Page 74 of Ghost
“I was thinking of maybe having her over for lunch or something,” Mason said.“Then you could ask her yourself.”
Francis smiled broadly.“I would very much like that.Thank you, Mason.”
Mason smiled.“No need to thank me.I like her.I like her a lot.”
“Ellen was always very enjoyable to be around.She was a most precocious child.”Francis grinned.“I think my mother disliked her because she was so smart.”
“I would be willing to bet that there wasn’t much that went unnoticed by her.”
“You would win that wager,” Francis laughed.“My father adored her.His brother, Ellen’s father, was equally as smart and very proud of Ellen.”
“Were there any other children?Did Ellen have brothers and sisters?”
“Yes.She had two older brothers and an older sister.”Francis stared off into space.“The eldest brother became a lawyer and the second eldest went to England to school.I do not know if he ever came back.”Francis looked sad suddenly.“Her sister died from fever when she was seventeen.She was but a few years younger than me and a great beauty.Melinda was such a kind soul and had many suitors trying to win her favor.”
“So, Ellen was the youngest?”Mason asked.
“No.She had a younger brother who died only a few days after being born.”Francis sighed.“Her mother died soon after.It was a complicated birth from what I understood.Of course, back then we did not speak of such things.”
Mason yawned again.
“I must let you have some rest.”Francis stood.“I will bid you a good night, my friend.”
“Wait,” Mason said.“What do you do when everyone is sleeping?”
Francis smiled.“Not much of anything.I wander the house.I remember things now, so I ponder the life I had.”
“I have an idea.”Mason jumped out of bed.“Follow me.”
He went into the living room where he had the television set up on a couple of milk crates.Mason turned it on and tuned it in to the only station that broadcast twenty-four hours.“You can watch TV.If you see anything that you don’t understand, you can ask me in the morning.”
“I saw you and your friends studying this the one night it was lighted.”Francis looked curiously at the box.
“It’s a television.You can watch it and well, learn stuff, I guess.”
Francis shook his head.“How does it work?”
“Oh, I’ll explain it all to you tomorrow, if you don’t mind.”Mason yawned and stretched.“For now, just watch it.”
“It seems very odd.”He studied it for a moment.“What is that?”he asked pointing.
“It’s a movie.”Mason looked a little closer.“An old movie.Alfred Hitchcock, I think.”
“I am not sure I understand, but I will watch.”Francis smiled at Mason.“Good night, Mason.I hope that you rest well.”
“’Night, Francis.”Mason stood there a moment.Damn I want to kiss him.
