Page 54 of The Missing Pages
“I don’t know,” Theo said, looking around. “I’ve heard of guys bringing their girlfriends down here to make out. Maybe this part of the stacks is more popular than you think.”
Violet looked around. “I don’t see anyone else, do you? And it’s Tuesday night, not a Friday or anything…”
“True.”
They found a quiet spot and sat down. Violet reached into her bag, took out the box, and opened it.
“Is that all there is?” Theo asked. “I have to ask my mom if she ever used one of these…”
“Yep, it’s pretty basic.” Violet placed down the board and put the planchette on top.
Theo looked at it quizzically, staring at images of the sun and the moon with the Yes or No boxes. The alphabet written in old-fashioned typeset below.
“It’s not going to work, Theo. It’s just a stupid game.”
“Well come on, we’ll do it one more time. At least we’ll have a story we can joke about at our reunion one day… the time we tried to communicate with a ghost in the bottom of Widener library.”
“Okay. One try, then we pack this thing up and get out of here,” Violet said, giving in.
She put her hands lightly on the planchette and instructed Theo to do the same.
They closed their eyes.
“Harry, are you here?” she asked.
Her voice sounded dull, like she didn’t expect an answer.
“If the ghost of Harry Widener is here with us tonight, can he please let us know?”
Another cool ripple of air through the stacks. This time Theo and Violet both shivered.
They each opened their eyes, their focus locked as the triangle dragged over to the top right-hand corner, where it was written out in plain letters: YES.
Theo and Violet’s faces froze. They had both felt the planchette move and neither of them used a single ounce of energy.
“That’s crazy,” Theo whispered. “Come on, Vi, ask it another question.”
She didn’t hesitate.
“Harry Widener, why are you trying to contact me?”
The triangle darted quickly over the board, spelling out the answer in one simple, but powerful word:
L-O-V-E.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
THE SOFT LIGHTING, THE SILK UPHOLSTERED CHAIRS,and mirrored walls greeted Ada and me as we stepped into the restaurant.
We were ushered to a private table in the corner and, as we sat down, our eyes locked and we both smiled.
“It’s a bit peculiar, isn’t it?” Ada began as she placed her napkin in her lap. “We spent most of the afternoon together with just a small break in between. But seeing you now in your black dinner jacket, it feels as new as ever.”
I laughed. I wanted to tell her I felt the same, that being with her again restored me. But instead, I told her how beautiful she looked.
“Ah, Mr. Widener,” she teased as her complexion turned a soft pink. “You make me blush.”
“I only tell the truth,” I said as we accepted the menus from the waiter and I ordered us a bottle of champagne.
