Chapter Sixteen
A couple of weeks later, I was relaxing at home, eating Chinese takeout, when the phone rang. I hesitated picking it up. Most of my friends and family called me on my cell phone—Matthew was the one who used the landline. It couldn’t be the Shikmans’ lawyers, because Harris had told me the week before that he spoke to the Shikmans to begin the process of buying out their half of the properties. Really it was Matthew’s half that they thought they were entitled to, but now it was mine, free and clear. Harris and I talked about it at length. I knew I didn’t have to pay the Shikmans anything, but given the way they had treated me and their clear desire to make me suffer, I thought it easier to just buy them out in hopes they would quietly go away.
The other point Harris made was that purchasing Matthew’s half of the properties instead of invoking the terms of the will would keep the Shikmans from knowing for sure that I had his inheritance. It was a gamble, but one I was willing to make if it meant keeping them from harassing me anymore. I had ghosts to worry about; I didn’t need the Shikmans on top of that.
I picked up the phone and warily answered it. “Hello?”
“Hello, Quinn.”
At first, I didn’t recognize the voice. There was a sense of familiarity to it, yet it seemed colder and harsher than I remembered. I realized that even with me buying them out, they still might not go away.
“Mrs. Shikman.” I didn’t say anything else. I didn’t really know what to say.
“How did you do it?” she asked angrily.
“How did I do what?” I replied, knowing full well what she was referring to.
“You had no money. No bank in their right mind would ever give you a loan. Or did you rob one?”
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. “Seriously, Mrs. Shikman?”
“Where did you come up with the money?”
I knew she was waiting for me to tell her that I was now in possession of Matthew’s inheritance, but I wasn’t about to do that. Matthew had kept it hidden from her for all these years. I would honor his wishes.
“Mrs Shikman, it’s really none of your business how I came up with the money to buy out the properties that Matthew and I bought together. Suffice it to say I met your price as agreed upon and that’s it. Have a good day.”
I slammed the phone down on the receiver. For a few seconds I took deep breaths to calm the anger that Mrs. Shikman stirred within me. Then I got up and yanked the phone cord out of the wall. I unplugged the phone and answering machine and carried the two units to the kitchen where I threw them into the garbage can. I would cancel the landline tomorrow.
I went back to my dinner with a huge smile on my face. The landline was the only phone number the Shikmans had. I had never given them my cell number. Maybe that would keep them away—at least for a while.
The next day, I looked up from my desk to see Andie, (yes, I finally got permission to call her Andie after much insistence on my part to do so), standing in my doorway. Since the night of the séance she called once in a while, but always after an appearance from the specters. I was still amazed how she knew, but she did every time.
“Just want to make sure they are behaving themselves,” she would say to me.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” I would reply. “They’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“Then make sure you give them a taste of their own medicine.”
I asked her how I could go about doing that. I was intrigued that I might be able to make the specters’ lives as bothersome as they made mine. She said she would show me how.
She hasn’t yet but I am going to hold her to it.
The sun came through the window in the hallway and cast that familiar glow about her. She wore a flowing, sleeveless blouse in vibrant colors that looked like they were splashed on with the shake of a large brush. My gaze followed her black hair to her shoulders, down her bare-skinned and soft yet muscular arms, to her jean clad, curvy hips.
Staring at her radiant beauty, I realized our relationship was going in a different direction. She was here as a friend, not the woman who changed my belief system and straightened out my world when I thought nothing ever would. Then again, that was the best kind of friend you could ever have, so maybe not much was changing after all.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Hey there.”
“Hey yourself.” She looked around my office. “So this is where you work.”
I spread my arms out. “Well this is part of where I work. Come in. I’m glad you’re here. I have something for you.”
“You do?”
I reached into my desk drawer and pulled out a small envelope with Andjela’s name on it. I tossed it on the desk.
“Now that my affairs are in order, I need to pay you for your services.”
Andjela walked in and took a seat in the deep blue, brushed suede chair. I chose colors and materials for my funeral parlor that put people at ease and brought serenity to them as they proceeded through the difficult process.
She smiled. “I appreciate that, but I have a feeling you’ve paid me more than what you should have.”
“Well since we never really talked about your fee, I believe I had full freedom to pay you what I saw fit.”
She picked up the envelop. “You really didn’t have to, but thank-you.”
I was totally relieved that she didn’t argue. Andie proved to be worth every penny that was spelled out on that check.
“You’ve done a wonderful job with this place. I have good feelings here,” she said, changing the subject.
“Oh, you mean like the nasty little ghosts that decided to stay at my home aren’t following me to work?”
“Well, something like that, but more a kind of openness.”
“An openness. What do you mean?”
Andie looked out the window while she spoke. “I am really surprised you hadn’t been aware of any other spirits until Matthew. But I wonder if I had visited you here before I helped you, if I would have felt something different.” She looked back at me. “Maybe,” she shifted in her chair, “this experience has opened you to possibilities and that’s what I’m feeling.”
I studied Andie. “I’m not so sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” I said, thinking of the specters leftover from the whole experience.
“Well, I imagine the bad thing is that your house guests have decided to hang around.” We both laughed. “I am very impressed with how you’ve handled it and I am pretty sure they’ll get bored very quickly.”
“Have you ever known them to not leave?”
“I won’t lie. Yes, I’ve seen ones that don’t leave. Often, though, the people they bother seem to grow accustomed to them for whatever reason, and they just coexist.”
“It all sounds so surreal. So what’s the good part of it?”
“How is everything?”
I wasn’t surprised by this change of subject, but I knew where she was going. I smiled wide and nodded my head. “Ah, the good part.”
“Every cloud has a silver lining.”
I shook my head yes. How true her latest idiom was. “How about I show you around this place?”
“I’d like that. I’d love to see what you do.”
I got up and walked out of my office with Andjela in tow. I peeked my head into Chaz’s office where he was preparing a contract for the family of Tony Fioravanti, who was waiting in the cooler for prep. “Hey Chaz, look who’s here.”
“Andie!” Chaz got up from his desk and came around to hug Andjela.
Andie stepped back and extended her hand to Chaz. “Andjela,” she responded. “How are you Chaz?” Chaz shot a glance my way and I winked. Andjela didn’t let just anybody call her Andie or hug her.
“I’m good. It’s nice to see you. I never got a chance to thank you for everything you did for my girl.” He shook her hand vigorously.
The whole interaction between the two of them brought warmth to my heart. Chaz was trying so hard to win over Andie. I knew he might have succeed
ed when she responded, “You’re welcome. I also need to thank you. There are not a lot of people who would put their beliefs aside and do what you did to help your friend. I see why she thinks so highly of you.”
“Chaz, I think you’re blushing again,” I exclaimed.
“All right, alright, get out of here you two. I have work to do. Mr. Fiorvanti can’t wait much longer.”
“Are you sure about that?” Andie said with a sly smile. She turned and walked out.
Chaz and I looked at each other. He shrugged his shoulders and whispered to me, “What did she mean by that?”
“No idea, but I’m afraid to ask.” I went out into the hall and found Andie standing near the stairway.
“This way, right?”
“Sure,” I answered, not questioning why she wanted to start in the basement. I opened the door and allowed her to go down the stairs first. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Has Chester’s ancestors talked to him yet?”
Andie turned to look at me and smirked. “I’m not sure they want to.”
I’d gotten used to not always asking questions if I wasn’t sure what she meant, unless it pertained directly to me. Sometimes she explained and sometimes she didn’t. Either it wasn’t my business or the explanation would come in time. Besides, I knew I’d be talking to Chester in the near future; most of my customers liked to use his cemetery. It had that certain special kind of feel that drew people to it. Only cemetery owners and funeral directors knew exactly what that feeling was. I smiled to myself. Kind of like Andie and her feelings in her field of work.
We stepped out of the stairwell into the open garage area where the hearse was parked. I explained to her it was a Lincoln MKT Majestic by Sayers and Scovill Coach Company. I burst with pride as I talked about the beauty of this car with the casket compartment and the use of quality materials. It wasn’t the Cadillac model, but it was pretty damn nice. I told her the hearse company that made these had been in business since 1876 and they were one of the original manufacturers.
I couldn’t tell if she was interested in what I was saying or just being polite, because every once in a while I saw her look away for a brief moment. I opened the loading door and explained how the coffin rolled from the platform into the back of the hearse.
“What’s the room over there?” Andie asked nodding toward where her gaze kept shifting.
“That’s where we keep the body freezer. It’s a standard three-person body box. Over here is the embalming room.” I moved toward the door and quickly realized she wasn’t following me. Andie was staring at the room holding the body freezer. “Everything okay?” I asked, starting to worry.
She turned slowly and cocked her head. “Yes. Why?”
“You just seem a little removed.”
“No. Not at all.” She walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You have done a wonderful job with this place.”
“You already said that, but thank you.” Andie looked back at the freezer room. “You’re probably not interested in seeing the embalming room. It always grosses people out. Besides, in your line of business you think of death so differently.”
Andie walked back to the door where the box freezer was. She looked at me. “Can I see inside this room?”
God no, I thought. I could tell by her actions she was sensing something.
The lights went out. Then they came back on long enough for me to see Andie reaching for the doorknob.
The lights went out again. I felt my way over to the cupboard where we kept flashlights. I grabbed one and shined it toward the freezer room. The door was opened.
“Andie? Andjela?” As I stepped inside I noticed the middle door of the freezer box was open with Andjela standing in front of it. The lights came back on.
“This is Tony, isn’t it? He’s very angry.”
“Why?” I asked, knowing full well what this meant.
“That we must find out.”
The door to the freezer box slammed shut and the lights went off again.
I felt the familiar breeze brush against my ear. The whisper was mumbled, but I could make out the words, find it, find it, find it. The whisper told me I was going to have to write another check to Andjela.
About the Author
I firmly believe it's never too late to make your dreams a reality.
I worked at Eastman Kodak in Motion Picture film for over twenty years before the company started to downgrade. After that, I was a teacher in Health and Physical Education and now I currently work in a school district in transportation where I use software to solve the puzzle of getting 5600 students to many different schools as well as train new bus drivers.
I have always been a writer. Since high school, I have written songs, novels, short stories, and journals. I have two geriatric dogs, a boxer and a Min Pin. I enjoy being active outdoors in all seasons and partake in many different activities from kayaking, long distance biking (one-hundred mile bike rides in a day) to gardening. I also love movies—most genres, but especially fantasy and science fiction.
Most of all I love to write, but some days you might see me driving a big, yellow school bus.
Thank-you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review with your favorite retailer?
Thanks!
Nance
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