Spirits of Spring (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 4) (51 page)

I trailed along after Rita who seemed to know almost
everyone there—even the Ghost Stalkers. I knew she wasn’t all
that
impressed
with
their
endeavors
but
she
was
still
professional nonetheless.
I was also not as impressed with
Damon’s tattoos once I saw them up close which was quite
disappointing.
It was
a very
weird experience to feel
so
comfortable around so many strangers. I felt more at home at
the Hastings Convention Center than I ever did at school, that’s
for sure.

I hung back reticently as Rita mingled until it was time
to take our seats. We settled for chairs near the back of the
room so that Clay could sit down, too. It was at that point that I
wondered, was I the only one here with a ghost in tow? I began
to scan the crowd, searching for signs of the undead and was
surprised that I found at least three of them sitting in “empty”
seats. At last, I didn’t feel odd or out of place—I felt like I was
at home.

Lectures. Even the word itself sounded boring. But the
words of wisdom
I listened to today were anything
but.
According to the program, the topic on wraiths was the last on
the agenda preceded by a short intermission. I took a moment
to use the restroom, excited to hear how Rita presented my
adventures
in
the Bantam
Theater.
I emerged a different
person.

Something miraculous happened after I flushed that
toilet and approached that swirled marble sink.
Something
very peculiar that made no logical sense whatsoever.
I was
comfortable here, comfortable with who I was in general. The
things
I always
tried so hard
to hide suddenly
lost
all
importance for me. While some parts of my life were falling
completely apart, other things were magically falling into place.
Who was this new person staring back at me from the restroom
mirror? In the midst of tragedy, I had somehow become…Ruby.
And I wasn’t the least bit embarrassed at who she was.

A minute later, I burst through those auditorium doors
and charged up to where Rita was preparing at the podium. “I
changed my mind. I want to give the presentation.” If I could
take on the lead role in
A Phantom Affair
at a moment’s notice, I
could do this, too.

Rita looked stunned but excited. “I was hoping to hear
you say that but I never thought I would! Here,” she said
shuffling through a small stack of index cards, “You can use my
notes to get started but once they start asking you questions, I
think you’ll be okay on your own.”

So for the next forty-five minutes I stood in front of a
roomful of strangers and I told them my story—at least the
relevant parts of it anyway.
I explained what
caused my
abilities in the first place and I briefly described the ghostly
encounters I’d had before going head to head with Allison in
her wraith form. Clay stood with me the whole time, reminding
me of details that I was leaving out. It was a frightening yet
exhilarating experience, one that I was proud of myself for the
very second I stepped away from that podium.

As I was making my way back to where Rita sat still
applauding my presentation, a lady in her early sixties stopped
me.

“I have to congratulate you on being able to accept
yourself for who you are at such a young age—I was twice your
age before I finally decided to embrace my abilities.
Sharing
your story with us today was very brave of you. Thanks.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that so I nodded my
head and smiled. She started to walk away then hesitated and
said, “And that is one handsome little sidekick you have there!
Too bad he’s living impaired.”
She gave Clay a wink and
disappeared into the crowd.

“She can see me, too, Ruby!” Clay exclaimed. “
And
she
thinks I’m hot!”

 

“
And
she’s roughly the same age as your grandmother!”

“Yeah, well, compliments are hard to come by for the
‘living impaired’. I’ll take what I can get!” We both laughed and
so did Rita once I explained what was so funny.

“So, Ruby, have you told Clay where we’re going next?”
Rita asked as we headed out through the parking lot to her car.
Once he heard that question, I didn’t have to tell him a thing.

“We’re going to see Sophie and the baby, aren’t we?”
His eyes glazed over with a lovesick look. “Do I look okay?” He
nervously began to fiddle with his hair and clothes like he was
preparing for his first big date.

“It doesn’t really matter how you look, Clay,” I reminded
him. “Even if we do find her, there’s no guarantee that she will
be able to see you. Plus….” I trailed off not knowing how to tell
him what I knew—or thought I knew—about her.

“She still loves me—I can feel it. She’ll be able to see
me.”

I’d put off telling him for long enough—a little
too
long,
actually. I needed to drop the grenade before it exploded in my
face.

“But there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to see
her
,
Clay. I think Sophie is dead.”
38. The Mother of All Revelations

Clay immediately became crestfallen—his smile faded,
the twinkle in his eye disappeared. I shouldn’t have waited
until we got to Ohio to tell him.
One more thing to add to my
list of “shouldn’t haves”.

“But…but…when? How? Did the baby die too?”

I didn’t have all of the answers. In fact, I only had one.
“She died about seven months after you did, Clay, but I don’t
know how.
The obituary I found only said that she died at
home. There was no reference to cause of death or mention of
the baby at all. There wasn’t a picture of her or anything so I’m
not even certain that it was
your
Sophie Wester.”

“Did it say how old she was? Did it give the date she
was born? August 22, 1995. Bring that obituary up on your
phone and see if that’s the birthday it gives.”

He leaned up between the seats to get a better look as I
searched for the information.
As my phone processed the
request, I held my breath and prayed that it wasn’t the right
person. When the results finally popped up, I exhaled in one
long depressing sigh. The birthdays matched.

Clay sunk back against the seat in disbelief. “I can’t
believe this. Sophie’s gone. I’ll never get to see her again. And
the baby—not the baby, too!” He buried his head in his hands
and began to quiver.

“You don’t know that for sure, Clay. The baby could
definitely still be alive. Don’t give up hope. Rita and I talked
about this and we both agreed that even if we don’t find
Sophie’s spirit today, that only means that she has moved on
and is probably waiting for you to do the same.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he replied with zero enthusiasm and
said nothing else.

When we pulled up to the address listed for Sophie in
her death notice, butterflies began to form in my stomach.
Giant ones.
And they felt more like moths.
Big, disgusting,
furry moths clambering over each other to get to the light. I
could only begin to imagine how terrible Clay felt inside.

Rita quickly gave us the plan. “We can’t just walk up
and ask questions about their dead daughter and tell them that
her also dead boyfriend is with us, too. So, we are going to ring
the bell and ask for directions and see what happens from
there.

With a quick head nod from Clay and me, we all got out
of the vehicle and began the awkward trek up the walk. Please
let us find her!
Please let this help Clay find peace!
Even if my
situation was far from resolved, I still wanted his to be put to
rest. My misery no longer wanted company.

The chime of the bell brought with it the sound of
footsteps on the other side of the door. A man in his forties
opened the door a tiny crack and peeked out at us.

“How can I help you?” he said with a tone that
suggested he wasn’t interested in helping us at all.

Rita took the driver’s seat on this mission and I was
more than happy to let her. “Hi. My daughter and I were
looking for Pendleton University and the GPS led us here. Since
I obviously no longer trust that stupid thing, could you please
point us in the right direction?”

I was impressed with her ability to lie. I never could
have thought
of
something
that
believable so
quickly
and
delivered it so easily. My “best” effort to date was convincing
Shelly that salt repelled spiders.
She had to be super gullible
for me to sell her
that
line.

Mr. Wester’s demeanor changed dramatically. “Oh, I
hate
technology!
We need to go back to the days when people
used maps—
they
were always accurate. You’re quite a bit off
track. Come on in and I will write down some directions for
you.”

Wow. My hat’s off to the ultimate queen of liars. Not
only did he buy the story, he was inviting complete strangers
into his home. As he swung the door wide to allow us inside, I
saw something incredible.
I saw a
tiny
child who looked
exactly like Clay. I knew the instant that Clay saw him too for
he let out a gasp and exclaimed, “That’s my son! And there’s
Sophie!”

Where? I couldn’t see a thing but Rita could. When Mr.
Wester wasn’t looking, she pointed to the couch and waved. I
took another look but all I saw were throw pillows.
Clay sat
down
on the couch and—from
my
perspective anyway—
hugged thin air. I was disappointed that I couldn’t see her but
at least Clay could.
That was the most important—the
only
important—thing I suppose.
But I was definitely disappointed.
Definitely.

I wasn’t very good with kids but I approached the small
boy with curiosity. He had the same shade of dirty blond hair,
the same blue eyes. He was even wearing a red shirt and jeans,
playing with a toy truck on the floor. Just like I imagined his
daddy did at his age. Mr. Wester noticed my interest in the boy
and commented.

“That’s my grandson, Clayton. He’s such a good little
boy. It’s a shame that he will never know his own mother.”

Or his father, either I thought but I didn’t say it. “Oh I’m
sorry, what happened to her?” I asked casually but I was about
to burst out of my skin in anticipation of his reply. I wasn’t
used to not being able to see or hear ghosts. I felt totally out of
the loop on this one. Clay and Rita didn’t seem interested in
what Mr. Wester had to say next, probably because Sophie had
already detailed her demise to their receptive ears.

“She died from a blood clot a few days after he was
born. It formed in her leg and went straight to her heart. They
told us she died instantly in her sleep.
Her mother and I
decided to raise the baby ourselves, of course. Sophie was our
only daughter.”

I saw the tears forming in his eyes and thought about
my dad and how he must have felt when my mom and sister
died. Death was so cruel to the ones it left behind. Was I going
to be left behind soon, too?

Rita thanked Mr. Wester for the directions and she and I
walked out of the house. Clay stayed behind. This was it. My
time with Clay was over now. I hoped that he would at least
come outside to say his final goodbye. If I’d realized that he
wasn’t coming
home
with
us,
I
would
have
had
that
conversation with him earlier. Of course, my mind wandered
back to Zach then. If I’d realized the last time I talked to him
could be
the
last time, I would have said more—a lot more.
Great. More regret.

As Rita was pulling out of our parking spot, I looked out
the window and saw Clay standing in the middle of the street. I
was going to get a proper goodbye after all.

“Stop, Rita! You’re about to run over Clay!”

 

Rita jerked the car into park and Clay got into the
backseat.

 

“Not so fast, Hot Pants! I have something to tell you
before you go.”

I wasn’t just going to get a proper goodbye—I was
going to get the best news I’d ever received in my life. By
helping Clay, I’d helped myself even more.

“I can’t thank you enough for this, Ruby! Did you see
my son? He looks just like me! And Sophie, isn’t she beautiful?”

“Yes, Clayton is absolutely adorable! But as for Sophie,
I’ll have to take your word for it. I wasn’t able to see or hear
her.”

He seemed shocked at first then oddly enough,
happy
.
“You couldn’t hear her? That means I get to give you the good
news myself then?”

“What good news?” What kind of good news could
Sophie have for me?

“Sophie told me why she was still earthbound and it
pertains to you.
Mothers who die automatically stay here to
watch over the children they’ve left behind. Your mom’s been
with you all along—you just aren’t allowed to see her.”

A warm tingle engulfed my body as every square inch
became covered in goose bumps. I often wondered why I was
able to see ghosts from years ago but not my very own mother.
I assumed that she crossed over and was totally out of my
reach.
But to hear that she had been with me the whole time
left me flabbergasted. I may have been losing Clay but I was
gaining my mom.

He and I exchanged a tearful goodbye as he told me that
he had chosen to stay here in Ohio. I knew it was coming but it
was still hard to hear. We attempted an awkward hug but it
didn’t go so well.

“I’m going to miss you, Clay. You’re the best ghost
ever.”