Page 62 of Giving Up The Ghost
“About what?”
“You.” He smiled. “Everything.”
* * *
It was welldark outside before I was anywhere close to tired enough to stop. My dad could go on forever, never needing rest, but he was still my dad and, when I began flagging, laid his hand on my arm, the chill silencing me. “You need rest, boyo. You’ve done good, yeah? You helped a lot of us today. And Nadine can’t hurt anyone right now, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Dad, I don’t want to stop talking to you. I’ve been trying for years, and you’ve never been able to come to me. I just… I’m afraid this is it.”
He laughed, throwing his head back and slapping at my thigh. “I don’t believe you just said that! Oscar Fellowes, you are honestly sitting here and telling me you’re worried you’ll never talk to your dead father again?”
“Okay, itdoessound ridiculous when you put it like that,” I grumbled, making him laugh anew. “But you know what I mean, yeah? I’m worried this is the only time we’ll be able to sit like this. To talk. To just…”To just see you.
He sighed, rising to his feet and holding his hand out to me. “You’re almost older than I was when I died, did you realize that?”
I nodded. “Next birthday, we’ll be the same age.”
“Hell of a thing, that. And the one after that, you’ll be older than I’ll ever be.”
“I hate that.”
“I’m not a fan myself.” He looked at the waiting ghosts and shook his head. “You’ve got more to do, boyo. And I’d like to see your mum again. It’s been… I don’t know how long it’s been. But I know it’s been too long.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “She, um. She helped us. She helped Julian earlier.”
“I like your Julian,” he said, nodding. “I’d have liked to meet him.”
“You can,” I offered quickly. “Whenever you’d like. I can introduce you and?—”
“And,” Dad said, shaking his head now. “Rest, Oscar. And listen good, alright? The things Violet taught you, they’re not all bad. But don’t let that be all you learn. I never got the chance to teach you much myself, but if I could only tell you one thing it’s that you’re not dead.”
“Um, well, kind of figured that part…”
“Smartarse,” he chuckled. “I mean, you can change. You’ll get older. You’ll grow. You don’t have to stay the same boy Violet molded. She was afraid, you know,” he said suddenly, his gaze sharp and urgent. “Your grandmother was terrified of ghosts. Hell of a thing, huh?”
“Shewhat?”I shot to my feet, agape. “Dad, that’s something youleadwith when we’re having a heart-to-heart in the midst of my existential crisis!”
His laugh made my heart warm and made me laugh too. “Oh, I love you so much, Oscar,” he finally sighed as he wound down. “And I’m not going to be far, yeah?” He touched his chest again, right over his heart. “Now. Anything to tell your mum?”
“I love you,” I breathed, eyes burning anew. I was so tired of crying, of being tired… “And I’m sorry. And visit me! Please?”
He clicked his tongue at me, rolling his eyes. “None of this is on you. Get that out of your head right this instant. Now.” He smoothed down his shirt and raked his fingers through his shaggy hair. “How do I look? I’m about to see my best girl?”
“Good, Dad. Really good.”
He nodded. “Oscar? I love you too.”
And he was gone. Just gone.
The others were kind enough to busy themselves on the other side of the cellar while I cried.
EPILOGUE
OSCAR
It was a hellacious handful of days between everything that happened and returning to London to hole up in the townhouse. A handful of tabloid sorts and nosy internet stalkers had been hanging about until Ezra scared them off by, well, being Ezra. But with the volume turned up to eleven.
Three days into our stay at the townhouse, things had fallen into a lazy domestic rhythm with Julian working on his research organization, Ezra monkeying about with electronics, and me… Well. Hiding from the world mostly.
