Page 10 of Dad's Best Friend Scientist
“I’m not. We aren’t communicating with your dad but his spirit.”
“What’s the difference? There’s no such thing as a spirit. Once a man is dead, he’s gone.”
He’s got a point, but I argue nonetheless. “How do you know? Maybe there are spirits. You just can’t see them or hear them.”
“And you can?”
“No, but I can feel them. It’s called mental vibration. Some shamans can even see them in a trance.”
“A trance?” he scoffs. “Like this?”
He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. He then suddenly rolls his eyes and shakes. When he opens his eyes, his face changes, and he stares at me like a different person. “Is that Zena?”
OMG. It’s Ed’s voice and his expression, too. He’s good.
“Yes, Ed. How have you been?” I stifle the urge to laugh and play along.
David frowns. “Not good, Honey,” he says, still speaking in his dad’s voice.
“What happened? You aren’t happy up there?”
“Up? No, not up, but down. I’m underground, sweetheart, and it isn’t pretty here living with the dead. It’s cold and dark and I keep wandering around.”
I shiver despite knowing it’s all an act. “Why, Ed? Why are you wandering around?”
“Because of you, Zena. I’m supposed to go to heaven but you keep calling me back to the living world. I can’t let go of Linda. You are a naughty girl. Oh, I’m already late for my time.”
Perhaps it’s the voice reminding me too much of Ed or because of the quietness of the night. Tears run down my cheeks unknowingly, and before long, I’m sobbing. “I’m sorry, Ed, I thought I was helping…”
I put a hand on David’s arm but he didn't respond. He just sits there like a dead person staring into the night.
“Hello? David? Ed? Please, say something!”
I look around. There’s no one else. The park is all quiet like a cemetery.
I sob. “Please, are you okay, David? Oh my God.”
I pull out my phone to call my house when David bursts into laughter. “Got you!”
Before I can react, David says, “Just checking to see whether you’re really as good as my mom says you are in communicating with the dead. Hey, you’re supposed to be a psychic medium. You shouldn’t be afraid of the dead.”
I blink with tears in my eyes, realizing he’s teasing me. “You’re so mean!” I stand up to get away, but he pulls me to his lap and holds me.
“I’m sorry, Zena,” he whispers into my ear. I stiffen for a moment, stunned by what’s just happened.
I’m in David’s arms. Holy shit. He teased me and I should be mad, but I don’t want to push him away. He smells so good, and he feels so warm. I press my face into his chest and sob. I’m still mad, but I like where I am, and I wrap my arms around his waist.
“There, there. I’m sorry,” he says, kissing the top of my head.
I look up and meet his eyes. He leans in to kiss my tear-streaked face, brushing my tears with his lips.
Soon our lips meet, and I kiss him hungrily. I’ve wanted to taste those lips for years. David is as ravenous as I am. He groans as he devours my mouth and plays with my tongue.
Before I know it, I’m writhing on David’s lap and grinding his hard-on. He slips a hand under my shorts to feel my ass.
“Stop it. I’m gonna come in my pants if you keep doing this, Zena.”
“Do that,” I say, giggling. “I want to see it.”
