SHE WAS CHECKING ME OUT

SHE WAS CHECKING ME OUT

Did I pass her scrutiny?

**

“Work’s done. Let’s go! Do you have time for a quick beer before heading home?” That was Debbie. Whenever we had a difficult day at work, she wanted that one beer to unwind before going home. I rarely argued since our boss had more bad days than good and I had two sons who didn’t need to see the mood I’d developed at work.

We both lived south of our office but to get home, I’d head south and turn west. Debbie would head south and turn east. The bar, which was large enough to be labeled a social club was directly south before either of us turned for our destinations.

On a warm Thursday night in September, as Debbie and I were heading out the door, I felt someone grab my arm. As I was about to turn and smack whoever it was, he spoke.

“I know you probably don’t remember me, but we spoke briefly about six months ago. My name is Kevin.”

I lowered the hand that I’d raised to smack him and replied, “Oh, right. I remember you. You asked for my phone number.”

Debbie interrupted, “Look, guys, I’m still in a pissy mood so I’m going home. Mags, see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure. Be careful going home.”

Kevin looked at me and asked, “Why didn’t you ever call me back? I called you every weekend for three months.”

I felt my rotten mood seeping back as I answered, “Well, you jerk! I would have if you’d have left your number, which you didn’t bother to do. I’m a lot of things but a mind reader isn’t one of them.” I knew I sounded nasty but at that time, I really didn’t care.

We talked for a few minutes before I left and drove home. The next time he called, he left a number where I could reach him.

That Saturday night, he treated me to dinner at one of the seaside restaurants located in the next town.

As we talked, we learned that we shared many things: fishing was one of them. Naturally, the following weekend, we spent the entire Saturday on his boat. I can’t remember when we had so much fun.

I told him about my marriage and divorce; he told me about his marriage and the fact that his wife died the previous year from cancer.

Through the next few months, our relationship grew. He had two children, and so did I. He was a carpenter by trade and loved to build things. I was a secretary in an electronics firm but loved to dabble in photography and writing.

What I didn’t tell him was that I lived in a haunted house and was visited by shadows.

There were three reasons I kept that secret: 1. I doubted that he’d believe me; 2. He might think I’m totally insane; 3. I enjoyed his company and didn’t want him to walk away. So, I kept quiet.

Through the following months, we introduced our children to each other. Children? Between the four of them, the youngest was twenty-one. But that’s a story for another time.

At the beginning of the following year, the six of us were having dinner and Kevin told the four kids that he wanted to ask me to marry him. They were delighted. Even I liked the idea. We talked it through and decided on a date. We also agreed that since his house was much larger than mine, I’d sell mine and move in to his. I cringed a bit knowing that I had much work to do to make mine sellable. He volunteered to help. I cringed a bit more but now, with worry that my resident spirits would make themselves known.

As we whitewashed the cellar walls, the shadows began to wander the room. Kevin caught a glimpse of them and immediately decided we should leave for the day. I know what happened but still said nothing.

The months flew by and Kevin and I exchanged our vows. His children returned to college and left home. That left my two boys and me to move into Kevin’s.

Within fourteen months, both my sons married and moved away. We were finally on our own and invited a few friends for dinner. It was that night when he told our company about the shadows he’d seen. Kevin said he was afraid to tell me because he didn’t want to frighten me. He was a bit shocked when I told him about the other happenings that occurred in all the years I lived there. Then I surprised him even more.

His kitchen was a large square room with an L-shaped counter arrangement. On one side sat his pantry abutting the refrigerator. At the other side of the “L” was the dishwasher, sink, and stove. The kitchen windows ran along that entire wall.

One day as I was washing the kitchen table, I felt someone staring at me. When I looked up, I saw her. She was a faded shadow with short light hair. There were no other features I could distinguish but she stood motionless and I could sense she was looking thought the window directly at me.

I wondered why. Or I did until I mentioned her to Kevin.

His face paled as he said, “That’s my mother-in-law. Before she died, she lived next door and would often come to the back door to have tea with my wife. She’d look in through the window to make sure someone was home before opening the door.”

“That explains it. She looked in and saw someone she didn’t recognize and stared. I watched her hang her head as she turned and walked away.”

I smiled knowing that my weird spirits didn’t follow me.

My smile grew as I decided that this new spirit just wanted to check in on her family.