Page 2 of Sins of the Fathers
“These?” Dawson felt a puff of cold air in response.
“What are they?’ Grady stood in the doorway, respecting the privacy of the old man who had lived there.
“Army service rings. Vietnam, if I’m right.” Dawson picked up the rings and looked at them in the light.
“Lily said they met when Everett was a nurse at the VA hospital, and Jason came home wounded from the war,” Grady replied.
Dawson’s gaze went to a photo of a younger version of the two men standing together in uniform. They were circumspect in their pose, but Dawson imagined that he could see a slight lean, a bit less space between them than usual, and broad grins.
That could have been Grady and me if we’d been born then. I’m glad they found each other and were happy.
“I’ll make sure that Everett gets the rings,” Dawson said to thin air. “Can you attach to your ring? That way you can be where Everett is and stay together.”
Another puff of cold air confirmed that Jason understood.
Dawson put the rings in his pocket and followed Grady back to the kitchen. He glanced around the modest duplex as Grady packed up his ghost hunting gear. The house and furnishings showed their age, but they looked comfortable and well-worn as if the men who had lived here were happy and content.
“Next stop, Oak Acres,” Dawson said as he and Grady piled into his car.
Dawson’s bright red Mustang Boss 429—nicknamed “Sally”—had a wide black stripe over the hood. The powerful engine was designed for stock car racing and installed in a limited number of street-legal cars. He’d rebuilt Sally from a junked hulk he had found in a salvage yard before he went into the Army. Grady had kept him company during those evenings and weekends that it took to bring the old car back to life. The months it took to restore the Mustang, and the evenings spent with Grady while they worked, were some of Dawson’s best memories.
* * *
They wereboth quiet as he drove. Maybe knowing they had Jason with them dampened conversation.
They found Lily sitting next to Everett’s bed in his new room at the nursing home. Dawson spotted a few personal photos and knickknacks that Lily must have retrieved from the house before Jason’s ghost drove her out.
Dawson tried to see the handsome young man from the photos in the man who lay in the hospital bed. Everett was in his seventies, and the strain of his illness showed on his face. He had been fit in his younger days and was shorter and more slightly built than Jason, who had clearly been the more athletic of the two. Now he seemed too thin, and the aftereffects of the stroke dragged down the corner of his mouth and made one side of his body sag.
“Did it work?” Lily looked up hopefully as they entered.
Dawson withdrew his hand from his pocket and revealed the rings. “I hope the staff will let him wear them. They’re what Jason chose as an anchor.”
Everett made a low groan of relief, and his eyes opened. He looked directly at a spot beside Dawson as if he could clearly see the spirit who had hitched a ride. “Jason, you found me,” he murmured.
The room grew cold, but Jason’s presence didn’t seem to affect the equipment. Dawson couldn’t see Jason’s ghost, but clearly Everett could, and Dawson tracked Jason’s location by where Everett gazed with wonder and adoration.
Did Jason’s ghost remain in the house with Everett all these years? I want that kind of love—that lasts a lifetime and longer.
Lily slipped the rings over Everett’s gnarled fingers, one on each hand.
“Thought I wouldn’t see you again,” Everett wheezed. Talking seemed difficult, and the stroke made it hard for him to speak clearly. Now that Jason’s ghost had arrived, Everett had eyes only for him.
Everett managed a flirty grin. “You always were a rascal.” His voice was warm with affection. He looked to one side as if turning his head to receive a caress. “Thank you for not leaving me here alone. They wouldn’t let me go home to you.”
Dawson found himself swallowing hard, overcome by emotion. A glance at Grady told him that his partner was tearing up as well.
Lily patted Everett’s hand. “I’ll leave you two alone,” she said with a smile. “You have some catching up to do. And I’ll make sure the nurses know to let you wear both rings all the time.”
“Thank you,” Everett said, glancing from Lily to Dawson and Grady, “for bringing my Jason to me.”
“Glad to help,” Dawson replied, and Grady echoed the comment.
Lily stood. “I’ll visit tomorrow. Now have fun with your boy.”
They headed for the doorway, and when Dawson looked over his shoulder, Everett had such a tender, joyous look on his face that Dawson felt tears streak down his cheek.
Grady fell into step beside him and bumped his shoulder. “Goals, huh?”
