Caspers Ghosts

by Victoria Hyder

  The July heat beat down on the back of my neck as I wiped sweat from my forehead. I was stationed in the driveway, in an old jogging vest and a pair of shorts and trainers, soap suds drying out on my arms as I rinsed the sponge out again. I was spending the afternoon washing both my Uncle’s car and my own. I didn’t mind doing it and I enjoyed toasting my skin a healthier colour. As much as I enjoyed being a pale little ‘goth’, it was summer and I was opting for normalcy for a change. Not to mention, it was far too hot and awkward to wear jeans whilst soaking two cars with soapy water. I just about heard my ringtone sounding out over my SKILLET CD. Shutting off the hose, I hurried over and swiped the phone up just as it was about to go to voicemail.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Hi, is this Avery?” I vaguely familiar voice answered.

  “Yes,” I managed warily, “Who’s this?”

  “It’s Tabby,” she replied, as though I was supposed to know who she was. I frowned, keeping my mouth shut. “Casper’s mum?” she offered, clearly thinking she may have gotten the wrong ‘Avery’.

  “Oh right, sorry!” I wanted to smack myself in the head. “Er hi how’re you?”

  “I’m fine,” she chirruped, “I was just wondering if you and your uncle would like to go to dinner the evening before your Graduation ceremony?”

  “Sure that would be nice, but wouldn’t it be too much for Martin to drive all the way down here, and then all the way up to Reading the next day?”

  “He’ll be alright. I just thought it would be nice for us to meet your uncle and get to know him, since –well –your own parents aren’t really an option. Plus, Casper speaks very highly of him.”

  “Oh?” I was honestly surprised by this.

  “Okay well –he actually talks about your uncle, and all good things.”

  Chuckling I settled down on the hot porch in the sunlight, and raked a hand through my sweaty hair. “Well I’ll have to ask my uncle, but it shouldn’t be a problem. He loves meeting new people. Plus, any excuse to show off the posh side of Brighton.”

  “I didn’t know there was one,” she stated, amused.

  “There wasn’t until my uncle moved here.”

  She laughed down the phone. A mother’s laughter, making her proud, it was all the things I hadn’t been able to do for years. “Alright then, talk to your uncle and then let me know. This is my number so just call or text.”

  “Okay that sounds good. I’ll have to talk to you later; I’m washing the cars at the moment.”

  “I’ll let you go then.”

  “Okay talk to you soon.”

  “Bye!” she chimed before ending the call.

  I stared down at my phone in bemusement before grabbing the hose from the floor. Turning on the spray, I rinsed down the car whilst waiting for the rest of the afternoon to waste away.

  By the time Brian came home both cars had completely dried and I was busy cooking up pasta in the kitchen when his key turned in the lock. He grinned tiredly as he walked into the kitchen and settled down at the table. “What’re you cooking over there, kiddo? Smells good.”

  “Just carbonara, nothing fancy!” I finished cooking, turned the hob off and dished up two large plates of pasta, cream and bacon. Carrying over both plates, Brian went over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. I hesitated as he poured us each a small glass.

  “Go on, a little bit doesn’t hurt you. Just drink a lot of water between now and bed and you’ll be fine.”

  Reluctantly I accepted the glass, the bitter burn of the wine rushing down my throat. I shuddered as I sat down. “Casper’s mum called me this afternoon while I was washing the cars,” I stated as I dug into my food.

  “Oh? How’s things?”

  “They seem fine. We didn’t talk for long. She was wondering if, the night before graduation, they could come down here for dinner.”

  “Yeah that shouldn’t be a problem,” he grinned over at me, twirling spaghetti around his fork. “Will it just be the parents, or does your boyfriend plan on gracing us with his presence?”

  Leaning over, I swatted Brian upside the head, “Shut up, you like Casper!”

  “I do.”

  “Just promise to be on your best behaviour?” I whined a little as I sipped the last of my wine.

  He rolled his eyes at me and flicked my shoulder. “Oh, give over will you? I’ll be nothing but charming. Besides, since your parents can’t exactly welcome them into their little slice of Hell, I need to make a good impression. You know, for the sake of the family’s image.”

  “We have an image?” I snorted.

  “Of course!” he grinned. “Insanity and gay-ness of our level must be expressed loudly and as vividly as possible!”

  “Oh God!” I groaned and dropped my head into my hands. Brian laughed again and clapped me on the back before going to put his dish in the sink. Turning my eyes back down to my bowl, I hesitated as I forced another mouthful down. “Hey Brian, can I ask you something?”

  “You know you can kiddo.”

  “How come you live here alone?”

  “Well I’m not exactly alone. I have you living with me, don’t I?” he grinned as he took the juice out of the fridge and poured it into his wine glass.

  “I know I mean –why haven’t you settled down with someone? You’re an awesome guy, I just don’t understand how you’re still single.”

  “Oh.” I looked up and saw Brian’s eyes dim a little as he bowed his head over his glass. “It’s not that I’ve not had boyfriends or ‘partners’,” he swiped a hand down his face, “It’s just that with everything that’s happened with you recently, and at Christmas. I just felt like you lot needed another adult. I just felt that having another person in my life would distract me too much.”

  I nodded. It did make sense on some level. Then again, Brian lived in Brighton. It wasn’t exactly next door. I sighed, “What about all those weeks we didn’t see one another? Weren’t you lonely?”

  “I don’t know, kid. Maybe I just feel like it’s been too long.”

  “Brian you’ve always told me to keep my chin up and keep going no matter what gets me down. Why can’t you do the same for yourself?”

  He smirked. “When did you get so wise?” he rolled his eyes. “Are you saying you want me to go out and start dating again?”

  “Maybe,” I grinned, “Would it really be so bad? I mean, I haven’t had a chance to embarrass you yet. Justice must prevail!” I laughed as he tossed a balled-up tea-towel at my head, grinning as he did so. “Seriously though, uncle, I really want you to meet someone and be happy.”

  “Aves, I am happy,” he insisted.

  “I want you to be happy with someone your own age. Someone who’ll wake you up with a full English breakfast or … or to curl up with on a rainy night and watch silly movies on TV!” I flushed and ducked behind my fringe, “It’s just … I want you to be happy if and when we all go off travelling.”

  “In that case I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” he answered soberly, his eyes betraying everything his mouth never could. He was lonely and he did want someone, but he was afraid to go out looking for it.

  I nodded to myself as I took the dishes over to the sink. Eventually, Brian sauntered off to the living room and I couldn’t help but feel my gut twist a little as I scrubbed the cream sauce off the plates and splattered soap over the counter. Brian would find someone. If I could, then so could he.

  *

  The night of the dinner came around much faster than I was expecting. Katie was even down for the weekend, having thrown tantrum after tantrum until my dad had finally relented and loaned her the money for a return ticket. We were all waiting in the living room, feeling stiff and awkward as we waited. Katie turned to me with a Cheshire-cat grin and poked at my shoulder, “Hey, you nervous?”

  Rolling my eyes I shifted in my seat. She perched on the arm of my chair and prodded my shoulder again. “Okay! I might be a little edgy.”

  “Why?�
�� he asked, “Brian’s cool and you’ve already met Casper’s parents and said they were nice, so what’s the problem.”

  “It’s just a lot in one go, that’s all.”

  “Had to happen sooner or later,” she grinned. Rolling my eyes at her, I flicked her knee as she tapped away on her phone. The doorbell rang. I hadn’t even heard the car pull up outside. My heart leapt into my throat as Katie squealed and clapped her hands.

  “On your feet, kiddo,” Brian grinned as he made his way to answer the door.

  As soon as the lock clicked open I felt my body temperature rise.

  “Good evening, I’m Avery’s uncle, Brian, do come on in.”

  “Oh wow your house is lovely!” Tabitha’s voice resounded from the hallway.

  Tabitha came into the doorway and beamed when she saw me, “Avery!” she came over and gave me a big hug that I readily returned. She smiled brightly up at me before turning towards Katie, her eyes bright. “And you must be Katie?”

  “That’s me,” she grinned up at Tabitha, a quizzical smile on her face as they hugged.

  “I have to say, you two don’t look all that much alike,” she tilted her blonde curls at us, as Martin and Casper were escorted into the living room by Brian. Turning around she grinned up at her husband, “Martin, this is Avery’s little sister, Katie.”

  Stepping forward, he looked her up and down before inclining his head, “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Finally Casper came into my view and I felt my knees turn to jelly. He was dressed in the smart light blue shirt he’d worn when we’d gone to church during Easter, his dark jeans tucked into Doc Martens and his freshly styled hair hung low over his kohl-lined eyes.

  “Hey,” he grinned as I enveloped him in a hug. He relaxed into my touch before leaning away.

  “How was the drive down?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

  “It was alright. Nothing major happened.” Glancing over my shoulder he cocked an eyebrow, “I didn’t know Katie was coming down.”

  “She threw a tantrum and forced dad to let her come.”

  Smirking, he shook his head. “She really is going to come into her own when she goes off to Uni.”

  The sound of Brian’s voice caught my attention. “So how would you folks like the grand tour?”

  “I think I’d like that very much,” Tabitha replied.

  Martin smiled stiffly, “Your house is quite large from the outside, I’d like to see how much bigger it is on the inside.”

  Brian wasn’t fazed by Martin’s abrasive manner. Instead he swept his arm into an arc and allowed them to walk on ahead into the hallway towards the kitchen. His voice carried through the walls as he showed them the kitchen, dining room and conservatory.

  As they drifted off down the hall, Katie let out a soft squeal before hopping over and throwing her arms around Casper. I watched as he stiffened and looked at me helplessly, before awkwardly hugging her back. She leaned back down from her tiptoes, grinning up at him. “I’ve missed you!”

  “Missed you too,” he gave a smirk to her before his gaze flicked back to me. “So, no one’s burst into flames yet, I take it everything is going well?”

  “Well I don’t hear the world imploding, so I’m going to say ‘yes’.” I grinned at them as Brian let his parents back along the hallway and then up the stairs. Floorboards creaked overhead.

  Katie laughed, “I wish they’d hurry up! I’m starving!”

  “I’m sure they won’t take too much longer,” I stated, even though knowing my uncle, he’d probably tell a funny anecdote about each and every strange trinket dotted around the place.

  “Liar,” Katie grumbled, “I really want f-o-o-d!”

  “Stop being a brat,” Casper remarked as he smirked. Katie stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Alright, are we all ready to head to the restaurant?” Brian’s voice made me jump as he appeared in the doorway, Martin and Tabitha at his side.

  There was a murmur of agreement before we all grabbed our jackets and coats from the hallway and left. Brian’s car was blocked in, so we had to wait for Martin, Tabitha and Casper to climb into their car before we could get out. I climbed into the backseat of Brian’s car with Katie. We backed out onto the road, Martin waiting behind us, and then led them into the main part of Brighton towards the restaurant. The sun was still fairly high in the sky as we drifted along the seafront. The air was calming, filled with the soft sounds of the waves breaking on the shore and a lone gull cawing off in the distance.

  “Alright kiddies, here we are!” Brian chimed as he pulled into the car park behind the restaurant. We parked and climbed out. Casper and his parents parked in the next row over and joined us at the entrance. Casper hung back as I let everyone else walk in ahead of me. He looked up and smiled a little. It was that smile, the one reserved only for me. I smiled and laced our fingers together.

  “You ready to go and have the most awkward dinner in history?” I asked gently.

  “It can’t be any worse than the dinner we had at your mums,” he commented dryly.

  “Oh trust me, with all the baby stories Brian has on me, this’ll be worse.”

  Casper’s delight flashed in his eyes and I groaned. “Well,” he murmured, “Maybe this will be the most enjoyable dinner I’ve ever had.”

  “You are pure evil, do you know that?”

  “You tell me constantly,” he smirked as I bent down and pressed a chaste kiss to is mouth.

  “Well someone needs to remind you. Come on let’s go in.” I held the door open for him and he strolled in, the scent of his aftershave sending a ripple of pleasure running through me.

  The atmosphere in the restaurant was beautiful and filled with a low hum of voices blending together with the soft lights, warmth and the smell of cooked food. I reached down and squeezed Casper’s hand before we took our seats, Casper next to Katie and Martin with me sitting next to Tabitha and Brian. It was nice seeing our families already intermingling. We placed our orders and had our drinks served.

  Taking a sip of her wine, Tabitha looked between me and Casper before smiling. “So have you two boys thought about where you want to travel to, first?”

  I glanced over at Casper and watched as he dropped his gaze to his food. “We haven’t really thought that far ahead actually.”

  Her smile faltered a little, “Why ever not? Isn’t it getting a little late to book tickets?”

  “Mum we just … We want to get through graduation first.”

  “I know, dear,” she smiled, tilting her head. “But you know your results now, right? So there’s nothing left to worry about. Now you can relax and enjoy yourselves.”

  “Yeah,” I hedged. I could feel the weight of their eyes on me, “Even so, the actual ceremony will be stressful enough. We can organize everything the next day or something. We’ll have it done by next week no doubt. There’s no need to rush right now.”

  “Are you two going to the dance afterwards?” Brian interjected, effectively cutting over whatever motherly comment Tabitha was about to say.

  Casper nodded his head, “Yes we are. I can’t wait to see what disastrous music they’re going to play.”

  “It might not be that bad,” Tabitha tutted.

  Rolling his clear eyes, he turned his attention to me. “We’ll end up listening to rubbish like Justin Bieber or some crap.”

  “Don’t worry; I’m sure the DJ streaming off youtube will take requests,” Katie giggled.

  Martin raised his glass and cleared his throat loudly, causing the few of us holding silverware to pause and lowered them discreetly. “I would like to raise a toast to congratulate both our son, and your nephew,” he gave a look to Brian who smiled, “on their wonderful results. Hopefully the rest of the year will bring you both nothing but good health and happiness.”

  “Here, here!” Brian raised his own glass.

  We all clinked glasses. Casper’s eyes trained on my face for a little while. The rest of the dinner progressed,
conversation being kept casual especially when Martin and Brian found some common ground in the subjects they’d taken at college. It was shockingly surreal to see them bonding so easily, especially when Martin had been so sceptical of me, but I couldn’t deny that it made me feel good. I tried to hide a grimace as a faint buzzing noise started up in my ears and a cold sensation started creeping up the back of my neck. Rubbing at my ear I tried to force it away, but it refused to die down completely. A hand reached out and rested on top of mine. I looked up, shocked, to see Tabitha smiling up at me. Leaning closer, she murmured in my ear, “Focus on right now. That’s all. Tomorrow is just one day and then you can enjoy yourselves.”

  No words came to me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Casper watching us. I pressed my lips together and nodded. She leaned away, the warmth of her body disappearing. Something nudged my ankle. Glancing quickly under the table, I saw that Casper had caught my foot between his thick-soled boots. Peering up, I saw him smile tenderly at me. I could be happy. I had no reason to worry anymore.

  An hour later I felt as though I was having an out-of-body experience; I was laughing and enjoying myself as I listened to Martin dryly recall Casper as a child, Brian’s teasing stories about me and Katie toddling about chasing butterflies, all whilst enjoying chocolate cake for dessert and Tabitha blushing with the after-effects of wine. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so effortlessly happy in other peoples company. By the time we got outside we were all fairly merry –even though Martin and Casper barely showed any signs at all –we made our way back to the cars. Since Casper and I didn’t drink we were appointed the designated drivers.