“And maybe the ghost is some practical joker,” Lily suggested.
The doorbell rang. Ian looked up. “That’s probably Kelly. That’s why I came in here, to tell you she was on the way over.” He lifted Lily’s feet from his lap and stood up, while she picked up her book and opened it again.
A few minutes later Ian returned to the living room with his sister, Kelly, at his side. She wore denims, jogging shoes, and an oversized pale blue hoodie over her blouse.
“What are you reading?” Kelly asked as she walked into the room.
“A Ghost at his Back, by Cameron Lowe. I love a good ghost thriller,” Lily said with a grin as she once again closed the book and set it on her lap.
Kelly walked over to Connor, leaned down, and gave his waving hand a gentle squeeze. He smiled up at his aunt, but turned his attention back to Sadie, who had just returned with the ball. Kelly wandered over to an empty chair and sat down as she dropped her purse by her feet. Ian took a seat on the floor near Connor’s blanket and leaned back against the sofa.
Kelly watched as Sadie shoved the ball at Connor, who managed to take it from her mouth and then immediately mouthed it.
“Ewww, he’s putting it in his mouth!” Kelly shrieked.
“He puts everything in his mouth,” Ian countered.
Kelly wrinkled her nose in disgust. “But Sadie had it in her mouth.”
“We gave up trying to get them to stop sharing spit,” Lily told her.
Kelly shuddered at the thought and looked away from the baby and dog. “I imagine Danielle and Walt are all excited for their Hollywood guests. I can’t believe Seraphina Bouchard is staying at Marlow House! Joe has such a crush on her.”
“He’s going to have to stand in line. Heather told me Chris is rather taken with her himself,” Lily told her.
“Since Joe already has a girlfriend, he’d better not be standing in any lines,” Ian grumbled.
Kelly laughed. “I love that protective side of you, big brother. But I’m not worried about Joe. Heck, I have a few celebrity crushes myself.” She turned to Lily and said, “I heard Chris moved out of Marlow House. It’s a shame he wasn’t able to stay, especially with Seraphina Bouchard staying there. Heck, with Chris’s money and looks, he would actually have a shot with her.”
“It would have been a little crowded,” Lily told her. “They have all the rooms booked up. No place for Chris to bunk.”
Lily stopped talking when she heard a suspicious sound coming from her son. She looked down at him and wrinkled her nose. “I know what you did,” Lily told him. Tossing her book on the sofa, she leaned down and picked up her son; he began to wiggle.
“Sheesh, you stink!” Lily said with a laugh as she held Connor out from her.
“You want me to take him?” Ian asked.
“Nah, I’ve got this. Visit with your sister.”
Connor began to kick his legs exuberantly. “Oh, please don’t do that.” Lily laughed as she made her way to the nursery, holding the baby under his armpits and keeping him at arm’s length.
“CONNOR IS GETTING SO BIG,” Kelly said wistfully as she sat in the living room with Ian and Sadie.
“You’re telling me,” Ian agreed.
“Did the baby quilt Mom made get here?” Kelly asked.
“Yes. Lily put it over the rocker in the nursery.”
Kelly stood up. “I need to see it. I’ve only seen pictures of it.”
Moments later Kelly walked into her nephew’s nursery. She found Lily standing at the changing table, putting a new diaper on the baby.
“I wanted to see the baby quilt Mom sent you,” Kelly announced as she made her way to the rocking chair.
“It’s adorable. Your mom is so talented,” Lily said as she grabbed a clean pair of pants for the baby.
Standing by the rocking chair, Kelly examined the quilt for a moment and then glanced around the room. She spied a dry-erase board hanging on one wall near the crib. She hadn’t noticed it before. Someone had written goodbye across it in a red dry-erase pen. She didn’t recognize the handwriting. It wasn’t Ian’s and it didn’t look like Lily’s.
“When did you get that?” Kelly asked, pointing to the dry-erase board.
Lily glanced up at the board, licked her lips nervously and shrugged. “A while ago.”
“What’s it for?” Kelly asked.
“For shopping lists, that sort of thing,” Lily lied. “You know, if I need to pick up diapers or wipes. So I don’t forget.”
“Umm, why does it say ‘goodbye’?”
“I don’t know.” Lily shrugged. “Ian was just goofing around.”
Kelly frowned. She glanced from the unfamiliar handwriting to Lily, whose back was to her as she redressed the baby. Kelly’s cellphone began to buzz. She fished it from the hoodie pocket and looked at it.
“It’s Joe,” Kelly said after she read the message and put the phone back in the pocket. “I need to get going. I dropped Joe off at work this morning, and I need to go pick him up.”
“He’s off already?” Lily asked.
“He was supposed to have today off,” Kelly explained as she walked over to the changing table. “But he went in to cover for someone.” She leaned over and gave Connor a kiss. “See you later, big guy.”
Lily remained standing near the dressing table, watching her sister-in-law leave. A moment later she walked with her son to the rocking chair and sat down. He yawned.
“I think you’re about ready for your nap, aren’t you?” Lily said softly as she cradled him in her arms. “You had a busy afternoon with Sadie, all that ball tossing—or more accurately dropping.”
The baby yawned again.
A soft knock came from the wall. Lily glanced up and watched as the eraser sitting on the ledge along the bottom of the dry-erase board floated upward and wiped away the goodbye. It settled back on the small ledge. A pen then floated upward, and off came its cap. The cap floated in the air as the pen wrote in a flourish on the board: I am here!
“Hi, Marie,” Lily greeted her in a whisper.
The pen recapped itself and settled back on the ledge.
“Can you hand me Connor’s Winnie, please,” Lily asked.
The Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear floated up from the crib and drifted across the room. Lily snatched it from the air and gave it to Connor, who hugged it tightly.
“He always has to have his Winnie,” Lily said softly. She then looked up, guessing where Marie might be. “Kelly was just here. She asked about the dry-erase board.” Lily chuckled. “I couldn’t very well tell her we put it up so you could communicate with me.”
The next moment Kelly barreled into the room.
Lily immediately stopped talking and rocking. She looked to her sister-in-law, who froze in her tracks.
“I’m so sorry,” Kelly whispered apologetically. “Did I wake him?”
Lily shook her head. “No. That’s okay. I’m just trying to get him to sleep.”
“I’m sorry. But did I leave my purse in here?” Kelly asked, glancing around the room.
“No. I think it’s on the floor by the chair you were sitting on.”