Haunted Tales by Terri Reid

quickly. “No. No, of course
not,” he said. “But they’ve both done so much for us; I wanted to give them the
benefit of the doubt.”
    She nodded slowly. “That’s true,” she said, her voice
muffled in his shirt. “They really have done a lot. And maybe I’m making too
much out of it.   The doctor did warn me
that my hormones might go crazy, and I might be experiencing bouts of emotional
highs and lows.”
    “That’s true,” Bradley said softly.
    She pulled back and stared at him. “So, you think that I’m
making this whole thing up?” she asked angrily. “That my two so-called best
friends can go shopping with each other and not invite me.   And this is all my hormones’ fault?”
    I’m dead , Bradley
thought, just kill me right now.
    He looked down at his wife, her eyes red-rimmed and slightly
swollen from crying, a little bit of chocolate and caramel on her lips and her
hair slightly mussed from his arms.   She
was the most beautiful thing in the world.
    Then he thought about Rosie and Kate.   He knew they were shopping for Mary’s baby
shower, knew that all of the secrecy was only because they loved her.   He could end all of Mary’s misery by just
telling her the truth, by telling her that her dear friends were going to
surprise her in a few days, by telling her that she had nothing to worry
about.    He sighed.   He would totally spoil the surprise they’d
been working on for weeks.  
    He thought about what they would want him to do, and
realizing the truth, he slid his hands to Mary’s shoulders and looked down into
her eyes.
    “Those witches,” he breathed and watched her face break into
a radiant smile, like the sunshine after a rainstorm.
    “Thank you, Bradley,” she said with a soft shudder. “It’s so
nice to have a husband who understands.”
    He pulled her back into his arms and exhaled with
relief.   Only three more months to go.

Chapter Fifteen

 
    “Good morning,” Clarissa said sleepily as she made her way
down the stairs the next morning.
    “Morning, sweetheart,” Mary replied with a smile. “You look
tired.”
    Rubbing her eyes, Clarissa nodded. “Uh-huh,” she mumbled as
she climbed onto her chair next to the kitchen table. Then she yawned widely.
“I am.”
    Mary filled a bowl with oatmeal, sprinkled raisins, dried
cranberries and brown sugar on it and brought it over to the table.   She set it down in front of her daughter and
slipped into the chair next to her.
    “Is anything wrong?” she asked, placing her hand on
Clarissa’s forehead to check for a fever.
    Clarissa reached across the table for the pitcher of milk
and poured some over her cereal.   She
shook her head. “No, I stayed up late. Checking,” she yawned.
    “Checking for what?” Mary asked.
    Clarissa spooned a small portion of oatmeal into her mouth.
“For ghosts,” she replied, her words garbled around the food.   She swallowed and then looked up at Mary.
“Did anyone ever die in this house?”
    Mary thought about it for a moment and then shook her head.
“Sorry, no,” she said. “No one died here.   It’s a peaceful house.”   She paused
for a moment. “Well, except when I have company.”
    “Maggie says that if you look sideways you can see ghosts,”
she said, demonstrating the sideways look to Mary.
    Mary choked back a chuckle. “Well, actually, Maggie is
right, sort of,” she replied.
    “Sort of?” Clarissa asked.
    “Well, scientists have studied our eyes, and they have found
that the corners of our eyes are more sensitive to light and movement,” she
explained. “So, often we can see paranormal things, like ghosts, in the corners
of our eyes, but when we turn and view them with full vision, they might
disappear.”
    “But they’re still there?” Clarissa asked.
    Mary shrugged and nodded. “They could be,” she said. “But
looking for ghosts out of the corners of your eyes can cause some other
troubles.”
    Clarissa sighed. “I know,” she said,