Unfinished Business An Angela Panther Novel (A Chick-lit Paranormal book) (The Angela Panther Series) (24 page)

“I’ve got an appointment this afternoon, little man. What’s your plan?”

He glanced up from his latest Lego creation. “I’m going to stay home today. I’ve been very busy lately and I just want to relax.”

I smiled. “Gotcha. You are a busy kid. You deserve some time to chill.” The boy cracked me up. Yes, he was very busy...busy playing basketball, swimming at the pool and playing at his friends houses. Definitely needed a rest from all that business.

“Yeah, chill. That’s what I need to do. Love you, Mama.”

“Love you too, Little Man.” I walked into my room.

A quick shower, some capris, a tee shirt, a hair clip and a little mascara and eyeliner later and I was good to go. I headed down to Jake’s office for a quick pow wow, and saw Josh sprawled out on the couch, watching
Sponge Bob
. “Chilling?”

“Yup.”

“Cool.”

“Mama, Grandma was here. She told me to tell you, so far so good. What’s she talking about?”

I fiddled with my shirt. “Oh, ah, yeah. She’s just letting me know how her day is going, I guess.”

“Cool.”

I headed to the basement to talk to Jake, but he wasn't there, so I headed back upstairs again. Maybe I burned off an extra splash of that creamer already. Probably not, but a girl could dream.

“Josh, where’s your dad?”

“In the garage." His eyes stayed on the annoying yellow sponge.

Jake was wiping down the Harley. If he gave the messy garage even five percent of the attention he gave his bike, it would be pristine and he'd probably get laid more. What could I say? I was a clean freak.

He was on the phone. “You leaving,” he whispered.

I checked my watch. It was only ten thirty. “Not yet. I’ve got an appointment in a bit though.”

My husband continued to wipe down his bike, saying to the person on the other end of the phone, “Sounds great, John. Let me know if you need my help with that, but I’ve got to run. My beautiful wife is staring at me expectantly. I think she wants to buy something expensive. Talk to you soon.”

“Way to use me to get off the phone. I should get to buy something now.”

He continued to polish his bike and I wasn’t sure he’d actually heard me.

“I’m having an affair with a woman."

“Take video, please.”

Pig.

“You know, I'm pretty sure the bike won’t sparkle anymore than it already does.”

He seemed insulted. “It’s a she, and yes, she can sparkle more. I just have to caress her a little longer.”

“Well, I can promise you this, if you caressed me with such care and desire, I’d let you ride me more often. Oh, snap.”

“Funny.”

“I know. It’s a gift.”

“So where you off to?”

“Nowhere yet, but I do want to talk to you if you have a few minutes.”

He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got a conference call at three o’clock, but otherwise that’s about it. Do you want to go for a ride?”

There are two times when I can truly be alone with my husband. One, during sex, where frankly, there’s not a lot of opportunity for talking, and two, on the Harley. I’m not a huge fan of riding the thing, I mean, her, but at that moment, telling my husband the two things I needed to tell him with his back to me didn’t sound like a bad idea. “Sure.”

I ran upstairs and swapped the capris and sandals for jeans and my leather riding boots. Aside from my purse, the boots are the only leather bike gear I own. I have other gear, but not leather. I didn’t want Jake to get any ideas that might include the leather clothing without the bike, if you get my drift.

Josh was still mesmerized by that horrible sponge so I made sure he heard me when I told him we were leaving.

“Okay, bye,” he muttered, not once taking his eyes away from that crap.

I’m not a violent person but after being subjected to the annoying voices of the
Sponge Bob
characters for several years, I truly believed I could end their lives and not feel bad about it, not even a little bit.

###

J
ake fired up the Harley and waited as I put on my helmet.

I hopped on the back of the bike. “Where are we going?”

“I thought we’d head out toward the lake. That okay?”

“Yup, but I don’t want to be gone too long. I need to change before my appointment.”

“What time is your appointment?”

“One o’clock, and it’s about twenty minutes away.”

He checked the clock on the bike. “You’ll have plenty of time.”

“Okay.”

We rode in traffic for a few minutes and then hit the back roads. Jake was a skilled driver and tried very hard to drive conservatively with me on the back. I tended to get nervous, not because he couldn’t drive, but because I wasn't in control and because other drivers scared me. I was much more relaxed than when he first bought the bike, but initially I would hold onto him so tight I’d practically steer the bike during turns, and my legs clenched the bike so much, the pegs gave me bruises up and down the sides of my calves. I looked like I’d been badly beaten during a hockey game.

“I’m going back to that psychic today. I’m thinking maybe she can help me figure out how to deal with this crap.”

He turned his head toward me and I held him tighter. “Don’t look back here. Watch the road, dagnabit.” I needed to take a Valium when I got on this thing, or better yet, just not get on it. It was too much stress for my type A personality.

He turned back quickly. “’Bout time."

“Maybe she can tell me how to make it stop.”

“Really?”

I thought about that for a second. “I guess not, but only because then I couldn’t see Ma. I just don’t want to see the other ghosts. I mean, celestial beings.”

“Celestial what?” He passed a car on a two-lane road and nearly gave me a heart attack.

I said it a little louder as I squeezed his sides, which I must admit, felt quite trim.

“I heard what you said. I just don’t know what the hell it is.”

I laughed. “It’s a nicer way of saying ghost. Ma told me they want her to use celestial being instead of ghost or spirit so now she’s trying to get me to, too.”

He glanced back at me, and I pointed my finger forward in warning.

“Who’s
they
?”

“Beats me. I got hung up on the celestial being part and didn’t think about that.”

“Obviously. Do I need to go with you?”

That would be interesting. Knowing Jake, he’d probably want some kind of scientific proof of Linda’s credentials and a list of references. He isn’t a non-believer but I wouldn’t call him a believer, either. “No. I think it’s best I do this alone this time.”

“That’s probably best.”

Jake turned the bike into the gas station and pulled up to an open tank.

While he pumped gas, I continued to talk. “I guess Em and Taylor made up. I took her over there this morning.”

“Yeah, she asked if she could go and I told her to ask you.”

Jake and I have struggled with child rearing. Our techniques are different. I tend to be harder on Em and he’s harder on Josh. I also tend to see through Em’s crap while he’s typically wrapped around her little finger. When I stopped working to be home with the kids, we made the agreement that I would be their primary
go to
parent, but she’s learned daddy manipulation is the way to get what she wants. It took Jake a while to see through her tricks, but he has. He says I haven’t seen through Josh’s yet but my argument was that he didn’t have any yet.

“I took her over there this morning, but under duress.”

“She knows what’s right and wrong, Ang. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Maybe so, but that didn’t mean she’d choose to do what was right. “I asked Ma to keep an eye on things for me.”

“You asked your mother to spy on Emily?”

I was starting to not like the word
spy
. It sounded so ugly when he said it. “It’s not spying. It’s more like chaperoning.” Yeah, chaperoning, a much better word choice.

“Yeah, you keep thinking that, Ang.”

“Humph,” I mumbled.

“What?”

“I said you’re hot.”

“Most women would agree.”

I ignored his over-confidence. “Anyway, Ma is there, so if anything happens, we’ll know. I’m not thrilled about her hanging out with Taylor but she hasn’t given me a reason not to trust her, so I felt like I needed to let her.”

“Until she gives us a reason not to trust her, we should trust her. She’s a good kid...a little overly dramatic but we know where she gets that.” He smirked at me and put the gas hose back into the pump.

Et tu, Jake? “What?”

“I said, you’re hot.”

“Humph.”

###

W
e finished the ride with mindless chatter and before long I’d changed and was on my way to meet psychic Linda. I felt jumpy and anxious and considered, several times, cancelling the appointment but figured if I could keep my twice a year dentist and once a year gynecologist appointments, I could easily do this.

Linda was waiting in her sitting room when I walked in. Dressed in a long, breezy looking floral print skirt, tight fitting white tee shirt and sandals, she looked like a soccer mom ready to lunch with friends instead of a psychic who hung out with dead people. And she made me feel frumpy in my capris and tee shirt.

“Angela, it’s nice to see you again.”

“You, too. Love the skirt.”

She pulled at it with her hand. “Oh, thanks. I love skirts but don’t wear them often.”

She gazed out the front window. “Would you mind if we went across the street and had a coffee? I’ve been cooped up inside for so long, I could use the vitamin D.”

Talk out in public? “Um, sure, I guess.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t pull out my tarot cards or summon any dead people while we’re there. We’ll keep everything on the down low, to misuse a word, okay?”

“Oh, I’m not worried about that,” I lied. Linda laughed. “I’m psychic, remember?”

I nodded.

She laughed again. “This kind of thing makes most people uncomfortable. You’re not the first to be wary and you certainly won’t be the last. Come on, let’s go.”

Her eyes brightened and opened the office door. I followed her out. We each ordered our coffee separately and sat at a table outside.

“So is it safe to assume you’ve had more experiences than the last time we spoke?”

I nodded. “Yes, and I’m not really enjoying it, actually.”

“I can imagine. I’m sure you’re pretty freaked out by it all, aren’t you?”

My head took on a life of its own and nodded vigorously.

She laughed. “Don’t worry, I promise you it gets easier and I can help you find a balance.”

“Can you help me make it stop?” I took a sip of my coffee and immediately regretted sounding so pathetic. “I didn’t really mean that.”

“Yes, you did and that’s okay. Not everyone wants to be able to communicate with spirits, Angela. It’s okay to not like it.”

That made me feel a little better, but just a little.

She continued. “I can help you learn to turn it on and off. It takes a little practice, but once you get it down, it becomes almost automatic.”

“That would be fantastic.” I could hear the childish excitement in my voice, but didn’t care. I wanted a turn off button for this something fierce.

“So tell me what’s been happening.” She took a sip of her coffee, and placed her elbows on the table, looking very interested in what I said next.

I rubbed my forehead and half laughed, half sighed. “I don’t even know where to begin. At first I was just seeing my mother, but now it seems almost everywhere I go there’s a ghost or a spirit or a celestial being or whatever the heck it is I’m supposed to call them. Some want me to help them, and others...I honestly don’t know what they want, but it’s getting to the point that I don’t know if the people I see are alive or dead.” I got that out in one long breath, took in a mouthful of oxygen and continued. “I’m pretty sure I’m going nuts.”

Linda smiled. “Angela, you’re not going nuts, I promise. What you’re experiencing is completely normal for someone with this gift. Eventually you’ll be able to recognize who’s alive and who’s moved on. There are signs, things that happen before or around spirit, and once you begin to notice them, it won’t seem be so confusing. We’ll talk about those more in a minute.” She took a sip of her coffee. “But let me describe the difference with the names first. A ghost is an entity that hasn’t crossed over into the light, whereas a spirit has. A ghost typically doesn’t know it’s passed, but a spirit does, and it can travel between the other side and here. Because a ghost doesn’t know it’s dead it doesn’t know or can’t or won’t go to the other side. Ghosts can be scary at times because they’re lost or confused and often angry, but spirits, they’re here for reasons that come from love.”

That made sense if I excluded the naked streaker guy. He wasn’t angry and didn’t seem at all confused, so maybe he was a spirit and felt he was showing his love by being naked? “So then what’s a celestial being?”

She laughed. “I like to think of those as more evolved spirits or those who have a more specific job to do with or for the living.”

I nodded, pretending like I knew what the heck she meant.

“So,” Linda continued “Why don’t you tell me exactly what’s been happening to you?”

So I did.

We spent three hours talking outside the coffee shop. I cried. I got frustrated. I got sad. Linda remained patient and supportive and in the end, we laughed. For the first time since Ma died I felt like I’d met someone who truly understood what was going on with me. She explained how to know who was a ghost and who wasn’t. A key factor for the living being is that others can see them, of course. When we left, I hugged her so hard I thought I might have cracked her ribs.

###

O
n my way home I called Mel. “I feel so much better."

“You do? I’m glad. So what did she say and don’t leave out anything.”

“I never leave anything out.”

“Uh huh. Whatever. Remind me of that the next time you have sex and call me afterwards.”

“You want to know everything about my sexual experiences?”

“Come to think of it, no, I don’t. Now, talk.”