by Bobbi Holmes
“Do you have Rupert with you?” Ian stood by the coffeepot, waiting for it to fill.
Lily shrugged. “I think so. I’m not sure.” She glanced around the room.
“Let me get you a cup of coffee to take with you.” Ian reached in the cupboard and removed a travel mug.
“You are wonderful.” Lily stood on her tiptoes and kissed Ian’s cheek.
“Does Danielle want one?” Ian asked as he filled the travel mug.
“Probably not.”
“Why hasn’t she taken a pregnancy test yet?” Ian handed Lily the cup of coffee.
Lily shrugged, accepted the cup, and kissed him again.
“Good luck. Is Walt going with you?” Ian asked.
“No. Just Dani. They didn’t feel they should both go, not with our families over there.”
Ian walked her to the door. A few minutes later, he stood in the open doorway and watched as Lily climbed into the car with Danielle. He waved to them; they waved back.
“Is Rupert with us?” Lily asked as she hooked her seatbelt.
“Yes. He climbed in the back seat when you got in the car. Good morning, Rupert!”
“Good morning, Danielle,” Rupert said.
“Why can’t I see him?” Lily asked.
Danielle backed out of the driveway. “You don’t normally see ghosts, so I’m not sure why you’re asking.”
“But I used to see him,” Lily grumbled.
“Yeah, and you were a child.”
Lily turned and looked in the back seat. It looked empty.
Across the street at Marlow House, Laura got out of bed and stretched. Yawning, she walked to the front window and pulled open the blinds, wanting to check out what the sky looked like today. Would it be clear and sunny or filled with dark clouds?
Motion from across the street caught her eye. She watched as Danielle backed her car from Lily’s driveway. Laura frowned. Was that Lily in the passenger seat? Where were they going so early in the morning?
“Rupert, I’m sorry for everything. I feel like I abandoned my best friend,” Lily said.
“Tell Lily it’s okay. I understand now,” Rupert said.
“He understands, Lily,” Danielle said. “It wasn’t your fault, and really, it wasn’t your mom’s or Laura’s fault, either. They had no idea your imaginary friend was the spirit of a little boy.”
“Oh, Laura,” Lily groaned, turning around in the seat. She looked out the front windshield.
“What’s wrong?” Danielle asked.
“I didn’t have a chance to tell you yesterday, but Laura and Kelly saw us at the foundation office. They went out to get frozen yogurt and took a detour.”
“Why would they be going over there? It’s not on the way to the yogurt shop.”
“Why do you think? Laura never said it. She was too busy grilling me. I suspect she wanted to see if Chris was still there. I imagine if she hadn’t seen us, she would have stopped by and asked Chris if he wanted to go with them to get yogurt.”
“She really likes him, doesn’t she?” Danielle asked.
Lily laughed. “She barely knows him. But seriously, Chris is superhot, and he is Chris Glandon. I’m hardly surprised she’s shown interest in him. But that’s not the point. The point is, she and Kelly both saw us over there when we said we were in Astoria having dinner.”
“Just tell them you stopped by the foundation to pick up something on your way to the restaurant. Or on the way home. Depending on when they drove by.”
“That would be great, but I don’t know when they drove by, to make that plausible. And I didn’t want to get in deeper.”
“So what did you tell her?” Danielle asked.
“I told her to trust me, and that in a few days I could tell her and Kelly why we were there. She promised to talk to Kelly.”
“What are you going to say in a few days?” Danielle asked.
“I don’t know, Dani. What should I say?”
Danielle frowned. “Why are you asking me?”
“Because you’re the one who always comes up with the plausible excuses. I need to tell her and Kelly something in a couple of days, so think of something! I’m counting on you!”
When they pulled into the parking lot at the Salem cemetery, Lily said, “Thanks for coming with me today. You hate going to cemeteries.”
“I don’t really mind it as much as I used to.” Danielle parked the car and turned off the ignition. “Walt wanted to come with us, but we figured if our guests woke up and found us both gone, they might think aliens abducted us.”
Lily laughed. “What are you going to tell them?”
“That you wanted to get a few last-minute things for the birthday party, and I agreed to go with you. Walt’s going to tell them you didn’t want to ask your mom or Laura to go because you figured they wanted to spend time with Connor.”
“Yeah, my flying kid.”
Danielle laughed. She had already heard about what Laura has seen in the nursery.
Danielle took her seatbelt off and turned around to face Rupert. “You ready, kiddo?”
“What if it’s not my mom?” Rupert asked.
Before coming to the cemetery, they had gone to the church to attend the funeral. It had been a closed casket, and the picture on display showed an older woman whom Rupert did not recognize. They had sat at the back of the church and didn’t talk to anyone. While there, Danielle didn’t notice a single spirit. She hoped Rupert’s mother would show up at the grave site—if she was his mother.
“Then you can come back with us, of course,” Danielle said. “Unless you want to try crossing over by yourself.”
Rupert shook his head. “I don’t want to go alone. What if no one is over there waiting for me? I’ll be all alone again.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t leave you,” Danielle promised. She then conveyed to Lily Rupert’s concerns.
Lily turned to the back seat and smiled. “Rupert, you’ll be much happier when you move on with your family. If not today, then later, when you feel comfortable. But until then, you can stay with us. Connor would love having you. Like I did.”
They stood under a large tree, about six feet from the rest of the mourners, listening to the minister say his final words over the woman being buried. Danielle wondered if the woman’s spirit had already moved on.
When the minister finished saying his words and the crowd dispersed, Danielle turned to Lily. She was about to say something to her when a man’s voice said, “I noticed you at the church.”
Both Danielle and Lily turned to the voice and found an elderly man looking at them.
“Are you family or friends?” the man asked.
“I’m not sure,” Danielle said.
“Excuse me?” The man cocked a brow.
“My mother had a very good friend named Mary Peterson in California. I live in Oregon now, and when I read her obituary, I thought it had to be the same person, because the obituary mentioned her son, Rupert. I’m assuming it’s the same woman. And if so, I had to come; my mother had been so fond of her,” Danielle lied.
“Your mother couldn’t make it?” he asked.
“My mother passed away some time ago,” Danielle said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Mary and I were neighbors. I’m Ed Hall.” He held out his hand for Danielle. She accepted it and told him her name and introduced Lily.
“I don’t imagine you ever knew Rupert. You look too young,” Ed said.
“No, but my mother told me about him,” Danielle lied.
“I met Mary when she and her husband moved to Oregon. It wasn’t long after losing their son. I don’t think they ever got over his death.”
“I don’t imagine any parent does,” Lily said.
“True.” He nodded.
“When did her husband die?” Danielle asked.
“Several years ago. Was a heart attack. It happened so fast. It’s how I’d want to go, but it wasn’t easy for Mary. Too sudden, like her son’s death. But now, we can
have comfort knowing they’re finally together.”
“Did my mother leave without me?” Rupert asked.
“Rupert!” a woman’s voice called out.
Danielle and Rupert turned to the voice. The transparent image of a young woman stood some ten feet away. A shaft of golden light streamed through her. Danielle thought the spirit looked a little like the picture she had seen earlier at the church. Yet a much younger version.
“Mom!” Rupert called out. He ran to his mother, and she gathered him up in her arms.
“Dani, Mr. Hall was saying goodbye,” Lily interrupted.
Danielle looked at the man, smiled sheepishly, and said goodbye. When he turned away, Danielle hastily grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her from the few people still mingling around.
“She’s here!” Danielle said.
“Does Rupert know?” Lily asked.
Danielle pointed to a nearby tree. “He’s with her, over there.”
Lily looked where Danielle pointed. She saw a tree.
“We need to go to your father, he’s waiting,” Rupert’s mother told him.
“I have to say goodbye to Lily,” he told her.
“Okay, but then we must go.”
Rupert nodded and ran back to Danielle and Lily.
“I have to go now, Lily.”
“Remember, she can’t see or hear you. But whatever you want to tell her, I’ll make sure she understands,” Danielle promised.
Lily stared down at the patch of dirt where she assumed Rupert stood, considering that was where Danielle currently directed her conversation. At first, she thought she was imagining things, her eyes or mind was playing tricks on her. It was as if someone had turned on a floodlight, filling the space before her. It sparked and flickered, making her think of those times Danielle and the others had talked about Eva’s glitter and snowflakes.
The next moment Lily gasped when the vision of a little boy appeared in the light—a transparent image of her long-ago imaginary friend. Abruptly, she reached out and grabbed hold of Danielle’s hand.
“I can see him!” Lily said.
“You can?” Rupert asked.
“I can hear you too!” Lily said, her grin wide. Without thought she got down on one knee to make herself eye level to the ghost, paying no attention to those around her who might notice her peculiar behavior.
“Really?” Rupert asked in awe.
“Yes! Oh gosh, you look exactly as I remember!” Lily said.
“You look a lot older,” Rupert said.
Lily laughed. “I guess I do.”
“I have to go with my mom now,” Rupert said.
Lily glanced toward the tree, and to her surprise she saw Rupert’s mother standing there, waiting for him. Lily had no doubt the woman was his mother, considering her transparent nature.
“Yes, you do,” Lily said. “But I want you to understand how much you meant to me. We had so much fun. I remember you used to tell me I was a princess, taken from my kingdom, when Laura would tell me Mom found me after someone left me on the doorstep.”
Rupert grinned. “You were a princess. I wish I could stay and get to know Connor better, but I think it’s time I go.”
“Yes, it is. I love you, Rupert.”
“I love you too, Lily.”
Thirty-Seven
Danielle and Lily stood together and watched as Rupert ran to his mother and took her hand. The two spirits looked back to them and smiled before fading into the light washing over them. When they were no longer visible, the shaft of light faded, as if some invisible hand slowly turned the knob of a dimmer switch.
“I’m so glad I got to see him one more time,” Lily whispered.
Danielle reached over and took one of Lily’s hands, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“In my heart, Rupert was always real to me. Laura would tease me about him. I know she never meant anything, and I understand why she thought the entire thing was so funny. But it wasn’t funny to me.”
“I understand.”
Lily gave Danielle’s hand a squeeze. “I imagine you would. Over the years, I convinced myself Rupert was a product of a child’s imagination, but there was always a part of me that thought he was real.”
Danielle gave Lily’s hand a final squeeze and released it.
“Good, I caught you!” a voice boomed out.
Danielle was startled by the sudden intrusion. “Eva! You scared me!”
“Well, I am a ghost in a cemetery,” Eva said before breaking into giggles.
“Eva’s here?” Lily looked around and saw nothing new.
“Yes, and she’s highly amused with herself right now.” Danielle chuckled.
Eva finally stopped giggling and said, “I understand Rupert and his mother moved on.”
“How did you know?” Danielle asked.
Eva shrugged. “I have my ways. But that’s not why I’m here. I’ve come about Randal.”
“Would you ask Eva something for me?” Lily interrupted.
Both Danielle and Eva turned to Lily. “What?” Danielle asked.
“Was all of this planned?” Lily asked.
“Planned?” Eva asked with a frown.
“What do you mean, planned?” Danielle asked.
“The fact that Rupert came to me after all these years, when I’m living in Oregon, and just at the right time to go to his mother’s funeral, in Oregon. Walt and Danielle said something like that,” Lily explained.
Eva smiled. “I’m not sure if planned is the right word. But stars do align to make opportunities, yet it is up to us to make them happen or not. One thing to remember we all have free will—free will to change the course of our destiny.”
Danielle repeated Eva’s words.
“Does that mean it was sorta planned?” Lily asked.
“Some things you just need to accept,” Eva said.
Danielle repeated Eva’s words again. Lily frowned but did not ask another question.
“I stopped at Marlow House and talked to Walt before coming here. It wasn’t easy with all those people underfoot,” Eva said. “He mentioned you planned to look for Randal’s grave while you’re here.”
“Yes, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to find it, and we need to get back to Frederickport,” Danielle said. “Not sure there’s any point in looking for it.”
“Ahh, it’s those aligned stars!” Eva said.
Danielle frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Like what I said to Lily. I realized it when I stopped in to talk to Walt earlier today,” Eva explained.
“You realized what?” Danielle asked.
“That you need to find Randal’s grave. That’s why you’re here,” Eva said.
“No, we came here to bring Rupert to his mother,” Danielle reminded her.
Eva laughed. “Oh, Danielle, nothing is ever that simple!”
Furrowing her brows, Danielle stared at Eva.
“What is Eva saying?” Lily asked. She glanced around. The other mourners who had gathered for the grave-site service had since dispersed. For a non-medium, it looked as if just Danielle and Lily stood alone.
“I’m not sure. But I think she’s suggesting the Universe wants us to talk to Randal,” Danielle said.
“And he’s here?” Lily asked.
“I think his spirit is.” Danielle looked at Eva and asked, “Is it?”
“There is no guarantee. There are no guarantees in life or death.” Eva paused a moment and then added with a shrug, “That’s not entirely accurate. But hurry, let’s find Randal’s grave.”
They located Randal’s grave in the older, desolate section of the cemetery. Eva, Lily, and Danielle stood in front of his standing headstone, reading the inscription. The late morning breeze rustled the leaves in the nearby tree branches overhead. An occasional chirping of a bird added to the sounds of the cemetery.
Lily looked around. “Is he here?”
“I don’t see him.” Danielle looked at Eva.
�
��Then why are we here?” Lily asked.
“Patience,” Eva said.
The next moment Eva stretched out her arms while the illusion of her body slowly lifted from the ground until it hovered above the headstone, stars shooting from her fingertips.
“What’s happening?” Lily asked when she noticed Danielle watching something overhead.
“Eva theatrics,” Danielle whispered.
If Eva overheard Danielle’s comment, she said nothing. Instead, she called out, “Randal Snide, show yourself! The time for reckoning is now!”
Eva remained hovering above the headstone, her arms still outstretched and her eyes closed. After a moment, she repeated her cry. To Danielle’s astonishment, the spirit of a man appeared, standing next to the headstone.
“Okay, I heard you already. Stop screaming,” the male ghost grumbled.
Eva opened her eyes, lowered her arms, and slowly floated downward until her feet landed on the grass next to Lily and Danielle.
“I think Randal is here,” Danielle whispered to Lily.
“Can you tell him and his ghost buddies to stop haunting Marymoor,” Lily whispered back.
“You sound rather grouchy. I assume you are Randal Snide,” Eva said.
“Yes. And who are you?” he snapped.
“Eva Thorndike.”
His eyes widened. “I’ve heard about you. Have they sent you to come get me? Do I have to go to hell now?”
“Do you belong in hell?” Eva asked.
“What good would it do for me to lie now?” he asked. “I’ve been stuck here since they buried my body. Can’t leave the cemetery.” He looked at Danielle and Lily. “Are you dead too?”
“No, we’re not,” Danielle said. “I can see and hear you, but my friend Lily can’t.”
Lily eyed a park bench some twenty feet away. She turned to Danielle and said, “While you guys chat, I think I’ll go sit down. Please warn me if I’m about to walk through anyone.”
“No, you’re good,” Danielle said. “Randal is standing over there.” Danielle pointed to the spot where the ghost stood. “And Eva is to your left.”
