Page 96 of The Neighborhood Ghost

“Sorry we couldn’t make the wedding. I know your other one was destroyed. I hope this helps you get going again. See you soon. Nicholas ‘Santa’ Claus,” Alice said as she read the card. She handed the card to Hugo.

Hugo turned the card over and re-read the inscription. “So, you really took Ez, the Raskins, and Max to the North Pole?”

“Yep,” Alice said as she withdrew a wooden hourglass, similar in design to her previous one, from the box. “Ah, it’s a replacement hourglass. What a lovely wedding gift. We’ll have to thank them when we see them in February. Now, I can finally get back to business.”

Hugo gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Merry Christmas. Now, hurry up. Don’t keep me waiting too long. And besides, you still owe me another race later tonight. Galahad and I are going to win this time.”

“I don’t know. Gwennie’s pretty fast.”

“Cheating. You’re using magick or something. Winner’s choice for tonight’s race?”

Alice winked. “Of course.”

“To which?”

“Both,” Alice said in a low, sultry voice.

Hugo smiled. “Deal.”

Alice placed the hourglass on the workbench and spun around. She pulled the sleeves of her black blouse back andsnapped her fingers, like a conductor commanding the attention of an orchestra. The grape stompers, metal plates with wooden handles, rose and took their positions inside of the newly restored vats.

Alice paused, and with the snap of her fingers, the magical dance began once again. The stompers sloshed back and forth in the vats. Purplish-red liquid poured out of a valve, and the grape must flowed down a channel into a restored wooden-barrel like press below. The next batch of grapes rose from atop the wooden platform and dumped into the wooden vats. Alice turned and resumed her work on the ingredients to add to her wine. It was a wondrous, magical sight to behold.

Hugo turned and went back upstairs. The gathered crowd still waited as he reentered the hallway. Max jumped up and down to greet Hugo. He bent down and scratched her behind the ears. She sat down and tilted her head, soothed by the scratching. He gave her two taps on top of her head and went upstairs.

Hugo crossed through the bedroom, heading for the bathroom. He opened the door and flicked on the light switch. Sensual music played as Alice and Hugo’s reflections locked in their own dance of desire. His reflection lifted Alice’s reflection and placed her on the sink pedestal. Her naked back slammed against the mirror, covering the whole frame and shutting out onlookers.

“Ouch,” she yelled. “The faucet dug into my back.”

“Are you okay?” Hugo’s reflection asked.

“It’s fine; keep going,” she commanded as they renewed their fiery passionate kiss.

“Not to interrupt, but can I?—”

“GET OUT!” both reflections yelled.

“Fair enough,” he said. He went to turn off the light, but he decided otherwise. He shut the door to give their reflections privacy in their intimate moment.

“It can wait,” Hugo said as he went back through the bedroom.

He bounced down the stairs and into the living room. Max and Galahad returned to their positions in front of the tree. Guinevere stood guard over the house. Everything seemed right with the world. Everything was perfect.

The memory shelf caught his attention. Hugo went over to Alice’s memory shrine. The photos of long passed family members, their memories kept alive by Alice’s dedication to her past. The pictures of the cowboy and witch who defended the spell. The picture of Alice’s grandmother who guarded the spell. The picture of Elizabeth and her radiant smile. The wooden box in front.

He opened it to find it empty. The ring was gone, used to reconnect Hugo and Alice when he was in the land of lost souls. He glanced down at his new ring—the black onyx band inlaid with purple amethyst. It was perfect. The fusion of two lovers. The work of craftsmen.

“I met her,” Alice said.

Hugo placed the box back onto the shelf and turned to face Alice standing in the entryway. “Oh, yeah?”

“Madame Sophia performed a séance, and Elizabeth came through. She’s very beautiful.”

“She was.”

“She was the one who told me you were in trouble. She loved you very much.”

“When they tried to turn me—and they almost did—do you know what saved me?”

---