Shadow of a Life (31 page)

*****

The afternoon had faded quickly with
all the excitement. Those of us who were living were famished. We
made dinner with the groceries we’d picked up and devoured it.
Peter and Camille went home, promising to start packing.

Nick, Sophia, and I worked together to
get the trunk upstairs to my room. Considering its age, it was in
surprisingly good shape. I thought it would look nice at the foot
of my antique bed. Someday I would finish going through its
contents—if Jeremiah and Elsa didn’t decide to come back for their
remaining possessions. We made sure to put Dad’s den back in order
and then returned to the living room. By that time it was dark
outside, but I was far from feeling tired.

I spotted the candlesticks and serving
platter that we’d pulled from the trunk earlier in the day still
sitting on my coffee table. Deciding that then was as good as any
time to polish them, I took them to the kitchen and went to work
removing years of tarnish. Sophia and Nick watched me work,
impressed that I knew so much about antiques.

“
My mother owned a silver
hair comb. You know, the kind that women leave in their hair as
decoration?” Nick reminisced. “I took it with me when I left home
and went to work for Jeremiah. I only carried a few things, but
since it had been my mother’s prized possession, I couldn’t part
with it. I would love to know where it is now. I also had my
father’s pocket watch. It didn’t work anymore, but it was the only
thing of his that I had. He carried it with him all through the
Civil War. I have no idea what the crew did with all my stuff after
Jeremiah killed me. I hope some of it made its way to a museum
somewhere, but more than likely they tossed my entire trunk over
the side of the ship along with my body.”

It was astounding how much the past
still meant to them, even though they’d been living as ghosts for
far longer than their short mortal lives. I hoped that I could help
them find closure soon.

I slept soundly that night. I trusted
Nick and Sophia to keep watch all night and they faithfully
reported the next morning that there had been no ghostly
activity—other than themselves—around my house all night. I hoped
that meant Jeremiah and Elsa were gone for good.

I expected Dad to be home by lunch.
Sophia was so sure that he was going to let me go that she’d gone
ahead and booked airline tickets for Peter, Camille, and I to fly
to Newport News, Virginia, the next day. She and Nick planned to
drive to Philadelphia in her car and meet up with us on a
connecting flight there. We hoped our plan would throw any unwanted
followers off our trail. It would be hard for the Goodwins to
follow Nick and Sophia on a six-hour car ride without them
noticing. Camille called around eleven to tell me excitedly that
she’d gotten permission from her parents to go on the trip. That
was a good sign for me. Dad would be more willing to let me go
knowing Camille would be along for the journey, too.

Precisely at noon I heard the sound of
the garage door being raised. I looked out the living room window
and saw him pull into the driveway. I quickly shooed Nick and
Sophia away. I wanted to talk to my dad without them there—at least
not in their human form. Besides, Dad would have no idea who Nick
was or why he was in our house.

“
Dad. You’re back,” I
shouted, a little too loudly. I was a really bad
actress.

He looked surprised. “I am. You seem
pretty happy to see me. Is everything okay?”

“
Everything’s great. How was
Chicago?” My voice was still loud.

“
About the same as it always
is.”

It wasn’t my Dad’s favorite place to
visit and he found himself having to go there for work-related
reasons a lot. He walked into the kitchen and parked his luggage at
the bottom of the stairs. I saw him look around at everything
expectantly. He knew something was up. I’m sure he thought I’d
ruined something and was trying to butter him up before I broke the
bad news.

“
What have you been up to?”
he finally asked.

“
Oh, you know, the usual.
Hanging out with Camille. And Sophia.”

“
And Peter?”

“
A little.” I
blushed.

“
He seems like a nice young
man.”

I took that to mean that Dad was
giving his blessing for me to pursue my relationship with Peter. I
didn’t know yet if anything would even become of our relationship.
So far all of our more intimate moments had been in the rush of
panic or when we had made some great find. I didn’t know if “we”
would happen in the normal world. I’d have to see after Sophia and
Nick were gone.

“
Dad?”

“
Yes, Jamie?”

“
I know you’ve been gone for
a few days, and you just got home, but . . . I was kind of hoping I
could go on a trip. Sophia invited me to her family’s estate in
Virginia for a few days and I would
love
to go. Oh, and Cam’s already got
permission to go, too.” I had to throw that last part
in.

“
Virginia?”

“
Yep. That’s where she’s
from.”

“
I don’t know, honey. Sophia
is nice enough, but I’ve never even met her parents. That’s a long
way to go, isn’t it?”

“
It is, but it would be a
good experience for me. And it would be nice to have something to
do that’s exciting for a few days.”

Dad sighed. “How would you get there?
Are her parents driving?”

“
No, actually, we would all
fly.”

“
When are they
leaving?”

I was beginning to sweat—he
wasn’t giving in very easily. “Uhh . . . tomorrow morning. I
really
want to go, Dad.
Mom’s met Rita—I mean Sophia’s mom.” I hated playing that card. Dad
tried so hard to be a good parent and I hated making him feel like
Mom had done something more than him.

“
She has?”

“
Yeah. When Mom was here the
other day, Sophia’s mom stopped by.”

“
Oh.”

“
Sooo . . .?”

“
Invite her family over for
dinner tonight and I will discuss the trip with them. If they’re
decent people and can assure me that your going won’t be a problem
for them, then I guess you can go.”

“
Yes. I love you, Dad. Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you.” I threw my arms around him and gave him
a kiss on his cheek. It totally wasn’t like me, but it made him
smile and he hugged me back.

I ran up to my room and barged through
the door. Sophia sat on my window seat watching the street below
while Nick lay on my bed, making himself at home amongst my
blankets and pillows. Dad would have freaked out if he knew they
were up there. I locked my door behind me.

“
Well?” Sophia stood up and
crossed the fingers of both her hands.

“
If Dad can have dinner with
Jack and Rita tonight, and they pass his ‘decent people’ test, I
can go.”

“
Yay,” she
squealed.

“
Shhhh.”

“
Right. Sorry,” Sophia
whispered.

Nick threw a pillow at me and I picked
it up and threw it back. Before I knew it the three of us were in a
silent pillow fight, trying to smother our giggles. It was nice to
feel that at ease again.

Jack, Rita, and Sophia arrived
promptly at six. It was a good thing, too, because promptness was
one thing that Dad firmly believed defined one’s character. Rita
wore a retro blue cocktail dress and open-toed pink pumps. It was
like a blast from the past. I imagined her in the same outfit at
her diner a half century before. I wished I could pull off her
look. Sophia looked stunning as always in a gray skirt with a sea
foam green blouse. Jack was in a suit, just like I’d seen him the
other day, only he was going without a tie that night and the top
button of his cream-colored dress shirt was unbuttoned. The three
of them made a gorgeous fake family. All they needed was the
handsome Nicholas Trenton to be on the arm of Sophia and the
picture would be complete.

After introductions were
made all around, Rita wandered through the downstairs complementing
Dad on all his choices in antiques. He loved it. The funny thing
was that Rita had probably lived when some of the items she pointed
out were new. He didn’t need to know that, though. We soon
retreated to the patio where Dad had hors d’oeuvres—little crab
cakes—waiting. It was a good thing he could entertain on the fly
since we’d only had a couple of hours to prepare. He wanted to make
sure we served something nice, but I knew the food would all taste
the same to our ghostly guests. At least Rita would appreciate
the
effort
in food
choice. Sophia and I whispered at the table while we dined on roast
turkey, mashed potatoes, and steamed asparagus—courtesy of a local
deli.

“
Do you think it’s
working?”

“
I think so. Dad seems
impressed by them so far. I just hope he doesn’t want to have them
over again. It might be kind of awkward to explain where you went
when your time comes to go.”

Sophia frowned. I felt like our
adventure was almost over and I knew she did, too. At first it felt
like we were just playing some kind of a game, but the day before,
when the Goodwins had held us at gunpoint, the reality of what was
eventually going to happen had finally sunk in for all of us. I
would seriously miss the girl who had become a sister to
me.

When dinner ended and we all pushed
back from the table, Rita finally broached the subject. “We really
do hope you’ll let Jamie come with us tomorrow. She’s been so sweet
and welcoming to Sophia this summer and we hope we can show her the
same hospitality at our home in Virginia. We’re right near the
water and it should be a lot of fun for the three girls to hang out
there for the week. We just need to check on the home and Jack
needs to meet with a couple of clients before we come back
here.”

“
I don’t see any reason why
she can’t go. I think it would be a good experience for her.” Dad
smiled at me.

“
Really? Thank you, Dad. I
will be on my best behavior, I promise.”

Dad laughed. “You’re a good kid,
Jamie. I’m not worried about you.”

I felt a little guilty that every
person sitting at that table knew exactly what was actually going
to happen in Virginia except for my dad. Oh well, what he didn’t
know couldn’t hurt him. Right?

CHAPTER 21

“
B
ye, Dad. See you in a week,” I called as he waved from our
front porch the next morning. Jack and Rita were loading my luggage
into the trunk of their car in the driveway while Sophia and I
climbed into the backseat.

“
Do you have your phone and
did you remember to pack your charger?” he called back.

“
Yes and yes. Love you,
Dad.” I shut the door. I felt sad to be leaving my dad. I was
completely deceiving him when he trusted me wholly. I couldn’t
answer the questions my mind kept asking.
Is it okay to lie if I’m helping someone else out of a tricky
situation? How far is too far?

We drove to Camille’s house and loaded
her luggage, too. I definitely packed lighter than she did. Jack
had to rearrange the trunk twice before he was able to fit
everything in. We’d be staying in a hotel in Newport News for a
week, but the way Camille packed you’d think we were going to be
gone for the entire summer. Jack and Rita drove us back to their
home where Nick and Peter were already waiting. Peter got in the
car with us and Sophia transferred to her car with Nick. Jack and
Rita would drive us to the airport in Boston while Nick and Sophia
headed south for six hours through New York and into Philadelphia
where they would hopefully meet up with us at the airport
there.

“
I’m really glad you got
permission to come. It would have been weird if it was only Camille
and I going,” Peter said when the three of us were nestled in the
back of Jack and Rita’s car.

“
Thanks, Peter. I love you,
too,” Camille said sarcastically.

Peter turned red. “I didn’t mean it
like that. I just meant because Jamie’s the actual soul saver and
all.”

“
Right, whatever you
say.”

I was glad it wasn’t just the two of
them going, too. I didn’t want whatever Peter saw in me to be
forgotten if he spent time alone with Camille.

The drive to Logan International
Airport was uneventful even though I noticed Jack checking his
rearview mirror—a lot. He and Rita were easy to talk to and I found
myself hoping to still see them once in a while after Sophia and
Nick were gone. The adults accompanied us as far as they could to
the security checkpoint inside the airport, but couldn’t go with us
to the actual gate since we’d all opted to fly as unaccompanied
minors. They could have vanished and followed us, but that would
have been hard to do without drawing attention to ourselves in the
busy airport. Jack and Rita already looked suspicious the way they
kept looking around in every direction, eyeing every
passenger.

“
I haven’t seen any ghosts
since we got here, with the exception of Boston Bob, so I think
you’re okay,” Jack said as we were saying goodbye.