Chapter 6

With Annie's help, I got a lot done on the house over the weekend. Turns out she was as excited about remodeling the place as I was. She also had some useful talents and enthusiastically put them to use. For instance, when it came to stripping off old wallpaper, she could kind of slip her hands under the old stuff and just lift it right off the wall. I followed behind her with a putty knife and a sandpaper block, taking off what little dried paste was left behind. We managed to get three of the four second floor bedrooms ready to either paint or repaper before knocking off on Sunday afternoon.

Her ability to remain visible and audible seemed to be getting better all the time, although neither of us could say why. Either her focus improved with usage or my frequent sperm donations boosted her staying power. Whatever it was, she could remain visible for hours at a time. I liked that because, aside from the sex, she was good company.

We sat at the kitchen table as I sipped tea and she watched (eating and drinking weren't a part of her world). We were discussing wallpaper and paint colors and trying to come to an agreement one room at a time. For obvious reasons, I felt I should have the final say, but Annie wasn't willing to make that concession.

"Ok, tell you what," I suggested after we'd argued over colors and patterns without getting anywhere, "Why don't you come with me to the paint store tomorrow and we'll look at samples and then try to decide. You're not bound to the house, are you?"

"You know I'm not. You saw me at the restaurant and in front of the gate, didn't you?"

"Oh yeah, that's right! So do you want to do that – come with me to the paint store?"

She smiled and reached across the table to put her hand on mine. "I'd love to! It'll be just like we're a married couple, won't it?"

I ignored her comment. "But, uh, are you going to be visible to the people in the store?"

"I can be, but it would sap a lot of my energy and it's a little risky. You're used to me fading in and out, but you can imagine how a stranger might react to it. Maybe it would be best if I just stay out of sight and whisper in your ear."

"Fine! I'll come by the house after work and pick you up."

"You can do that if you want, but it's unnecessary. I can just go with you to your work. I'd like to see what you do anyway."

I felt a little anxious about that, wondering what kind of mischief she could get into at the lab. "You'd get awfully bored sitting around my office all day."

"Steven, you're talking to a spirit. I don't get bored. Hell, I don't even experience time the way you think of it. Look, just do your thing tomorrow and plan for me to be at the paint store with you, OK? We don't need to discuss how I'll get there."

"Right." Her sense of time was something worth giving some serious scientific consideration to. In fact, I wondered if she 'experienced' anything at all when she wasn't interacting with me or some other live person. What was her existence like?

The scene at the paint store would have made a great comedy skit. The saleslady didn't hover, but she was always near enough to be readily available if I had a question. That also meant she was close enough to hear me whispering to Annie when we were discussing patterns and colors. Sometimes we'd get to arguing and forget where we were, and my voice would go up a couple of notches in tone and volume. Two or three times, the lady walked over and asked, "I'm sorry, did you just ask me a question?"

"Oh, uh, no. Sorry, sometimes I tend to mumble to myself when I'm trying to come to a decision." She'd smile, give me an odd look and walk away. Every time I found myself fending off the poor lady's efforts to be of service, I could hear Annie tittering off to the side, and wondered if anyone else could hear her. It made me very nervous.

Finally, an hour later, after looking through books and books of wallpaper samples and dozens of paint colors, we reached an agreement on what we wanted for the rest of the house. The sales lady was pleased with the size of the order. It was hugely expensive, but I wasn't too worried since I knew my savings wasn't going to take a hit from the check I'd written to Trevino. Some of the wallpaper wasn't in stock, but the lady said she could have it delivered within two weeks.

When I pulled into the driveway, I saw Jennie sitting on the front steps waiting for me.

"Shit! Annie, are you here?"

I felt a little puff of warmth on my cheek. "Right here, Steven. Is that the hot date you had last Friday? I can get rid of her if you want."

"NO!" That's the last thing I needed. "No, don't do anything. Please! I'll handle it. Just don't interfere, OK?"

"Hey, it's your show, lover."

I pulled the car into the carriage house and walked around to the front of the house.

"Hi, Jennie. This is a surprise."

She stood up brushing the seat of her pants and smiled. "I came by to apologize, Stevie. I behaved very badly and I don't want you to think I'm like that all the time. Clearly, I went way overboard on the booze. I can't say why because I don't normally drink much at all."

That was a lie and I knew it. "Jennie, can we be honest with each other?"

She was twisting the rings on her fingers and fidgeting nervously. "Sure, Stevie."

"Look, all the time I was growing up, I rarely saw Dad sober. I learned a lot about alcohol and alcoholism, and one thing I know for certain is that you can't put away as much booze as you do without a lot of practice."

Jennie started to protest but I held up my hands and said, "Now just wait! I have no right to judge you or anybody else for that matter, but I made myself a promise a long time ago that I would never put myself in a position to have to deal with what my mother had to deal with. I always liked you, Jennie. I still like you, but I believe you have a serious problem and you're the only one who can fix it. I'll be here as a friend if you want to talk, but don't call me or come by if you're drinking."

She took a tissue out of her pocket to dab at her eyes and blow her nose. "You're right, Stevie. I have a problem. I'm so embarrassed by what happened last Friday that I made an appointment for tomorrow with a counselor. Maybe you could give me another chance when I get cleaned up."

"I'd sure like to see that happen, Jennie. You're too good a woman to get sucked into that trap. I wish you the best of luck."

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks, Stevie. Don't give up on me yet."

"I won't."

When I stepped in the front door, Annie was waiting for me. "Steven, what you did was probably the nicest thing you could have done for her. That woman is in love with you and maybe what you just said will be enough to keep her going in the right direction."

"I sure hope so." But I was doubtful.

Somewhere along the line, I began to think of Annie and her species as 'entities' rather than ghosts because it helped my mind to deal with them as aberrant energy phenomena rather than something supernatural. I'm still way too steeped in the sciences to believe anything is supernatural.