Page 111 of Half Dead

“You stay and relax,” Ray said. “I’ll get the door.”

A couple minutes later, Alicia skipped into the kitchen with an eager Ray hovering beside her.

“Hey there,” I said. “You look like someone who just won a major boss battle.”

Nana Pratt frowned. “The longer I exist, the fewer words I understand.”

Alicia beamed. “Better than a boss battle.”

Ray eyed her expectantly. “Go on, tell us.”

“I have big news,” Alicia continued, “but first I require sustenance.”

Ray groaned. “If she’s going to drag this out, I’m going to lose my mind.”

“And here I thought madness was Lorelei’s specialty,” Nana Pratt remarked.

“Hey, devil dude,” Alicia said, with a nod at Kane.

“Nice to see you again,” he said, returning the nod.

Alicia cocked her head. “Do you live here now?”

“No.”

“Would you like to? It’s a big house. Plenty of space.”

Laughing, I glanced at Kane. “Did you put her up to this?”

He held up his hands. “Not a peep.”

I smiled at the teenager. “I think you have a bright future as a realtor.”

“More like a matchmaker,” Alicia said.

Kane reached for my hand. “As much as I’d hate to deprive you of a commission fee, this match has already been made.”

I stood and walked to the refrigerator. “What would you like to drink? I bought a bottle of Ribena at the store last week.” The international shelf at the grocery store wasn’t usually teeming with British exports, so I got a tiny thrill when I spied the familiar purple label.

Alicia’s lip curled. “What’s Ribena?”

“It’s a blackcurrant drink. I mix it in water to give it a little fruity sweetness. I drank it daily when I lived in London.”

“Is that the drink the British gave to children during World War II to boost their Vitamin C levels?” Ray asked.

“It is, indeed.”

Alicia glanced in the direction of the ghosts. “Grampa just told you a fun fact, didn’t he? You know it’s only going to get worse when you have books on all those shelves in the library, don’t you?”

“I’m aware.” In truth, I enjoyed Ray’s zest for knowledge. Hereminded me of my grandfather. Then again, Pops hadn’t been a learner by nature; his ulterior motive had been my safety.

“I’ve never had anything with a blackcurrant flavor,” Alicia said. “I’ll try it.”

“And I’m sure she can use the extra Vitamin C,” Nana Pratt added. “Thanks to all those video games, children today are more deficient than ever.”

“I don’t get the sense that Alicia is deprived of daylight,” Ray said. “Just the walk from her house to this one would give her the daily dose of sunlight she needs.”

I poured water into a glass and added the Ribena. Alicia shadowed me, watching me with a discerning eye as though I were conducting a science experiment.

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