platitudes, not telling him exactly what his mother
was telling her.
“The mean yady,” she said dryly, then corrected her own
pronunciation, with a hasty, “lady, is your mom and she’s been waiting for you
to come home so she could apologize.”
She waited. Would he be an arguer? Would he want proof? Would
he order her out of the house like Nora had? Would he tell her she was crazy
and needed help?
Nick looked her straight in the eyes, his brown eyes steady
on her own, and then his glance flickered up to Zane’s face. He looked down at
Toby. “Where’s Grandma, Toby?”
Toby pointed at the side of the Christmas tree as Akira’s
eyebrows shot straight up. How unexpected. The corner of her mouth twisted in
amused realization as Zane whispered in her ear, “He did grow up here,
remember. Live in Tassamara long enough and you do develop an open mind.”
Later, although not much later, she walked out of the house,
hand-in-hand with Zane, feeling a quiet contentment.
“So is Hannah going to move on?” Zane asked.
Akira shrugged. “Pretty soon, probably. But I think she’ll stick
around to see a little more of her grandchildren first.”
“Living in a haunted house isn’t so bad,” Zane said
tolerantly, before adding with a grin, “Having a ghost around sure added to the
excitement this week.”
Akira paused, one hand on the door of her car. “I’m not so
sure Rose is a ghost anymore,” she said slowly. She’d tried to talk to the
ghost girl yesterday, but Rose had been entirely unhelpful about the energy.
All she’d wanted to talk about was seeing the baby be born. About
mid-afternoon, she’d wandered off, the way she often did, Akira thought
possibly to visit Nora in the hospital again.
“What does that mean?” Zane asked, frowning.
“I wish you could have seen her,” Akira said. “This golden
light poured out of her like she was some kind of intra-dimensional energy
conduit.”
“Intra-what?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve definitely never
seen a ghost do anything like that before. It was amazing. I’m thinking that ghost
energy, or maybe it should be called spirit energy, is on a spectrum, like
electromagnetic radiation. Ghost energy, the kind that I feel, could just be a
band of the spectrum, a short part of it. Like ultraviolet on the
electromagnetic spectrum. And the rest of the spectrum could contain—I don’t
even know. Other forms of energy. Other frequencies.” Akira’s words were
starting to spill over one another in her enthusiasm.
“Whoa, whoa.” Zane put a hand up in laughing protest. “I haven’t
slept in two days, love. You’re making me dizzy. What do you think Rose is, if
she’s not a ghost?”
“I think…” Akira paused, before saying, somewhat primly, “I
think the technical term might be angel.”
Zane opened his mouth. Then he closed it. Then Zane put his
hands on either side of Akira’s face, cupping her cheeks, and bent his head to
hers, taking her lips in a strong, searching kiss. “That felt real,” he said
when he finally lifted his head.
She laughed up at him, unlocking her hands from behind his
neck. “Oh, I’m real.”
“And you just said that you think Rose is an angel?”
She nodded, a little uncertainly, searching his expression
for any sign of doubt or disbelief or a dawning awareness that she was insane. But
none of those were there.
He nodded. And then with a raised eyebrow, said, “You know,
it’s been a long couple of days. You think Henry would be up for red meat for
dinner tonight?”
Akira put a hand across her belly. “I think he might like
that.”
“How about we go home, spend the day in bed, and finish it
off with steak on the grill?”
Akira put a hand on his shirt front, one finger playing with
a button. “Did you ever finish the wedding invitations?”
A pained looked crossed his face. “Ah…about that…”
“I’ve had plenty of sleep,” she interrupted him. “So how
about we go
was telling her.
“The mean yady,” she said dryly, then corrected her own
pronunciation, with a hasty, “lady, is your mom and she’s been waiting for you
to come home so she could apologize.”
She waited. Would he be an arguer? Would he want proof? Would
he order her out of the house like Nora had? Would he tell her she was crazy
and needed help?
Nick looked her straight in the eyes, his brown eyes steady
on her own, and then his glance flickered up to Zane’s face. He looked down at
Toby. “Where’s Grandma, Toby?”
Toby pointed at the side of the Christmas tree as Akira’s
eyebrows shot straight up. How unexpected. The corner of her mouth twisted in
amused realization as Zane whispered in her ear, “He did grow up here,
remember. Live in Tassamara long enough and you do develop an open mind.”
Later, although not much later, she walked out of the house,
hand-in-hand with Zane, feeling a quiet contentment.
“So is Hannah going to move on?” Zane asked.
Akira shrugged. “Pretty soon, probably. But I think she’ll stick
around to see a little more of her grandchildren first.”
“Living in a haunted house isn’t so bad,” Zane said
tolerantly, before adding with a grin, “Having a ghost around sure added to the
excitement this week.”
Akira paused, one hand on the door of her car. “I’m not so
sure Rose is a ghost anymore,” she said slowly. She’d tried to talk to the
ghost girl yesterday, but Rose had been entirely unhelpful about the energy.
All she’d wanted to talk about was seeing the baby be born. About
mid-afternoon, she’d wandered off, the way she often did, Akira thought
possibly to visit Nora in the hospital again.
“What does that mean?” Zane asked, frowning.
“I wish you could have seen her,” Akira said. “This golden
light poured out of her like she was some kind of intra-dimensional energy
conduit.”
“Intra-what?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve definitely never
seen a ghost do anything like that before. It was amazing. I’m thinking that ghost
energy, or maybe it should be called spirit energy, is on a spectrum, like
electromagnetic radiation. Ghost energy, the kind that I feel, could just be a
band of the spectrum, a short part of it. Like ultraviolet on the
electromagnetic spectrum. And the rest of the spectrum could contain—I don’t
even know. Other forms of energy. Other frequencies.” Akira’s words were
starting to spill over one another in her enthusiasm.
“Whoa, whoa.” Zane put a hand up in laughing protest. “I haven’t
slept in two days, love. You’re making me dizzy. What do you think Rose is, if
she’s not a ghost?”
“I think…” Akira paused, before saying, somewhat primly, “I
think the technical term might be angel.”
Zane opened his mouth. Then he closed it. Then Zane put his
hands on either side of Akira’s face, cupping her cheeks, and bent his head to
hers, taking her lips in a strong, searching kiss. “That felt real,” he said
when he finally lifted his head.
She laughed up at him, unlocking her hands from behind his
neck. “Oh, I’m real.”
“And you just said that you think Rose is an angel?”
She nodded, a little uncertainly, searching his expression
for any sign of doubt or disbelief or a dawning awareness that she was insane. But
none of those were there.
He nodded. And then with a raised eyebrow, said, “You know,
it’s been a long couple of days. You think Henry would be up for red meat for
dinner tonight?”
Akira put a hand across her belly. “I think he might like
that.”
“How about we go home, spend the day in bed, and finish it
off with steak on the grill?”
Akira put a hand on his shirt front, one finger playing with
a button. “Did you ever finish the wedding invitations?”
A pained looked crossed his face. “Ah…about that…”
“I’ve had plenty of sleep,” she interrupted him. “So how
about we go
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