Pleasing the Ghost by Sharon Creech

if they would have their own child one day. No, no, time enough to think about that . No need to rush things.

2

    T he young couple, whose names were Marta and John, were reluctant to go about their normal chores, fearing that the boy would wake and be afraid, and so they took turns watching over the sleeping boy. It did not seem right to wake him.
    For several hours, they moved about more quietly than usual, until at last John said, “It is time to wake that child, Marta. Maybe he is sick, sleeping so much like that.”
    â€œYou think so?” She felt his forehead, but it was cool, not feverish.
    And so John and Marta made small noises: they coughed and tapped their feet upon the floor, and they let the screen door flap shut in its clumsy way, but still the child slept.
    â€œTap him,” John said. “Tap him on the back.”
    And so Marta did, tapping him lightly at first, and then more firmly, as if she were patting a drum. Nothing.
    â€œLift him up,” John said.
    â€œOh, no, I couldn’t. You do it.”
    â€œNo, no, it might scare him to see a big man like me. You do it. You’re more gentle.”
    Marta blushed at this and considered the child and what might be the best way to lift him.
    â€œJust scoop him up,” John said.
    And so Marta did just that. She scooped up the boy in one swift move, but he was heavier than she had expected, and she swayed and turned and flopped into the chair with the boy now in her arms.
    Still the boy slept.
    Marta looked up at John and then down at the dusty-headed boy. “I suppose I’d better just sit here with him until he wakes,” she said.
    The sight of his wife with the child in her lap made John feel peculiar. He felt joy and surprise and worry and fear all at once, in such a rush, making him dizzy.
    â€œI’ll tend to the cows,” he said abruptly. “Call me if you need me.”
    Her chin rested on the child’s head; her hand pat-patted his back.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Marta whispered to the sleeping child. “I will sit here all day, if need be.”
    Their dog normally shadowed John from dawn until dusk, but on this day, he chose to lie at Marta’s feet, eyes closed, waiting. Before John went to the barn, he scanned the drive again and circled their farmhouse. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he hurried on to his chores.
    Marta closed her eyes. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” she whispered.

Also by Sharon Creech
    Walk Two Moons
    Absolutely Normal Chaos
    Chasing Redbird
    Bloomability
    The Wanderer
    Fishing in the Air
    Love That Dog
    A Fine, Fine School
    Ruby Holler
    Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
    Heartbeat
    Who’s That Baby?
    Replay
    The Castle Corona
    Hate That Cat
    The Unfinished Angel
    The Great Unexpected

Copyright
    Illustrations copyright © 1996 by Stacey Schuett
    P LEASING THE GHOST . Text copyright © 1996 by
Sharon Creech. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By
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    www.harpercollinschildrens.com
----
    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Creech, Sharon.
    Pleasing the ghost / by Sharon Creech.
    p.   cm.
    Summary: Nine-year-old Dennis, whose uncle and father died within a year of
one another, is visited by the ghost of his uncle, and together they settle some unfinished
business.
    ISBN 978-0-06-440686-4
    EPub Edition March 2013 ISBN 9780061972485
    Version 04122013
    [1. Ghosts—Fiction. 2. Uncles—Fiction. 3.