by Cege Smith
“I can’t think of a better time to get absolutely shit-faced,” Kevin replied. He raised his glass. “It’s better to do it in the company of those that love you.”
Ellie felt the sadness of the moment rest on her chest, but the tears no longer came. She didn’t know if that was because she had no more to give to Jake’s memory, or because she had exhausted her daily quota of tears somehow.
She raised her glass as well. “To Jake.”
Kevin nodded, and then they both drank deeply. Ellie’s cell phone was sitting on the end table next to her, and it started to chirp. She looked at it, but saw only that it was a call from a private number.
“Hello,” she said.
“Ellie?” David’s voice was husky and filled with concern. “How are you?”
“I’m doing okay, David,” she replied.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Over at Linda’s. With Kevin,” she said.
“I’m glad he’s with you. Do you want me to come over in a bit? I think I can swing a few hours away,” he said.
“Sure. That’s fine. I’ll be here.” She didn’t know what she would have done without him that afternoon.
“Okay then, I’ll see you in a while,” David said before hanging up.
At Kevin’s questioning glance, she relayed the short conversation.
“You know what I think?” Kevin asked.
“What?” Ellie was too exhausted to think.
“I think we should get into some comfy clothes, have some more wine, and play some cards or something like that. Let’s do something that will take your mind off of this for a while. Linda doesn’t have a television, does she?”
“No, I did notice that,” Ellie said, a slight frown crossing her face. “Seems odd.”
“I think we have determined that Linda was odd,” Kevin said.
Ellie forced a slight smile onto her face. “Okay, Kevin. Let’s do it.”
“Slumber party!” he said with a delighted grin on his face.
As Ellie and Kevin started up the staircase toward Ellie’s new room, she told Kevin about her discovery in the master bedroom. Kevin was delighted by her description of the old-fashioned clothes and insisted on seeing them for himself. They reached the top of the stairs and Ellie pushed open the doors. She was surprised to see the light was on and the curtains were closed again.
“That is odd,” she commented. “That light didn’t work this afternoon and I know I opened those curtains.”
“Are you sure you jiggled the switch right?” Kevin asked. “These old houses can be temperamental.”
“I’m sure, Kevin,” she said. “The only thing I can think of is that Linda and Randall are having someone else coming in and cleaning the house, which I guess makes sense. I feel like my life has turned upside down in these last four days.”
Kevin squeezed her arm. “Come on, let’s check out that closet.”
The two of them crossed the room and Ellie pulled open the closet door.
“How fabulous,” Kevin breathed. “Tweed and polyester.” He pulled out jacket after jacket from the rack. “Hey, look at that.”
He pointed at a full-length mirror in the corner. He grinned at Ellie and whipped one of the jackets off its hanger, pulled it on, and started admiring himself in the mirror.
“Kevin,” Ellie shooshed. “That isn’t yours. You shouldn’t be doing that.”
“Oh, Ellie. You are such a goody two-shoes. You gotta have a little fun every now and then. What’s it hurting? I’ll put it right back where I found it in just a minute,” Kevin said.
He ignored her continued requests until finally she just gave up. She stood with her arms crossed, leaning in the doorway as Kevin tried on jacket after jacket. She rolled her eyes when Kevin found the derby hats and started accessorizing his jackets.
He turned and struck a pose for her. “Doesn’t this look like fun, Ellie?”
She smiled despite herself. Kevin’s silliness was addicting, and after the day she had, a bit of silliness didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
“All right,” she said. Then she dove into the closet like a kid, with Kevin clapping in the background.
Soon they had both modeled a dozen different outfits, pulling on pants and skirts over their existing clothing. Ellie found kid gloves in a drawer next to the women’s clothes, and then a lace parasol standing behind the mirror.
She twirled the parasol over her shoulder, her ruffled lace shirt and long skirt complete with the kid gloves that were edged with lace and a pillbox hat on her head.
She smiled smugly at Kevin. “I would have fit right in during that time. This is just like my favorite dream.”
“Why yes, ma’am,” he said, leaning over and giving her a bow. Then he took one of her hands and kissed the top of it.
“My, my, sir. I do declare,” she said in her best Scarlett O’Hara accent. Kevin giggled in delight. He knelt and dug further into the closet. Ellie could only figure that he was looking for shoes. She continued to twirl her parasol and admire herself in the mirror.
“These would be great for Halloween costumes. We should ask Linda if we can borrow some of them next year,” she said. She heard Kevin’s muffled response but couldn’t understand it. “Kevin, what are you doing back there?”
The only thing she could see of Kevin was his butt up in the air underneath all of the hanging jackets and suits. He slowly crawled out, dragging a box behind him.
“Hey, Ellie. Check this out,” he said.
Ellie went over and knelt beside him. “What is all this stuff?” she said.
“Looks like a lot of the kind of stuff you’d find if you were doing séances,” Kevin said. He pulled a long velvet tablecloth from the box, which was covering a medium-size clear ball sitting on a base of four ornate legs.
They exchanged a puzzled look.
“A crystal ball?” Ellie said.
“Looks like it,” Kevin said. He pulled a deck of cards from the box. They were larger than the standard playing card size, and as Kevin turned them over to show the pictures, Ellie saw that they were tarot cards. A hat also sat in the box, one that would fit tightly to the head and had costume jewels hanging down in front. The final object that Kevin pulled from the box was a Ouija board.
“I haven’t played with one of these since I was a kid,” Kevin exclaimed.
“I don’t like those things,” Ellie said, backing away. They reminded her too much of the things that Jake had talked about. “Put it all back, Kevin. I think it’s time we put all this stuff away and go back downstairs.”
“Aren’t you even the least bit curious, Ellie?” Kevin asked.
“Curious about what?” she said.
“What it’s like on the other side. Haven’t you ever thought about that?”
“You don’t even know that there is an ‘other” side,’” Ellie retorted. “For all anyone knows, when you’re dead, that’s it. You’re gone. Game over.”
“Don’t you want to believe that people go to heaven?” Kevin asked.
“Are you asking me if I think Jake went to heaven?” Ellie said. “I don’t believe in any of that kind of stuff, Kevin. I also don’t think that it’s very cool of you to be bringing up any of this ‘life after death’ talk right now either. The timing is pretty inappropriate.”
She stood up and started pulling off the clothes that she wore. Kevin sat in silence for a few moments, watching her re-hang the clothes that she had pulled off the rack.
“I’m sorry, Ellie. I wasn’t trying to offend you, really.” His voice was apologetic. “I’ve lost people close to me too. I’d like to think that everyone gets a second chance at something better, no matter what they did in their life here. That idea also helps me not be scared of what would happen if something happened to me.”
Ellie paused in her work and sighed. “I think that’s everyone’s reasoning, Kevin. I’m just a bit more cynical than most, especially when people around me keep dying. Look, why don
’t you finish putting your stuff away and meet me downstairs. I’ll go change into something more comfortable and grab another bottle of wine.”
“Okay.” Kevin’s voice was quiet, but agreeable.
Ellie left him in the closet and walked quickly into her room. She shut the door behind her and leaned back against it, breathing deeply. She had lied, and she knew it. Although she still considered herself a skeptic, part of her did wish and hope for a better place for herself and her loved ones. She hoped that her parents were there.
Ellie had just gotten changed into sweatpants, a big sweatshirt, and ribbed socks when she heard the doorbell. She had forgotten that David was coming over. As she entered the hallway she looked into the master bedroom. She saw Kevin’s figure still sorting through all of the clothes that he had tried on. He poked his head out of the closet.
“David?” he questioned.
“I don’t know who else it would be. I’ll meet you downstairs,” she said.
Kevin waved and kept on working. Ellie took the stairs quickly and crossed the front foyer. Skipper already waited at the door. She picked him up and pulled open the door. David was there, with a smile and a bottle of wine.
She greeted him warmly, and he kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve seen this look before, I think,” he said teasingly. She blushed, remembering that day by the lake that seemed like an eternity ago, even though it hadn’t been more than a week.
“Kevin and I are having a slumber party,” she said.
“That sounds like a great idea. I’m sorry I can’t stay for it,” he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Ellie jabbed him in the ribs and he grunted.
“Not with company in the house,” she said, although she returned his smile. She was tired, and she wanted nothing more than to rest and forget all the horrors of the day.
“David! How delightful to see you!” Ellie and David turned to see Kevin, in perfect drag queen style, sashay his way down the stairs. He had a box under his arm. The men shook hands.
“What do you have there?” David asked, pointing at the box.
“It’s just a game for later,” Kevin said, avoiding the question. He headed for the library and Ellie and David followed.
As they walked, David held out his hand for Skipper to sniff. Skipper showed no interest. He laughed and took Ellie’s hand instead.
“He’s usually very friendly,” Ellie said with a slight frown.
“I’m sure he just sees me as competition, so he can’t be too nice to me,” David said. Ellie put Skipper down, and the dog followed Kevin into the library and then lay down on the cushion that Ellie had set in the corner.
By the time Ellie and David entered the room, Kevin hands held two glasses of wine. The mysterious box was nowhere to be seen. He saluted them.
“Cocktails, anyone?” he said with a smile.
“I’d love to, but I have to go back to work,” David said. He handed Kevin the bottle of wine that he had been carrying. “But this is for the two of you. I figured there would be some alcohol consumption during the course of your evening. As long as neither of you are driving, you should feel free to imbibe.” He glanced at Ellie.
“Imbibe we will, guaranteed,” Kevin said. Kevin took a long sip of wine and then looked around. “It appears that I left my overnight bag upstairs. Ellie, do you mind if I go slip into something more comfortable?”
“Not at all, Kevin,” she said.
“I’ll be right back. You kids be good,” Kevin said, giving them a meaningful look.
Ellie stuck her tongue out at him. He giggled and then was gone.
Ellie gestured to David to sit on the sofa. “This is quite cozy,” he said, looking around.
“It is,” Ellie agreed. “Since you can’t have any wine, is there anything else I can get for you to drink?”
David waved his hand. “No, I’m fine. I actually can’t stay long.”
“I thought you said on the phone that you had a few hours,” Ellie said, pouting.
“I know, but we’re short-staffed right now. They need me,” David said. “But I managed to wrangle a forty-five-minute break. My manager said that I should use it to sleep, or to be stupid and go over to see my girlfriend.” He shook his head with disdain. “Just in case you weren’t clear of the option I chose, it was you.”
Ellie tried to hide her excitement that he had called her his girlfriend, but she was also worried. “Are you getting enough sleep?” Fresh memories of Jake’s accident plagued her mind.
David sat up, sensing her thoughts. “Don’t worry about me. I’m used to pulling these kinds of shifts. I can function pretty well on not that much sleep.”
Kevin made a grand entrance into the room. “Did you miss me?”
Ellie and David couldn’t help but laugh. “We did,” Ellie said.
“Good.” Kevin flopped himself down on the sofa across from Ellie and David, picking up his glass of wine again. “So what’s up, doc?” he asked David.
“How long have you been waiting to say that?” David asked wryly.
“Too long,” Kevin chuckled. “I was starting to think I’d never get to use it.”
“Things are busy. I was just telling Ellie that I’m going to have to head back in a minute.”
“Umm, the doctor’s life is a hectic one, I’m told,” Kevin said, swirling the wine around and around in his glass.
“That it is,” David agreed. “How is Eric?”
Ellie was grateful when the subject changed to the benign topic of Kevin and Eric’s relationship. Kevin soon had both of them laughing as he related in over exuberant detail the story of his and Eric’s last disagreement.
“So needless to say, I have to go out and buy a new mattress pad because Eric swears that the featherbed has it out for him,” Kevin finished.
Ellie took another sip of wine and glanced at David out of the corner of her eye. Despite having just worked a whole shift, and apparently getting ready to work another one, his aura was robin’s egg blue. He was totally relaxed. He turned toward her and caught her looking at him. He put his arm around her and squeezed her tightly to him, then looked at Kevin.
“You gonna take good care of her tonight?” he said.
“You betcha,” Kevin said, taking another swig of wine.
Ellie rolled her eyes. “We’ll see who really is taking care of whom later on,” she commented under her breath.
“I’d better get going,” David said, and the three of them stood. He and Kevin shook hands again. “It was good to see you again, Kevin. You’re a good guy, helping Ellie out like this.”
“It’s not a problem,” Kevin said. He sat back down, clearly intending to give Ellie and David their space to say goodbye privately. Ellie walked David back down the hallway to the front door.
“It was really nice of you to stop by. You didn’t have to. I’m in good hands here,” she said.
“Perhaps it was also an excuse to see you again,” David said as he pulled her into his arms.
“I like your excuses,” she said with a smile. David bent his head and kissed her deeply. She wasn’t sure if it was the wine or the kiss, but her head spun. He gave her one final squeeze and then turned to leave.
“I’ll talk to you soon,” he said.
Ellie waved and blew him a kiss as she closed the door. She skipped back down the hallway to the library.
“Me thinks someone is in love,” Kevin said, drawing out the “o” in love.
“I like him a lot,” she said.
“I am delighted that you have rekindled your interest in the opposite sex again, darling,” Kevin said. “But now it’s time to have some real fun.” Kevin pulled the box out from underneath the couch and placed it on the coffee table. It was the Ouija board.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
David hurried down the patio steps, worried that he was going to be late getting back to the hospital. He didn’t see the figure at the bottom of the stairs until it was too late and they collided. David didn’t g
o down like the other man, but the wind was knocked out of him.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” he said as he held his hand out to the man on the ground.
The man struggled to his feet, ignoring David’s outstretched hand. David gasped. It was Joe Klein glaring back at him, but this time the man looked twenty years older than he had the last time David had seen him just a few days ago. Joe looked gaunt and his hair had turned pure white. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the crazy gleam in the man’s eyes.
“Mr. Klein, is that you?” David asked. “You don’t look well.”
“You again,” was the muttered reply. “I’m here to see Linda.” Joe dusted himself off slowly and peered over David’s shoulder.
“Mr. Klein, I tried to tell you when you were here before that Linda has gone on vacation indefinitely,” David explained as he deliberately stood at the bottom of the stairs, blocking Joe’s ability to move around him.
“I see lights on in that house,” Joe said, looking up at the house with suspicious eyes.
“I told you my girlfriend is house-sitting. She’s here now.” David didn’t want the agent harassing her, though. “Her friend Kevin, who you also met the other night, is staying with her,” he added.
“I think you’re lying,” Joe snarled. “Linda wouldn’t just leave without telling me.”
“Mr. Klein, are you feeling okay?” David said to try to change the subject. The last thing he wanted to know was anything more about the agent’s relationship with Linda Jordan. “I’m a doctor. I can help you.”
The agent’s face fell. When he looked back up at David, it was with haunted eyes. “There’s no cure for what I’ve got,” he said sadly and then turned away. “I’ll come see her later.”
David wanted to pursue the man, but a glance at his watch told him he didn’t have time to waste. His manager would be pissed if he wasn’t there for the evening rounds. He made a mental note to call Ellie later and tell her to keep an eye out. He was sure the man wasn’t dangerous, but better to be safe than sorry.
Inside the house, Ellie was scolding Kevin. “I told you that I’m not into that stuff,” she said. She refused to budge from her place in the doorway to the library.