I nodded slowly and pointed behind her. “He’s standing near the counter.”
She flipped around quickly, and her head flung back and forth. “I can’t feel him.”
Brian floated over to her and kissed her on the cheek.
Her eyes widened, and then she touched that side of her face. “I just felt something right here. Was that him?”
I smiled. “He just kissed your cheek.”
She dabbed a tissue into the corners of her eyes. “I don’t think I can do this. I miss him so much.”
“Tell her she can.”
“He said you can, and I think he’s right.”
She smiled at me. “Have you lost someone you love like this? Someone that meant the world to you?”
I nodded slowly. “Not just my mom, like I said, but my dad, too. It’s not easy, but one day you’ll wake up and the first thing you think about won’t be that Brian’s gone. It just takes time to adjust to things the way they are now.”
“I’m afraid. I haven’t been alone in years.”
I smiled. “You’re not alone, Sue.”
“It feels like it.”
“I know.”
“She needs to get on the phone with my attorney first thing tomorrow and tell him she wants to stop production of the handles,” Brian said. He further detailed out what he wanted me to tell his wife.
“Does he think Dan did this deliberately? Did Dan try to kill him?”
Brian shook his head. “I don’t think so. It was about the money. He wanted more cash in his pocket.”
I relayed the message to Sue.
“So, what do I do? What do I say to the attorney?”
I detailed out verbatim what Brian said as Sue wrote it all down in a notebook. When she finished, she asked if she could have a moment alone with Brian. “Would you mind going into the other room? I…I’m sorry.”
“Please, don’t be sorry. I understand.” I stepped away.
Ma popped in next to me, and I almost screamed. “I hate it when you do that.”
“You want me to go listen? I can fill you in later.”
“No,” I whispered. “I do not want you to go listen. Give the woman some privacy, Ma.”
“It ain’t like she can hear him, anyway. I could go and help him out. You know, throw some stuff or something.”
“Uh, no. I think you’re fine right where you are.”
She frowned. “You’re no fun.”
“I think you’ve mentioned that a time or fifty.”
“Thousand,” she said.
Brian floated out. “Mrs. Richter, can you come and help me, please?”
She stuck her tongue out at me.
I hated not knowing what was going on when everyone else there did. Well, Sue probably didn’t, but that depended on what Ma was doing to help. I stood there, feeling all kinds of uncomfortable and weird as I slowly crept toward the kitchen. I hadn’t even realized I’d done it until I heard Sue’s whimpering.
“Am I going to be okay, Brian? I don’t know how to do this without you,” she said.
Oh boy. I felt like a heel for snooping in on her private, one-sided, conversation. I backed away from the wall and directly into a small table. Before I could stop it, a picture frame fell to the ground, and the glass smashed into pieces.
Sue ran over, her face ashen and puffy, and her nose red and swollen. She stared down at the broken frame and the picture of her family smiling on their boat. “What have you done?”
My heart sank. “I…I’m…I’m sorry. It was an accident.” I bent down and picked up the large pieces of glass. “I’m so sorry.”
“Please, just leave. I’ll take care of things. You can tell Brian I’ll do what needs to be done. I need to try and rest now.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“No, please. I don’t want you with us. Please. This is just too uncomfortable for me. You’ve done what Brian asked, and I thank you for that.”
Brian shrugged at me. “She’s upset.”
I nodded. “Okay.” I walked toward the door and let myself out, sniffling and holding back the tears as I did.
* * *
“That was kind of rude,” Mel said. I’d just told her everything that happened. “It was just a picture, and it can be replaced.”
“It’s not just a picture. It’s a whole lot of other things, and I’m kind of the center of it. It’s uncomfortable for both of us.”
She stretched out under the sheets of her bed. “Probably, but she can at least give you some credit for coming out here and helping her like you did.”
“She will eventually, but I’ll never hear it, and I’m okay with that. I don’t do this for the expressions of thanks.”
“No, you do it for the money.”
“Ha, as if.”
“Maybe you should try for a TV show? You could be the Redneck Medium or something.”
“Because I’m such a redneck.”
“Well, they’d have to work on that, but it’s not impossible. Most reality shows are fake anyway, especially the psychic medium ones.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“I do. Only you’re the real deal in my book, and screw Sue. I know she’s in pain, but you did a good thing, aside from breaking the picture frame and snooping, but you know what I mean.”
“I appreciate your support.” I’d finished getting ready for bed and climbed under the covers. “We can leave in the morning.”
“No, I need you to go to the wake anyway,” Brian said.
I pulled the blanket up over my chest. “Good grief. Don’t you have any boundaries?”
“You’re not naked.”
“No, but I’m in my pajamas.”
He smiled. “And I’ve seen what’s under them, remember?”
I tilted my head to the left. “No, you saw the eighteen-year-old version, not the fifty-something version.”
“It’s the same, just hangs a little lower.”
“Screw you, Brian.”
Mel giggled and flipped over to face the opposite wall.
He laughed. “Hey, it happens with age. I won’t tell you what’s hanging on me.”
“Gross.”
“Seriously, Angela, I need you to go anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to make sure things go okay, and you’re the only one I can talk to, so you’re the only one that can make sure that happens.”
“What’s going to happen?”
“Maybe nothing, but she’s upset about Dan, and I’m worried she’ll say something to him. She needs to handle this carefully, not with emotion, and she’s all emotion right now.”
“Great.” I moaned and pulled the covers over my head.
“I take it you don’t like what he’s saying?” Mel asked.
“Nope,” I mumbled from under the covers.
“Well, regardless, I have a feeling that doesn’t matter.”
“Nope, it doesn’t. We’re going tomorrow.”
“What time?”
I peeked out at Brian as he gave me the time, which I quickly repeated to Mel.
“Oh, cool. That means you can take me on a tour tomorrow.”
“Tour of what?”
“Your old stomping grounds, obviously.”
“Fine.” I flipped over and punched the pillow to push it into a firm ball, but it didn’t work. I sighed, and the next thing I knew, it was morning, and Mel was whispering into my ear.
“Wake up sleepy head. I need real coffee, stat.”
I opened my left eye. “No. It’s an hour earlier here. God’s not even up yet.”
“It’s almost six o’clock here. That means it’s almost seven in our bodies. How late have you been sleeping lately?” She paused. “Wait, do you really know that God’s not up yet?”
“Um, no. I’m not a prophet or anything. And I haven’t been sleeping well. That’s the point.”
“Come on, I had a cup of that stuff on the dresser, and
it’s gross. I need some real leaded fuel.”
I rolled over onto my side, away from her. “I have puppies. I haven’t slept since we got them.”
She yanked the covers off me. “Well then, it shouldn’t be a big deal to get up now.”
I rolled back onto my back and blew out a breath. “Fine.”
She waved her hand in front of her face and then squeezed the tip of her nose with her thumb and finger. “Yuck, your breath smells like dog butt.”
“I love you, too.” I pushed myself out of bed, whining the entire time. “This trip is all I expected it to be.”
“A great girls’ trip with your bestie?”
“Not exactly.”
“You’re such a joy in the morning.”
“As if you didn’t already know that.”
* * *
“It used to be here, at least that’s what I remember.”
We sat in my car, staring at the AT&T storefront.
“That’s impossible.”
“What? That a Starbucks was there? It’s not impossible.”
“Starbucks wasn’t even around in the Stone Age.”
“I’m not talking about while I was in high school, you dork—which by the way wasn’t Stone Age times—I’m talking about after that, before I met Jake. Why would they close a Starbucks? That’s got to be illegal.”
Mel shrugged. “Use the app, you’ll find one on there.”
“You check. I’m driving.”
“There’s one at 1205 W Dundee Road in Buffalo Grove. Is that near here?”
“I’m pretty sure but get the directions anyway.”
She stuck the phone in my face.
“Oh, that’s right by my high school. Ten minutes away. Tops.” I paused. “Depending on traffic.”
“Put the pedal to the metal, woman. I need coffee and those egg thingies.”
We headed that direction.
“So, tell me about the area.”
“What about it?”
“Did you do anything here?” She pointed to a random building.
“That’s a business building. What would I have done there?”
“Made out in the parking lot or something?”
“Nope, no hanky-panky in the parking lot there.”
“What about here?” She pointed to a side street. “Go to any parties there?”
“Do you remember high school in that kind of specific detail?”
“Sure, like it happened yesterday, but then again, I’m younger than you.”
“Not by much, but whatever.”
“You’re saying you don’t remember things?”
“I remember things, yes, but I can’t say where every single party was, well, except for the ones at the Jewish Cemetery. Those parties were kind of memorable.”
“You partied in a cemetery?”
I cringed as I nodded. “Yeah. I regret that now.”
“You should. That’s all kinds of wrong, partying on the dead like that.”
“Yeah, in retrospect it’s kind of gross.”
“Kind of? Probably you were too drunk to care about it then.”
“There’s a lot of truth to that. I do remember having to go to the bathroom in the grass, and that wasn’t all that fun.”
She laughed. “How ironic, you relieving yourself on the dead. That’s hilarious.”
“It kind of is, isn’t it?”
“Luckily you weren’t actively engaged with ghosts then. You would have been the talk of the school, but for all the wrong reasons.”
“What, dare I ask, would be the right reasons to ever be the talk of the school?”
“If you have to ask, you weren’t as fun as I like to think you were.”
“Nice.”
She smirked.
“How about after we get our coffee, I take you over there? Maybe that will jar something in my brain.”
“Oh,” she golf clapped. “It’s tour time!”
We pulled into the strip mall entrance. “Wow, this is different. This entire building is new.” I parked in a spot and pointed across the street as we walked to the entrance. “This would have been awesome during open lunch, Seven Eleven be damned. I’m surprised I didn’t see it yesterday.”
We ordered our drinks inside and waited for them at the bar.
I turned toward Mel and whispered, “Oh, boy.”
“Really? You’re not going to, are you?”
“I’m not going to do anything, but she’s staring at me.”
“Where is she?”
I rested the side of my hand on the counter and pointed to the right with my other hand but hid it with my palm. “There. Standing next to the guy with the Cubs hat on. Well, she’s floating, but you know what I mean.”
“What’s she doing?”
“I told you, she’s staring at me.”
“Well don’t look at her or she’ll know you can see her.”
The woman floated over to me. “You can see me, can’t you?”
I leaned into Mel. “Too late.”
Mel glanced through the spirit. “She’s here, isn’t she?”
“Yeah. How do you know?”
“Because it’s suddenly freezing right here.” She waved her hand through the poor ghost.
“Stop that. It’s creeping me out.”
“Ew, did I touch her?”
I nodded. “You’re so rude.”
She laughed. “Well, yeah, when it comes to ghosts, I’m not all that easy going like you.”
“Keep your voice down, please.”
“You can see me. Why won’t you acknowledge me?”
The barista handed us our drinks and Mel’s egg thingies. We made our way toward the door, the ghost on our tail.
“Excuse me.”
At the car I finally acknowledged her. “Yes, I can see you. I just didn’t want to make it obvious inside.”
“Oh, I understand.”
“What can I help you with?”
The woman, a petite brown-haired woman who probably died around forty-years-old, pointed toward the sky. “Is that light for me? It’s been following me around for I don’t know how long, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.”
“Oh, honey, yes, it’s for you. Did no one come for you, a family member perhaps?”
“My father told me to go with him, but he’s dead.”
“As are you.”
“I know that now, but I wasn’t sure before.”
“Yes, you need to go to that light. Your dad and any other loved ones who have already died will be there waiting, I promise.”
“It’s a bit overwhelming. I would like to keep living. I’m so young.”
“I know. Everyone feels that way, but this is what was meant to be, as much as it seems so wrong.”
“How do I go to it?”
“I’m not exactly sure. Just concentrate on it, maybe?”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
She did an excellent job because a few seconds later, she shimmered away.
I clicked the unlock part of my key fob and climbed in, saying, “She’s gone,” as I did.
“That was quick.”
“It’s always nice to get an easy one every now and again.”
“You’re weird.”
“Yup, that was established years ago.”
I made a quick run past Hair Directors, the salon I went to before moving to Atlanta, owned by my friend Doreen. It was too early to be open, and I was glad because I felt terrible for not letting so many old friends know I was in town.
I drove down Arlington Heights Road and pointed out a few things I remembered along the way. Just before the stop light at Hintz Road, I pointed to the right. “That’s where my bestie in high school lived. One of those houses.”
“That’s my competition, Nancy, right?”
“Competition?” I laughed. “One of them, but hands down my first snarky, and my wittiest BFA.”
“Yes, you’ve told me. Many times. She made the best bologna san
dwiches, blah, blah, blah.”
“Well, she did.” I smiled at the memory. “I wonder if she makes them the same now?” I should call her. I haven’t seen her in years.”
“Let’s stop by. I’m happy to meet the one I replaced.”
I smirked. “Do I detect a bit of jealousy here?”
“Nah. I just like to make you feel important.”
“Right. On the left somewhere in there is where Brian lived,” I said as we drove through the intersection.
“You’re not taking me there?”
“I honestly couldn’t get there if I tried. I just know it’s back there somewhere. Besides, we already passed the way I used to go, so…”
“It’s just a house anyway. I’d prefer to see where you and Fran lived.”
“I’m headed that direction now.”
We passed St. Edna’s Church. “That’s where the funeral is, but I don’t plan on going to that.” I’d thought about it, but didn’t feel like it was my place. I didn’t feel like anything concerning Brian was my place, but I did want to help him.
“Thank God. Those Catholic funerals take all day.”
“I know, right? And all that kneeling and stuff is hard on my old woman body.”
“That’s because you run too much.”
“Not anymore, unfortunately.” We sat at the light for Rand Road, and the changes there made me sort of sad. “Wow. This is totally different. I used to work at a place in that strip mall when I was a sophomore. A cheesy women’s clothing store called Fashionation. I hated that job. All I did was straighten racks of clothing for hours at a time. Hours. The only part I liked was being able to chat with my friend Kristin. She was a senior, and she gave me the time of day, which made me feel fantastic back then.”
“You hung out with seniors? What was wrong with her?”
“There was nothing wrong with her. She was super cool, and she was a BG-ette. I was thrilled she hung out with me.”
Mel’s face contorted into something that showed her extra chins and made her stunning Asian eyes nearly disappear. “What the heck is a BG-ette?”
“It’s like a cheerleader slash dancer.” I tried to remember exactly what they did, but the memory, like most, wasn’t clear. “They did a lot of hand movements, and I think they wore white gloves.”
She nodded. “Ode to Michael Jackson.”
“Maybe. Never thought about that. I can’t believe how much the area has changed. Oh, we have to go to Barnaby’s for lunch.”
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