Page 149 of Mourner for Hire
Too stunned to speak and overwhelmed by the realization that my mind has slowly come alive during these last two months, I just stand there and stare.
Annabelle takes a seat next to me on the couch, though thistime, she isn’t just the ghost that’s been haunting me relentlessly. She’s birthday cakes and walks on the beach. She’s family dinners and laughing with my mom in the kitchen. She’s a movie night with buttery popcorn. She’s a memory come to life.
She reaches out and wipes the fallen tear on my cheek. Her touch feels like a cold breeze on my warm skin. “I didn’t really plan for it to go this way. But you were hard to track down after so many years went by. When I read the article in the paper two years ago, I knew I needed to hire you.”
“Why didn’t you just reach out?”
“And just be some random person from your past that knew you—that you had no recollection of?”
I shake my head in disbelief.
“I wanted it to mean something. I wanted you to have your memory come back. In the article, you mentioned that you have dissociative amnesia, so I researched, and it would seem no therapists could agree on the best ways to get your memories back, and Lord knows I can’t hypnotize anyone. Not that you would have let me.” She pauses, clearly collecting her thoughts. “I just wanted you to remember your mom, and I thought if I brought you back home, you’d discover the memories all on your own.”
“And yet, you hung around,” I tease through tearful words.
“That was just a bonus.”
I laugh, wishing I could hug her. “Thank you.” Then, a thought strikes me. “Why didn’t you just let Dominic in on it?”
“He would have said I was crazy and to stop meddling in people’s lives.”
“Now he just thinksI’mcrazy,” I counter, and she smirks.
“No, he’s just crazy about you. Besides, the best women have a little crazy in them,” she says. “You’re going to be okay, Vada. Thank you for letting me haunt you.” She stands and brushes her hands on her skirt. “Now I think I should go say goodbye to my son.”
FIFTY-ONE
DOMINIC
I digmy feet in the sand and stare out at the ocean. “Why the hell did you do all this, Mom?”
“Well, it’s not like you would have agreed to it before I died.”
I jump and scurry back in the sand, screaming like a man with a chainsaw just attacked me in a haunted corn maze.
“What the fuck? Who the fuck?—”
“Language, Dominic.” She folds her arms and stares down at me.
“Who are you?”
“Mom. Duh.” She throws her hands up and slaps her thighs.
I rub my eyes and blink three times. “I’m hallucinating.”
“Sort of,” she says, and I furrow my brow, studying her. “I mean, I don’t know what this is or how else to describe it. I’m stuck in some ghostly purgatory, haunting everybody in this town and making sure everybody’s okay. But only Vada has been able to see me. It’s rather strange.”
I stare blankly at her while she rambles.
“Guess I wasn’t ready to crossover—decided to keep one foot in Heaven and one on Earth.”
She lets out a small laugh. She sounds exactly like Mom. Looks like her, too. She’s wearing her favorite red dress, and herhair looks healthy, not the shaved head she was rocking at the time of her death.
“Are you…” I begin, clearing the tightness in my throat. Hallucinating or not, if this is my last chance to talk to my mom, I’m going to take it. “Does it still hurt?”
Her eyes well with tears, and she tilts her head, a pursed smile on her lips. “No, baby, it doesn’t hurt anymore. In fact, I feel great. I miss you. But it’s different here. Less of a longing and more of a feeling of anticipation. Like, I can’t wait for you to get here. But don’t worry, I can wait. Time is different here. It’s long and short and all at once. It’s measured in moments of hope and rejoicing. It’s pretty beautiful, this side of life.” She rocks back on her heels and fidgets with her hands like she’s unsure if she should reach out. “Are you okay?”
I don’t know how to answer that. “I miss you.”
