Page 33 of Ghost
“It’s all thanks to you,” Mason said quietly beside him.“If you hadn’t told us about that salvage yard, we’d never have seen it.”Mason smiled at Mitch and Paul who were grinning.“Paul and Mitch got it for me as a housewarming present.”
Nick looked at the two men.“Nice guys.You’ve got some really good friends, Mason.”
“The absolute best,” Mason agreed.
“I brought lunch,” Nick said.“Sub sandwiches.”
“Perfect,” Mitch said, already heading outside.“I’m starving.”
Mason laughed.“There’s a surprise,” he then commented wryly.
“With as much as you eat, I don’t see how you stay so skinny,” Paul said, laughing his own big belling jiggling.
Mitch turned to face the larger man, hands on his hips.“And I don’t know how you’re so big.We’ve been working the same amount and eating the same things.”
“And I didn’t even mention your butt,” Paul said, laughing.
Everyone but Mitch busted out laughing so hard, tears were streaming down their faces as they sat to have lunch.It seemed as if had become an ongoing joke that always got a rise out of Mitch, and that in itself, was entertaining.
With their spirits high, the three friends got back to work after lunch, finishing up the paneling, installing the double pocket doors that came with the room.Paul finished all the electrical work and had it tested.He even managed to wire in a generic ceiling light in the new room.With the generator running, they had light in the other half of the room as well.Even with just a bare bulb, the warmth of the wood made the room cozy.
“It’s just amazing,” Mason said.“It doesn’t feel real.”
“I have to admit, it came out a lot better than I thought,” Mitch said.“I had my doubts, Mas, I really did.It wasn’t my taste at all, but damn...it’s gorgeous!I’d live here.”
“Yeah, well you’re welcome to visit, but I don’t know about living here,” Mason joked, shoving Mitch.
“Hey, you’d love it if I lived here.”Mitch was all smiles.“Think of all the good times we’d have.”
Paul huffed.“Yeah, a different woman every night?I think Mason would get over that pretty quick.”
“Mason wouldn’t mind, would ya?”Mitch laid his arm across Mason’s shoulders.
“Uh, yeah, I would.”Mason shrugged Mitch’s arm off.“Best way to ruin a good friendship is to live together.”He laughed.“Like I said, you can visit anytime you’d like, but you sure as hell ain’t living with me.Besides, you’re a pig.You always leave toothpaste in the sink!”
Mitch tried to play it off as if his feelings were hurt, his lower lip stuck out.
“Prob’ly why he ain’t married,” Paul laughed.
Mitch rolled his eyes.“It’s beer time, right?”
“Yeah, it is.”Mason pushed Mitch towards the back door.“Beers are in the cooler.I’ll be right back.”
Mason ran up the stairs to the main level.“Francis,” he called out in a stage-like whisper.“Francis, are you here?”
“I am here, my fine friend.”
Mason turned towards the front parlor to see Francis beaming at him.He looked even more solid than before.“I want you to come downstairs and see what we’ve done.”
Francis frowned.“I cannot.”
“Uh...why not?”
Francis turned to face the window and the street outside, clasping his hands behind his back.“She is down there.My mother.”
“Oh, so that’s who has been screaming at me,” Mason said as he walked towards Francis.“No offense, but she’s not very nice.”
“You have no idea.”Francis scowled.“She has forbidden me from descending the stairs.Each time I tried, she would scream like a banshee until I could no longer tolerate the sound and was forced to retreat.”
