Spirits of Spring (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 4) (13 page)

“Wow. You really
do
have a fever, don’t you?” Shelly
asked with a laugh. “You went from an irresponsible teenager
with a shoe fetish to a soccer mom practically overnight!”

Not funny. Okay, so maybe it was just a little bit. There
was one last frivolous purchase that I needed to make to prove
that I wasn’t completely middle aged already. “Oh, but soccer
moms don’t go shopping for prom gowns, though, do they?”

“No, they don’t! When
is
prom anyway?”
“Late May I think—not sure of the date.
But I need to
start looking for a dress ASAP before all of the good ones are
taken. It’s not like I have a thousand stores to look in around
here, you know.”

“No you don’t which is why I suggest we take a road trip
instead!
What do you say—you, me, Rachel, and Diane? We
can go shopping in Pittsburgh and find you girls the best prom
dresses Charlotte’s Grove has ever seen.”

Who could say no to
that
offer?
Certainly not me!
“Deal!” I squealed exuberantly. “I’m going to text Rachel right
now and let her know the plan.” As quickly as my thumbs could
go, I tapped out the message. Almost instantly, I got a reply.

“Sweet! Needed good news—Dad & Zach fighting again.
”

Again?
Sure,
Zach had made some pretty
stupid
decisions here and there since I’d met him, but he really was a
good person and tried to make up for his mistakes. Buying him
that car was the only way I could think of to try to ease the
situation for him.
Without telling Rachel exactly what I was
going to do for him, I let her know that I had a plan to help.
She begged for even one small hint but I refused to give her any
information and asked if she would please not let Zach know
any of what little I did tell her. Once she replied affirmatively,
my mind was back where it needed to be—onto the subject of
shopping.

“I’m going to go get my laptop so I can start looking at
dresses
until dinnertime.
Speaking
of which,
what
is
for
dinner?” The only thing I could smell was the cinnamon rolls
and while I could probably make a meal out of those alone, it
wasn’t exactly the wisest decision. I felt like I needed my first
insulin shot just from contemplating it.

Shelly poured another cup of coffee for us both and
dove into another cinnamon roll. “Your dad is bringing home
takeout from Chow Ming tonight. He should be home in about
two hours so we have plenty of time to cyber-shop for the
perfect gown. Go get that laptop and I’ll get
you
another
cinnamon roll!”

Prom was all I could think about as I ran upstairs for my
computer. I had so much fun buying a dress and getting ready
for the fundraiser last summer but this was going to be even
better. This time Rachel would be helping me pick out a dress
and would actually be at the dance, too.
And of course we
would have to come up with some epic after prom activities
that our parents would approve of. Suddenly, there seemed to
be so many things that I needed to do in a very short time.
Track
was
getting
ready
to
start.
Prom,
of
course.
Then…graduation. Wow. Where did the last few months go? It
seemed like only yesterday that I was dreading the first day of
school. Oddly enough, I was now dreading the last day, too. I
wanted to graduate but it was kind of a scary thought.
So
instead, I chose not to think about it for now and focused
instead on the
real
important issue—prom shopping.

Shelly and I checked out website after website to get an
idea of what styles were in this year. I decided that I definitely
wanted a full length gown. She liked the shorter ones because
they were cute and flirty but I wanted to go with elegant and
sophisticated. I could put on a short skirt and be cute and flirty
any old day of the week but you don’t often get the chance to
strap on floor length satin and chiffon. When she gasped and
pointed to a dress exclaiming that it was “the one”, I knew that
fashion was one thing we might never totally agree on.

“
That
one?” I said, pointing to a green sequined number
that I wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing. “This is
prom—not an audition for
The Little Mermaid Part Two
. And
besides, you have to know that I am looking for something red.
Zach likes me best in red.”

“Zach would like you in any color and you know that. I
really think that you would look good in green—it would bring
out the color of your eyes. You’ll have to try on a green one
when we go shopping. You may change your mind about red.”

Me? Change my mind about red? Never. “I’ll think
about it. When are we going to Pittsburgh? Zach and I need to
plan a trip to Pendleton soon, too.”

“So you’ve decided then? You’re taking the fall
semester off so you can be with Zach in Ohio?”

“Yep,” I announced proudly. “I know what you’re
thinking—that once I take time off, I won’t want to go back to
school at all. But you’re wrong. College is important to me but
it can wait a few months because in the end, being with Zach is
what really matters to me the most.” There. I stood up for
myself like an adult. I made the decision that was best for me—
not the decision they
thought
was best for me.

“You still have to break that news to your dad. Soon.”

“Break
what
news to me?” Somehow, Dad had snuck up
on us and was standing in the doorway with his hands full of
bags from Chow Ming.

Perfect timing, Shelly. Or shall I say
im
perfect.
I had a
sudden intense urge to grab a set of chopsticks and poke my
own eyeballs out as a diversion. I knew I needed to just suck it
up and confront my dad about my college decision but I had
hoped to take a little time to prepare beforehand. He was going
to have a thousand rebuttals for everything I said and I wanted
to be ready for them all. A conversation like this one wasn’t
one you just went into all willy nilly. I needed to stall it for
now. Without the gory use of wooden utensils, preferably.

“Ruby decided to go to Pendleton with Zach and just
take the fall semester off,” Shelly announced nonchalantly.

Really? While Shelly was acting innocent and clueless, I
had the distinct feeling that she did it on purpose. It was one of
those moments where she decided to take the opportunity to
force me to do something I dreaded doing. She was right, of
course.
I just needed to get it over with.
But I was a first class
procrastinator especially when it came to conversations with
Dad.
My brain formed a new image of where I would like to
shove those chopsticks.

Before he had a chance to launch into the usual sermon
about what he thought I should do with my life, I confidently
announced my plan.

“That’s right. I am moving to Ohio with Zach and
signing up for the spring semester at Pendleton.
As an English
major.” Without missing a beat, I followed up that major bomb
with an even more important question. “Which bag has the
cheese wontons in it?”

The
look on his
face was
priceless.
It was
how I
imagined a cop would look at you if you found some way to talk
your way out of a ticket and then calmly asked for directions to
the nearest doughnut shop.
My new role as dominatrix was
suiting me just fine. The whip fit so I was going to continue to
crack it.

“I think you’re making a very big mistake, Ruby. I hope
you come to your senses before it’s too late. Don’t get me
wrong—I like Zach, too, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t
at least give Trinity College a try. If your relationship is meant
to be, distance won’t matter to either of you,” Dad said as he set
the bags down on the table.
He pushed one toward me and
mumbled, “Here—I think they’re in this one.”

So he wasn’t exactly arguing with me, but he wasn’t
exactly
agreeing
with
me either.
I decided
to just say
everything I needed to say and be done with it. “I know what
you’re thinking, Dad. You’re thinking that we are way too
young to be this serious. You’re thinking that I’m just being an
overdramatic
teenage
girl throwing
my
life
away over the
flavor of the week. But you’re wrong. I don’t know how to
explain it, but he and I are more than that. We have a bond that
I can’t even begin to describe. The thought of leaving him
behind is truly unthinkable. My decision is final.”

The first of many warm cheese wontons made its way
into my mouth before I remembered that I had one more thing
to say to him. I slid all three sets of chopsticks my direction just
in case he would consider using them as a weapon, too, before
saying, “Oh and I am buying him a car.”

“What?” His jaw dropped and so did the egg roll he was
about to devour.

“He needs a car and I have the money to buy him one. I
understand that the money Giuseppe gave me won’t last
forever and I’m going to use it carefully. Every single cent of it
is still in my bank account and I plan to get a job as soon as we
get to Ohio. I’m not as irresponsible as you think I am, Dad.”
But I still wasn’t
totally
responsible yet, either.
I did spend
more than I should have on some new spring clothes at The
Village but my bank account still reflected a six digit balance by
sixteen whole cents. Aside from buying that car, I just wouldn’t
spend any more until I got paid.

Shelly had remained silent after initially setting me up
for this dreaded conversation but finally decided to chime in.
“Ruby will be eighteen in less than three months, Jason. After
that, you won’t have the authority to stop her no matter what
she decides to do. I think it’s time for you to accept the fact that
she isn’t a little girl anymore. You have to let her learn from
her own mistakes now.”

Conversation over. Not another single word from Dad
on the subject. Wow. Looks like I could take some dominatrix
lessons from dear old Shelly. We all ate dinner together like
nothing
was
wrong, discussing
plans
to go
prom
dress
shopping and where Zach and I should go to find the best deals
on a good used vehicle.

With a stomach full of Chow Ming and a head full of fun
plans, I headed upstairs to take care of the last loose thread in
my life, my poor murdered friend Clay. Everything else in my
life was
going
perfectly
smooth.
Now that I had more
information about his death, sending him into the great beyond
should be a piece of cake. Stale, hard cake like Shelly used to
bake—the kind that even a starving rat would only take one
nibble of and then go curl up in a corner to die of hunger with
dignity. Yes, there was still a trace of pessimism underneath
my new optimistic façade.

9. Ghost Busted

As soon as I started upstairs, I realized two things.
One—I had eaten entirely too much and wished that my room
was on the ground floor so that I didn’t have to lug my bloated
behind up two flights of steps. And two—it was a good thing I
wasn’t in the middle of doing something embarrassing because
as soon as I thought his name, Clay appeared at my side.

“Geez, Ruby—even my grandma moves faster than that!
You’re usually so full of energy. What’s wrong with you today?”

 

“Chow Ming and homemade cinnamon rolls,” I groaned
as I clutched my stomach. “I ate too much for dinner.”

 

“Slugging around like that isn’t going to make you feel
any better. Come on—I’ll race you up the stairs!”

There was something different about him.
He seemed
happier. Maybe knowing that he didn’t kill himself was enough
to change his outlook on the afterlife.
Maybe it was enough to
convince him that moving on was going to be a good thing.
Spurred by his positive attitude, I decided to take him up on
that challenge.

“Go!” I shouted and took off up the stairs. A full three
steps ahead of him, imagine my surprise to get to the attic door
and find him standing there laughing at me.

“You run like a girl!” he teased as I stood there gasping
for air.

 

“And
you
don’t play fair! If you were alive, I would have
beaten you and you know it.”

“I don’t know about that, Ruby. Back in elementary
school, I was the second fastest runner in our class. The only
kid who could beat me every time was Rachel.
She
doesn’t run
like a girl.”

I opened the door to the attic and we both flopped
down on the futon. “That’s pretty funny considering that
I
can
beat Rachel.
She and Coach Hunter practically begged me to
join the track team this year.
Apparently, running like a girl
took on a whole new meaning after I moved to town.
I even
earned a cool new nickname out of it—Red Lightning!”

“Red Lightning—I like the sound of that.
I really was
just joking with you. You’re fast—you should do good.
And
maybe we can run together since I seem to bring out your
competitive spirit even when you don’t feel like competing.”

He was right.
He would make the perfect running
partner because he could push me harder than anyone else
possibly could. “I’ll definitely take you up on that offer later but
right now, let’s talk about murder.”

“Yeah, what makes you think someone offed me?”

I recounted the details Zach gave me about Clay’s
disappearance and the damage inflicted to his car. He didn’t
seem all that upset to hear that his body lay in the depths of
Silver Lake for two weeks. But the very second I mentioned the
Mustang, I thought he was going to explode.