44 Book Five (6 page)

“Really?” I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

“It’s something to know,” he said. “That it might not always be a choice, me coming back to say goodbye.”

“Okay,” I said feeling deflated.

He turned and looked at me, his face serious. I stared up into those flecked eyes I loved so much.

“I’m glad you’ve had such a great summer,” he said. “That’s everything I wanted. For you to get your life back. And you have.”

He turned and looked back at the river flowing gently past us, quiet for a moment.

“Remember that game you played in, the one where you scored all those goals against that Portland team who thought they were all that?”

I smiled.

“I’ll never forget that game. It was my first and only hat trick.”

“That was a hell of a thing.”

I smiled and squeezed his hand.

“Those were the days,” he said, sighing.

“The best.”

He let go of my hand and I reached up and hugged him again.

“Well, bye, Craigers.”

Tears fell from my eyes as I watched him disappear into the trees.

“I love you, Jesse,” I said. “I’ll always love you.”

I didn’t know if he could hear me.

CHAPTER 12

When I told Kate that Ty and I were heading out later to Club 6, she stopped and stared at me for a moment.

“Why on earth would you guys go there?” she said.

“That’s where Paloma works,” I said, taking my plate into the kitchen. “I told her I would drop by and say hello.”

“Paloma?”

I had already told Kate about her a few days ago.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “She’s the one with the ghost. I remember now. You didn’t tell me she worked at that club. Can’t you guys meet somewhere else?”

“No. That’s where she says the ghost appears.”

I could tell that she didn’t want me to go, but she didn’t say anything. I put on my sandals as she closed her laptop and stuffed it in her bag.

“Well, that’s too bad she has to work there. Yuck.”

“Have you ever been there?” I said.

“Oh, sure, years ago during my first few years of growing pains,” she said. “But not since then. It’s gotten worse too, from what everyone says. And they get a lot of police calls every weekend. Fights, drugs, that sort of thing. That place is bad news.”

I nodded.

“We’re meeting up with David.”

“No surprise there,” she said, smiling and grabbing her keys off the counter. “Bye, Abby. Have a good day out on the river. I’ll be in Redmond covering a story all afternoon, but I’ll call and check in when I can.”

I said goodbye and finished the last bit of strong coffee at the kitchen sink. I stared out the window at the pond and the waterfall, wishing I had a little bit more time to linger and enjoy the morning.

***

Kate was right. Club 6 was pretty sketchy.

“We don’t have to stay long,” I shouted into Ty’s ear over the pulsating dance music.

“Okay,” he said, taking my hand and leading me toward the bar.

It was crowded and hot in the club, the smell of beer and sweat and smoke floating around, the beat of the music rumbling through my body. We walked past a group of guys arguing.

There was a dance floor in the middle of the large room, filled with people, some just talking, others throwing their bodies into one another. High in the air, hanging from the ceiling in the far corner was the large cage that David had described.

Someone was in it. For a moment I thought it might be Paloma but then noticed the dancer had long hair that she started whipping from side to side to the beat of the music.

I texted David to meet us at the bar. Supposedly he was here, somewhere in this gyrating, unwashed crowd.

We walked past girls in short skirts, the lights from the disco ball moving across their faces. Just as we got to the bar I turned and saw David on the floor, waving. He kept his hand high in the air as he danced over to us.

“Abby Craig!” he said, throwing both arms around me.

“Hi, David,” I said, smiling.

“And Ty is here, too!” he said, giving him his own hug.

“Hey,” Ty said, looking at me.

“I didn’t know
you
were coming tonight too. I thought you were busy concocting vodka or whiskey or something. Yea, us! We’re all here together!”

“It’s crazy in here,” I said.

“It’s always like this,” David said. “That’s why it’s so fun. Most of the clubs in this little town are dead, dead, dead. But not here. You do have to wait till after 11. You guys got here at the perfect time. Come on. First round’s on me.”

Paloma was at the far end of the bar, stacking glasses.

I hadn’t told Ty the real reason I wanted to stop by Club 6, just that we were meeting David for a drink. I would tell him about Paloma and her problem eventually, but I figured I might as well make sure there really was a ghost before we had that talk.

“What’ll it be?” David asked us, his eyes glazed and happy.

“I’ll just take a Mirror Pond,” Ty said.

“Me, too.”

“You two grab those seats and I’ll go order and tell her you’re here.”

We slid onto the stools, sitting next to a group watching boxing on the television above the bar. I scanned the crowd, looking for the ghost, but didn’t see anyone who fit the description that Paloma had given me.

Behind the bar was the typical long mirror and shelves filled with glasses and bottles. Another bartender was working with Paloma, shaking a mixer and singing along to the music.

“Thanks for coming,” I said to Ty.

“Of course.”

Paloma waved when she saw me and then grabbed two beers. She opened them as she walked over and put them down in front of us.

“Hey, Abby!” she said. “Thanks for being here. It means a lot.”

Ty tilted his head at me, like a dog trying to understand human speech.

“Paloma, this is my boyfriend,” I said. “Ty.”

She smiled and said hello, shaking his hand across the bar.

Like she had said, she wasn’t wearing much. Mostly strings tied to other strings.

“Drinks are on David,” she said. “He told me to tell you he’d catch up with you guys after this song. Anyway, enjoy. Let me know when you need another.”

We sat and sipped our beers.

“To a great season,” he said, raising his bottle.

I picked mine up and we toasted, the glass clinking together loudly.

“Indeed,” I said, taking a big gulp.

The music seemed even louder than before as I scanned the dance floor for David, but he was lost in a sea of people. It was hot in the club and I felt for a moment like I was back at Back Street.

I studied the crowd. I didn’t see the ghost dancing, didn’t see him at the bar, or around Paloma.

“I’ll be right back,” I said. “Save my seat if you can.”

I walked to the back. People were standing in line waiting to use the bathroom. There was a door that read “Staff Only.”

When I came back out, I saw Paloma watching me as she made a drink. Her eyes were dancing to their own nervous music.

I weaved through the crowd, looking for the ghost. People were slouching against the wall and sitting at the bar. I looked over at the tables and at the different clusters standing around and drinking and talking.

But I didn’t see him.

I went back over to the bar, squeezing between two girls who gave me dirty looks.

“Over there,” Paloma said suddenly. “Do you see him?”

She pointed to a spot not far from where I was standing.

“There,” she said. “Abby. Please tell me you see him. He’s right there, staring at me.”

I couldn’t see anything.

“Sorry, Paloma. But I don’t see him. Does he look the same, like you described the other day?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice high. “Damn it, he’s right there.”

“I’ll keep looking,” I said.

“I’m on next,” she said, throwing down her bar rag and heading toward the cage.

I felt for her, but I had to be honest. There was no ghost. None that I could see anyway.

I made my way back to Ty.

“So what’s going on, Abby?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you everything when we get out of here,” I said.

I took another sip and looked around once more. David wasn’t anywhere to be found and neither was the ghost.

Paloma was up in the cage. The original Beatles version of
Helter Skelter
was playing, the lights in the club flashing to the music.

We watched her for a little while.

“Your friend’s got some moves,” Ty said.

“And a lot of guts,” I said.

It was time to go.

Suddenly an animal-like wail cut through the music and bounced off the walls. It had come from the direction of the cage. I looked up and saw Paloma hanging onto the bars and screaming.

“Get away from me,
Cucuy
! Get me out of here! Bring me down! Bring me down!”

I think most people didn’t even hear her, or if they did they probably thought it was part of her act. But the bouncer made his way over and lowered the cage. Paloma slammed the door into him and took off into the back of the club.

I looked for her, checking the bathroom and dressing room, but she was gone.

***

Later as we walked along Bond, I told Ty the real reason we had been there, about how Paloma had come to Back Street looking for me and said she thought she was being haunted by a ghost.

He didn’t say much. He took my hand and we walked quietly for a moment, heading back to his truck.

“I wish you had told me,” he said. “You know, before we went. I know I haven’t always been understanding about that stuff. But I just wish you would have told me.”

I nodded.

“I’ll work on it,” I said.

He didn’t like to hear about my ability or gift or whatever it was. Every time I talked about ghosts or visions, he froze up without saying too much, leaving me feeling like I used to a long time ago.

“It’s just that it was easier,” I said. “To find out about it first. I didn’t even see a ghost in there tonight. So what would have been the point of that conversation?”

He shook his head.

“The point would have been honesty.”

We got into his truck. He was quiet on the drive home. He didn’t seem angry exactly, more like disappointed. We pulled up to the house and he left the engine running.

“Bye,” I said.

He sighed.

“Just tell me the truth next time, Abby. I can handle it.”

“Okay,” I said. “I will.”

He gave me a hollow kiss and drove off.

CHAPTER 13

It was the nightmare that woke me.

I was submerged in cold water, holding my breath, refusing to take it into my lungs while they all watched me from above.

Waiting.

Waiting for me to die.

My eyes flew open and I gasped for air, staring at the bright glow from the television lighting up the living room. I was on the sofa, my head on a cushion with a blanket over me. The end of
Casablanca
was playing. It was the final scene, the part where Bogart watches the woman he loves get on an airplane with another man and fly away forever.

I turned it off after he and Claude Rains walked off together.

“Just a dream,” I said to my reflection in the bathroom.

Most nights I was sleeping better. Most nights I made it through without waking up and didn’t have those kinds of dreams. Maybe it was the club, or Ty. Or maybe I had been thinking too much about Paloma before falling asleep, wondering if she really was crazy.

I washed my face and walked back out. I grabbed the fleece blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders, turned off the security alarm, and stepped outside.

It was a beautiful night. Cool and breezy. I sat down by the pond and listened to the water.

It hadn’t felt like a lie, not really. But Ty was right that I shouldn’t have been so secretive about why I wanted to go to the club. I didn’t like keeping things from him, but the truth was I was never sure if he could handle my ghost sightings. I rarely told him much about the other world I saw sometimes. It was just easier to not talk about it.

Until something happened, like tonight, that reminded us that there were things in our relationship that still needed work. Would I ever feel comfortable talking about ghosts with him? Would he ever be able to handle it?

But when I thought about him on the river and how his eyes looked in the sunlight when he was standing by the rafts and laughing, I felt better about us.

The kitchen light went on and Kate poked her head out the door and then headed over.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.Just a little trouble sleeping, no big deal.”

“Me too,” she said, sitting down and yawning.

We sat listening to the water falling gently over the rocks in the pond.

“So you survived?” she asked. “How was it?”

“It was all right,” I said. “I didn’t see a ghost or anything.”

“That’s good, I suppose.”

“Yeah, it was kind of weird.”

I told her about Paloma freaking out and about how I was wondering if she was crazy. I also mentioned some of the Ty stuff.

“You guys will figure it out. Every relationship has its baggage.”

“A small carry-on would be fine. I just don’t want it to turn into one of those refrigerator boxes held together with duct tape you see going around and around on the carousel at the airport.”

“Yeah. Speaking of, I got an email from Ben earlier,” she said.

“Anything new?”

“Not really. He seems better. He sent a picture of himself standing in front of the hospital where he’s working. I forwarded it to you.”

She looked over at me and then sighed, letting her head rest against the back of the chair.

“So, how long will you wait for him?”

“I don’t think I’m waiting anymore,” she said. “I love him, but that’s just not going to be enough for this relationship.”

It made me sad hearing it, but it was probably a good move. He seemed to be starting over somewhere else, with different people.

“But I’m better about it now,” she said. “No worries. It’s nice to be back at work. I’ve missed it.”