“Yeah,” mom laughed, “and a new spot for Abby. Now she sleeps on the couch, as you’ve probably noticed. I hate to chase her down every time, she’s not as young as she used to be.”
I looked at the dog that was jumping all over the couch like an over-sized puppy only stopping to diligently chew on a rubber bone toy.
“An old lady now, Abby, are you?” I smiled, remembering that Christmas when Dad had given mom a tiny pup as present…
I was sixteen then, thinking it would be cool if we had some kind of pet at home.
Something to bring joy to our parents, not just disappointment. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one thinking that. Dad had deliberated for a long time before eventually settling on a puppy. A little golden retriever.
That’s how Abby came into my parents’ lives and became an instant favorite, a ray of sunshine that brightened all the hardships and sorrows that my family had to
endure. Nothing could make my parents mad at her, not even a ruined couch and chewed-up shoes.
“How’s college going? ” a voice came from the depths of the kitchen. I walked over and leaned against the kitchen door, watching Mom skillfully plate up.
“Everything’s fine. Although, today I skipped a few classes,” I was careful to stress the fact that skipping classes was not a regular thing for me. Mom looked at me disapprovingly and tutted.
“Oh, come on, mom, you skip too,” I grinned.
“I don’t skip. I have a day off. And you? Overworking yourself, huh? Poor thing…”
“No. Sabrina wasn’t feeling well, so I drove her home.”
I saw those words had an effect on mom. She turned sharply and stared, waiting for explanation which I was purposely delaying.
“What…” she didn’t finish, as Abby rushed to the front door, barking madly and jumping around.
“Dad’s here,” Mom said, thrusting a towel into my hands and rushing to open the door.
“Hey, darling,” I heard Dad’s cheerful voice and went to greet him.
“Hey, son,” Dad’s eyes swept over me disapprovingly. He never liked my way of expressing myself, nor my lifestyle, but has apparently accepted it and no longer voiced his opinions out loud. I furrowed my eyebrows returning his gaze.
Before me stood the same tall, broad-shouldered man with a shock of half-gray hair, a little too luscious for a male; the same mustache, same piercing green eyes, and a huge beer belly. Dad was clearly uncomfortable under my scrutinizing gaze and waived his hand dismissively as he handed mom his coat and made his way to the living room, clutching onto his briefcase.
“Hi, Dad. Nice to see you too,” I addressed Dad’s back.
“How was London?” Mom asked dad, and I stared at her in surprise. She hadn’t said a word about Dad going to London.
“London… it’s all the same, nothing ever changes in Great Britain,” Dad chuckled as he settled into his favorite leather armchair by the fireplace.
“Well then, wash your hands and let’s get to the table,” Mom sang, turning me around and nudging me towards the bathroom as if I were a four-year-old.
I nestled in my favorite spot at the table, and Abby settled next to me, resting her big head on my knee.
“Let’s begin, shall we?” Dad said briskly, casting another glance at me. “I flew to London.”
“I figured that out already,” I replied, scooping a hefty portion of mashed potato onto my plate. “Just haven’t figured out why yet.”
“Carlos Wallace asked me to come,” Dad said.
If Carlos Wallace himself had asked my dad to fly to London, then it must have been serious.
“He found out that Marie is looking for her granddaughter and even sent Wallace a letter asking him to ‘bring the girl back home.’ ”
Mom and I exchanged astonished glance.
“No!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “The audacity! Sabrina should decide for herself what to do. And I doubt her decision will be in Marie’s favor.
Even though it could have consequences…”
“Gabriel, please calm down,” Dad intervened. “I don’t think Sabrina is in any danger.”
Mom cast a worried glance in my direction and reached for the salad. Naturally, this didn’t escape dad.
“Now, is there something I don’t know?” he asked, staring at us both intently.
I felt like my brain was about to explode.
“Well?” he persisted.
“Well, it’s like this, Dad, um… recently I noticed that Sabrina… has been having some health issues. And today, as I drove her home after she had felt unwell at university, she told me that… um… She said she’d been seeing a ghost.”
“Oh…” was all mom could utter.
“A ghost of…?” Dad asked, ignoring Mom’s outburst, now completely focused on me.
“Michelle.”
The parents’ eyes widened in surprise.
“And she also hears Alex’s voice occasionally shouting at Michelle, and other voices, too, but she doesn’t understand what they’re saying. And when she tries to shut the vision of Michelle out, she does something to physically hurt her. I’ve seen her a couple of times writhing in pain, but I had no idea what was happening to her because she blames it all on expired yogurts, bread rolls, and other crap she eats,” I blurted out, then took a deep breath and dived back into the cooling dinner.
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