The After House (22 page)

He hadn’t thought of her feelings. He believed he needed to provide her with the vanities rather than the real necessities of life. She didn’t require the big house or the fancy clothes. In all fairness, she never asked for it. She wanted him to share the joys of their time together. He had heard the term often enough to have remembered it. She was his soul mate, his heart’s desire. He burned for her, yet he had squandered his time with her—for what? Trinkets. Status.

Gertie handed him the busk. “She died with your name on her lips, sir.”

His fingers glided over the whalebone. They were no longer one flesh. He was alone. Just as his family suffered, then died alone, so he was to end his days as well. A life sentence with no possibility of parole.

After the whale attack, he had been saved by the after-house from his own ship. He had floated on it for three days, with young Henry Falcon, and they were rescued by another bark. It had brought him back to the safety of his town, the security of his own little cottage by the sea, Sarah’s afterhouse. It was supposed to keep his family safe. Instead, it served as their tomb.

He left the busk, as well as the rest of his belongings, in the house. Walking out to the sea, he looked at the tall masts. He couldn’t do it anymore. What was the point of leaving, when he had nothing to come home to. The colorful banner of roses that his wife planted as his welcome reminded him only of the hollow house, devoid of the warmth of love. He just couldn’t go on. There was no afterhouse to save him in the murky waters of the bay. He had failed his family, failed his wife, failed his own heart. He couldn’t face life without her or the children. He couldn’t face her disappointment in eternity either. The calm waters beckoned. He looked back at the cottage on the hill, knowing with all certainty that an afterhouse was an illusion. The water closed over his head, he embraced it, letting it fill his lungs. The light muted, he became weightless, his heavy heart dragged him deeper into the murky depths of oblivion. He knew
with certainty that without the ones he loved, there was no safe place. Without the ones he loved, life was meaningless.

“Walter Jones was furious with you, he had to delay his ships departure for at least a month,” a voice told him, pulling him into the present.

Eli spun, and the busk dropped from his hands with a clatter. He heard the thud of a wooden leg as it crossed the floor.

“Jeez, but you scared the shite out of me,” Eli muttered, looking at a familiar face.

Old Henry Falcon thought that was just about the funniest thing he’d ever heard.

“You were a mess when they fished you out,” Henry said. “Scully found you four or five days later. It was bad. The fish got to you.” He shuddered. “I ended up working with the Joneses’ whalers. You did miss some good times, Eli. Saved up enough for two ships of my own.”

Eli looked at the other man’s peg leg.

“Aye,” said Henry. “Was a problem on the dance floor, but I married Florence McGowan, and it never interfered in the process of making a passel of children. Thank you for saving me.”

Eli bent his head. “You didn’t think I was doing you a big favor at the time.”

“True, but what do we know?”

“It was such a waste.” Eli shook his head.

“No such thing, Captain. We come, we learn, we love, we live—”

“And then we die. What is it all for?”

“You haven’t forgiven yourself?” Henry asked.

“How can I? Sarah died alone. I ran off, leaving her to face this horror without me.”

“None of us are alone, Eli,” Henry said. “You just don’t see her.”

2014

li felt a pull. It started with a gentle tug, sucking him back to the cottage. He wanted to stay and stare up at the portrait of his wife, but the force propelled him over the treetops, toward his little house on the bay.

There was a crowd in the house. Daylight streamed in through the windows. A woman walked with a dish of leaves burning in her hand. The smell enveloped him, made him sleepy, and dragged him into the living room, where he saw Remy leaning on Hugh on the sofa. Little Olivia looked up and right at him when he tumbled into the room.

“You see him!” the woman screeched.

“She’s got a voice that could wake the dead. In fact, she just did,” Eli thought as he got to his feet.

“I know you can see him too.” She pinched Olivia’s cheek. “You’re gifted.”

“How come we can’t see him now?” Hugh demanded. He was pale, but his eyes shone bright. His arm was around Remy. They looked so right together.

“He don’t want to be seen, that’s why,” she responded with a smile. She was short, with two-toned hair, a stocky build, and a warm and friendly face. “Some say the sage gets rid of them. I think it just gets rid of the unwanted spirits. Hmm.” She wandered over to a corner and concentrated very hard. She motioned for Olivia to take the smoking sage from her hand, then turned to the wall, her brow scrunched together.

“Honey,” she said to Olivia. “Do you feel anything different here?”

Olivia shook her head. She didn’t.

Marum stepped forward, reaching out to touch Georgia.

“Stop, Marum,” Sten said. “If you touch her, there’s no going back.”

“I’ve thought a long time about this. Eli’s failure is our failure too.” Marum looked at him with anguish in her luminous eyes. “The only way she’ll be able to convince him is if she’s touched by one of us. Besides, I like her.”

“She’ll be changed forever.”

“Not necessarily a bad thing. I think she deserves it. Her open mind has helped so many. It’s time for her to use more than she’s used to.”

“If you insist.” Sten was giving her a second chance to change her mind.

“I insist,” Marum said with a nod. She stepped forward and caressed Georgia’s cheek, then shoulder.

Georgia’s skin tingled, then turned golden.

Remy sat up, rapt, watching as a spangle of stardust encased the woman Hugh had brought over. She lived in the area, Hugh had explained, and had communicated with some of the livelier ghosts in the old mansions in the area. She now took on an unearthly glow. Startled, Georgia turned in a circle slowly. She covered the spot on her cheek with her hand. A conduit opened, and joy filled her face.

“Oh, I didn’t know before,” she said to Marum. “You’ve been here with us all along.”

“Who’s she talking to now?” Hugh asked, forcing himself to sit up. His arm pained him and he winced. No one answered him.

“Throughout eternity,” Marum whispered back.

“I wasn’t sure,” Georgia said with awe.

“Yes, you were. You’ve gone to the next level of consciousness. It’s time for Eli to go home. If you can do that, there will be no limits for you.”

Eli stood crankily, complaining that he wished they would stop talking about him as if he weren’t there. Georgia turned, her face drained of expression, her voice changing. Olivia ran to her mother and leaned on her leg.

“What happened to her, Mommy?”

“I don’t know. Hugh?’

“I’ve never seen her do this before. Georgia, are you OK?”

Her voice was different.

“Eli,” she called out. “Eli, are you done with your adventures?” It was Sarah.

Eli came over to her and dropped to his knees, hiding his face in the pleats of her long skirts. He felt fingers touch his hair. “I failed you.” He cried hot tears.

“No, you didn’t.”

“I left you. I loved you, and I left you. You needed me, you begged for me to stay, but I ignored you. I told you it was all for you.”

“Yes, Eli.” The hand stroked his hair back from his cold forehead. “What did you find out? Look at me and tell me what you now know.”

“I can’t, Sarah. I can’t. I lied. It wasn’t for you. It was for me. All I cared about was the fun of it, the chase. I admired how I looked providing you with nice things. I thought I loved you, but I didn’t understand what love meant.”

“What does it mean?”

“If I loved you, I shouldn’t have left you.” He bent over, and his form was wracked with sobs.

“What’s going on?” Remy whispered. All she saw was Georgia deep in a trance, her face devoid of expression.

“I don’t know, but I don’t want to disturb her.” Hugh watched her intently. “What I want to know is, where’s Eli? Do you hear anything?”

Remy shook her head. She turned to her daughter. “Livie?”

Olivia put her finger before her lips, indicating for them to be quiet.

Georgia went down on her knees. Her arms surrounded Eli.

“I knew you loved me and the children, Eli.” She pushed up his chin. “Love is more than that. Love is knowing that someone else’s happiness is more important than your own. Love is knowing how to make the right choices. Do you think if I wanted you to stay, you wouldn’t have? It would have made you miserable. More than anything, I wanted your happiness too.”

“You forgive me?” Eli asked, hope in his eyes.

“No.” Sarah took his hand. “I never had to forgive you. I was never angry at you. You have to forgive yourself. Come home with me, Eli. Your children need you. It’s time for you to come home. I think you’re finally ready to be with us.” She placed his hand on top of her chest. Eli could feel the outline of the busk he had made her so very long ago.

“And the two shall become one flesh,” Eli whispered.