Haunted Ever After Read online

  I glanced at Nancy and she nodded.

  ‘Because she told me herself.’ I approached Chris carefully, ironically like someone would approach a person who was about to jump off a building, my palms facing him in preparation. ‘I know this is hard to believe, I didn’t believe it at first, but I’ve seen your wife. I’ve seen her spirit. She came to me so I would come to you and tell you the truth. She wants you to know it was an accident.’

  Chris held up his hands and shook his head repeatedly. ‘Oh no, no way. And I thought you were genuine, coming here and telling me nice things about my wife. No, that’s not on. Why make something up like this?’

  ‘I’m not, I swear. It’s real.’

  ‘It’s true,’ said Ty. ‘Yesterday I wouldn’t have believed her myself, but today I saw her too. She’s here now.’

  ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it. Both of you, as deluded as each other! I think you can go now.’

  ‘But Chris, she is here. She told me what happened. She took off her wedding ring because she was admiring it in the moonlight and was planning to start fresh with you and Ruby, but she dropped it.’

  ‘Please go.’ He opened the front door and gestured outside.

  ‘She dropped it and tried to grab it, but fell. It’s the truth!’

  ‘Please believe her, Chris! I’m here!’ Nancy stomped her foot.

  ‘C’mon,’ Ty whispered, hooking his arm with mine. ‘We tried.’

  ‘But!’ I tried to resist but Ty led me outside. ‘Nancy, do something, make something move, show him you’re here!’

  ‘Oh for God’s sake! Go, now.’ Chris exclaimed, ushering us out and closing the door behind us.

  Nancy had gone outside too and was now crying, hunched on the front steps and sobbing with such heartache that tears welled in my own eyes.

  It was too late. We should have planned this better. Should have had solutions ready for the disbelief that would be expected when confronted with something so hard to believe.

  I turned to Ty and he wrapped me in his arms. ‘Why can’t he just believe me? Look at her! You see her too, right?’

  ‘Yes, I see her,’ Ty replied. ‘Give him time. He might come around to the idea at another stage, once he’s had a chance to think.’ He rubbed my back and I gripped the backs of his shoulders.

  ‘C’mon, we better leave in case he calls the police or something.’

  We walked, arms around each other, back to the car. ‘I’m so sorry, Nancy, so sorry,’ I said. Nancy slowly followed us, her body trembling with tears.

  She sniffed and looked at me. ‘You did your best, I know that.’ She tried to compose herself. ‘God, why does he have to be so stubborn?’

  ‘Men can be like that,’ said Ty. ‘But like I said, give him some time and he may come around.’

  I nodded. ‘Yeah, you’re right. I’ll come back. I’ll come back, Nancy, after a while, and try again. I’ll keep coming back and keep trying until he believes.’

  ‘You will?’ Nancy asked.

  ‘You bet your purple polka dot pyjamas I will.’ I offered her a smile.

  A hint of hope brightened her eyes.

  ‘Maybe you could write a letter first,’ suggested Ty. ‘Get it all out on paper, send it to him. He might be more open-minded when there’s not some stranger in his living room.’

  ‘Yes, can you do that, Sally?’

  ‘Absolutely, and maybe you can tell me things about your life, things that only you two would know, so he’s more likely to believe me.’

  Nancy whacked her forehead. ‘Why didn’t I think of that? I was so overwhelmed with emotion and grief it didn’t cross my mind.’

  ‘Nor mine,’ I said. ‘Do you think we should go back in and try now?’

  ‘Not now,’ said Ty. ‘He won’t let us back in. A letter would be perfect.’

  ‘You’re probably right. Okay then, I’ll do that, I’ll write a letter. I’ll write ten if I have to.’

  ‘If you need me to help, let me know.’ Ty patted my back then unlocked the car.

  I stood and looked at him, and realised how far off my first impressions of him had been. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you this weekend,’ I said.

  He turned from the car to face me. ‘You would have been fine, I’m sure.’ He wiped a tear from my cheek. ‘But things are always better with someone by your side.’

  I smiled and got into the car, and when he slipped into the driver’s seat and put his hand on the gearstick, I grasped it and gave it a firm, appreciative squeeze. He looked at me with beautiful, deep, hypnotic brown eyes, interlocked his fingers with mine and squeezed my hand right back.

  * * *

  Despite not needing vehicular transportation to travel, Nancy sat in the back seat for the trip back to Barron Springs. She didn’t speak the whole way, and had her eyes closed like she was sleeping.

  Ty drove into the driveway of the guest house and parked his car behind Lorena’s.

  ‘Coffee before you go back home?’ I asked.

  ‘Mmm, it’s tempting.’

  ‘Consider yourself tempted,’ I replied.

  He smiled as he got out of the car.

  ‘The runaway medicos are back!’ Lorena said as we walked through the front door. ‘Have fun?’

  Ty and I exchanged glances. It was by no means fun, but despite Chris’ unwillingness to consider my revelation, a calm sense that all would eventually be okay had washed over me during the drive back. ‘Not as much fun as you all had by the looks of things!’ I gestured to the coffee table that was laden with afternoon snacks; chocolates, potato chips, dips and crackers, though half of everything had been devoured.

  ‘You’d think I starved you all up until now,’ said Georgie.

  ‘Bottomless pit,’ said Mel, rubbing her stomach.

  The aroma of roasting lamb, garlic, onions, and fennel filled the air and brought with it a comforting, safe feeling. ‘How will you fit in a roast dinner after all that?’ I asked.

  ‘As I said, bottomless pit.’ Mel said, then yawned.

  ‘And one can always work up an appetite for good food, isn’t that right, Georgie?’ said Ty.

  ‘That is true,’ she replied. ‘You want to stay for dinner, and bring your brother over too?’

  Ty opened his mouth and was about to speak, when the loud crunch of car tires on the pebbled driveway turned our attention outside through the open door. The pull of the handbrake sounded, and I walked to the entrance to see who our visitor was. Parked in the driveway was a very familiar silver Audi.

  CHAPTER 20

  ‘Greg! What are you doing here?’ I said, as my now ex-fiancé got out of the car.

  ‘What do you think? I’ve come to take you home so we can sort out this situation,’ he said gruffly, inviting himself in. ‘Better get your bags.’ He stopped when he saw everyone looking at him, Georgie’s arms crossed and Lorena and Mel eyeing him with disgust. Ty stepped next to me with an air of authority about him.

  ‘Who’s this?’ Greg asked, looking Ty up and down.

  ‘This is someone you’d do well to look up to. Could teach you a thing or two about being a real man.’

  ‘Sally! Don’t speak to me like that.’ Greg’s brow furrowed.

  ‘She can speak to you any way she wants after what you’ve done,’ said Georgie, stepping closer.

  Greg held out his hands. ‘Calm down everyone. Sally and I need some privacy to work a few things out. It’s all a big misunderstanding. C’mon, grab your bags and we can go.’

  I planted my hands on my hips. ‘I’m not going anywhere, thank you very much. But you, you can just go back home and leave me alone.’

  ‘I came all this way; you can’t turn me away.’

  I shook my head. ‘You are unbelievable.’ I glanced at my friends and gave them a nod, telling them to give us a minute.

  ‘Ah, Ty, want to help me get those coffees?’ asked Georgie.

  He caught my gaze, and his expression said ‘will you be okay?�
�� I nodded.

  Lorena and Mel stepped back into the living area near the couch, giving us some privacy at the front entrance, but still close enough that they’d be able to hear anything said in a raised voice.

  ‘Look,’ I said. ‘I know there are things to discuss, practicalities mostly, but as for us, our relationship, there’s nothing to discuss. You broke my heart, Greg.’ I said with a strained face. ‘There’s no excuse for what you did. I could never trust you again.’

  ‘But Sal, sweetheart, it all just happened in the excitement of the buck’s weekend, I wasn’t really thinking.’

  ‘You told me your buck’s weekend would last for both Friday and Saturday night. But obviously you failed to tell me that the Saturday night agenda was a rendezvous with a willing woman. Sounds like that was planned ahead of time to me.’

  He shifted onto his other foot and leaned on the doorframe. ‘If you must know, I did plan that night with her, but only so I could end things.’

  ‘From what I saw it looked like things were just getting started.’ I shot my words at him like an arrow.

  ‘Look, after all that, I told her I needed to put a stop to things. It’s not going to happen again, I promise.’

  ‘That’s not the point!’ I fumed. ‘The point is you did it. You knew full well what you were doing and didn’t have the willpower to control yourself. I can’t believe you would be so weak.’

  ‘Weak? Weak!’ He raised his voice. ‘If I was weak I would still be with her. I’d say it was pretty gutsy of me to drive out here and fight for you.’

  ‘Futile, more like it.’ I crossed my arms.

  ‘Don’t be like that, honey.’

  ‘Don’t call me honey or sweetheart, or anything like that. You lost that right.’

  Greg sighed. ‘Look, I know you’re upset, and I know I’ve been a fool. But we’re so good together, you and I. We’re all set with the house, and the wedding, and we can’t cancel everything now!’

  ‘Yes we can, in fact, my friends are already onto it, aren’t you girls?’ I turned back to them.

  ‘Too right. All the arrangements will be cancelled by end of Tuesday,’ said Lorena. ‘And don’t worry, Greg, we won’t burden you with anything that might disrupt your schedule or social life. Leave it with us.’

  ‘You can’t do that! This is between Sally and me. It’s not your call.’

  ‘It’s my call,’ I said. ‘And they’re going to help me. Since we’ve been planning the whole thing anyway without your help.’

  Greg shook his head and rubbed his forehead. His voice took on a softer tone. ‘Sally. I can’t be without you. Please. Let’s at least go home and talk properly.’

  I shook my head and tightened my crossed arms.

  ‘I’ll spend my life making it up to you. And it was just a one-off indiscretion. I’m not a bad guy.’

  ‘Oh really? Well a little birdie told me that you have a thing for dating multiple women. If only I knew beforehand that when you started dating me, I was the other woman!’

  His eyes widened as he looked at me.

  ‘Oh yes. That’s right. I know all about Nancy.’ I nodded my head and raised my eyebrows.

  ‘Who’s Nancy?’ asked Mel.

  I waved her question away, aware that I probably shouldn’t bring up the topic of having a ghost in the house.

  ‘What? How did you…’

  ‘It doesn’t matter how I found out, only that I did. I know what you’re really like now. Now I get you. You’re a man that will never be happy being monogamous. You want someone at home to take care of you, and someone else to give you a bit of extra excitement.’

  ‘What I need is you, Sally.’

  ‘No, what you need can be found in the Yellow Pages under ‘domestic services’ and ‘escort services’. A housewife here, a hooker there, and maybe you could add a live-in nurse for variety.’

  ‘You’re being ridiculous.’

  ‘Me? I’m ridiculous?’ I was aware this was escalating and we probably wouldn’t get anywhere, but boy-oh-boy did it feel good to have a go at him!

  Greg’s face creased with sadness and a little fear, and he tried the whole ‘puppy dog’ look. Like he used to do after a slight argument about some menial domestic issue. But it wasn’t endearing, it was pathetic.

  ‘I can’t live without you, Sal, what will I do? You’re my world. I need you.’

  I eyed him silently for a moment, taking in his words and figuring out how to put an end to our debate. I stood straight, squared my shoulders and said, ‘You may need me, Greg. But I sure as hell don’t need you.’ I grabbed the edge of the door and flung it closed: the last thing I saw was the look of shock and surprise on his face as he stepped back to avoid being hit. I had physically and metaphorically closed the door on our relationship for good.

  I stood still, staring at the closed door and processing what had happened. Then I turned around. My friends all walked towards me slowly, preparing to catch me should I fall, looks of concern on their faces. But instead of crying and collapsing at the realisation that my potential marriage had ended, a surprising sensation rose within. A sudden, burst of laughter shot from my mouth. Then another, and another. ‘I really told him where to shove it, didn’t I!’

  Mel burst out laughing too. ‘That was movie-worthy, Sal. You even had the slamming door and everything!’

  ‘Yeah, what’s gotten into you this weekend?’ asked Lorena. ‘What happened to prim and proper, polite and courteous Sally Marsh?’

  I glanced at Nancy who was sitting on the foot of the stairs with a big grin on her face. ‘I’ve had some opportunities to practise my assertiveness this weekend. Who would have thought telling people off could be so much fun?’ I grinned.

  Mel gave a few slow claps, then the others joined in, applauding my resolve to resist Greg’s apology. If I hadn’t met Nancy, I probably would have at least gone home with Greg to discuss the problem in detail, let him explain how things came to this. But it didn’t matter. I wasn’t interested in finding out, and it wouldn’t have made any difference. I wasn’t prepared to be with someone who clearly preferred to be with someone else. It was over, and I didn’t want to waste any more time in moving on with my life.

  ‘You did good, sunshine,’ said Ty, reaching his hand out for a friendly tap on my arm.

  ‘Thanks.’ I smiled. Sure, I wouldn’t be surprised if the tears came back later. There’d be a process to go through, as there was with any emotional upheaval. But it was okay, I’d be okay. I’d just ride the waves until they settled on the shore and calmed down into a gentle ebb and flow.

  ‘Coffees all round?’ asked Georgie.

  ‘Yes please,’ I said. ‘And hand me some of those crunchy things.’ I pointed to some sort of breadstick-slash-lavash thingy, made to be eaten with creamy dip.

  Mel dipped one and handed it to me.

  ‘Dinner will be ready in about an hour or so, so don’t eat too much. And will you be joining us, Ty?’ she asked.

  ‘I’ll stay for that coffee, but then I’ll go. I’ve used up a lot of your fantastic hospitality, but it’s your last night here. I think you girls should enjoy it together.’ He pressed his lips together and smiled. ‘What time do you have to check out tomorrow?’

  ‘We’ll leave here at ten am,’ said Lorena.

  Ty nodded. ‘I’ll pop over before you leave, to say goodbye.’

  Never had that word sounded so uncomfortable. I gulped when I realised something…

  I didn’t want to say goodbye.

  CHAPTER 21

  The next morning I stood outside the guest house with Ty, preparing to do the inevitable. Sure, I’d probably see him again sometime — I still had to try to reach Chris Silverton again — but my bridal bonding weekend had come to an end. Along with my wedding.

  Last night the four of us (actually, make that five, with our invisible guest) sat by the fire in our pyjamas (Nancy felt right at home), eating food, laughing and crying over a couple of chick flic
ks. It was perfect. And Nancy behaved, allowing me to enjoy a relaxing night with my best friends, and allowing her a chance to have something she’d never have again: the company of friends. Even though I was the only one who knew she was there. I think it gave her comfort too, after the disaster with Chris. And I was reminded of how important friends were. Men may come and go, but a good friend will always be there.

  ‘Bye, Ty, I…’ Oh no, I’m rhyming again!

  He chuckled.

  ‘I’m glad we met,’ I continued. ‘Thanks for your help with the situation yesterday.’ I glanced towards Lorena and Georgie, putting things in the car, to make sure they couldn’t hear. Mel was still inside packing her stuff. ‘And thanks for rescuing me from the toilet, for playing Twister, and…for your support during my crisis.’ I gave a smile.

  ‘Anytime, sunshine.’ He smiled, took my left hand and brought it to his lips. I was sure I was blushing, though the winter sun above us was warmer than it had been the last couple of days. Just before he lowered my hand a sparkle caught my eye. My engagement ring. I’d forgotten to take it off!

  I brought my hand close to my face and fiddled with the ring. ‘I’m so used to wearing this I didn’t even notice I still had it on,’ I said.

  ‘Sometimes we don’t fully see the things that are right in front of us,’ he said, and I wondered if his words had a double meaning. ‘Are you going to leave it on for a while?’

  ‘No. I can’t. It needs to come off.’ I fiddled with it some more and drew a deep breath. ‘Here goes.’ I slid the ring along my finger, slowly, my last gesture to sever all ties to Greg, until it was free and my finger felt strangely naked. I opened my handbag and popped the ring into the coin holder of my purse. I had every right to sell it for a profit, but I’d give it back to Greg. I just wanted to be free of it.

  Ty grasped my hand and ran his thumb over my naked finger. ‘You’ll have to give this a bit of strategic sun exposure to even out the tan line.’

  ‘Huh,’ I said, noticing the white band from where the ring had lived for eight months. ‘And I thought I didn’t tan much.’