Shadow of a Life

by Tifani Clark

CHAPTER 21

  “Bye, Dad. See you in a week,” I called as he waved from our front porch the next morning. Jack and Rita were loading my luggage into the trunk of their car in the driveway while Sophia and I climbed into the backseat.

  “Do you have your phone and did you remember to pack your charger?” he called back.

  “Yes and yes. Love you, Dad.” I shut the door. I felt sad to be leaving my dad. I was completely deceiving him when he trusted me wholly. I couldn’t answer the questions my mind kept asking. Is it okay to lie if I’m helping someone else out of a tricky situation? How far is too far?

  We drove to Camille’s house and loaded her luggage, too. I definitely packed lighter than she did. Jack had to rearrange the trunk twice before he was able to fit everything in. We’d be staying in a hotel in Newport News for a week, but the way Camille packed you’d think we were going to be gone for the entire summer. Jack and Rita drove us back to their home where Nick and Peter were already waiting. Peter got in the car with us and Sophia transferred to her car with Nick. Jack and Rita would drive us to the airport in Boston while Nick and Sophia headed south for six hours through New York and into Philadelphia where they would hopefully meet up with us at the airport there.

  “I’m really glad you got permission to come. It would have been weird if it was only Camille and I going,” Peter said when the three of us were nestled in the back of Jack and Rita’s car.

  “Thanks, Peter. I love you, too,” Camille said sarcastically.

  Peter turned red. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant because Jamie’s the actual soul saver and all.”

  “Right, whatever you say.”

  I was glad it wasn’t just the two of them going, too. I didn’t want whatever Peter saw in me to be forgotten if he spent time alone with Camille.

  The drive to Logan International Airport was uneventful even though I noticed Jack checking his rearview mirror—a lot. He and Rita were easy to talk to and I found myself hoping to still see them once in a while after Sophia and Nick were gone. The adults accompanied us as far as they could to the security checkpoint inside the airport, but couldn’t go with us to the actual gate since we’d all opted to fly as unaccompanied minors. They could have vanished and followed us, but that would have been hard to do without drawing attention to ourselves in the busy airport. Jack and Rita already looked suspicious the way they kept looking around in every direction, eyeing every passenger.

  “I haven’t seen any ghosts since we got here, with the exception of Boston Bob, so I think you’re okay,” Jack said as we were saying goodbye.

  “Boston who?” Camille asked

  “Boston Bob. Everybody knows about him,” Rita said. “He’s been a fixture here at the Logan Airport since it was built. He just roams around messing with people’s luggage and stuff. He’s completely harmless so don’t worry about him. I’d ask him to keep an eye out for the Goodwins for you, but the last time I tried to talk to him I ended up being stuck in conversation about absolutely nothing for three hours.”

  I laughed. “So that’s how all the luggage gets lost, huh?”

  “Sometimes.” Jack laughed, too.

  We finally parted ways, with Rita hugging each of us and Jack shaking our hands. I was nervous, but it was time to be alert and completely aware of our surroundings. I had to focus. If the Goodwins were following us, they weren’t stupid enough to do it in their human form. Sophia had practiced with me the night before and I was getting pretty good at detecting when the air around me changed and there was a ghost present. It took complete concentration, though, and that was kind of hard in a busy airport where people were jostling each other and moving in all directions.

  We still had thirty minutes before we were supposed to board so we grabbed drinks and snacks at one of the food kiosks and found some chairs to camp out in for a while. We didn’t talk very much. I think we were all a little anxious. It was crazy that a couple of weeks before I was completely comfortable to be on my own. Now, I felt like I needed a ghostly bodyguard just to go to the bathroom.

  Since I’d traveled a lot with Dad, I felt at home in an airport. I knew that Peter had traveled quite extensively, too. He used to miss a lot of school while he traveled with his parents—before he got old enough for them to leave him by himself. Camille’s family traveled, too, but they tended to drive everywhere they went. They usually spent a month in a vacation rental near Salem every summer. I’d gone with them a couple of times. I went the summer after fifth grade and the summer after seventh grade. We’d had a blast.

  Finally, our seats were announced and we were allowed to board the plane. We’d been lucky enough to get three seats next to each other. Camille grabbed the seat by the window and I sat in the middle between her and Peter. I took a good look at everyone else on the plane. I didn’t know if the Goodwins had accomplices. No one looked suspicious and it didn’t appear that anyone watched us or even paid particular attention to us. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the surrounding air—nothing felt out of place.

  “Are you okay?” Peter asked as he covered my hand with his.

  I opened my eyes. “I’m fine. I’m just trying to concentrate.”

  “Concentrate?”

  “Yeah. Last night Sophia tried to teach me how to recognize when ghosts are around. She and Nick would come and go to help me practice.”

  “Did it work?”

  “I could detect when they came in the room about seventy-five percent of the time.”

  “Do you detect anything here?”

  “Nope.”

  “I guess that’s good—unless now is part of the twenty-five percent that you don’t sense someone.”

  I laughed and leaned back against my seat. He did the same thing.

  “Can’t ghosts fly?” Peter asked, turning his head towards mine.

  “Huh?”

  “Why don’t Sophia and Nick just fly to Virginia by themselves?”

  “I don’t think they really fly. I think it’s more of a floating thing. I think they’re only fast when they’re in their human form, but I’m not sure.”

  “Hellooo. Remember me. I’m here, too,” Camille complained.

  Peter and I turned to look at her.

  “You two are boring. I can’t even hear your conversation.”

  “Sorry. What do you want to talk about?” I asked.

  “Something besides ghosts.”

  “Global warming?” Peter suggested.

  “Nice try. If you weren’t here, we’d probably be talking about boys,” Camille said smugly.

  “Wow. I’m glad I’m here to put a stop to that then.”

  “What time are we supposed to—” Camille cut off in mid-sentence with a stunned look on her face.

  Alarmed, I quickly grabbed her shoulder. “Cam, what’s wrong?”

  “I . . . uhh . . . nothing,” she said sheepishly.

  She leaned back in her seat to where Peter could no longer see her, caught my eye, and then nodded toward my lap. I looked down. I’d forgotten Peter’s hand was still holding mine—it felt natural there. Embarrassed, I immediately turned red and started to pull my hand away. Peter caught it and entwined his fingers with mine. By that point my face was on fire. I looked up and he smiled back with laughing eyes. Camille stayed back against the seat and covered her mouth with her hands, trying desperately to contain the little giggles that were escaping.

  When she finally had herself under control she turned to me again and whispered, “How long has this been going on?”

  I was still horribly embarrassed. I wasn’t used to public displays of affection. “I don’t know. A couple of days I guess.”

  “Are you guys, like, a couple or something now?”

  “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it,” I whispered back, wishing the conversation would just be over.

  “What are you guys whispering about over there?” Peter asked as he leaned out from his seat so that he could see both of us at once.
<
br />   “Boys. I told you we like to talk about boys, remember?” Camille said, but that time she grinned at Peter.

  “Maybe I’ll just take a nap. That is, unless you need some input from someone who actually is a boy.”

  “Nope. We’re good.”

  The plane took off and we began our trip to the City of Brotherly Love. I wished it was our final destination because I loved Philadelphia. There’s so much history there and Dad and I enjoyed visiting it. We’d usually find ourselves there once every year or two. The flight attendant brought around drinks and those little bags of honey mustard pretzels. I was too anxious to eat so I gave mine to Peter, who apparently loved them. I sipped a soda while he and Camille both drank water.

  Our plane landed in Philly without any delays. It was a beautiful summer day and I wished I could be outside enjoying it. Our plane taxied to the gate and we gathered our carryon bags, listening to the Captain over the loudspeaker thank us for choosing US Airways and blah, blah, blah, before we exited the plane. We still had a couple of hours before our connecting flight to Newport News was due to depart. Sophia and Nick planned to be in Philadelphia within an hour and a half. I hoped they hadn’t met with any unforeseen problems while going through New York. The traffic can get kind of messy there.

  I turned my phone on and listened to it ding, telling me I had one new voicemail. I stepped away from the crowds of people and covered one ear with the hand not holding the phone so I could hear.

  “Hi, Jamie. We got a little held up in traffic, but I think we can still make the flight. If we aren’t there in time, go without us. We’ll catch the next flight out and meet you at the hotel later tonight. We’ve been on the road for about three hours now and haven’t seen signs of anyone following us. Anyway, I hope you had a good flight. Text me when you land and get this message. I have big news for you.”

  Big news? What could possibly have happened in the few hours since I’d seen her? I walked back to Peter and Camille who had staked out a spot on a row of hard plastic chairs.

  “Anything?”

  “They think they’ll make it, but it will be cutting it close. She said she has big news,” I said vaguely as I texted her back.

  “What do you mean?” Camille asked.

  I shrugged. “Dunno. She didn’t say.”

  I waited for a few minutes and then felt the familiar vibration of my phone. I turned the screen on and looked at my messages. There were no words, but Sophia had sent a picture—of her hand.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Camille asked, looking over my shoulder.

  “I’m not sure. Is it code for something?”

  “Let me see,” Peter said as he reached over and took the phone from me. “Yep. It’s definitely code for something. I could tell right away. You should be ashamed to call yourselves girls.”

  I glared at him and took the phone back, enlarging the picture.

  “Oh my gosh. Look at her ring finger,” Camille squealed.

  Sure enough, on her long, slender finger, below her perfectly manicured nail, was a gorgeous diamond ring.

  “They’re engaged,” Camille said excitedly. The people around us turned and stared.

  “Okay. The truth is, when Nick picked me up this morning he told me he was going to officially propose to Sophia. I promised I wouldn’t tell you guys,” Peter said.

  “That is so sweet—it’s like we’re living in a fairytale,” Camille said. “I wonder how Nick did it. He better have gotten down on one knee. Do you think he got permission from her father—I mean Jack—first? That would have been funny. If they plan on disappearing soon, how are they going to plan a wedding? Agghhh! Do you think we’ll get to be bridesmaids?”

  Camille finally stopped jabbering when she realized that Peter and I were about to fall out of our chairs from laughing so hard.

  “What?” she whined.

  “Maybe you should ask Sophia these questions.”

  “Congratulations. We’re very happy for you. Camille can’t stop squealing, if you know what I mean,” I texted back, hiding the screen from Camille’s view.

  We figured we had a long wait so we found a deli and ordered sandwiches. I got ham and turkey with all the veggies—my usual. Camille skipped the bread and went for the veggies in the form of a salad, and Peter ordered a footlong double-meat sandwich. I could never understand how the teenage boys at our school could stay so skinny with the way they all ate.

  The time ticked away faster than I expected and before we knew it they were beginning to board our flight.

  Camille freaked out. “They’re not here. What are we supposed to do?”

  “Cam, it’s okay. I have all the hotel info with me. If they don’t get here in time, we can grab a taxi at the airport and wait at the hotel for them. It’s not a big deal.” I loved being able to take charge. My relationship with Camille was finally evolving.

  Sure enough, our seats were called and there was still no sign of Sophia or Nick. The second plane was a lot smaller than the first one had been and there were far fewer seats. Peter and I sat in a row of two chairs and Camille sat across the aisle from us. We watched the aisle carefully, waiting for the newly engaged couple to rush onto the plane, but there was no sign of them. I tried to text Sophia again, but she didn’t respond and we were being told to turn off our phones. Finally, the flight attendant closed the door and the plane moved away from the gate.

  “I guess it’s just us,” Peter said quietly.

  “Yeah. I’m sure they’ll meet up with us soon,” I replied somberly.

  I wanted to be strong for Camille’s sake. She wasn’t happy that our carefully laid plan had failed. As soon as we were in the air, she turned toward the window and curled her legs up to take a nap.

  Peter looked at her. “That’s a good idea. I’m going to do the same thing.” He grabbed one of the little airplane pillows and put it behind his head, slipped off his shoes, and closed his eyes.

  I wished I could sleep, but I felt like one of us needed to stay awake. It was quiet around me and I quickly became bored and found that my own eyes were starting to droop. I tried to fight off the sleep, but it was a struggle. Finally, I gave in and let my eyes close. I don’t know how long I’d been like that before I felt it, but I don’t think it had been very long. At first, I didn’t know what had happened. Something had gotten my attention. I sat, not moving, my eyes still closed and breathed deeply in and out.

  There it was again. The air around me had moved slightly and there was a subtle change in the temperature. The hair on my arms began to stand up and my heart raced. Something was definitely present—something that wasn’t alive. I slowly reached over and squeezed Peter’s arm, still not opening my eyes. I wished my heart would stop beating so hard. I couldn’t hear anything over its hammering.

  Peter opened his eyes and squeezed me back. I opened my eyes and mouthed the word “ghost” toward him. He sat forward and looked around frantically. I closed my eyes again and felt a prodding sensation, as if someone or something had tapped me gently. All of a sudden realization hit and relief flooded me. I laughed out loud.

  “What?”

  “It’s Sophia. I recognize the feel of her. Sophia?” I whispered into the air.

  I felt the prodding again. It was definitely Sophia. I turned the other way and looked at Camille. She slept peacefully so I decided to wait until we landed to give her the news. It wasn’t a very long flight and we could wait.

  When the plane landed a short time later we gathered our luggage for the last time and headed for the exit. I wasn’t sure when Sophia and Nick were going to reappear. They couldn’t exactly do it in the middle of a crowd. I wondered if they’d have to wait until we were at the hotel, but then a thought occurred to me.

  “Hey, Cam. I think we need to use the bathroom. You probably should too, Peter.”

  “I’m fine. I can wait until we get to the hotel. Airport bathrooms are disgusting. Think of how many gross people go in and out o
f those every day,” Camille said.

  “Just come with me. You don’t have to touch anything.”

  Camille rolled her eyes but dutifully followed. We stood at the long mirror and touched up our makeup.

  “Are we in here for a reason?” Camille asked.

  “She’s waiting for me.” Sophia emerged from one of the bathroom stalls, completely in human form and looking much better than Cam and I who had just spent the day in airports and on airplanes.

  Camille whirled around. “Sophia. You made it. Let me see your hand.”

  Sophia beamed as she held her hand up for inspection. The diamond sparkled under the vanity lights.

  “Tell us all about it.” Camille bounced up and down.

  “Well, after we left you we headed out of town just as planned. Right before we got to Providence, Nick pulled off the interstate and stopped at one of those scenic overlooks. I was really confused, but he made me get out of the car and we walked to the lookout area. He got down on one knee—”

  “Awwww.” Camille couldn’t contain herself.

  “—and popped the question. It was really sweet. I had no idea he was going to do that.”

  “What do you plan to do then?” I didn’t want to be a pessimist, but Sophia could finish her business any day and that would be the end of any wedding plans.

  “Nick and I talked about it on the way here. We’ve been waiting forever to get married. If you guys are willing, we want to forget everything about the Goodwins and strange maps and our old life for one day and get married tomorrow.”

  “Agghh! Yes we’re okay with that,” Camille answered immediately. I nodded in agreement.

  “Good. It’s settled then. I’m getting married tomorrow.”

  The three of us hugged and with our “girl moment” finished we left the bathroom. Peter had found Nick and the two of them resided on a couple of the uncomfortable chairs. They could almost be brothers the way they both lounged. We retrieved the luggage we’d checked—Sophia and Nick had sent their bags with us back in Boston so that they’d have clothes even if they didn’t catch the connecting flight—and headed to the rental car counter. Nick figured the oldest he could ever pass himself off as was 22, which is what his fake ID said. Car rental companies usually won’t rent to people under the age of 25 unless you pay extra. If they only knew his real age . . . Once the paperwork was finally finished we loaded the luggage into the rental car and headed for the hotel.

  Sophia and Nick sprung for an upper class hotel. They were both so sure that they were about to finish their business that they felt like they should start spending some of the money they’d been saving and investing, not knowing how long they would be living as humans. Camille and I had a suite with two beds in one room and a living area and kitchenette in the other room. I assumed the boys’ room was similar. Sophia would most likely not be sleeping, but she stashed her bags in our room anyway.

  “So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” I asked when we were all seated around a table at a café in the lobby that night.

  “Well, in the morning, the girls are going to go dress shopping while the guys try to find something appropriate to wear. Apparently Mr. Secretive over here has already called ahead and found someone to officiate. I guess it’s a good thing I said yes,” she nudged Nick. “The officiator typically performs ceremonies for people who want to renew their vows. We don’t have time to get a marriage license and all that so we’re just going to have a commitment ceremony of sorts. It’s good enough for us. We’re told there’s a beautiful park overlooking the water near the hotel and we’re going to meet the officiator there tomorrow evening—just before sunset.”

  “It sounds perfect. I’m so happy for you two.” I really meant it.