AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They—they—God, I can’t sit down.” She pushed up, paced around the plants. “They open doors, shut them. Move things. Music starts playing on my iPad. Sometimes they open all the kitchen cabinets. They clean out the wood-burning fireplaces and set the logs—I think they bring logs in, too. They make up my bed in the morning, and turn it down at night.”
“Do you thank them?”
Sonya goggled. “Thank them?”
“If someone made up my bed and turned it down for me, I’d thank them.”
“No, I haven’t thanked them, or it, or…”
“Because you didn’t want to believe they exist.”
“Why would I?” Exhausted by the rant, Sonya dropped down again. “Why would anybody want to believe they might be living in a haunted house? Last night…”
She closed her eyes, breathed deep.
“Last night, someone pounded on the door. The front door. It woke me up. And when I looked out the window, I swear, Cleo, there was a blizzard. Snow, howling wind. I went down. I thought someone had an accident or their car broke down. But when I opened the door, there was nothing. No snow, nobody, no howling wind. I didn’t dream it.”
“Okay.” With a nod, Cleo took another sip of wine. “It’ll take me two or three weeks to get everything together and move up here.”
“You—” Sonya covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
“Aw, come on, Son. Come on.” Rising, Cleo shifted seats and wrapped around her friend. “It’s okay. We’ll be roomies again. In really big rooms. You don’t think I’d let you have a haunted house all to yourself.”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you right back.”
“You’re sure—not about loving me, but moving here?”
“Absolutely sure. And I hope whoever’s in charge of housekeeping turns down my bed, too.”
“If they don’t, I will.”
With a laugh, Cleo drew back. “We’re going to have some fun. Anyway, if loving my best friend and the ghosts hadn’t done it, that turret studio did. I’ve been obsessed with it since we FaceTimed.”
“Do you want the apartment?”
Laughing, Cleo gave Sonya a little shove. “Do you think I’m giving up the beautiful Bluebird? No possible way. Come on. Let’s go get me unpacked.”
They unpacked, then finished the wine in one of the sitting rooms by the fire. They made canned tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner—a college-days staple.
Over another bottle of wine, they huddled on the sofa in the front parlor, sharing a bowl of popcorn and making plans.
When they finally went upstairs, Sonya pulled Cleo into her bedroom. “See! Do you see? You know I haven’t been up here. But the fire’s on, the bed’s turned down.”
“Say thank you.”
“Thank you? I—”
“Now let’s go see if I got the same service.”
When Cleo walked in, saw the gas fire glowing, the bed turned down, her reaction was to clap her hands together and laugh.
“All right! That’s so sweet. Thank you!”
“There are parts of you I’ll never fully understand.”
“Born in the bayou,” Cleo sang.
