Chapter 4 - Late summer of 2019

It’s me again. Surprise. It’s gonna still be me for a long long time.

Peppers, carrots, cauliflower and chicken sizzled in a pan, occasionally being lightly poked by Marco. Juniper was criss-cross on the couch, typing noisily into her school Chromebook. 

“What are you up to there?” her father inquired. 

”Trying to contact my coaches before the season starts. I think that they forgot to put me on the email chain”

”I see. What sport?”

”Voleyball.”

”Ah. I don’t know a lot about that one. To be honest, I don’t know a lot about any sports. I’ve never been a terribly sporty guy. I do go for runs sometimes though.”

”You never played anything growing up?”

”Well, I was very involved in dance as a kid, if that counts.”

”I never would have guessed. What kind?”

”Basically every kind. I was alright at a variety of things.”

Juniper smiled. ”Which was your favorite?”

”Tap was fun because I liked the noise that it made. Ballet was hard but very rewarding. When I got a little older, I became interested in musical theater, and that was exciting too.”

“I count that as a sport. I mean, what is the definition of a sport anyway?”

”Oh now we’re getting philosophical.” Marco scooted bits of food around in the pan with a wooden spatula. Hudson appeared, seated on the countertop. 

“Has anyone ever told you how alike y’all look?”

There was silence. Juniper didn’t look up from her emails. Marco didn’t bother with him. 

Kicking his feet loudly against the counter now, he repeated, “You two reaaally do look related.” 

Marco didn’t allow Hudson to bother him. Any kind of reaction was like letting him win, so he just ignored him.

Juniper looked up. “Hey dad?”

”What’s up?”

”Why do you always get water from the sink in the bathroom?”

Marco shrugged. “I dunno. Just tastes better, in my opinion.” He did, in fact, know why. One aspect of the deal with Hudson that hadn’t been mentioned, was that his sink wasn’t his anymore. He had to ask permission before using it, which wasn’t much of an issue when he lived alone, but would  make him look crazy to somebody else. 

Juniper shrugged. “They taste the same to me.” She typed some more. “Oh no way, my coach got back to me.” 

“Sweet. What did he say?”

”Wow dad, you just assume that my coach is a man? She said that practices are gonna start on the fifth�"Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays�"from four to five-thirty.” 

“School starts on the eighteenth, correct?”

”Yah.”

”When will your games be?”

”Oh yeah. Games are kind of just whenever. She’s got a pdf for it.”

”Could you email it to me?”

”Mhm. You would have to type it in though. I don’t have your email address.”

”Sure.” Marco paused for a moment. “Do you have any of my contact information?”

”No.”

”Not my phone number or anything?”

”Why would I? I don’t have a phone. If you need me, email me.” 

”I guess that would make sense.”

Marco dished the food into two plates, along with applesauce and Italian bread. “Kind of a weird meal, sorry. I need to run to the store soon”

”I don’t mind. Weird meal nights are fun.”

Sometimes the ghosts appeared to accompany Marco during dinner time. Not tonight though. They had a strange way of sensing when Marco was fed up with them. Marco still wasn’t sure if they could hear his thoughts, or at least a vague sense of what he was thinking, but it often seemed like it. There were days when Marco was simply bothered by everything, and it felt like the ghosts knew. Today he had a strange sensitivity to the soft buzzing sound that the ceiling fan made, or the taillights of a passing vehicle outside, or strangely textured foods, or the ever-present cat hair on his clothing. He tried his best not to snap at the people around him. That being said, he had no issue being rude to Hudson because Hudson was rude to everybody. Marco wasn’t usually a strong believer in the “taste of your own medicine” ideology, but he could make an exception.

After dinner, Juniper usually took a shower while her father went for a walk (and a smoke) through the neighborhood. Tonight, he strolled through the cemetery just across the street from his house. It was surprisingly quiet there, and quite vast for such a small city. Most ghosts left him alone if he pretended not to see them. It was ironic how alive they made the town feel, considering that their time to be alive was long gone. They played, they argued, they gossiped. It was rather beautiful. Marco let his eyes dance around the scene. While he people-watched, a woman glided beside him, and sat adjacently on the bench. She had broad shoulders, and a flat torso, and she appeared to be in her mid to upper forties'. 

“Isn’t this night wonderful?” She grinned.

”It’s a tad bit cold, but not too bad overall.” Marco took a long breath in from his cigarette. “I suppose you wouldn’t really notice though, considering that you’re dead, and all.”

”You do lose track of that sort of thing posthumously.” 

“What’s your name?”

She handed him a card from a pocket on the inner lining of her blazer. It was an ID from 1974.

”Ms. Fletcher?”

“Oh please, that’s my mother,” she giggled. “Call me Birdie.” 

Marco handed back the card, and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Birdie asked. 

“Hm?”

”You seem troubled. What worries you?”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t know how to deal with kids. I’m not a good parent. Lord knows I haven't been a good parent. I feel like she doesn’t truly trust me�"which is completely fair�"but I don’t know how to earn it back. Like she ever trusted me to begin with.”

”I’m assuming that “she” is your daughter?”

”Yeah, Junie. She’s great. I can’t believe she’s twelve, man. Time flies.”

”So she’s cared for primarily by the other parent?”

”My ex wife, yes.” 

“And you feel like you haven’t been present enough in her life?”

Marco looked away. “Yeah. For some reason she called me a couple weeks ago and asked if she could stay with me for a while, which of course I said yes to.” He sighed. “It feels like God has given me a chance and I’m so afraid that one wrong move is gonna mess it up.”

“Religious, are you?”

”I suppose. I grew up Christian, so I guess I’ve never not been a follower of Christ, you know?”

”Sure. In what way do you expect yourself to mess up?”

”I dunno. Leave it to Marco to find a way.”

”Maybe you need to give yourself more grace. You can make mistakes. Everyone does.”

”I know, I know.” Marco stated. He took another deep breath in and then out. 

“Do you smoke a lot?”

”Ehh, on and off.”

”That’s what I died of, you know.”

Marco froze. ”Actually?”

Birdie burst out laughing. “No, I’m just pulling your leg.”

The man laughed along nervously. “Ghost humor, huh?”

”You’ll understand when you’re older,” she joked. ”But seriously, it does numbers to your lungs. If you want my advice, I’ll tell you that you’ve gotta quit all that.”

”I know, I know.” 

“I mean, you’re a grown adult. You can do whatever you please. I’m just saying.”

”Thank you.”

“For what? I’ve only repeated what you’ve said to me back to you. Simple conversation trick. You should give it a try.”

“Huh.” Marco glanced at his watch. ”I should head back home about now. I’ll talk to you later.”

”You know where to find me. Have a good day now.”

When Marco returned, Juniper was drawing at the kitchen table. She immediately flipped her sketchbook over to conceal whatever she was sketching.  “Sup,” she said.

”I’m gonna go to bed soon.”

She snorted. ”It’s like, eight-thirty.”

“I know, I’m just tired. Don’t stay up too late. Wake me up if you need anything.”

”Mkay. Goodnight.” 

Marco plucked the contact lense out of his eyeball while Clive lingered in the corner. 

“Have you seen the stuff she’s drawing?”

“Not really. She hardly shows it to me.”

Well let me tell you, she’s very talented for her age,” Clive remarked. 

Marco smiled. “I can imagine.”

Reviews

[Phil]

I am finding the switching between timelines hard to keep up with if I am honest. It would be easier if there were a more background and scene-setting maybe, so I get fully acquainted with each character before moving to another one. You write good dialogue - did this start life as a screenplay? I ask because it does a lot of lifting here.

[LH Weiss]

Thank you for the review. I’ve had a few other folks tell me that the time period switch was a tad confusing, so I’ve begun working out how I’ll make it a softer landing for the reader.
This story is a reinterpretation of things that have gone on in my or my loved one’s lives, so a good chunk of the dialog is stuff that actual people have said, so if it sounds like something a real person would say, it might be because they did. Thanks for the compliment though.

[RomaJ]

This chapter feels warm and quiet -- Marco reconnecting with Juniper amidst ghostly chaos is touching -- It's also good to know that the ghosts can sense when Marco needs space, and give him that.