Page 33 of My Blind Date is a Ghost

I close the book and turn toward the window again. Was my ability to see ghosts a gift? Was it payment from… Well, I had stopped believing in God a long time ago. I refused to accept that a loving all-powerful being would leave me suffering in limbo for so long. But was my ability to see ghosts the fruit of that suffering?

It had grown darker, so my vision shifts to the reflections in the glass, to the people behind me milling around the restaurant. I can’t make out their faces, only their shapes, like shadows. Couples sitting closely, their heads almost touching. Children swinging their feet in the chairs. A man watching me.

I sit up suddenly. This man is no mere shadow. His face is clear. I turn and look into the restaurant, but he is no longer there. I feel a shiver run down my spine. I turn slowly back to the window and gasp. The man is there, sitting right next to me.

My first instinct is to be afraid. To run away. To scream. But I realize that such a response is very human. I had spent over two hundred years as a ghost. The ghost part of me knows I have no reason to be afraid. He isn’t going to hurt me. He is experiencing what I had so longed to experience. I see him. I know he is there. I tentatively raise my hand and wave at him. He blinks and starts. He looks around as if to see if I am waving at someone else. He points to his chest as if asking, Are you looking at me? I give him a small smile and nodd. He blinks and shakes his head as if he can’t believe it. He puts his hand on the glass, and I followed suit.

“Cora?”

I gasp in surprise and nearly fall out of my chair. I gasp again when I see Detective Beckett Dawson standing next to me. I jump up to greet him.

“Oh, Detective, what are you doing here?”

“Can I get you some wine, Detective?” Rachel asks.

“Whisky, please,” he says.

Rachel gives me a wink as she places a menu for him on the table and then scampers off.

I look down at the menu, confused. “What’s going on?”

“May I join you?” he asks.

I want to say no. I was rather enjoying my alone time, and I want to continue my interaction with the friendly ghost next to me. I glance over my shoulder at the window, but the ghost is gone. I suppose the connection was broken. I let out a sigh. “Sure.”

“Don’t sound so disappointed,” he says as he takes the chair across from me.

“It’s not that,” I say, returning to my own chair. “I just didn’t expect to have company.”

“Yeah, me neither,” he says, picking up his menu. “But it seems Beverly had other ideas.”

I nod, picking up my own menu. Then his words dawn on me. “Wait. What? Beverly sent you here?”

“Mmhmm,” he says, giving me a knowing look.

“Wait,” I say. “She didn’t…”

“I think she did,” he says. Then he leans forward and says in a low voice, “I think I’m on a blind date with a ghost.”

“Oh my gosh,” I say, putting my menu down and rubbing my forehead. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack,” he says in his normal voice as Rachel approaches with our drinks. “And I think Miss Rachel was in on it.”

“Who? Me?” Rachel asks innocently as she puts our drinks on the table. “I have no idea what you are talking about. Are you ready to order?”

“I’m going to need a few minutes,” I say. Beckett nods in agreement.

“Just give me a wave when you’re ready,” she says.

“Look,” I say, “I only just got my life back—literally. I have no interest in a relationship.”

“Hey, I completely understand,” he says, taking a sip of his drink. “I told Beverly I wasn’t interested in dating. I’m still finding my feet in this crazy town.”

“Exactly,” I say. “Do you have any idea how confusing it is to suddenly be alive after being dead for so long?”

“Well, umm…no. I mean, I don’t think anyone can relate to what you’ve been through. But I do sympathize. I mean, two years ago I had no idea vampires and werewolves really existed. My whole world changed two years ago.”

I pause for a moment. “Just like my whole world changed two days ago.” I rub my forehead. “Oh, Beverly.”

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