Love In The Wrong Dimension (Romantic Ghost Story) (17 page)

“
Really? How?” asked Claire, which was exactly what Jemma was thinking.

“
I died in an accident,” Susie said, quietly, “it was a hit and run. The driver was drunk. It wasn’t meant to have happened, it wasn’t my time to die, but it did happen, and Tom got the blame for it.”

“
Oh!” Claire looked shocked, “What happened?”

“
It was Tom’s car, but it wasn’t him driving. It wasn’t Tom’s fault honestly, Claire, but it was because of him that the drunk had his car. The events that led to his car being stolen, ultimately led to my death. That means that the only way I can leave here, would be for Tom to go back in time and change those events so that I don’t get killed. But that would mean Tom leaving here as well, because in changing those events, he will also change the circumstances around his own death.”

Jemma stood listening to what Susie was saying, and felt her legs go weak as her head started spinning. The only way to help Susie get back, it seemed, was for Tom to leave as well. Could fate really be so cruel as to lead her to her soulmate after her whole lifetime, and then take him away again? She turned away from Claire and Susie, tears blinding her as she stumbled to get away. She was devastated as Susie’s words echoed in her ears, the reality of what they meant slowing sinking in. She started to walk, faster and faster, until she was running blindly into the forest, desperately needing to get away, realising that her whole world was about to fall apart.

Eventually though, she stopped running, gradually acknowledging that running away wasn’t going to change things. She brushed a tear away from her cheek as she contemplated what to do. There really was only one thing she could do, she thought sadly, she had to do the right thing and help Susie get back, after all she had given the girl her word. And in doing the right thing, she thought, she would lose Tom forever.

Alice woke with a start to the sound of a piercingly loud ringing noise. With a groan
, she rolled over and forced an eyelid open, as it gradually dawned on her that the offending noise was the alarm clock. Jack was sleeping soundly next to her, completely oblivious to the racket, so it was up to her to switch the damned thing off. She groped randomly towards the direction of the sound, waving her arm in the air in a feeble attempt at finding the snooze button, only to send the clock flying across the room. Unfortunately, it landed right next to Casper, who was curled up on a soft chair, fast asleep. He jumped up with an astonished howl as the clock landed on the side of the chair with a thud. He flew across the room, and dived under the bed, his tail swishing angrily.

Alice buried her head in the pillow, thankful that the clock had finally stopped ringing. And Jack had slept through the whole thing! She was about to doze off again, when a nagging voice inside her head kept telling her that there was a good reason for the alarm going off. And then she remembered. Today was the day that she was starting her new job! Thank god she hadn’t gone back to sleep.

As she dragged herself out of bed, and staggered into the bathroom, she cursed Oscar’s cheerful call yesterday to say that, although she would normally start at eleven o’clock for the lunchtime shift, would she come in at nine on her first day, so that he could show her the ropes? Yesterday, she had cheerfully said that it was a great idea, and of course she’d be there at nine, but now, she wished she hadn’t been so quick to agree.

Once Alice was showered and dressed, she tip-toed downstairs so as not to wake Jack. He had been up working until three in the morning, so she didn’t begrudge him a lie-in. Walking sleepily into the kitchen, she absently put the kettle on and looked down at Casper, who had followed her down.

“
Do you want some breakfast, Casper?” she whispered, as the purring cat wound himself round her legs, leaving a thick blanket of white fur on her black jeans. His earlier shock was now forgiven as he jumped eagerly up onto the kitchen counter to help empty the contents of the foil tray Alice was opening.

Once Casper was happily tucking in to his breakfast, Alice turned back to the kettle to make herself some tea, when she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. Looking more closely, she saw a perfect white tulip, lying in the middle of the kitchen table. But it was December, where on earth would a tulip come from in the middle of winter? As she picked it up and touched it’s smooth, velvety petals, a memory came flooding back to her. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought about the day she and Jemma had moved into their flat. Jemma had come back from shopping with a bunch of white tulips, laughing that she couldn’t afford roses, but she wanted to buy something anyway to wish them luck in their new home. She had brought tulips to lay on Jemma’s grave at her funeral and now she was returning the gesture. This tulip was from Jemma!

“
Oh, Jemma, thank you,” she whispered. Jemma had left her a good luck gift. She must have known that Alice would be nervous about starting her new job, so she had left the tulip to remind her that she was still around. She carefully put the flower in a glass of water, and finished making her tea. Twenty minutes later, she slipped quietly out, shutting the door gently so as not to disturb Jack.

She walked to Camden, i
t wasn’t too far, and she enjoyed the chance to think quietly whilst getting a bit of exercise. She thought about Jack and how much she loved him, about her new job and how much she was looking forward to it, about Jemma and her message on the voice recorder, and about the ghost boy, wondering if she would see him again. By the time she got to Glitz, she was fully awake and ready for anything.

“
Good morning, Petal,” called Oscar from the back of the restaurant as Alice pushed open the door. “You’re early!”

“
We agreed nine o’clock remember?” smiled Alice, taking her coat off.

“
Did we? Oh well, now that you’re here, I might as well show you the ropes.”

Oscar showed her how to make a perfect cup of coffee on the giant espresso machine, whilst chatting away about the morning routine, the customers and a bit about the other staff. Alice admired his enthusiasm, thinking how lovely it must be to run a business that you really loved.

“
By the way, here’s your uniform,” said Oscar, handing Alice a black t-shirt with the word Glitz boldly spelt out across the front in small silver sequins. Alice loved it! “That’s about it, Petal, you’ll pick it up really quickly, I’ve got a really good feeling about you. Tell you what, I’ll just pop Arrival on now before Dean gets back. He hates Abba, and if I don’t get in first, he’ll stick Underscore, or something equally dull, on and then he’ll disappear into the kitchen where he can’t even hear it.”

Just as Alice was beginning to wonder if she would ever get to meet Dean, the door opened and Oscar waved his arm at a tall, dark and serious looking man walking towards them. “Hi Sweetie,” he said, getting up and giving Dean a quick peck on the cheek, “this is Alice, our new waitress. She’s just started today.”

Alice smiled at Dean and held
out her hand. “Hello, I’m pleased to meet you.”

Dean shook her hand briefly and nodded at her, before disappearing into the kitchen. There was no smile, no warmth or friendliness in his greeting, and Alice was slightly taken aback by his curt and offhand manner.

“
Don’t take any notice of him,” said Oscar, staring furiously at the swinging kitchen door, “he’s always a miserable sod in the mornings. Come on, let me show you how the till works.”

It didn’t take Alice long to find her way around the restaurant, and by the time the first customer came in, she was confidently making frothy cappuccinos, and efficiently showing them to their tables and taking their orders. Lunchtime got busy very quickly, and Alice found herself loving the friendly buzz. The customers were relaxed and chatted to her as if she’d been there for years, and the time flew by as she took more orders and expertly delivered the food to the hungry guests.

It was only later, as she and Oscar were clearing away after most of the customers had left, that she realised how hungry she was. As if reading her mind, Oscar called out to her, “Alice, Sweetie, why don’t you make us some coffee while I finish clearing the last tables. Oh, and help yourself to something to eat.”

A couple of hours later, she was telling Jack all about her first day at work, as they relaxed in a coffee shop in Hampstead High Street. “Oscar’s great,” she told him, as she stirred a spoonful of sugar into her coffee, “but Dean’s a bit moody. He’s in the kitchen most of the time though, so I don’t really get to see much of him, thank god. Oh, and I made fifteen pounds in tips,” she grinned.

Jack laughed at her bubbly enthusiasm. “I’m really glad you’re enjoying it, it’s good to see you so happy.”

“
I’ve got a lot to be happy about,” she smiled, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze, “I’ve got you and now I’ve got a job that I love. I just wish Jemma was still here. Then everything would be perfect.”

“
Have you thought any more about the EVP recording?”

“
I can hardly stop thinking about it. Do you know what puzzles me the most though? Not that Jemma left a message for me from the spirit world, but what the hell was she doing at the Marling Hotel?”

Jack took a sip of his coffee, and looked at Alice thoughtfully, “I think it means she’s following you. You said you’ve sensed her at my house, and there was that incident with the bracelet at your flat, remember? She must have heard us discussing the ghost hunting vigil, and followed us there. Maybe she thought there might be a way for her to communicate with you there. I think she wants to talk to you.”

“
That’s what Maggie
thinks as well. I just wish I was better in tune with my psychic abilities. I’m obviously not as gifted as I first thought I was.”

“
Hey, you’re very
gifted. There’s no doubt about that, but it takes most mediums years before they’re able to communicate directly with spirits. They may see and hear them, but it’s a whole new skill to interpret messages and actually converse with them.”

Alice sighed, “Yeah, I guess. Maggie said she would help so I’m going to call her when she gets back from her yoga retreat. Jack? Do you think that the boy I keep seeing is anything to do with Jemma?”

“
It’s possible they’re linked, after all, he didn’t appear until after Jemma died. Did she have a brother or something that no-one knew about?”

Alice shook her head, “No, there’s no way Jemma could have kept something like that a secret.”

“
Maybe she didn’t know herself?”

“
No, I knew Jemma’s mum. She didn’t have any other kids, I’m sure about that. I know what you’re thinking, but I’m absolutely certain that this boy isn’t the ghost of a long lost brother.”

They continued to chat quietly whilst finishing their coffee, but when Alice picked up her bag and got up to leave, Jack gestured for her to sit back down.

“
Erm, Alice?” Jack shifted in his seat and unconsciously fiddled with a teaspoon, as he searched for the right words. “Look, I was just wondering – erm, well, it’s just...” He cleared his throat, nervously, as he saw Alice waiting expectantly for him to say whatever it was that was on his mind. “Well, it occurred to me that you’re staying with me at the house practically all the time these days.”

“
Oh,” said Alice, looking mortified, “I’m sorry, am I crowding you? Look, if you need some space, that’s fine. Honestly. I can go back to my flat whenever you want, it’s not a problem.”

“
No, that’s not what I’m trying to say.” Jack reached over and picked up her hand, “I love you, and I definitely don’t need space away from you. But doesn’t it seem a bit silly for you to pay rent when you could move in with me?” He held his breath as he waited for her response.

“
Really? Are you sure?”

“
Nah, only joking! Of course I’m sure, you silly thing. Well? What do you think?”

Alice could barely contain her excitement as she imagined her and Jack, living together in that beautiful house with Casper and the ghosts, one of them possibly being Jemma. Christmas was only a couple of weeks away, they could get a real Christmas tree, one that reached right up to the ceiling, and they would put it up in the bay window of the living room. It would be decorated with lots of tiny little white fairy lights, and her and Jack would go to John Lewis to buy all the decorations.....

“
Well?” Jack interrupted her thoughts.

“
Yes. Yes, I’d
love to.”

*****

“
Good on you, girl,” exclaimed Jemma, as Alice and Jack arrived home, excitedly discussing their plans for Alice to move in.

“
She’s going to put a bloody great big Christmas tree up in the window,” grumbled Max, from his corner. “She’ll put lights up everywhere, and the whole bloody house will look ridiculous.”

“
Oh for god’s sake, Max. It’s Christmas, the house will look great.” Tom threw Max an impatient glance. He turned to Jemma, “Jack’s never really bothered with Christmas before, this house hasn’t had a Christmas tree since his grandparents lived here and I, for one, will be really pleased to see a bit of Christmas cheer back here. Alice is going to bring some life back into this old place.”

“
Waste of bloody time and money, if you ask me.”

“
Well Max, we’re not asking you,” snapped Jemma. “Where’s Susie?” she asked, turning back to Tom.