Page 134 of Rules to Love By

“You don’t want to know what it says first?”

“I don’t want to be in charge of what it says.” He looked up at Eli. “I want a grown-up there. Is that crazy?”

“You want legal advice on legal matters. It’s perfectly rational.”

The locksmith had completed his work and handed over the new keys, making sure everything worked before he left. They spent most of the daylight hours taking careful inventory of the most urgent needs for the diner and moving all the salvageable furniture and kitchenware to a corner out of the way.

Once the sun was going down, the rest of the inventory of broken and missing parts they’d started would have to wait for another day. Maybe even until after they knew what was in the envelope.

Marcus locked the back door like he had a thousand times before. Unlike all those times, he headed through the kitchen, then the dining area, and stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the diner, locking the front door from outside.

“Feels weird.” A shiver raced up his spine. “Just leaving her like this.”

“Come on.” Eli took his hand. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“You hungry?”

“Tired, mostly.”

“We can go back to my place. Or stay here. Or…” He glanced to where Tris was leaning on Ozzy’s truck, watching them.

“I don’t know your roommates.” Marcus gazed up at the building. “Hey.” Squinting, he peered at a third-floor window. “What…?”

Eli looked where he was looking. “I saw something like that that night I was sitting out here. Faint light up there. It lasted for a few minutes, then went out. Never came back.”

Behind him, Ozzy grunted.

“What?” Turning, Marcus peered up into his face. “Is she mad?”

“Lonely.”

Marcus nodded. “The light is weird, though, isn’t it?”

Ozzy shrugged, lifting an arm to make a spot for Tris. “So are the footsteps, but you didn’t say anything about those.”

“Sounded like Aunt Iris, after a long day. And the light in that room, that’s where she used to sit and fall asleep reading at night. She liked to look out the window, down into the neighbourhood.”

“A ghost?” Tris squeaked. “That’s new.”

“Nah.” Ozzy hugged him tighter. “Just the building. Remembering. Missing her, I expect. I’ve heard similar in the shelter. Emma Joy was a house where a lot of kids grew up. I hear their echoes sometimes. It’s not so spooky if you know what it is, and it happens less and less the closer we get her to being able to have kids in her rooms again. I think she’s as impatient as we are to have the work done.”

Eli let out a small gasp.

“What?” Marcus turned his focus to him.

“That terrible chair in the living room at my dad’s.”

“What about it?”

“Grandpa used to sit there with the paper every morning and his crossword every night. Sometimes the lamp comes on when nobody’s around. And sometimes the chair groans like it did when he sat down.”

“Echoes,” Ozzy said.

“Is it magic, do you think?” Tris asked.

No one answered. Probably because, like Marcus, no one knew. They watched for a while, until the light went out, no one speaking. When all was dark again, Marcus sighed and tried not to notice the wetness on his cheeks. The diner wasn’t the only one who missed his aunt.

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