Page 23 of The Mare Rider of Cornwall Cove
“Hey, buddy, you looked wiped. You okay?” Tray asked Phil with real concern. Roxie stood at the end of the sofa, arms wrapped around her middle, chewing worriedly on one of her braids. “Mr. Kee said something about a ghost laying its hands on you?”
Phil summoned up a little chuckle of amusement. “Yeah, I got slimed.” We all tittered nervously. “I’m just super tired. I’ll be good tomorrow. And totally ready for the game.”
Typical jock. Worried about sport. I sincerely hoped he would be okay to play as this season had been a good one for the Lions. I glanced over at the register when the bell tinkled softly. Three spirits hovered there with expressions of deep concern. I gave Reggie a wobbly sort of smile that didn’t seem to erase his worry at all. Guess we’d ruined their New Year’s bash. I’d make it up to him with a phantom party for Chinese New Year next month.
My sight flickered from Reg to Roxie. She was tight-lipped, hugging herself hard, and rocking to and fro. I grabbed her hand.
“It’s all fine. Really. We’ll do another stream real soon. But we just need to scope out the places first just to get a feel of the vibes as well as the internet,” I softly explained.
She nodded as a tear rolled down her smooth cheek. “I’m so sorry,” she gasped as the tears began to flow in earnest. Tray, who had been talking softly to Phil about the game, shot to his feet to embrace his girlfriend.
I was stymied as to what to do or say next. I felt terrible for making her cry. “Hey, hey, don’t cry, please. Everyone is fine. It’spart of the job, right? Spooky spooks like to be spooky,” I said in my most jovial “it’s all cool” way.
“Maybe we should just call it a night,” Tray offered and got a nod from Roxie. “We’ll get some sleep and meet tomorrow, yeah?”
Phil and I nodded. Roxie stayed tight to Tray as they pulled on coats and hats and eased out the door of the shop, neither willing nor perhaps able to glance back at us all watching them leave.
“Shit, now she feels bad that I was ghosted, like by a ghostly thing, and not ghosted like ignored on Messenger.” Phil sighed as the steps above the nook creaked and groaned. Grandpa and Monique arrived with tea and bowls of noodles topped with ice cream and looked around for the rest of the gang.
“Roxie was upset, so Tray took her back to their dorm,” I explained and watched Caleb and Eloise make silent exits as well. Reg was seated on the counter beside the register, his hands resting on his knee, long legs crossed, taking it all in as he always did. He’d have commentary later when it was just him and me. Right now, he had to see that things were a bit too chaotic.
“She was very upset,” Grandpa said as he sat down on my left and poured Phil a cup of tea. “Here, you drink this all up. Sip easy, it’s hot. Yes, that’s good. It will soothe your agitated well of energy while it helps to restore the prana you lost in your supernatural encounter.”
Phil smiled lovingly at my grandfather over the rim of his mug. Monique placed the dish of noodles on the coffee table and then sat on the wobbly arm of the sofa. Her gaze met mine, and I saw a thousand questions and just as many worries in those dark brown eyes.
“I need to talk to you,” I whispered while she handed out the darsaan. My stomach rumbled to remind me I’d not eaten much of anything today.
“We’ll talk tomorrow. Tonight, you boys need to eat, drink your tea, and then get to bed,” she replied tenderly but firmly. Phil was already diving into the fried noodle treat with relish, his pallor still worrisome. The store was quiet, the lights were low, and aside from the hum of the heater, there was no noise.
We were good lads, as Reg would say. We devoured our darsaan, drank all the tea, and then, with two seniors at our backs, climbed the stairs for bed. Phil was out before his head even hit the pillow. I’d not even gotten my sleep tee pulled over my head and he was snoring softly, his backside in the air. Chuckling, I placed my hand on his rump and pushed. His knees folded, and he snuggled into my bed with a sigh. I hoped his dreams would be pleasant, but I suspected they’d be anything but.
“Poor bloke looks knackered,” Reggie whispered as he sailed through the door.
“He’s had a rough night.” I tugged the covers out from under Phil’s thick legs and tucked them in around him before turning to find Reg by the window. His form was quite solid tonight as was the upset flowing from him. “He should be okay. I don’t think he’ll be laid out as long as I was after the possession at the lake.”
“Because he’s not got a larger than normal parietal cortex or frontal lobes,” he said matter-of-factly. Reg, being a bookstore residentiary spirit, read a lot. And not only queer spicy romances, although those were his favorites. “No, I would assume he should be back on his rather large feet tomorrow. You, on the other hand, have also had a run-in with a ghostly minger.”
He pointed to his long nose and then to mine. “Did I miss some blood?” I asked and he nodded his golden head before seating himself primly on my desk, crossing one leg over the other, knee-high black Prussian boots always shiny. He’dmentioned a few times his dandyish nature took great pride in knowing he died with properly shined boots. His white shirt and red coat were stained with blood, but his boots were exemplary. “No one said anything.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, rummaged around under the mattress for the box of baby wipes we kept handy, and pulled one free. Then I scrubbed my nose with a vengeance.
“I’m sure no one wished to upset you or Philip even more. Everyone was quite distressed when the feed went down. Then we couldn’t contact you via text messaging or even phone calls. Your grandfather was growing quite disquieted as was lovely Monique. Roxanna was a little cross at first, but then, as time went by, she grew tormented as well. And poor Tray. That lad is a darling to gaze upon, but his nerves around those of us who trip about on the other side of the spirit veil need some bolstering.”
I had to chuckle. “Yeah, Tray is scared. I like that he’s brave enough to do this with us, though. He’s cool.”
“Hmm, yes, that is a recommendation for him, I suppose. You’ve still got a spot on your left nostril. Yes, that’s done it. I hope you lads are both feeling better on the morrow. Caleb and Eloise were very troubled by the turn of events this evening. They opted out of playing any sort of games or music, which was most unfortunate, as I’d found several recordings of fife-and-drum recreations from my era that I thought would be quite rousing. Not as stimulating as ‘Roll Your Leg Over’ obviously, but still quite stirring for a celebration.”
“You could just listen to theHamiltonsoundtrack.”
His regal nose wrinkled. “Alexander Hamilton? Please. The man was an upstart advocate of revolution who supported the French.”
“Just a suggestion.” I tossed my wipe into the trash and yawned widely. “I need to crash. Can we discuss your views of the founding fathers later?”
“Oh yes, of course, how rude of me. I shall take my leave now. I merely wished to check on you two lads to ensure you were hale and hearty. Rest well, Archimedes.”
He melted into the wall.
I burrowed under the covers, snuggled up to Phil, and dropped off into a sound sleep that was only interrupted by Phil twitching and whining. I’d kiss the side of his neck when it got too bad, and he would instantly settle. Poor man. I bet he never imagined he’d be wound up in this kind of nonsense that day he asked me to help him with his Mandarin…
