“This is the most amazing place I’ve ever been to. Thank you for bringing me here,” she said, feeling happier than she had ever felt before, tomorrow’s impending departure temporarily forgotten. They made their way round to another part of the island, and strolled along the beach, hand in hand, just like the other couples, who were mostly honeymooners by the look of it, and eventually they found a quiet patch of sand under a palm tree and sat down. Jemma snuggled up to Tom, and sighed contentedly. “Tom?”
“Hmm.”
“Can we do that thing again? You know...”
“Have you ever made love on a beach?” he asked, his voice sounding tantalisingly husky.
Jemma felt a thrill run through her. “No, I can’t say I have.”
“There are huge advantages to being invisible you know,” he murmured, kissing her ear. “Like, making love on an exotic beach without anyone seeing.” Jemma closed her eyes and basked in a delicious sensation of love, mixed with equal amounts of lust and passion. They made love under the palm tree twice and afterwards lay in each others’ arms, exhausted and very happy. And just when Jemma didn’t think things could get any better, Tom told her to let her barrier down and, like before, they became a part of each other again, exploring every part of their bodies and soul. The physical sex had been amazing, but this was what Jemma really wanted. This was something so intimate and beautiful that nothing could ever compare with it.
A long time later, they went for another walk in the sea, before returning to their palm tree. Jemma lay with her head across Tom’s lap as he leant against the palm tree, gently stroking her head. “I wish we could stay here forever,” she sighed.
“Me too. Imagine if we could manipulate time,” he mused, “I’d relive this day over and over.”
“Can’t we? Manipulate time?” Jemma felt a rush of excitement. What if they could stall time, go back over and over and relive their time together?
“No, I’m afraid not. I’ll be able to once I’m a free spirit, but I’m afraid it’s not possible for us here.”
“Oh.” Jemma’s excitement vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“Jemma, this may be the last time we’re completely alone and I want you to know how much you mean to me.” Reality was catching up with them again, and Tom’s voice was subdued as he continued. “Susie and I had been drifting along here for twenty years, content in our complacency, and resigned to the fact that we’d be stuck here forever. And then you came along and forced me to face up to things that I had buried years ago because it was too painful. Then, despite my resistance, you helped me find peace with my mother and my greatest wish was granted; my ashes were scattered at my father’s grave. I love you, Jemma. More than I’ve ever loved anyone, and I really appreciate all you’ve done for me. I love you so much that I’d be willing to forget going back and stay here with you, so if you really want, I’ll say to hell with it and we can stay here together.”
Jemma was so moved by Tom’s words that she was speechless for a second; a rare event in Jemma’s case. Her head was spinning, he would rather stay with her than become a free spirit. Wow, this must be equivalent to a marriage proposal, and, just for a moment, she was so overwhelmed that she nearly cried yes, yes, yes. But her conscience stopped her and reminded her of Susie’s distraught tears when she had told her how much she missed her family, and how alone she had felt. She had promised Susie that she would try to make things right, and, even though they could have bought a bit more time by telling her that the plans were on hold for now, what was the point of delaying the heartbreak? If Tom stayed, Susie would remain as well, and then it would be her and Tom’s fault that she would cry every day because she was so desperate to go home. Susie wasn’t meant to die, just like herself, and keeping her here, no matter what the reason, would be wrong. So Jemma made the biggest sacrifice she would ever make, “Tom, my love, thank you. Thank you for saying that, but you know that we can’t stay. It wouldn’t be right, we’d be together at someone else’s expense, and neither of us would be able to live with that. I’d like nothing more than to stay here with you forever, but we can’t. We just can’t...” her voice trailed off into a sob. This time tomorrow she would probably be alive again and would have no idea that Tom had ever existed. Determined not to break down completely, she jumped up, reached for Tom’s hand and said, “We should go now and find Claire to make the final arrangements. We’d better not put it off any longer.”
Tom’s eyes glistened with tears as he took her hand, and together, they vanished from their private paradise and made their way back to find Claire.
A split second later they were standing by Claire’s bench in the forest. “Hi, Claire,” said Jemma, with more enthusiasm than she felt.
Claire jumped and turned around quickly. “Hello, you two,” she smiled. But the smile didn’t reach her eyes, which were red and swollen from crying, and Jemma rushed over to her and put her arms around her.
“Claire! Are you okay? Whatever’s wrong?”
Claire sniffed and stared out over the stunning view. “It’s Max. He’s just...”
“Max?” shouted Jemma, “What the hell has that bastard done?”
“Jemma, let her talk,” said Tom, sitting down next to them on the bench.
“Max hasn’t done anything, except help me. He’s talked me through some things relating to my death, and made me face up to a few home truths. He’s just helped me remember what happened when I died, and why Robert hasn’t turned up.”
“Really?” Jemma was impressed, she had never managed to get Claire to open up very much about her death, so the fact that Max had had such a breakthrough was incredible. She found it hard to imagine being able to open up to Max, to trust him with your deepest, darkest secrets. You just never could tell. “So what happened to Robert then? Did he run off with another woman?”
“Yes,” said Claire, in a sad voice, “just after he murdered me!”
“What? That’s awful,” Tom’s voice reflected the shock that hit both him and Jemma. “What happened?”
“He had been poisoning me, making me think that I was ill. It was deliberate and carefully planned. He had been seeing another woman for a while and one day I found out. By this time I was quite poorly, he’d been poisoning me for a while by then, and I was weak. Only two days before, he had told me how devastated he was by my illness and, if I was to die, he would come and find me by our special bench when his time came. It was all part of his plan to make me think I was dying of a natural illness. The day I found him with her, he told me that he despised me and had only married me for my money, but he wasn’t going to leave me, because he wouldn’t get any of my fortune. He then injected me with a lethal dose of whatever it was he was giving me. Max said that Robert wouldn’t have become a free spirit as he would have gone to what the living call Hell. Wherever that is.” Claire’s voice was filled with bitterness as she poured out her story. “I can’t believe I was so stupid. I always had a feeling that he didn’t truly love me, but I never thought he’d do anything like that. To think I’ve been waiting all these years for that murderous swine!” she spat.
“Oh my god,” Jemma was stunned. “And you didn’t remember any of this?”
“No. Max said I must have been so traumatised by what happened that I lost my memory. It was him who helped me remember.”
“I can’t believe it’s the same Max we’re talking about here,” said Jemma, still stunned by Claire’s story. “He’s such a mean, nasty creature to us, and yet you clearly have a strong bond with him.”
“Like I said before, we’ve been helping each other.”
“We came to talk about the plans for tomorrow, but I don’t suppose you’re in the mood right now?” said Jemma, hoping that it might delay Tom’s departure.
“Actually, I could do with the distraction. I’d be happy to help. In fact I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. Can I tell you what I think is best?”
“Yes please,” said Jemma and Tom a
t the same time.
Claire closed her eyes, as if mentally filing her own problems away for now. “Well, first, I don’t think you should tell Susie anything. As soon as you’ve gone back, Tom, she will disappear and will never know anything about it. There’s always a risk that she’ll talk about it around Max, so it’s best to keep quiet. Now, Jemma you should stay at home with Susie tomorrow to keep an eye on her, you’ll only know for sure that it’s worked when she disappears. And besides, Tom will need to focus on the wormhole, and he might be distracted if you’re there.” Claire stood up and started pacing in front of the bench. “Now, Tom. I’ll help you locate the wormhole, and you must then use all your powers of thought to direct that wormhole to the time and place you need to get to. I think its best that you go back to the point where you leave your car with the keys in. If there are no keys, the thief won’t be able to drive it and Susie won’t get killed. The trouble is, if the wormhole collapses before you have a chance to remove the keys, you won’t remember anything and everything will happen again. So it’s vital that you keep your mind focused on holding onto the wormhole and removing those keys as quickly as possible.”
Claire paused for a moment, but continued pacing around. “Now, Jemma. You should try and stay with Susie so you actually see her disappear. Then you must come and find me here as quickly as possible, because we need to get you away before Max finds out that Tom’s gone. You need to think about what you’re going to do to stop the accident from happening again.”
Jemma had already though of this. “I have to make sure that I don’t get my ciggies out, because it was on my way out for a quick smoke that I slipped. I thought that maybe I can distract myself before the wormhole collapses so that I forget about the ciggies.”
“How?” asked Claire. “What will you do to cause that distraction? Remember you will only have a fraction of a second.”
“The girl sitting next to me, Kirsten I think, had just bought a large glass of coke. I thought I’d knock the glass over so it spills everywhere. That’s quick and it should distract me enough to forget about the ciggies, as I’ll be too busy helping Kirsten clean the mess up.
“Alright. As long as you’re both absolutely sure about what you need to do, then I suppose that’s it. Come early, Tom, before Susie starts to wander off. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night.”
Tom and Jemma had their orders, and knew they’d been dismissed. But Jemma felt bad about leaving Claire on her own after her gruesome discovery. “Claire?” she asked, gently. “Would you like me to stay with you tonight? You know, to keep you company if you get too upset about Robert?”
“No thank you, dear. I’ve got a lot to think about and I need to work through it by myself. You go and enjoy your last night together.”
Tom and Jemma reluctantly left Claire alone and made their way to the beach in Norfolk. “I can’t believe what that Robert did to Claire,” said Jemma, angrily, as they walked along the sandy beach, the sound of the waves lapping gently in the dark. “And what about Max? Who would have thought he would have won Claire’s trust like that?” They walked along the beach for about a mile or so and back again, talking about Claire, Max, Susie, Alice; everything except what lay ahead the next day. Eventually they found their favourite sand dune and sat down, ready to spend their last night in the privacy of their beautiful sanctuary.
The next morning was crisp, bright and sunny. Tom and Jemma had spent the night talking, kissing, talking some more and making love. They had savoured their time together and were both dreading the moment they would have to part forever. Just as Tom was working himself up to saying his final goodbye, Sandy came bounding along the beach, out on his early morning walk with his owners, who had now got used to their dog acting so strangely by the same sand dune nearly every day. He was a welcome distraction from the inevitable, but, eventually, his owners dragged him away, and Jemma reluctantly turned to Tom to say her goodbyes.
They stood facing each other, suddenly feeling awkward and unsure of what to say. “Goodbye, my beautiful ghost,” whispered Tom, his voice threatening to betray his distress.
“I’m going to miss you so much,” cried Jemma, and threw her arms around him. “I love you.” She was clinging to him, desperate to hold on to him for as long as possible, but eventually he pulled away, kissed her and said his final goodbye. “Go to Susie now and remember, as soon as she disappears, go straight to Claire. I’ll always be with you, my love. Good bye.” And without another word, he vanished out of her life forever.
She was alone and, for a while, she just stood still, trying to hold on to the feeling of Tom’s last kiss. She was devastated, and suddenly she knew that she could never have stayed here without him, the pain would have been unbearable. Brushing away her tears, Jemma remembered that she had a job to, and returned to the house to find Susie, who was watching Jack’s small television in the kitchen, as Alice and Jack were busily getting ready to go to Oscar and Dean’s. “Hi,” she mumbled to Susie, who barely acknowledged her. She felt numb. She couldn’t quite believe that she would never see Tom again, and another wave of despair washed over her. More tears welled in her eyes and she quickly turned away from Susie so she wouldn’t see, the last thing she needed now was Susie demanding to know why she was crying.
“How was Christmas Day at your parents’ house?” she asked, putting on a bright voice, a little too bright it seemed, as Susie swung around to look at her.
“Okay. What’s with you?”
“Nothing.” What else could she say?
“Where’s Tom?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s at his dad’s grave.”
“Uh huh.” She had lost Susie’s interest again. Jemma glared resentfully at the young girl and thought, ‘you have no idea what I’ve just given up for you’. But Susie remained silent and Jemma sat down on one of the chairs to wait for her to vanish.
“What?” asked Susie, looking up from the television again.
“Huh? Oh, nothing.” Shit, how come Susie was so bloody intuitive? She didn’t think she was looking or acting any differently than normal.
“Jemma! You’re sitting in the kitchen and staring silently into space. You don’t do silent, Jemma, so tell me what’s up. Have you and Tom been arguing again?”
“Something like that.”
That got Susie’s attention. “Okay, tell Aunty Susie what’s wrong! What’s he done?”
“It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t concern you.” Yes it does, actually, but I can’t tell you.
“Well, now that you’re here and I’ve got you to myself, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Susie’s voice was serious again.
“Oh?”
“You know you said that you would try and talk to Tom about him leaving so I can go home? Well, I was thinking yesterday, while I was at my mum’s, that I really want to go back now. I know of a way, I’ve been talking to a few people I know, and they said it’s not as hard as we thought. All you need to do is find a wormhole...”
“There are big risks using wormholes, it’s not as simple as it sounds.”
“I know that, but I’m prepared to take that risk. I just want to go home, Jemma. Please.”
“Susie, can we please talk about this another time? I’m feeling really shitty right now...”
“It’s always about you, isn’t it? Now that you and Tom are an item, you don’t give a shit about me. You promised you would talk to him, Jemma. You promised!” Susie was shouting now as hot, angry tears ran down her face.
“Susie...”
“Go away, Jemma. You’re not my friend at all, are you?” Susie jumped up from the chair as her pent up emotions reached boiling point.
“Susie, please. I do care about you, and so does Tom.”
“Oh yeah,” said Susie, scornfully, “you really care don’t you? That’s why Tom’s never here anymore and you won’t talk to me.” Susie was pacing the room now and Jemma was following her, but Susie had had enough and storme
d through the wall to get away from Jemma. Jemma quickly followed, determined that their last words wouldn’t be ones of such anger. She felt so frustrated, Susie couldn’t be more wrong. If only she could make Susie realise that she hadn’t let her down, that she had kept her promise.
“Susie!” she shouted. “If we don’t care about you, then why is Tom about to go back through a wormhole any minute now?” She was so upset now, that she didn’t care any longer if Susie found out. She was about to go anyway, so what did it matter? Susie stopped in her tracks and turned back to Jemma with an astonished look on her face, but as she did so, she vanished in front of her. It had worked, Tom had been successful and Jemma was left alone in the living room.
Love In The Wrong Dimension (Romantic Ghost Story) Page 24
