5
The back door led up a short flight of steps and into the kitchen, which was abuzz with three small children all talking at once as her mom fed them chocolate chip cookies, still warm given the amount of smeared chocolate on the kids’ hands and faces.
“Hey, Mom.”
Her mom, Jenny Monroe, handed one of the cookies to Sabrina as a greeting, then stopped as she saw who was there.
“Arabella, take everyone upstairs and start a bath. I’ll be there in a bit to hose you all down. Tell Grandpa to get towels out for you.”
Sabrina shivered again, her elbow still chilly from Madam’s touch. Sabrina tried to give Molly her space as if she were solid. Not only was it rude to move through her, but the iciness lingered—a reminder that there was more to the world than most people could see.
“I can do it,” Arabella said, standing a little taller.
“I’m sure you can. Part of the fun of being a grandma is giving baths. Now scoot.”
Per usual, her mom wore a long, loose summer dress made from thick T-shirt material—the kind found at J.Crew or Talbots that, with proper care, would still look new in twenty years. Today’s was navy-blue-and-white-striped on top, cinched at the waist with elastic, then solid navy to her ankles. Bright-white Keds and short ankle socks pulled the look together. She had vibrant white hair, always pulled back into a neat low ponytail, which should have made her gently wrinkled face look older, but instead brought out the pink in her cheeks and her mischievous blue eyes. Everything she owned was ironed, including her underwear and socks. Her mom insisted one was never properly dressed unless properly pressed. Sabrina agreed to disagree.
“That should help your battle-weary soul.” Her mom nodded at the uneaten cookie in Sabrina’s hand. “Have a seat so I can look at your nose.” She licked the chocolate off her fingers while turning toward Molly near the kitchen sink. “Hi, Molly.”
At last she faced Madam Hendricks.
“Madam.” Her tone was touched with frost.
“I wondered if you were planning on acknowledging me. Perhaps you will tell me why I’m here. Your daughter is useless.”
If Sabrina had wondered where the familial mean streak came from, she had her answer. In the Hendricks family, nasty was in the genes.
Sabrina’s mom pursed her lips.
“If you don’t want to be stuck here forever, you’ll mind your manners. I need to help Sabrina first. You think about what you meant to do before you passed away. Molly can help with any questions you have.”
Madam sniffed but eyed Molly, who had changed into a kelly-green Chanel suit with three strands of pearls and a pillbox hat. Jackie O. would have approved.
“Sabrina met a boy,” Molly said, and grinned when Sabrina scowled. “And he’s sweet on her.”
Her mom raised an eyebrow while Madam poked her finger through the countertop.
“Molly is usually right about these things. She’s the one who pushed me toward your father.”
“I know, I know. It was at the Goodbye Gala, and you were at the top of the porch, and Molly pushed you off the steps and into Dad’s arms. You’ve mentioned this a hundred times—and you still think it’s romantic rather than dangerous that Molly shoved you down the steps.”
Molly stuck her tongue out at Sabrina, who returned the gesture.
“I knew he’d catch her, and that they’d fall in love because he rescued her. I would never put anyone in danger. He’d been staring at her gams for hours. There was no way he would have missed. I’m like Cupid—just cuter.”
“That was the first time I saw you poof,” Sabrina’s mom said.
“We poof?” Madam said.
Molly tapped her lips, then responded. “When we interact with solid objects, it uses up energy, and we don’t have enough to stay visible or control where we are. The longer we’re around, the stronger we are. Belle can do all sorts of things.”
“Belle? As in Belle Boyd, the Confederate spy?” Madam looked shocked.
“Yes. Bit of bitch, too. Stay out of the cemetery. She won’t like you.” Molly paused. “Anyway, it was a couple of weeks before your mom could see me again. I just floated around having to watch the two of them neck all the time.”
“Ew,” Sabrina said at the same time as her mom spoke.
“It wasn’t all the time. And I didn’t know you were watching.” Her mom’s cheeks turned even pinker.
“I couldn’t control where I was,” Molly said with a shrug.
“So, about this boy.” Sabrina’s mom winked at Molly and leaned closer to Sabrina. “Tell me.”
“You know those giant refillable margarita glasses? This is what happens when a full one hits your face.” Sabrina pointed at her face, which was starting to purple around the eyes.
“That’s not what I’m asking about.” Her mom poked her fingers at the puffy skin around her nose while Sabrina picked up the ever-present obituary page on the kitchen table. Given their family secret, it came in handy when they had to identify a new ghost.
Sabrina knew what her mom wanted to know. Even with three grandkids making an unholy racket in the bathroom upstairs—and probably starting a small flood—her mom wanted more of them. Her brothers, Brendan and Trent, were definitely done, so it was up to Sabrina to expand the Monroe family tree—and nothing would make her mom happier than expanding it nearby. It was too bad that the thought of dating made her throat close up.
Her mom set a gentle hand on her cheek. “Breathe.”
So she did.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Sabrina repeated it as her mom studied her nose.
“It’s not broken, but it’s going to look awful and hurt worse for a few days. Keep ice on it.”
Before keeping her grandchildren hopped up on sugar, her mom had been a nurse at the local hospital. After long hours caring for other people, she would come home and continue her second shift with her own brood, where there had always been scrapes and bruises to bandage and kiss in addition to her responsibilities to the family profession. Sabrina didn’t want that. She could barely manage her own life. Her mom pursed her lips while still studying Sabrina’s face.
“Have you called a therapist?”
Sabrina’s silence told her everything she needed to know.
“Janie from bridge club adores hers. Says she taught her to be the goddess she always knew she could be. Here’s the number.”
Her mom handed her a piece of paper. Sabrina didn’t need a number or to be a goddess. She needed to get away from the Dells. To get someplace where ghosts couldn’t pop out of nowhere and ruin her life. Even Molly, whom she loved like a sister, made normal life impossible with the constant fear that someone would discover her secret.