No Ghouls Allowed (2 page)

And just as I suspected, I saw Daddy’s eyes narrow, and his lips compress into a disapproving
scowl.

But Christine had already stepped forward and reached for Heath’s hands. “Oh, would
you?” she asked. “I’d be most grateful, Heath.” Turning to me, she added, “Most grateful
to both of you!”

I stood there dumbstruck, not really believing what’d just happened. One minute we
were headed in for a nice get-to-know-you lunch, and the next Heath was committing
us to a ghostbust on our vacation. Which of course was just my luck.

“It’d be our pleasure,” Heath assured her, nodding his head and smiling encouragingly
at me.

“Of . . . of course,” I stammered. Christine clapped her hands happily, then hugged
first Heath, then me and showered us with thank-yous.

Daddy cleared his throat, his irritation quelled but barely below the surface. And
then Christine turned to him and said, “Oh, Monty, your daughter and her beau are
angels! I’ll sleep well tonight knowing a pair of experts can put all this craziness
to rest!”

“I’ll go too,” Gil offered, and Heath and I both widened our eyes. Gil seemed to realize
what he’d just committed himself to, because he followed that quickly with, “You know.
I’ll monitor things from the van. Like usual.”

Christine put her hand on his cheek and smiled sweetly. Gil, like Daddy, seemed to
melt under her charms. “Thank you, Gilley. That would be most kind of you.” Gilley
blushed and Heath and I hid smiles.

Then Daddy did something most unexpected. He chuckled and gave Heath a good-natured
pat on the back. “Well, now that’s settled, maybe we can all go in and enjoy our lunch.
Heath, you sit next to me. I hear you like to drop the occasional fly come salmon
season. It’s been a long time since I had someone to talk fly-fishing with. . . .”

As we filed into the house after Daddy, Gilley sidled up next to me, wearing a mocking
grin. He was enjoying this a little too much. “Shut it,” I warned.

Gil adopted an injured expression. “I didn’t say a word!”

My eyes narrowed. “Oh, but you will.”

“Well,” Gil replied. “That’s a given, sugar.”

We entered my childhood home and I was stunned to find that so much had changed since
I’d last been to see Daddy. For the past twenty years Daddy had left the home exactly
as it’d been on the day my mother died. It’d been like living in the moment of her
passing for most of my childhood, and I’d probably resented Daddy for making us stay
in such a sad place. But now as we all stepped into the foyer, I was struck by the
fresh coat of light beige on walls that had previously been a dull yellow.

Gilley widened his eyes a bit at me and nodded his head, like he had also noticed
the change and approved. Daddy led the way toward the back of the house, saying, “We’ve
set up on the back porch for brunch. There’s a nice cross breeze and you’ll have a
chance to admire the gardens. Christine’s done wonders back there.”

As everyone trailed behind Daddy, I held back for a moment and turned to look toward
the entrance of the parlor, and there too the walls and the trim had also received
fresh coats of paint, in a slightly deeper shade of beige. A new set of deep brown
leather sofas and cream-colored accent chairs had also replaced the dingy blue couches
that’d once occupied the room. Additionally, built-in bookcases had been installed,
turning the parlor into something more like a library, but I saw that Daddy’s extensive
book collection had been organized and assembled in such a clean, crisp way as to
beckon fellow book lovers to run their fingers along the volumes.

My head swiveled then to the left and I took in the new dining room with a gorgeous
oak table and beautifully upholstered burgundy chairs. Like just about everything
else, the curtains were new, replacing the dusty peacock blue window coverings from
before. The look was lovely and elegant and exactly reflected the full potential of
the space. I sighed and turned my attention back to the parlor, taking a few steps
forward to investigate it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Christine had come
up next to me. “Your father finally let me tackle this old house and bring it into
the twenty-first century,” she said with a hint of pride in her voice. “I’ve let my
decorators loose in every room including yours, which I hope you like, Mary Jane.
I didn’t want to change too much in there, but it desperately needed some fresh paint
and updated furnishings.”

I turned to face her, feeling that warmth for her at our initial greeting expand even
more in the center of my chest. “Your taste is lovely. I’ve wanted Daddy to fix up
this old house for decades.”

Christine wrapped an arm around my middle. “It took him a long time to get over Madelyn,”
she said, almost as if she knew how truly hard it’d been for both of us. “And he sure
made me use all of my charms to break through that big bleak wall of his. But when
I first met him, I thought there was something so sad about Monty, and I couldn’t
let him carry on like that without trying to find the good heart I knew was inside.
As I got to know him, it was like someone just coming out of a deep sleep, you know?
Like gently shaking someone awake from a place so dark and withdrawn that even the
smallest acts of kindness worked on him like sunshine peeking through the blinds.”

I looked up at Christine and I couldn’t help the water that filled my eyes. She was
radiant and beautiful and I knew exactly what she meant by the sun finally waking
Daddy from that long slumber. In that moment I felt my mother’s presence so intensely
that I wanted to weep, because I knew . . . I just
knew
she’d been the one to place Christine Bigelow on my daddy’s path.

Thanks, Mama,
I called out to her in my mind, and I felt her presence come even closer for a moment,
as if she were giving me a hug before withdrawing again.

“You all right, Mary Jane?” Christine asked me, obviously noticing how emotional I
was getting.

I swallowed hard and blinked a few times, but I still had to wipe at my cheeks a little.
“Yes,” I said, with an embarrassed laugh. “I don’t know what’s come over me.”

“Aww,” Christine said, squeezing my middle a little. “Coming home is always such an
emotional thing. But we’re so glad you came for our wedding. It wouldn’t have been
the same without you, honey.”

I inhaled deeply and nodded, still a little embarrassed. Trying to change the subject,
I said, “So, where will you live after you’re married?” I couldn’t imagine Daddy in
any house other than the one I’d grown up in, but then I also couldn’t imagine Christine
spending all that money on renovations to Porter Manor if she didn’t intend to live
there.

Christine seemed to know I was treading on a potentially touchy subject because she
looped her arm through mine as she led the way out of the parlor and said, “Well,
now, that’s something that Monty and I have talked a great deal about, and I think
we’ve decided to live here until renovations are complete at the Porter house, and
then he’ll go ahead and put this place up for sale.”

I nodded, and tried to tamp down the tinge of bitterness that rose inside me as I
heard that my childhood home would soon be sold. “I guess it’s time Daddy moved on,”
I said with a sigh.

Christine squeezed my arm. She seemed to understand. “If it helps, renovations won’t
be complete for at least two years, Mary Jane. We’ll be here awhile yet.”

I smiled. That did help. “So, what’s the plan for the wedding?”

“Well, it’ll be a very small affair. Your father and I are both veterans of the big
wedding, so this time around we’d like just a few very close friends and family to
gather here next Saturday. Monty’s friend Judge Michaels will be doing the honors,
and we’ll have a lovely catered dinner afterward. With any luck the whole thing will
be over by eleven o’clock!”

I eyed her with surprise. “Really? That’s it? Just a small ceremony and a catered
dinner with only a few friends and family?”

Christine laughed lightly. “Yes, that’s all! Why? Did you really think your father
and I would have a big, grand affair?”

I shrugged. “Well, maybe not really big, but, I mean, between the two of you, you’ve
got to know a whole lot of important people.”

She laughed again. “Well, the only important people we absolutely needed to be here
were you, Heath, and Gilley, and of course my son and his family. Speaking of which,
Tom will be here Saturday morning, and I just know you’ll adore his wife, Kelsey.
She went to school in Boston, you know. . . .”

Christine continued to chat happily at me while we made our way out to the garden
for brunch. As she spoke, all the reservations I’d had about attending the wedding
melted away. For the first time in forever, it felt good to be home again.

•   •   •

A few hours later I was hugging Christine and Daddy good-bye. “You sure you won’t
stay with us?” Christine asked me again.

“Oh, no—thank you—but we’ve already settled in at Mrs. Gillespie’s. We’ll be back
in the morning, though, and we’ll let you know what we’ve discovered at the Porter
house.”

Christine bit her lip. “I’m nervous about you going there alone, Mary Jane.”

Heath put a hand on my shoulder. “She won’t be alone, ma’am. I’ll be with her and
we’ve done plenty of these investigations. We know what we’re doing.”

Except that we didn’t have any of our equipment or safety gear. I’d had one too many
mimosas at lunch, and I’d promised Christine that I’d check out Porter Manor that
very afternoon. Now that the buzz was wearing off, I was beginning to wonder if I’d
done something stupid in committing to investigate without the proper equipment.

Judging from the size of Gilley’s current frown, I’d probably done something stupid.

“Well, then,” Christine said with a sad smile as she gave us a little wave. “Y’all
be safe over there and come back first thing in the morning. I’ll have Ruby send over
some of their croissants and Danishes.”

Daddy seemed a bit aloof as we said our good-byes for the night. I knew he and Christine
were disappointed that Heath and I had decided to stay with Gilley’s mom instead of
at the house with them, but I also knew that Daddy would’ve thrown a fit over Heath
and me wanting to stay together in the same bedroom. He’d been pretending to overlook
the fact that Heath and I were living in sin up in Boston, and as that was an argument
just waiting to happen, I’d cut it off at the pass by asking Gil’s mom if we could
stay with her. She’d been more than happy to host us.

As we got ready to take our leave, Christine squeezed my hands one last time and let
me go, but before I could get into the van with the boys, Daddy stepped forward and
gave me a buss on the cheek. My breath caught and I stood there rather stunned for
a moment. I could remember exactly the last time Daddy had given my cheek a kiss.
It’d been the night before Mama had been diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer.
From that moment on, he’d never bussed my cheek again.

While I stood there, a twinkle came into Daddy’s eyes, and he smiled like he knew
he’d caught me off guard. “Y’all have a good rest of your day, Mary Jane,” he said,
laying a hand on my arm to squeeze it gently. “Drive safe and we’ll see y’all tomorrow
morning.”

I waved to Daddy and Christine as I got into the van, and then we were all waving
at them as Gil took us back down the long drive toward the road. For several moments
no one in the van spoke until Gil said, “Who
was
that man masquerading as your daddy, M.J.?”

I laughed. His question was so earnest that it fit exactly the train of my thoughts.
“
That
was Daddy,” I said, and felt my voice quaver. “At least, the Daddy I remember from
before Mama died.”

“I like him,” Heath said.

I sighed happily. “He likes you too, honey.”

“Oh, hell,” Gil scoffed. “He
loves
you, Heath. I mean, M.J., did you see the way Monty was asking Heath about the fly-fishing
in New Mexico?”

“I did,” I said, my brow furrowing. Daddy had always been hard on my boyfriends, and
by hard I mean awful, terrible, and despicable. “I can’t get over the change in him.”

“Was he really that bad before he met Christine?” Heath asked.

“Yes,” Gil and I said together.

“Huh. Well, he seemed nice to me. And, Em, I didn’t want to bring this up at brunch,
but your mom was
all
over me from the minute we stepped outside for brunch. She talked me up the whole
time we were eating.”

“What’d she say?” Gil asked eagerly.

I felt my stomach muscles clench. I often felt Mama close to me in spirit, but she
rarely communicated directly with me the way she did with other mediums like Heath,
which is a common practice for the spirit world. I think it’s because the way we hear
spirits is often so subtle that it can feel as if it’s imagined, and when we hear
from our own loved ones, there’s that seed of doubt that plants itself in our brains
and begs the question, is this really my loved one, or me just making it up?

The fact that she communicated to me so clearly through Heath made Mama’s words real
and undeniable, but I will admit that I both loved and hated hearing him relay her
messages. I loved it because I missed her so much, but I hated it because it always
reminded me that she was physically absent from my life, and no matter how often I
“heard” from her, I’d still never feel her arms wrap around me or hear the lilt of
her sweet voice in this lifetime again. Unless of course she came to visit me in one
of my dreams, but even that fell short of having her here with me in this world.

“She said that she loves Christine,” Heath said. “And she loves the way your dad has
come out of his shell, Em.” Looking meaningfully at me, Heath added, “She also said
that she’s happy you and your dad are talking to each other again. She’s super proud
of how you’re handling all this.”

My eyes misted and I blinked furiously. Nothing touched me more than hearing that
Mama was proud of me. “Thanks, sweetie,” I whispered, and had to look away until I
could compose myself.