The Empty Desk (3 page)

“You sure you're okay with me coming into school?” she asked Aiden as they sat at the table tucking into mac and cheese. Jim was on call at the hospital and probably wouldn't be back until the early hours of the morning. She loved the way that Jim played with their son, or sat and talked to him, but she enjoyed the time that she had alone with him too. He was growing up every day and she wanted to enjoy the time while he was still a little boy—her little boy.

“Sure,” he said, filling his fork again. “What are you going to bring in with you? Something really old?”

“I don't know yet. I thought that you might want to help me choose. You'll know better than I do what the other children in class would like to see.”

“Okay, that sounds cool. Can we choose after school tomorrow?”

“Of course we can. There's plenty to choose from.”

“Wish we could go now,” he said with his usual impatience.

“It's too late now—you know that. You can watch a little TV when we've cleared up if you'd like. Unless you've got any homework to do, of course.”

“Okay,” he said. Melinda loved how he rarely challenged her when she told him what they were going to do. She knew that the time would come soon enough when things might not be quite so easy. He made no show of moving, though, and it was clear that he had something on his mind.

“Did Miss Kelly ask you about the desk?” he asked.

“The desk?”

“Mmm,” he nodded through a mouthful of pasta. “There's a desk that no one sits at. No one wants to use it.”

“Why not?” Her mind was starting to consider possibilities. Was this something that Dana used to deal with children who were misbehaving? She had only been there a couple of days and it seemed unlikely that she would have seen the need to introduce something like that so quickly, unless they were misbehaving badly. Had Aiden had to spend some time in it? It would certainly explain why he had been in an odd mood coming home from school yesterday.

“I think there's already someone sitting in it.”

“How do you mean?”

“I think there's a ghost, but it's funny. I can't always see them, at least not all the time.”

“But you see a ghost there sometimes?”

“I don't know. It just feels like there is. I think it's a girl.”

He hadn't paused for a moment while they had been talking, other than to make sure he had swallowed before he spoke. There had been no change in the look on his face. She loved that he could take it all in stride without even thinking that this was something out of the ordinary. He accepted his own gifts as easily as she did her own. Aiden's gift was not the same as hers; he shared the emotions of the ghosts he met and sometimes she experienced the feelings he was absorbing. She often wondered if this would always be the case or if there might be a time when they no longer shared this link—if it was something that he would grow out of.

“Is she happy or sad?” Melinda asked, knowing that the emotion would be the first thing that might make a presence known to him.

A frown creased his forehead as he thought about it. “Not just sad,” he said. “I think she's sorry, but I don't know what she's sorry for.”

“Did you tell Miss Kelly?”

“That's how we got to talking about ghosts,” he said in a matter-of-fact manner. “Can I go and watch TV now?”

“Sure, honey, once we've got these things cleared away.”

Melinda made the call to let Dana know that Aiden was more than happy for her to come and talk to the class. She was tempted to take the opportunity to ask her about the desk that no one wanted to sit at but decided that it would be better if she saw for herself. If there was a ghost there, then she could at least discover if it needed her help.

“Monday morning okay?” Dana asked.

“Monday's fine,” Melinda said. “That should give us plenty of time for Aiden to make his selection.”

They made arrangements for her to go into the school a little after the children had settled down for the morning, rather than being there when they arrived. Dana hoped that would give her the chance to get some of the energy and excitement out of their systems before she arrived. Aiden was likely to let it slip that she was going to be there, but that wouldn't matter too much.

“He's asked if you'd like to come around for dinner one day,” Melinda said. “And I'd love for you to meet Jim.”

“That would be lovely,” Dana said. “I wouldn't want to be a burden though.”

“You won't be, don't worry. Sunday. How about Sunday? We'll probably have a couple of other friends around, so you'd be more than welcome.” She never quite knew who would be around the table on any given Sunday, but this week she was sure that they would have other people over. Now she would have even more reason to fill the table.

“If you're sure,” Dana said, “I'd love to come.”

The moment after ending the call, she phoned Jim to let him know. They were unlikely to spend more than a few hours together for the next day or so, and the last thing she wanted to do was forget to tell him, even if the decision had already been made. His phone went straight to voicemail, but he returned the call only a few minutes later.

“Hi, honey,” he said. “Everything okay?”

“Sure. I just wanted to let you know that I've invited Dana for dinner on Sunday. Is that all right with you?”

“Of course it is. I was going to ask if you wanted to ask Delia and Ned over. Aiden was saying the other day that he hadn't seen Ned for a while.”

“Sure. I think we should put Aiden in charge of our social calendar. He was the one who mentioned having Dana over.”

“If we did, we'd be out bowling every night.” Jim laughed. “I'm not sure that either of us could cope with that.”

“You're probably right. But as long as you're okay with us having a full house on Sunday, I'll make a couple of calls.”

He excused himself against the sound of raised voices in the background. It sounded like he was having a lively shift at the hospital. There had been a time when she had been a bit jealous that he spent so much time there and so little with her. Things were better now though, and she could see how much the job meant to him. She had seen him at work and couldn't be more proud of him. She wondered if he ever felt the same about her own commitments. Could he be jealous of a ghost that was demanding her attention?

It took a while for Delia to answer, and when she did she sounded a little out of breath.

“Delia? You okay?”

“Hi, Melinda,” she said, taking the deepest of breaths before breaking into a fit of coughing.

“Delia? What on earth have you been doing?”

“Walking.”

“Walking? How fast?” Melinda couldn't believe that she could be that out of breath just by walking.

“Not fast. Just quite a long way,” Delia replied.

“How come? Is this some kind of fitness regime?”

“Car trouble.”

“More? I didn't even know that you'd got it back.”

“I haven't. This was the loaner. I managed to get it to the garage, but there was no one there. I started walking home and just kept going.”

“You should have called me. I would have come and picked you up.”

“It's okay. I didn't think that it was quite as far as it was. Once I'd got started, I didn't want to admit defeat.”

“How long were you walking?” Melinda asked.

“An hour, maybe ninety minutes. I've only just got home.”

“You should come to the gym with me,” Melinda laughed, unable to help herself.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I think I've had my exercise for the year.” She paused for another breath. “So were you calling for anything in particular, or do you just want to mock me?”

“I'd never mock you, Delia,” she said despite the laughter in her voice. She could just imagine Delia slumped in the chair in her kitchen, finding that even kicking off her shoes was too much of an effort.

“Well, it sure sounds like that's exactly what you're doing,” Delia said, though she didn't sound too serious.

“I'm not. Really, I'm not,” Melinda said, though she was not quite sure that she was telling the truth.

“So what can I do for you?”

“I was just calling to see if you and Ned would like to come around for dinner on Sunday.”

“Don't tell me you want to show off your new old friend. Don't go thinking that you can set her up with my son!”

Melinda laughed at the thought. “It didn't even cross my mind. I just hate to think of her being at home alone.”

“I can read you like a book, Melinda.”

“So is that a yes?”

“Sure. Have you spoken to Ned yet?”

“Not yet,” Melinda said.

“Leave it to me. I'll give him a call. You know he won't say no to me, no matter what else he might have planned. He wouldn't dare.”

Melinda had never known Ned to say no to one of her dinners anyway, but she wasn't about to tell Delia that. It sounded like her feet were painful enough without her pride being hurt too.

“I'm sure you're right. It's always harder to say no to your mother.”

“Too right,” Delia said. “You want me to bring dessert?”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

“And your friend, Dana? Where's she living?”

“I've no idea. We've had too much catching up to do. We are still a long way from reaching the present.”

“Maybe she's in the market for a house,” Delia suggested.

“Well, you'll have plenty of chances to ask her on Sunday. Not that you'll be looking for business or anything, now will you?” Melinda laughed.

“Perish the thought,” Delia said.

“You want a ride to work in the morning?” Melinda asked. “Or are you planning on walking again?”

This time it was Delia who could not control her laughter. Clearly the pain in her feet had started to subside. “A ride would be great. Thanks.”

“Would you like us to drop by the garage on the way into work? We've got plenty of time,” Melinda asked as Delia slid into the passenger seat. She had been ready and waiting for her the moment Melinda sounded her horn.

“It's okay. I'll give them a call when I get into work. I'm going to give them a little time to wonder why their loaner is parked right up against their front door so they can't get in that way.”

“Delia! I can't believe that you would do something like that,” Melinda said, though even as she said it, she knew that was exactly the way she expected Delia to behave.

“Well, if they'd still been there when they were supposed to be last night, or if they had returned my calls when they said they would, I wouldn't have had to. This would never have happened when Jez was still alive. He always called and let me know if there was a problem. He never just ignored me and hoped I'd go away until he'd fixed it. Not that there ever seemed to be anything wrong with my car when he looked after it.”

“Maybe it's time you changed your car,” Melinda suggested.

“But I like this car. It was my present to myself when the business started doing well. I don't want to give it up now.”

Melinda thought that the little sports car that Delia had been driving for the last few years always looked to be a little on the small side for her, but she was always smiling when she had the top down on a sunny day. She knew that her friend would hate to have to give it up because it was becoming too expensive to maintain.

“I don't suppose you've seen Jez again, have you?” Delia asked as they moved along in the steady flow of traffic, which all seemed to be heading in the same direction.

“He popped by the coffee shop,” she laughed.

“Was your friend with you?”

“No. He waited until she had left.”

“That was very decent of him. What did he have to say?”

“Nothing, really. Whenever I try to pin him down, he keeps disappearing.”

“But surely he says something when you see him?”

“He just keeps saying that you should look after your car.”

“Is that it? Surely he must know that it's already in the garage? Ghosts know everything, right? Isn't that the way it works?”

“I'm starting to think that he doesn't think that his son is up to the job. I also get the feeling that he had something of a soft spot for you, Delia.”

“You've got to be joking. Jez? Me?”

Melinda didn't say anything. She thought it best to allow a little time to let it all sink in. Maybe she had it wrong, but the ghost certainly seemed to be worried about her for some reason. If he appeared again she was going to have to talk to him, no matter who else might be around. Maybe it was just the problem of Delia's car that was keeping him here. If it was, perhaps she would be able to help him into the light, but she needed to be sure of exactly what was troubling him and find out what she needed to do to help put things right. But to do that, she needed him to stay in one place long enough to have a proper conversation.

“Let me know how it goes, will you?” Melinda said as they walked toward the shop. Delia had been quiet for the rest of the trip once she'd heard about what Jez had said, but Melinda had no idea if that was because she was worried about the car or about the way that Jez might have felt about her.

“Of course. As long as you tell me if Jez comes to see you again. I'd really like to know what he's worried about.”

“I will,” Melinda said as she found the right key on her ring and headed toward the door. “And let me know if you need a ride home.”

“I don't believe it!” Delia said as she barged into the antique shop a little before lunchtime. “Not only haven't they fixed my car yet—they still don't even know what's wrong with it. They say the computer can't diagnose the problem. I don't remember Jez ever needing to use a computer to work out what the problem was with any car. They've had it for nearly three days, and they have no more idea of what's wrong with it now than they did when I took it in. And that loaner was no better. They don't know how long it will take them to fix that either, and it's the only one they've got. I'm in a good mind to take it somewhere else!”

“Delia?” Melinda said when her friend finally stopped to draw breath. She had never seen her in quite such a state but clearly she was completely wired about the problem with her car. She was about to let out another rant, but Melinda raised a hand to stop her. “Slow down and take a deep breath,” she said. “Whatever it is, it's not worth making yourself ill.”

“Breath? I haven't got time to take a breath. I really am so angry, Melinda. And you know what makes it worse? They're closing up early for the weekend, so there's nothing they can do until Monday! They haven't even got another loaner they can let me have until then.”

She dropped down into a red plastic egg-shaped chair from the 1960s. She didn't look particularly comfortable in it, but she didn't make any attempt to move. Melinda was not sure that she would be able to get out of it without help, even if she tried.

“Is it the end of the world?” Melinda asked. “Can't you manage without the car for a couple of days? I'll take you home when you're finished for the day, and I'll do the same tomorrow if you're planning on opening up. I'm sure that Ned will pick you up on Sunday if he's coming. He is coming, isn't he? If not, I'll get Jim to pick you up.”

Delia let out the breath she had been holding, sinking deeper into the chair. She then tried to sit up but was fixed into place for the moment. She really was going to need a hand to get out of there. The situation made the anger drift away, replaced with first a smirk, then a smile, and finally uncontrollable laughter as she realized what she had done. She tried to wriggle out of the chair but there was no getting out of it. She almost managed to get to her feet, but the chair started to rise with her.

“How about a hand?” She laughed, reaching out. Melinda stepped from behind the counter and helped her out of her predicament.

“Mr. Lowe said that his son doesn't know how to deal with a car if he doesn't have a computer to tell him what to do. I think that might be the problem.”

“You've seen him again?” she asked. “Why didn't you let me know?”

“No.” She shook her head. “He said it the other day, but I'd forgotten.”

“Anything else you've forgotten to tell me?”

“No. That's it,” Melinda said.

“He doesn't seem to be giving a lot away, does he?” Delia said. “It makes you wonder what he's hanging around for.”

“It does,” said Melinda. “Let's hope that he shows up again today so I can find out what the real problem is.”

“I wish you hadn't seen him at all,” Delia said. “But if he knows what the hell is wrong with my baby, then I'd like to know about it. And I'd like to know sooner rather than later.”

“Sadly I don't have any control over who comes calling or when,” Melinda said. She feared that was starting to become part of the problem.

“Oh, I know. Ignore me. Jez's son has just managed to get under my skin. I had thought he would be as good as his dad, but I guess I was wrong. I've stuck with him out of loyalty, but even that only goes so far.”

Melinda listened to her grumble a little longer, but when it became clear that Delia's complaint was caught on a loop and she was repeating everything she had already said, she offered to make coffee. It was enough to make Delia realize what time it was and say that she had already stayed longer than she had intended to.

“I have to go and pick Aiden up from school this afternoon,” Melinda said. “But I'll be bringing him back here to choose something for me to take in on Monday. Dana has asked me to talk to his class about the kinds of things we have in the shop. I'll run you home when he's chosen what he'd like me to talk about.”

“The kind of thing you have in the shop? You're not going to take some old ghost in with you, are you? You always seem to get plenty of those.” She laughed, then started to make her way to the door. Melinda resisted telling her that she suspected there was probably one already waiting for her in the classroom. That might keep Delia hanging around a little longer, and there were a few things she needed to take care of before she slipped out.