Chapter 23 #3
“I’m gonna make Henry scream,” Bridgette says proudly.
“And I want to make Brad faint,” Michael adds.
“I have faith in you,” she tells them. The kids whoop and then vanish right out of her arms.
She straightens up and turns around. Elsa’s still there, watching her.
“You have haunting goals?” she asks, in lieu of anything important.
“Making you laugh,” Elsa says simply.
And then she fades away.
Frannie stands alone for a long moment, her stomach churning with butterflies and hurt. The tightrope between excitement and anxiety has never felt so thin.
A few minutes later, she catches up with Gretchen, Brad, and Henry as they wait for the service elevator to head to the basement. Brad had previously decided the lion’s share of the ghostly activity would likely take place down there.
“How are you guys feeling about the footage?” Frannie asks.
“Oh, man, Frannie, this is going to blow everyone out of the water,” Brad says, his eyes alight, face a little slack. “I’ve never seen anything like it. We watched some of it back, and you can actually see them.”
“Really?” She’s not sure that’s a good idea.
“I mean, they’re like haze, but it’s real—look,” Gretchen says, shoving the steady cam rig toward Frannie and hitting play.
It’s chaos. The camera’s swinging, and all she can hear is Gretchen shrieking, but she can clearly see Bridgette and Michael’s shapes moving around the hallway.
It almost looks like someone used an eraser over their bodies, so they’re just hazy imprints of children, haloed in their usual ghostly light.
They didn’t look much more distinct when she FaceTimed with them over the holidays, but she knew what she was looking at, and the camera was stationary.
It would be easy enough to think they’re CGI, but knowing they’re not, it’s pretty incredible.
“I think you kids really have something here,” Henry adds. The doors ding open and he herds them all into the elevator. “You were saying you’re setting pitches?”
Brad nods. “We’ll make a sizzle from today, and if we can set a bunch of meetings, hopefully someone will pick us up with this as our pilot.”
“That’s awesome,” Frannie says, grinning while Gretchen blushes. “You didn’t tell me you’re gonna set meetings!”
“We just heard this morning,” Gretchen says, nudging her with her hip. “And anyway, you have the big news.”
“Where are you repped?” Henry asks Brad, ignoring them as the elevator opens.
“I’ve had a meeting with agents at CAA, and WME called too. I’ve been with a smaller digital manager for a while, but he thinks we should bring in a full team.”
“Who at WME? I’ve been repped over there for film and TV for a while. As long as I can call you when I want some research for another project, I can get a little intel on the group if you want.”
“That would be amazing,” Brad says eagerly.
Frannie shakes her head, watching them walk out of the elevator together. Never an opportunity lost with Henry.
“Hey.” Gretchen catches her elbow as they go to follow Henry and Brad into the white basement.
“I’m so fucking excited for you,” Frannie says.
Gretchen grins. “Me too, honestly. If they pick this up, Brad wants me to be the lead producer.”
“That’s incredible. Wow!”
“Yeah. And I thought … if you’re getting a book deal that’s bigger than $350,000, and I’m actually going to be making, like, TV money, maybe we could get a place together? Jonathan’s thinking about moving to LA anyway, and—”
“Yes,” Frannie says immediately, something settling, sure and desperate, onto her shoulders.
“Really?”
She knows exactly where they’ll look. “Absolutely. You’re a great roommate, and we would have a kickass place once we have the money for one.”
“Yeah, we would,” Gretchen says, eyes crinkling. “Awesome. Maybe we can start—”
“Uh, Gretch?” Brad calls.
Frannie and Gretchen look through the doorway to the basement, where three bicycles are … riding themselves.
Gretchen gasps and runs in. Frannie watches the bicycles circle Gretchen, Brad, and Henry, the three of them with mouths agape. Gretchen revolves, trying to capture it all, while Henry stands there, eyes wide. Frannie steps down into the basement, a hand over her mouth to fake surprise.
Two of the bikes ride off toward the garage door and Brad, Gretchen, and Henry turn to watch them. Which leaves one bike behind them. Elsa appears for a moment, riding it and grinning at Frannie, just as the other two bikes crash spectacularly into the metal door.
A moment later, Henry shrieks like a little girl. Brad and Gretchen hold onto each other for dear life while Henry gets yanked this way and that, two opposite forces tugging on the lapels of his flannel shirt. Elsa vanishes, and Frannie settles in for the show.
Their life together won’t look like Brad and Gretchen, working together in perfect, terrified, elated sync. But she can give Elsa, Michael, and Bridgette the future they deserve, with her, all of them together in one place, forever.
With Gretchen splitting the cost, she can absolutely rent an apartment across the street.