Page 192 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
“Before the day I saw her ghost, I’d made several trips to that graveyard. The first was right before Christmas, on the anniversary of her death. Ben and Evie Fairweather were there, talking and placing flowers on the markers. Cecilia has a nice marker, Mom. It’s pretty and something I would’ve picked for her myself. Maybe they’ll let you see it someday.”
“These journals are written to his mother?” Jamison asked.
“Yeah, book one is almost an open confessional to her with things like, ‘I’m sorry I never bathed the dog when I said I would,’ or ‘Sorry, I always told you I was at Bobby’s when we were actually getting drunk behind the gas station.’”
It struck her how different CeCe and Michael’s lives had been. Where CeCe hadn’t lived in a world that could be called normal, Michael Sinclair’s life had been the epitome of the word, at least in the beginning. Will had described Michael’s life as the American dream gone wrong, and she was starting to see why.
“Let me hear more.”
“When I first saw Cecilia’s ghost (and yes, I am saying ghost), I thought I was insane. And maybe I am. People can call me whatever they want. I don’t care. It was her. I would know the other half of my soul anywhere. I was sitting on the bench when she appeared, and the late afternoon sunlight shot through the trees, illuminating her perfectly. She was wearing her favorite dress and shaking out her hair in that way she always did. Her body would shimmer and fade in the light, and, Mom, I’m not at all embarrassed to say that I screamed. It wasn’t manly in any way, shape, or form. Tell Dad if you want, and hopefully, you guys can have a laugh at my expense after I’m gone.”
“The recognizing his soul part hurts. I didn’t peg him as a romantic,” she said, trying to break up this melancholy that had come over her suddenly. “But what section do you not want my dad to hear?”
“I’m getting there.”
“Cecilia smiled and said hello, then proceeded to lecture me on taking care of myself and to stop the work Hayes kept arranging. I know what Idid was wrong, and I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t believe the people who died weren’t worth killing. I hope you and Dad can forgive me for the kids. I hate myself enough, but it’s okay if you hate me a little, too.”
Liam paused for a second to speak to Holden in the background, then came back on. “Okay. Where was I? Oh, here we go.I cried while Cecilia yelled at me. She was so beautiful, but so angry. Other ghost people were watching and listening, all urging her to make me understand something, but I couldn’t get exactly what it was. They stood on graves and weren’t as solid as Cecilia, but I knew they were there. Some not from our time. Previous generations of Fairweathers, perhaps? A couple holding hands. Lots of women and children. One woman had a freckled face and wore a dress with embroidered flowers all over it. It reminded me of something grandma would sew.”
“That’s not creepy at all,” Jamison noted sarcastically. “I mean, we’ve always known the forest was a little spooky, but I don’t know that I wanted to hear all those details.”
“Oh, it gets better,” Liam told her. “Some of the apparitions were more modern. One girl had curly hair. Another was a blonde woman in all white, wearing something glowing green around her neck. I think that was Laura Jean Fairweather.”
A full-body chill rolled over Jamison.
“Laura Jean Fairweather?” she whispered. “No one has ever referred to my mother that way. And how would he know about the necklace? We kept that out of the media. We didn’t want any more Zanmi members trying to steal it after Toby used it to freak us out.”
“Sinclair probably saw a picture of it—”
“No. I had Rowan scrub every trace of it. I didn’t tell you, but he wiped it from the police reports, too.”
Liam made a softtsknoise. “I’m so ashamed.”
“No, you’re not. Now keep reading!”
“Some ghosts stood by the fence looking out over Shepherd’s Bayou. They felt more like shadows, with anger and hate radiating off them. Cecilia begged me to let go of my rage, or my fate would be the same. I’m sorry to say, that’s when I lost it. She was dead and had come back to do what? Lecture me? She was the one who gave up on us. She gave up on me over an argument. I told her as much. She cried. I didn’t know ghosts could cry. ButI told her I should have put Toby down long ago. It would have saved lives, including her own.”
“In all fairness, Michael’s not wrong.”
Liam snickered in her ear. “And Cecilia agreed with me and apologized. I hated when she did that. She always apologized for other people’s bad behavior, and it was just one more symptom of the abuse she suffered for years. But when it came to Toby, it made me sick to think that she felt even the tiniest bit of responsibility for his actions.”
Jamison was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Do you think my mom's mother and brother ever met Taylor?”
“I was thinking about that. Do you remember the photo they gave us? The one of Toby standing with Judy and Nick in front of the Christmas tree? Who took the photo? I always assumed it was Judy’s nurse, but she looked way too healthy in the picture. What if it was Taylor? They said Toby was a lady’s man. Maybe Taylor’s presence is what gave them that idea.”
“I don’t know how you remember all that.”
“I have a big brain.”
“And a big—”
Liam swiftly cut her off. “My phone is connected to the car’s Bluetooth, Jamison.”
Jamison winced. “Oh. Hey, Holden.”
Will’s chuckle carried through the background. “Maybe take her off speaker.”
The connection clicked, and Liam’s suppressed laughter was all she heard. “Hey.”
