My Inherited House Might be Haunted

Eleven

Calix

I took Rhett back to his house after we finished our ice cream. Before we got into fun things—and please let there be fun things on the table—we had ghosts to deal with and boundaries to set.

Not into voyeurism, sorry.

Rhett didn’t look nearly as nervous now, but that was likely because he had backup—namely me. His confidence in me was flattering, to say the least.

The second he had the front door open, we were greeted by both Myst and Lucy. Well, Lucy was lounging upon the stairs, tail idly flicking, acting as if she just happened to be here upon our return. She wasn’t waiting on us or anything.

Cats, am I right?

Myst begged for scratches, tail wagging, clearly happy people were home again. I leaned down to give him a good scratch behind the ears.

And then there were the ghosts. They were literally packed into the foyer like sardines in a can. Rhett had mentioned there was a family here, but it had to be more than one family. Or several generations of a family.

I cleared my throat and addressed them squarely. “Look. I’m not a medium, I can’t hear you or see you clearly, but I can tell that you’re there. Let’s communicate as much as we can. Tap my right hand for yes, left for no.”

One of the ghosts immediately moved to square up with me, ready for the high fives. Coolio.

“First, you’re aware Rhett is Aunt Ruth’s nephew?”

Tap of the right hand, yes.

For Rhett’s sake, I translated. “Yes, they are.”

Rhett blew out a breath, hand over heart. “I’m glad. I wasn’t sure.”

“Are you curious about him? Is that why you’ve been following him around?”

Another tap.

“Yes.”

Rhett seemed to feel better about that, too. “So you guys don’t mind me living here?”

“They don’t,” I said when I got a firm tap of the left hand.

Rhett’s brilliant smile flashed. “That’s great. I don’t mind sharing the space with you guys, either. Just, uh, can we set some boundaries? Don’t follow me into my bedroom or bathroom. Rest of the house is yours to roam about in.”

There was a pause, and I could tell they were discussing this amongst themselves as the shapes of people flitted about. Then several ghosts tapped my right hand.

“They’re good with that,” I relayed.

“Awesomesauce. It’s all I need. That and don’t sneak up on me. My heart can’t take it. Um, is there anything you guys need?”

Several taps against my right hand. “Yes to that. Okay, at this point we need a medium to talk properly. My mother is one. Can you wait until I can bring her here?”

Again several yeses.

“Good. Then I’ll invite her over here soon. For now, just give us some space. I have a man to sex up.”

Don’t quote me, but I think they laughed at that, and then they all dissipated. Likely going to different parts of the house.

Rhett closed in behind me for a back hug, nose scraping the side of my neck before he whispered against my ear, “My bedroom is upstairs.”

Oh hell yeah. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

I swear to god, if even a single ghost tried to take a peek at us, I would sage the whole house with prejudice.