to wake up.”
He finally allowed himself to be dragged into consciousness and when he saw Pip, he grinned, “Hello. When did you decide to join me?”
Pip smiled, “I didn’t exactly decide to join you. I need you.”
He pulled her towards him and moaned, “I need you, too.” Then he kissed her all over again.
If Bertram hadn’t been standing right there, Philippa would have let passion take its course, but her dead friend needed her help. “Richard!” she said as she pulled away again, “I need your help.”
“Oh, my God,” Richard bolted upright. “Is it Mimi, the baby?”
“No. They’re fine.” Then she explained, “I have a friend who needs me back home. You have to come with me and we have to leave right away.”
Richard didn’t ask any questions. He just said, “Go get packed. I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
Pip loved that he didn’t question why he had to go. He just trusted her and jumped into action. She ran back to her room and threw her things in her suitcase. Realizing the household had yet to rise for the day, she wrote a note to Mimi and Elliot explaining that a friend needed her help at home. She promised to be back in time for the birth of her niece.
Pip met Richard out front and in a matter of moments they were on the road. He asked, “What’s going on, Philippa? Why are we running off to London on such short notice?”
So she told him everything. She told him her latest contact wasn’t really dead, and in order to prove himself and stay alive to watch his daughter grow up, he had to help her find love. She told him about Bertram’s daughter and how she hadn’t seen her father in a year. Then she told him about Clementine and how’d she’d gotten tired of waiting and decided to take matters into her own hands.
Pip said, “If she kills Bertram’s body before he can prove he did the job asked of him, he’ll pass over for good.”
“And we’re his job? Getting us together is the reason he’s with you?”
She nodded her head and answered, “Yes. He was tasked with finding my soulmate. It was the only way he could prove he was worthy of another chance.”
Richard said, “But he told you I was your soulmate. Pip, we’ve found each other. Why isn’t he back in his body?”
Philippa had no idea. “I don’t know. I’ve been wondering the same thing.”
They drove in silence for a few more minutes when Richard asked, “Did you say your contact’s name was Bertram?”
Pip replied, “I did.”
Richard demanded, “Is he about forty-five with sandy blonde hair and two broken front teeth?”
“Yes, he is!” she exclaimed. “How do you know Bertram?”
Richard replied, “He’s the fellow who keeps showing up in my dreams. He’s wearing a wedding dress and we get married.”
Pip gave him a curious side-glance before demanding, “Bertram, if you’re not too busy watching over your body, can you get here now?”
He immediately showed up in the back seat. “I’m here, love. What can I do for you?”
She asked, “Have you been talking to Richard in his sleep?”
He nodded, “Of course. I couldn’t leave this all up to you. You’ve been sort of dragging your feet until rather recently.”
“I have not been dragging my feet!” she declared. “I’ve been doing everything you’ve told me to do. Maybe not as fast as you’ve wanted me to, but I’ve done it, nonetheless.”
Richard said, “Would you mind introducing us, Pip? Tell Bertram I’m pleased to meet him.”
Pip responded, “He says to tell you he’s bloody chuffed to meet you too, mate.”
Richard burst out laughing. It was the same greeting Bertram had been giving him in his sleep. Something else Bertram had said to him started to infiltrate his consciousness and he stepped on the gas before declaring, “Pip, we’ve got to hurry!”
“Why? What just happened?”
“I think I know why Bertram hasn’t gone back into his body yet.”
“Why?” she demanded.
“I can’t find the words to say it. I mean, it’s just so strange. I remember being shown something in my dream and we’re both a part of it. All I know is we have to hurry.”
“A part of what?” she demanded.
Bertram interrupted, “Just go with him, love. My life depends on it.”
Richard and Pip got to the airport to find out they were already booked on a British Airways flight that left in twenty minutes. They raced through security and arrived at the gate just as the doors were about to be shut.
After handing off their luggage and buckling into their seats, Richard said, “Life with you isn’t going to be dull, is it?”
She smiled, “It hasn’t been, yet. Although let me tell you, I wouldn’t mind some boring moments once in a while.”
They had eight hours until they touched down in London. Richard and Pip used the time to get to know each other even better. They slept, they ate, and when the plane stopped at their gate, they were ready to go straight to the hospital.
London
Chapter 47
As soon as they landed, Pip called Honey and put her on speaker phone. She explained that she and Richard had just landed and they would be at the hospital inside of two hours. She asked, “Has Clementine shown up yet?”
Her old friend replied, “Three times now. She keeps coming and going when she sees me. The last time she was here she demanded to know when I was going home.”
“What did you tell her?” Pip asked.
“I told her I’d leave when I was good and ready.”
Pip sighed, “I’m sure that went over well.”
Honey confirmed, “Like a fart in church, dear.”
Richard took the phone and asked, “Has anyone else shown up, Honey? Anyone that shouldn’t be there?”
She answered, “Just the fellow from the solicitor’s office. The one Philippa and I saw having tea with Clementine right before she left for America.”
“Is he a dark man, maybe forty, with a strong overbite and small eyes?” Richard asked.
Honey declared, “How in the world do you know that?”
Richard instructed, “Honey, whatever happens, do not leave that man alone with Bertram. Do you understand? I mean it, call a nurse, call the police, scream the hospital down, but do not let that man into the room.”
Pip demanded, “What was that all about?”
He explained, “The man you and Honey saw having tea with Bertram’s wife is the same man who nearly beat him to death.”
“What? How do you know that?”
He answered, “I told you. Things have been happening in my sleep that I can’t explain.”
Pip asked, “Why didn’t Bertram tell us that when we saw them at tea?”
Bertram popped in and ran next to them as they left customs. He answered, “Because I didn’t know, love. I never saw the person who hit me. He was wearing a mask and just snuck up on me as I left the pub. The only time I even noticed the bloke was when he started to pay attention to Clementine.”
Pip asked, “Do you think Clementine knew the attack was going to happen before it did?”
Richard replied, “I have no idea.” Then to Bertram, he asked, “Is that possible? Did your wife have any reason to want you dead?”
Bertram shook his head, “I can’t imagine. I mean, I know we’d been a bit distant before the beating, but I can’t believe she’d take her daughter’s father away from her. She’s not a cruel woman.” He paused for a moment before ad
ding, “At least I never thought she was.”
None of them had any idea what to think. They just knew they needed to hurry. Pip instructed, “Bertram, go sit with Honey and your body. Let us know if any trouble arises before we can get there.”
He immediately faded away. Richard said, “I don’t think we should take time to rent a car. Let’s just grab a taxi and get on the road as soon as we can.”
Pip agreed. “My God, Richard, this is all getting a bit exciting. Do you really think Clementine was in on it?”
He shrugged his shoulders, “I couldn’t say, but it looks like there’s a strong possibility.”
They didn’t hear anything more from Bertram until they were ten minutes from their destination. He popped between them in the backseat of the car. “The louse who nearly killed me just walked into the hospital.”
Pip immediately got on the phone and called Honey, but there was no answer, so she called the hospital itself and asked to be transferred to the nurse’s station in Bertram’s ward. The nurse who answered said she’d go and see if should could find Honey for her, but she never came back on the line.
Pip instructed, “Bertram, go back and see what’s happening. Let us know immediately.”
Richard instructed the driver, “Please go as fast as you can. I promise to pay for any tickets and I’ll double your fare. Just get us there now!”
When they pulled up to the building, Richard paid the driver and asked him to leave the luggage at the information booth in the lobby. He didn’t have time to take care of it as he needed to follow Pip to know where Bertram’s room was. As they were running to the lift they heard sirens coming from outside.
The third floor was a hive of activity when they arrived. Nurses were scurrying all about and someone yelled, “I think he might be dead!”
Then, almost in slow motion, Richard and Pip arrived at Bertram’s room. Honey was crumpled up in the corner with two nurses working on her, while several medical personnel hovered over Bertram’s body. The respirator had been removed and the heart monitor was beeping slower and slower.
Pip demanded, “Bertram, are you here?”
One of the doctors looked up and demanded, “Get those people out of here!”
The heart monitor flat-lined and a loud solid alarm rang as Bertram’s heart stopped beating altogether. Someone asked the doctor, “Do we try to revive him or just let him go?”
A nurse said, “Poor fellow. He should be allowed to go onto his final reward now.”
Pip screamed, “NO!!!”
And at that moment every person around them froze as though stuck in time. Not one eye twitched, not one word was uttered. The only people who weren’t caught in the time-freeze were Richard and Pip.
Corrine appeared in front of them in a vibrant halo of light and greeted, “Pip, Richard, we’re glad you’re here. You’ve arrived just in time.”
“In time for what?” Pip demanded. “In time to watch Bertram die?”
“No,” her angel answered, “You’re just in time for his trial.”
The Trial
Chapter 48
“What trial?” Pip asked.
Her angel replied, “The trial for his life.”
At her words, the hospital room they were standing in began to fade away and a courtroom scene took its place. Corrine gestured for them to sit down on one of the benches placed in front of a beautiful woman of indeterminate years. She wore a white gown and a powdered wig reminiscent of an era long past.
Richard and Pip sat down as Pip whispered, “Does this look like something from your dream?”
Richard nodded his head in response. “Exactly like it.”
The judged banged her gavel and declared, “We’ll have order in the court.” Then she addressed all the spirits who were congregated around the room and advised, “We’re here to decide the fate of one Bertram Jasper Griffin. Will the defendant please rise.”
Bertram stood and made eye contact with Pip and Richard. The look on his face was one of sadness and worry. The judge continued, “How do you plead to the charge of living a misguided life?”
With his head held high, Bertram replied, “I plead guilty, Your Honor.”
Then she asked, “How do you plead to the charge of being a negligent husband and father?
He answered, “Guilty, Your Honor.”
“How do you plead to the charge of not appreciating the many gifts in your life?”
“Guilty, Your Honor.”
The judge addressed Corrine and asked, “What do you have to say in your client’s defense?”
Corrine stood up and answered, “Bertram Jasper Griffin has been in my charge for one year of Earth time. During that period he’s done everything asked of him. He’s worked hard and efficiently. There’s only one area where he didn’t finish his task.”
The judge asked, “What area is that?”
“He didn’t finalize the match between our helper, Philippa Fielding, and Richard Bingham of New York City.”
The judge inquired, “Isn’t that the main task he was charged with in order to be given a second chance at life?”
Pip interrupted, “But he did finalize it. Richard and I are here together!”
The judge commanded, “Sit down, Philippa. We’ll hear from you in due time.”
Another ethereal being stood up. Richard immediately recognized his father. The elder Bingham declared. “Your Honor, I’d like to speak in Mr. Griffin’s defense.”
She nodded her head. “Go ahead, Mr. Bingham.”
He started, “Bertram would have succeeded in bringing my son and Miss Fielding together much sooner if I’d been a better father when Richard needed me. As it was, when Pip delivered my message to my son, Richard disregarded it as foolishness. He didn’t trust it because he didn’t trust in me.”
The judge replied “Your deficiencies were already brought up at your own trial, Mr. Bingham, so I’m quite aware of them. But this is the trial of Bertram Jasper Griffin, not you.”
“Ma’am,” Corrine interrupted, “all Mr. Bingham is saying is that our jobs intertwine at times and there has to be a certain amount of leeway involved in cases like these.”
The judge said, “Corrine, you know as well as I that personal accountability is mandatory before entrance to the next life is granted. Mr. Bingham is working toward his accountability; this isn’t his trial, rather that of Mr. Griffin.”
“You Honor,” Corrine continued, “Mr. Bingham’s son is here. May I call him to testify so I can ask some questions that might help you understand the mitigating circumstances of this case?”
The judge nodded her head in agreement, so Corrine turned to Richard and asked, “Mr. Bingham, what kind of parent was your father to you while he was still alive?”
Richard honestly replied, “Distant.”
She asked, “Did he supply you with guidance and direction? Did he supply you with love?”
Richard looked at his dad and said, “Not as such. But I’m learning his treatment of me was a direct result of his own experience as a child. I can say in all honesty, I think he did the best he could at the time.”
The angel continued, “Do you think his behavior toward you during his life made the message he sent harder to accept?”
“Most definitely,” Richard replied.
The judge asked, “And what got you to finally change your mind and believe your father’s message?”
Richard answered, “He started to come to me in my dreams. He took me back to hard times in my childhood and helped rewrite those memories for the better.”
The judge asked, “Did anything else help you to realize this?”
Richard nodded, “Yes. Bertram came to me in my dreams, as well. If it had just been my father, I might have concluded I’d made it all up in my longing for a different outcome. But Bertram came to me repeatedly. I now know it was his involvement that made me see the truth.”
Richard all of a sudden had complete clarity of memory. He reca
lled things Bertram had said to him that he hadn’t before. Richard stood still for a moment while the thoughts poured into his brain. He finally said, “Bertram appeared every time in a wedding dress, so that I’d be startled enough to carry his words into my conscious life. So I’d remember them and act on them.”
The judge smiled, “That’s an ingenious and not often used form of contact, Mr. Griffin. I’m glad to see you had the foresight to do what was necessary to get through to your target.”
Bertram smiled, showing off his broken front teeth. “Thank you, Your Honor. I just assumed no bloke would want to see me at the end of the aisle, so it made sense.”
The judge asked Richard, “And what are your feelings toward our Miss Fielding? Do you accept her as your soulmate, your other half?”
Philippa interrupted, “Your Honor, we’ve only officially been out on two dates. Don’t you think that’s an unfair question considering we hardly know each another?”
“I don’t find the question unfair at all, Philippa. There are rules that apply to who we allow into the afterlife and rules that apply to who is allowed a second chance in life. If we didn’t have these rules and didn’t follow them to the letter, the afterlife would be just as chaotic and unruly as that which is lived on Earth.”
Pip cried, “I gave my life to your rules when I was only eight years old. I’ve done your bidding and carried out everything asked of me. And now I’m asking a favor of my own. I want you to let Bertram come back to this world!”
The judge replied, “We’re all well aware of your sacrifice, Philippa. We wished to reward you for it in the form of a partner you could share your journey with. That’s why we charged Bertram Jasper Griffin with your case. By letting us down and not completing his task, he’s letting you down, as well.”
“But I’m not let down!” Pip replied. “I think Richard is wonderful. I love spending time with him. He makes me laugh and think and I’ve never felt closer to another man than I do to him.”
The judge looked at Richard and asked, “Mr. Bingham, do you feel similarly toward Philippa?”
Kindred Spirits: A Romantic Comedy About Love, Life, and the Afterlife . . . Page 23