Page 21 of Baking With A Ghost

"Oh, this is a serious convo? Hang on."

The screen shows the floor and her hand and I grow dizzy watching her phone flip back and forth.

"Okay, I won't be disturbed here. Feel free to talk."

"Where are you?"

"The linen closet."

"You couldn't just close the bedroom door?"

"I could, but then Kyle will ask why it's closed and I'll explain you wanted to talk, then he'll want to talk and then he'll probably say he's hungry and we'll end up going for tacos and you'll never get to tell me why you called."

"That's, um, very odd."

"I know, but so am I, so it works. He'll never look here. So shoot, what's got that handsome face so creased up?"

I take another gulp of beer before looking back at the screen.

"I live with a ghost."

"Like, a real one?"

"Is there such a thing as fake ones?"

She chews her lip and her voice drops. "Are you serious right now, John? You have a ghost? How do you know?"

"There's a lot to the story, but yes it's true. I've talked to an… expert? I guess?"

"Like a ghostbuster dude?"

"Please don't make me regret calling you, Ivy. It was hard enough to come to terms with a ghost."

She shifts in her closet with a sigh.

"This is legit? For real? I shouldn't be worried and send someone to pick you up for having a nervous breakdown?" Her eyes brim with worry and I feel bad it's because of me. "I believe you, if you truly think you have a ghost, for the record. But this is so random for you."

"I know it's a lot, but I wanted to tell you about it before I meet him for real."

She sits up, banging her head on a shelf behind her.

"Ouch! What?"

With a deep breath, I launch into the story of Simon, the mill house and his tragic death, finishing with meeting Mike and learning I could meet Simon and quite possibly bring him to life. During my whole spiel, her face never changes. It's just a blank mask, but I know she’s listening and processing.

Ivy says nothing for a long time. I'm afraid she may indeed have decided to make calls and send someone to whisk me away to assess my mental state. But she shocks the hell out of me instead.

"I've never told anyone this, because I thought there's no way it's true. But, all this you've just said… John, I'm pretty sure I met a man at the library once who was, whatever you call a ghost that is now human again. He told me a crazy story and I brushed him off thinking, what a weirdo, but… perhaps I had more of a closed mind then after all. Jesus, this is so weird. Are you okay, though?"

That's a rather loaded question. I'm okay in some ways but not others. It's not every day you realize you've developed feelings for someone that technically may not even exist.

"I think I am. I know it's a huge step to even consider letting him take a human form again. But I've never wanted something this much. I feel like we were meant to be together, just born at different times. Like, I was meant to find this mill house for a reason. I could've picked a different town or building. I didn't. This place called to me, and I wonder if it had something to do with Simon. Some out of this world kind of magnetic pull. Or those stories about lost lovers and different times and all that bullshit. I never believed any of that stuff, but Ivy, it's happening to me. I can't not believe it now."

"Johnny, If you think you want to meet this guy, talk to the ghostbuster dude and… "

"Don't call him that. He performs a service, a very important one."

"Sorry, okay, Mike then. Make sure you get all the facts before you make the final decision. I trust you’ll do what's best for you."

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