The Favor Read online

“He just died today. It’s hard for them to use all that energy like that.”

  “The way you were talking, it sounded like he was full of it.” He smirked again. “Not surprisingly.”

  I whacked his leg. “Don’t speak ill of the dead.”

  “I’m not. I’m speaking illish of your ex-boyfriend, the one that got to you before me. I have that right.”

  “What does that even mean, got to me?”

  “You know.” He wiggled his head. “Walked you down the yellow brick road. Showed you paradise. That kind of thing.”

  I laughed. “We were eighteen. We had no idea where paradise was.”

  “No, but you thought you did, and he was the one that showed you it first.”

  “Oh my gosh, you’re jealous of Brian, for what, deflowering me?” I laughed harder. “That’s so sweet.”

  He grimaced. “I’m not jealous. I just wish you’d skipped him and gone straight to me.”

  “We grew up in different parts of the country. That would have been tough.” I nuzzled into his arm. “Besides, you show me paradise several times a week. We’ve got our own mansion there.”

  He smiled. “Care to go for a quick visit?”

  “I’d prefer an extended stay.”

  He growled, pulled me on top of him, and took me to our mansion in paradise.

  * * *

  My best friend Mel stuffed a bite of scrambled eggs into her mouth. “Oh, that’s so sad. My high school boyfriend can fall off the face of the earth, and I couldn’t care less.”

  Sometimes Mel’s sensitivity, or lack thereof, amazed me. I picked up a napkin and dabbed at the bits of scrambled egg that flew out and onto my kitchen counter as she talked.

  She blushed. “Oh, sorry, but still. Weird that he came to you.”

  “I know.” I picked at her eggs. “I sent a friend from high school a text and acted like I didn’t know anything. He said he’d just heard from Brian’s best friend. Told me what he’d heard. Apparently, he’d been water skiing on one ski, and the handle flew up and hit him in the neck. It was a freak accident.”

  “Slalom. That’s what it’s called when you have one ski. Slaloming.”

  I raised my eyebrow. “How do you know?”

  “I grew up in Jersey, remember? My parents took me to the shore every summer.”

  “How did I not know this?”

  She sipped her coffee and winked at me. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”

  “That’s rude. You know everything about me.”

  “I didn’t know Brian took you to paradise.” She’d tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t help herself and laughed.

  “Good grief.” I refilled my half full, but cold cup of coffee. “Anyway, Sue told Tim it happened at six o’clock last night. It’s an hour ahead here, and Brian appeared to me at around that time.”

  “That’s weird that he’d come straight to you.”

  “I know, right? Totally weird, but I guess it makes sense. I can see and hear him, and we have a history.”

  “So, what’s he want you to do?”

  “I’m not sure yet, but he’ll be back. Tim is getting me the funeral arrangements.”

  “You’re not going, are you?”

  I grimaced. “I have a feeling I am.”

  “How’s Jake feel about that?”

  “He’ll be fine with it. Brian’s dead. What’s he going to do, be jealous of a dead guy?”

  “Jake’s not that jealous type.”

  “I know, but he was a little put off last night. It was kind of sweet.”

  “Wow. Jake, sweet? He’s off his game.”

  “He’s always sweet.”

  “I know, but you and your perfect marriage. I like to throw a stone at it every so often to keep you grounded.”

  “Okay, pot.”

  “Maybe, but it took me two tries to get here.”

  “Em hmm.” I took the last bit of scrambled eggs off her plate as my phone dinged with a text message. “It’s from Tim.”

  “They’re having a wake day after tomorrow and the funeral the next morning. The wake is at Glueckert’s and the mass is at St. Edna’s.”

  “Mass? A Catholic church?”

  “Sorry. I forget you’re not from there. I feel like you’ve been in my life forever.”

  “Trust me, there are days I feel that way, too.”

  I ignored the quip. “What’s Aaron up to?”

  My friend and unofficial boss for a few years, Aaron Banner, currently employed with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations with some fancy title I never remembered, married Mel a few years ago. After Mel’s divorce from the cheater—whose nickname included a curse word I’d stopped using months ago—was brutal, and she deserved the happiness Aaron brought her.

  “The same. He loves his new job.”

  “That’s good. Think he’d care if you went on a road trip?”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, to a funeral?”

  “Can you behave appropriately?”

  “Around the wife of your first love? I guess, but only because she’s mourning at the moment. Otherwise, all bets would be totally off.”

  I shook my head. “I know I’m going to be asked to go, but I don’t want to bring Jake.”

  “Oh, snap.”

  I scratched my chin. “Maybe I should?”

  “I can’t make that decision for you. Take me. But I don’t think you should go alone. Take me.”

  “Are you trying to be subtle?”

  “Is it working?”

  “Not so much.”

  She shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I can get away. Nick’s got the kids this weekend, not that they’d need a babysitter, but it’ll just be easier for Aaron.” She took her phone from her pocket and tapped onto the screen. “Let’s see if he answers. He rarely does at work anymore.”

  “That’s rude.”

  “The honeymoon is long over, baby.”

  “I hear ya.”

  Jake walked up from his basement office. “Hey, Mel.”

  “Hey. Been to paradise lately?” She winked at him.

  He walked over to me and dipped me into a kiss. “Every day with this woman is paradise.”

  Mel pretended to stick her finger down her throat. “Keep it PG will ya?”

  He laughed. “You two planning your trip already?”

  I refilled his coffee cup for him. “To where?”

  “Chicago. Where else?”

  “Why would you think we’re going to Chicago?”

  “Really? Your dead first love comes to you asking for help. What else would I think?”

  He glanced at Mel, who looked at me and shrugged. “He’s kind of right.”

  “Plus, I heard you talking about it from the basement.”

  “Y’all have terrible insulation.”

  “You have no idea.” I’d made him a cup of coffee and finished stirring in the cream and sugar and slid it to him on the counter. “You know I need to go. Do you want to come?”

  “I think you can handle this one on your own.”

  Mel waved her hand. “What am I? Chopped liver?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Would you mind if I went?”

  He shook his head as he swallowed a slurp of coffee. “Not in the least. I know you’ll feel terrible if you don’t.”

  He was right. I would, regardless of what Brian needed. “Tim Friese told me the arrangements. We’d have to leave tomorrow.”

  “How long is the drive?” Mel asked.

  “About thirteen hours.”

  “Gawd.”

  “Flying would be way too expensive now.”

  “Maybe we can see Rock City?” Mel chuckled. “I’ve seen those signs on the highway before. They crack me up.”

  I knew she wasn’t serious about seeing the popular tourist site. “Think you can swing going?”

  “Absolutely.” She texted Aaron one more time. “I’m telling him now. I’m sure he’ll be fine. He does everything for
you, anyway.”

  “Good point.”

  “I’m heading to South Carolina tomorrow, but only for the day. Can I put the dogs in daycare?”

  “If you can get them by six o’clock.”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem. If it is, I’ll just call Josh and have him come and get them.”

  We’d added two puppies to our family about six months after we lost Gracie Girl. Losing her was rough. She was a big part of our family for eighteen years, and our hearts were broken. Since her passing, she’d visited twice, but that was it. I’d hoped she’d come around more often, but the Rainbow Bridge must have been too much fun. It took a lot for us to get our new dogs, me specifically, but it did our hearts good. Since Emily and Josh were out of the house, and Jake and I were officially empty-nesters, the dogs were basically royalty. We treated them better than our kids, which we were constantly reminded of and didn’t care a single bit about, either.

  “Let me know if you need me to do anything for you before you leave. I’ll check your tire pressure in a bit. When are you due for an oil change?”

  “No clue.”

  He sighed and headed to the garage.

  Mel smiled. “He’s such a good husband.”

  “He really is.”

  “Okay, I hate to eat and run, well, that’s not true. I love to eat, but I hate to run—see what I did there—but if we’re road tripping, I need to pack.” She rinsed her dish and put it in the dishwasher. “Thanks for the chow.”

  “Anytime.” I didn’t bother seeing her out.

  * * *

  Brian shimmered into my bedroom. “Could you knock or something first, please?”

  “I can’t. When I try to do something, my hands go right through it, but when I’m not really thinking about it, I can do whatever I want. Being dead is strange.”

  “Like I said, you’ll get used to it. My mother tells me it’s about focus. If you focus too hard to touch something, you can’t most of the time. If you don’t try, it just happens. Eventually, you can focus and make it happen, but I don’t know how.”

  “Your mom’s dead?”

  I pulled my suitcase from the top shelf in my closet. “Yup, for ten years now.”

  “I’m sorry. Fran was great.”

  “She still is. Just slightly transparent, and a heck of a lot nosier.”

  He sighed. “Sue’s really upset.”

  “I can imagine. I’d be a wreck if Jake died suddenly.” I pushed that thought out of my mind. Every now and again it would creep in, and I’d be forced to think about what life would be like without him, and it sent me into a tailwind of overwhelming emotions. Even if he’d come around, it wouldn’t be the same, and I just couldn’t stand to think about it. I knew the pain of a loss so deep it destroyed a piece of your heart forever, and part of me hoped Jake went before me, only because I didn’t want him to go through that pain, but I also didn’t want to go through it either, so I rooted for dying at precisely the same time. It’s happened, so it wasn’t entirely impossible, just highly improbable.

  “I think I know what happened, I just didn’t want to talk about it before, I guess. I don’t know, but I do need a favor from you.”

  “Of course you do. I’ve been texting with Tim. He told me about the accident.”

  “I need you to talk to Sue, and I need you to check something for me.”

  I sat on the bed as I folded two pairs of capri jeans. “I’m not all that thrilled to do this, Brian. It’s just weird.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry, but I don’t think my death was an accident.”

  I set the pants down. “What do you mean? How do you know that?” It wasn’t common for a spirit to know how he’d died, at least that wasn’t my experience. Typically, it was up to me to figure it out, which was never easy, by the way.

  He floated around the room, rubbed the top of his head and finally, after a long pause, said, “I can vaguely remember a discussion with my business partner, but I don’t know if it means anything.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  He explained it all to me, and I could see how it made sense to him, but I thought it was a bit out there. “The two of you created a special water ski handle, and you think he skimped on the materials and it broke?”

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  He detailed out all sorts of technical talk I didn’t understand, but I figured I’d have Mel research it while I drove tomorrow. “Why do you think your son is next?”

  “It was my idea. I created the product, and Dan was the money and manufacturing guy. We argued about the cost of materials versus the price point we wanted for sales. He wanted a higher price for a higher return, but I told him it wouldn’t sell well at a higher price. He argued to swap out the materials for something cheaper, but I wouldn’t. I told him it wouldn’t hold up, that the handle was designed that way for a reason, and we’d have wrongful death suits filed on us.” He floated around the room. “But I think he did it anyway.”

  “So, you want me to talk to him? He won’t admit that if he did it.”

  “No, he won’t, but I need you to prove he did it. I don’t want my son hurt.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “We have two more of the handles. We were testing them. I know Bradley. He’s going to want to get back on the water right away. It’s where he goes when he’s upset. If he gets on that ski and uses that new handle, something’s going to happen.”

  “Didn’t you try these out before? Run them through some kind of tests or something?”

  He nodded. “With the higher quality materials, yes. The problem is, my son wouldn’t know the difference. He’s an experienced skier, but he’s a kid, and I don’t think most people would pay attention to the subtle differences in the product.”

  “But you don’t know for sure something’s going to happen to your son, or do you?”

  His eyes glossed over. “No, I don’t, but I just have this strange feeling I’m right.”

  I nodded. My mother had said similar things in the past. I didn’t understand it, but I knew it wasn’t meant for me to understand, either. “Okay. So, you want me to go to Sue and tell her all of this? Why not just go to Bradley? Tell him to not use the handle?”

  “You’ll have a better chance of getting through to my wife than my teenage son.”

  I found that hard to believe, but only because of the relationship thing. “I can’t make any promises other than I’ll promise to try.”

  “I know, but if you’re anything like the girl I knew, you can do it. I have no doubt.”

  I finished folding my pants and placed them at the bottom of my suitcase. “I’m really sorry this happened to you.”

  “We had plans. A future. I can’t believe it’s over.”

  A tear slid down my face. “I know. Go, be with your wife. She may not be able to see you, but she needs you there. I’ll call when I need you.”

  He disappeared.

  * * *

  I left Josh and Emily messages. Emily and Mike, her long-term boyfriend whom Jake and I adored and appreciated for keeping her levelheaded, had moved to Midtown Atlanta two years ago. They weren’t talking marriage yet, not to us anyway, but a little birdie told me it was going to happen. A little birdie that continually stuck her slightly transparent nose where it didn’t belong. Josh, on the other hand, was too busy with college to date–his words, not mine—and hadn’t brought a girl home yet. That didn’t bother me. He was only twenty and had plenty of time left before he needed to worry about that.

  I let them know I’d be gone a few days, not that they’d even know, but if they happened to come by, which did happen sometimes, I didn’t want them to waste the trip. Unless of course, Jake needed help with the dogs, but they’d make those arrangements together.

  Josh responded to my message with a text. “Got your message. Have fun, Mama. Love you.”

  With Emily, all I got was crickets, but that wasn’t unusual.

  I thr
ew the last of my make up into my smaller, second suitcase, and because I wasn’t sure what would be appropriate for the wake and possibly the funeral of an ex-boyfriend, I tossed two more dresses into my big bag just in case. Better to be safe than sorry, I thought.

  “That blue one makes you look fat.” My mother floated on the opposite side of my bed.

  “Thanks. I appreciate your honesty, but I think it looks nice on me.”

  “If you want to look fat then go ahead and bring it, but I know if it was me, I’d want to look good for my ex’s funeral.”

  I looked up at her from across the bed. “Vanity is not your best virtue.”

  “I got a lot of virtues, so I can have a vice or two.”

  I plucked the dress from my suitcase and hung it back in my closet. I hated how she did that to me.

  “I knew you wouldn’t take it.”

  “It’s hard to know what to wear. The whole situation is awkward.”

  “I go to wakes and funerals all the time now. I don’t care what I wear.”

  “You’re dead. No one can see you.”

  “You kidding? You have no idea who shows up at those things.”

  I laughed. “I have a pretty good idea, actually.”

  “Then you know everyone can see me. At least the dead ones. And the kids. The kids can always see me.”

  It struck me then that I’d have to go to a funeral home. I hated funeral homes almost as much as I hated hospitals and cemeteries. I realized I might have to go to a graveyard, too. Those places were packed with the dead, and they hounded me like I didn’t have anything else to do. I hated sounding snotty about it, but I couldn’t help everyone all the time. Again, boundaries were vital to me, and it had taken me years to set them. The universe finally allowed them for me, and I’d learned to shut off my gift—for lack of a better term—most of the time, when necessary, but I’d likely need it at least partially on with what was coming. I hoped I wouldn’t have to spend a significant amount of time deflecting other spirits.

  Sometimes I wished I had someone to pass them off to. Though my son also had the gift, he didn’t use it the way I did. The universe didn’t require that of him, and for that, I was grateful. He hung out with a few, maybe crossed some over a time or two, but nothing like me.