by Wendy Wang
“I will.”
“Do you have a few minutes? I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure, let me just put this in the kitchen.”
Something about him was different. There was a lightness to him that she had never seen before. Gone was his stern tone. Maybe almost dying had really changed him. Only time would tell though. Quickly she followed the hallway next to the staircase toward the back of house and to the large beautiful kitchen. Everything was spotless, as if no one ever cooked, thanks to Cora. Charlie put the lasagna into the refrigerator and left the instructions for warming it on top of the foil.
She fought the cloud of dread filling her chest as she made her way to Scott's study. The last time she had been here they had fought. Maybe this new and improved Scott would somehow keep that ugliness from happening again.
Her heartbeat quickened as she approached the open door but her anxiety faded almost immediately once she entered.
The study had been changed around. The desk no longer loomed before two chairs. Instead a leather couch dominated the wall and the desk had been moved in front of the window so that when seated, Scott could look out. It was much more open and inviting now and it felt less like she was visiting the principal's office.
“I like the new layout,” she smiled widely.
“Yeah? Thanks.” He glanced around. A peaceful smile curved his lips and he took a seat on the couch, patting the space next to him. “I thought it needed a change.”
“Well, it feels better in here.”
“I totally agree,” he nodded.
Charlie sat on the opposite end of the couch and pivoted toward him. She took one of the red plaid pillows and placed it on her lap hugging it against her body. Scott eyed her and frowned. She braced herself for a scolding.
“You look like you’re preparing to be taken to the wood shed.” Scott sighed and shook his head. “I'm sorry.”
“For what?” She asked.
“For ever making you feel that way.”
Charlie squeezed the pillow tighter. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. You deserve better.”
Charlie opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself. She called up a smile. “Thank you.” She put the pillow aside and rested her hands on her lap. “Wall down. Better?”
“Scott smiled and nodded. “Better.”
“All right then,” she said. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Custody of Evan.”
Charlie shifted in her seat and folded her arms. Wall up. “Okay.”
“I fired my lawyer this week after I had him draw this up.” He hopped up from the couch and grabbed a legal sized manila folder from his desk. He handed it to her.
“What is this?” She flipped it open and read the first few lines. “Scott?”
“It's a new custody agreement.”
Heat flooded her cheeks and she glared at him. “You can't just draw up a new custody agreement without my consent. That’s what the lawyers are for.”
“Will you please just read it before you get upset?”
“It's like fifteen pages of legalese. You want me to just sit here and read it?”
“Why don’t I condense it for you. Then take it to your lawyer and have him look it over before you sign it.”
“What does it say?”
“Basically, that you and I agree to share custody of Evan. That you will have him every other week. That we will share holidays. I will have him for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter on even years and you will have him on odd years.”
“What about Paramore's?”
“There are no restrictions on Paramore's, other than Evan's approval. If he feels uncomfortable then it’s his right to speak up about it and you and I both have to abide by his wishes.”
“And you feel comfortable giving that sort of power away to an eleven-year-old?”
“Honestly, our eleven-year-old is much wiser than most forty-year-olds. What about you? Do you trust him?”
“I do. Evan’s a very good judge of character. He always has been.”
“Well — he gets that from his mother.”
Charlie dropped her hands to her lap and she stared at him in awe. “You really have changed, haven't you?”
Scott’s beamed, his tone incredulous. “I really have.”
“Wow,” Charlie met his gaze. “I’m just sorry you had to die for it to happen.”
“Well, I always have had to learn things the hard way,” Scott said dryly.
Charlie laughed and shook her head. “That’s true, you do.”
“Listen, if you want to start dating that guy again, as long as Ev’s okay with it, you’ll have no complaints from me.”
Charlie gave him a sad smile. “It doesn’t really matter now. It wouldn’t have worked out.”
“Please tell me it wasn’t because of me and my jack-assery.”
“No. It wasn’t. Anyway I’ve already forgiven you for being a jack-ass. My uncle Jack hasn’t but –”
“It’s probably a good thing that I don't have to see him then.”
“Yeah, it probably is.” Charlie chuckled.
“You know if you ever do change her mind about —”
Charlie winced internally. “Why don't we just concentrate on going forward instead of looking back?”
“Sure.” Scott nodded. “See? There’s that wisdom again.”
“Mom!” Evans voice boomed through the house. “Mom, are you here?”
“I'm in here, babe?” she called. “Should we tell him now?”
“He already knows. The whole agreement was drafted based on his input.”
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“Yep. And just so you know, he's also coming off the meds. There will be a weaning period but it shouldn't take but a few weeks.”
“Oh Scott, you have no idea how happy that makes me.”
Charlie resisted the urge to throw her arms around Scott’s neck and hug him. She didn’t want to confuse him. Instead she stood up and threw her arms around her son as soon he walked through the door.
Chapter 27
Three days later, Charlie pulled into the parking lot of Sharon and Sons funeral home. The new brick building sat neatly on an acre of land that was surrounded by trees that separated it from the hustle and bustle of the main downtown area of Palmetto Point. She gripped the hard rubber of her steering wheel and stared at the front door.
She pulled down the visor and glanced at herself in a small mirror. She pinched her pale cheeks and reached into her purse for the tube of practically nude lipstick. After applying the pale beige-pink cream to her lips with her pinky finger, she pushed her hair behind her ears. “You got this,” she muttered to her reflection and flipped up the visor, then hopped out of the car.
Her stomach twisted into knots as she walked through the front door. Cold air slapped her in the face along with the scent of mums and white lilies — the flowers of death. When she died – there were to be no flowers allowed unless they were bright and sunny and smelled like life. A stunning young woman with dark wavy hair spilling over her shoulders emerged from behind the desk in the nearby office. Her tight navy pencil skirt hugged her slim hips and the deep-v of her silky violet-colored blouse accentuated her long graceful neck.
“Good afternoon. How may I help you?” The young woman wore a somber but friendly expression. Charlie recognized the similarity of the woman’s dark gold eyes immediately, and a chill skittered down her spine.
“I'm looking for Tom Sharon.” Charlie folded her arms across her chest. “Is he here?”
“Why yes he is.” The young woman’s gaze trailed over Charlie from head to toe. Charlie bit her tongue to keep from making a smart-ass remark she might regret.
“I’m Joy by the way.”
“Uh – nice to meet you, Joy.” Charlie shifted her feet, and remembered Tom mentioning his sister Joy. Was she a reaper too?
“I’ll just go get him.”
&
nbsp; “Thank you.” Charlie watched Joy disappear down a hallway that ran along side of her office. Charlie assumed there were other offices there too. To the left, was a set of carved double doors and a podium with an open book perched on it. A pretty but somber poster stood on an easel and in a large simple script it read: Wilson – 2 PM.
Anxiety wound around her heart and squeezed.
“Charlie?” Tom’s warm voice was full of surprise. She turned to find him staring at her in awe.
“Hi,” she said trying to keep her voice steady. “Do you have few minutes?”
“Of course. Come with me.” Tom gestured for her to follow him. Charlie hesitated a moment glancing at the young woman who appeared to be watching them with great curiosity. She gave Charlie a closed-lipped smile that made the skin on Charlie's arms crawl. Charlie took a step backward.
“Uh, no.” She jerked her thumb toward the exit. “I’d feel more comfortable outside.”
The young woman gave Tom a smug look. Tom rolled his eyes and scowled at her. “Charlie, I don't think you've met my sister Joy.”
“It's so nice to finally meet you.” Joy extended her hand. “We've heard so much about you.”
Charlie's breath stuttered in her throat, and she stared at the young woman's perfectly manicured hand. Tom stepped forward gently taking his sister's hands into his lowering it to her side.
“Charlie has a thing about handshakes. I know you don't want to make her uncomfortable.” He gave his sister a pointed look. Her lips twisted and she folded her arms across her ample breast.
“No, of course not.” Joy smiled. “It was very nice to meet you, Charlie. I hope we'll be seeing more of you.”
“It was nice to meet you too,” Charlie said softly.
Tom stepped forward and took Charlie by the elbow, leading her toward the front door. As soon as they were outside, Charlie shook him off. She turned to face him.
“You look great.” A wary smile played at the corners of his lips.
“Thanks,” She stiffened her stance and glanced toward her car before steadying her gaze on his. “I need your help with something. Do you have some time this afternoon?”
His face lightened and his lips broke into a wide, hopeful smile. “Let me just go tell Joy where I’m going and I'm all yours.”
The knot in Charlie's stomach tightened. “Great.”
Charlie opened the passenger door of her car. “Get in, please.”
Tom nodded and did as he was asked. Charlie closed the door behind him and made her way around to the driver’s side. She put her hands on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead.
“First you should know. You are not forgiven.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “What you did, pretending to be. . . to care. It was reprehensible.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but she fixed an angry glare on him and his lips closed. He hung his head. “I am so sorry if I’ve hurt you. It was never my intention.”
“What was your intention exactly? Why toy with me?”
“I wasn’t toying. I wasn’t. I swear.”
Her hands tightened and her knuckle cracked. She took another deep breath. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. She loosened her grip. “I have a few questions for you before we go anywhere.”
“I figured you would,” he said softly. “You know I’m not going to hurt you, right?”
“What?” She shifted her gaze to him. He gestured toward her hands. She let them fall into her lap.
“Ask me whatever you need to,” he said. “And I will answer as best I can.”
Charlie twisted her lips, trying to figure out where to start. There were so many questions and so many feelings. It was all jumbled in a ropey, impossible mess inside her heart and mind. She took a deep breath. “How long have you been following me?”
“I haven't —” he started but the words died on his lips when Charlie shot him a don't-lie-to-me look. Tom glanced down at the console. “Since the first time you called for me.”
“Is that when you took up this pretense?” She gestured toward the building.
He smiled and a weariness settled into the lines around his eyes. “I told you, death is my business. My family and I have lived in this area for many generations. All this does,” he gestured to the building and then to himself, “— is provide a very simple way to collect the souls who are still clinging to this world. Then we ferry them to the other side.”
“So your sister and brother are . . . they’re . . . ?”
“Like me? Yes. They are.”
“Why do you look the way you look. Why don't you look like —”
“A creature?”
Charlie nodded.
“My kind figured out millennia ago that it is much easier to move among the humans if we look human.”
“Why do you even need to move among us?”
“Not all souls go willingly. It’s our job to find and take the ones that don’t.”
“How does this . . . human facade work?”
“It’s the same sort of magic your cousin Daphne uses to make her clients love her so much.”
“Glamour.” Charlie sat back and pressed her head against the headrest.
“Yes,” he said. “So, what is this thing you need me to help you with?
Charlie sighed and straightened her back. Yes, it was good to concentrate on why she’d really come. She turned her body a little so she could face him. “Do you remember the missing child case that I told you about?”
“How can I forget? It's how I met you.”
“That was you, wasn't it? That night in the shed? You were the reaper —” Charlie swallowed hard. “Were you following me? Are you always following me?”
“No,” he protested. “Believe it or not it was his time and he was facing a pretty unfortunate afterlife, so I knew he wouldn’t go easily.”
“And how do you know that?”
“I can't tell you that.” He held up his hands. “Sorry. There are some things that are not meant for humans to understand or know.”
Charlie narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him. She didn’t sense that he was lying, but maybe her senses were somehow impaired when she was with him. She frowned.
“So, is there a heaven and a hell? Is that why you told Brianna to be careful with her actions, even though she was dead?”
Tom smiled, giving her no answer.
“So humans can't know that?” Charlie’s irritation crept into her voice. “We’re just left to guess.”
He smiled and gazed at her, his face full of peace.
Charlie gritted her teeth and blew her breath out through her nose. “You realize I’m really pissed at you.”
“I know.” He expression became more solemn. “If you tell me to stay away, I will.”
“I haven’t decided what I want just yet but have one more question and a request.”
“Okay,” he said. “Shoot.”
“Did you cause Scott’s embolism?”
Tom took a deep breath and for a moment Charlie thought he might brush it off as something humans couldn’t know. She braced herself for an argument.
“It's my understanding that Scott had an embolism because he fell on his back and it caused a blood clot. Isn't that what you told me?”
“So, you didn't?”
“No, I did not cause his embolism. We don’t cause death, no matter what the myths say.”
“You appeared though. Was he going to die?”
“He was never going to die. Not permanently anyway.”
“Was he supposed to die?”
He shook his head, a helpless expression on his face. “I can’t tell you that. What I can say is that I've seen other humans change drastically because of a near-death experience. I may have helped him find you. I . . . I wanted him to know what you are.”
“What am I?”
Tom’s lips twisted into a smirk. “You know what you are.”
Charlie stared at him. “No I don’t Tom. What are you sayi
ng?”
He rolled his eyes. “You and your cousins, your aunt, Bunny, you’re all special creatures, just like me.”
Charlie’s eyes widened. “I am not like you and neither is my family.”
“Charlie.” He sighed and she could see him struggling to find the right words. Words like witch and magic. “You already know you are. You feel your power. It’s growing inside you, otherwise you would never have been able to capture that spirit the way you did.”
Charlie scowled and shifted away from him. She let her eyes settle on the new brick-facade of the building and the two sago palms flanking the door.
“You’re not ever to follow me again,” she warned. “It’s creepy and disrespectful, and I will not tolerate it. Do you understand me?”
“Of course.”
“And I can fight my own battles, especially with my ex-husband. I don't need you to do that.”
“I have absolutely no doubt about that. Was that your request?”
She finally looked at him again. “I want you to help Trini Dolan and Macey Givens find their way to wherever it is they need to go. They deserve peace.”
He sighed. “I couldn’t agree with you more, but they’re both very wily, especially Trini, and she protects the other girl.”
“I have an idea about how to fix that.”
“Okay, I'm listening.” The excitement in his smile gave him away.
“First,” she mustered her most stern voice, “wipe that smile off your face. This is nothing but a professional collaboration. Got it?”
He sucked in his smile, but the corners of his mouth didn’t comply. “Yes ma'am.”
“You’re sure this is where we’re going to find them?” Tom looked at the shed, his eyes attentive to any sign of movement. The yellow police tape still hung in place, but was beginning to come undone on one side. A good thunderstorm would probably bring it down completely.
“It’s as good a place to start as any. Come on.” Charlie walked toward the backyard. “They ran off toward the woods, and we’re gonna find them even if it takes all day.”
“Well, I'm all for that if it means I get to spend it with you.”
“Hey buddy.” She rounded on him, pointing her finger. “What did I say about flirting?”