Page 40 of Ghost of a Chance

The lights flickered. But that was it. Back downstairs he heard his mom and Kirsty laughing. Staying in the hallway he listened to the two of them. It was a nice sound. He figured his mom would like Kirsty, she liked everyone, but Kirsty was so reserved and usually kept everyone at arm’s length.

Turning the corner he entered the room.

“Surprise!”

His mom had a large chocolate cake with the words Happy 26th Birthday, Jaz on it. Lit candles were burning and as he entered the room they all started singing “Happy Birthday.”

He put the book on the coffee table, smiling. His family had always been small and he’d kept his circle of friends even tighter until this autumn in Burlington. Dan and Gia had become friends and Kirsty had become his girlfriend. Someone he loved.

“Make a wish,” his mom said.

“Wish that we find out the identity of our ghost already,” Kirsty said sardonically.

Winking at her, he said, “Let me find out who it is, please.”

Then he blew the candles out on the cake. They were all extinguished. As bits of smoke lingered, each candle suddenly reignited.

“Mom…really? Relighters?”

“That’s not me. These are the cheap ones,” she said.

Dan’s eyes were wide. “Yeah, there’s crazy energy around your cake.”

Everyone stared at it and Jasper had no idea what to do next.

“Blow them out again,” Kirsty said.

He did and this time they stayed out. Everyone looked uncomfortable. Jasper had no idea how to fix that.

“What was that?”

“The ghost. Jasper’s textbook ghost,” Kirsty said.

“Did you get the book?”

“Yeah, here it is,” he handed it to his mom.

She sank down on the couch, holding it on her lap. Her hands began to shake as she flipped it open, landing on the page with the sketch of the tree. “Where did you get this?”

“I told you it follows me. Why are you asking?”

Tears began to form in his mom’s eyes. “It was your dad’s. Your dad got an old physics book from a professor who was staying at the hotel. He promised it would be a good basis for your dad to use for his research. High school physics isn’t as in-depth as the college level.”

* * *

Everyone stared at Tina in disbelief.

“How did you not know that?” Kirsty asked Jasper.

“I never saw the book. Mom…did Dad like Judge Judy ?” he asked her. Right now he wasn’t entirely sure what to think. Could it be his dad in the book?

“Yeah. We watched it to wind down when we were cooking dinner. I used to TiVo it. That’s what we had to do if we wanted to watch something before streaming,” she said, wiping away her lingering tears. “Back in the old days.”

Jasper walked over to his mom. “This was Dad’s?”

She flipped the book open and fanned the pages, stopping to one midway through that they’d never stopped on before. There were notes in pencil.

Only geniuses understand this .

Only hot girls love geniuses .

“What is this?”

“Me and your dad flirting in class.”

That was sweet. He touched the pencil marks and looked at his mom. “How did Paul get the book?”

“It must have been in the box of stuff I gave to you both. I asked Paul to help you finish Dad’s story for you, not me. It was time for you to start your own life. The sci-fi short story was the last thing that your dad didn’t get to do with you,” she said.

She blinked a few times and he hugged her close to him. Kirsty came over and put her hand on the book. Victor did the same.

They both closed their eyes. The pages fluttered and the lights in the room flared brighter for a moment.

Gia came over next to them and Dan kept filming. Jasper felt something strong like a warmth coming into the room even though there wasn’t a fire in the fireplace.

A breeze stirred around them and the pages fluttered again.

Kirsty slipped her hand in his. “Put the book on the coffee table and then everyone kneel around it.”

His mom set the book down open to the page she’d shown him. His mom on one side, Kirsty on the other side, then Victor, Gia and even Dan came over. Once they were all in position Kirsty looked at him.

“What was your dad’s name?” Kirsty asked.

“Jasper Marcus but everyone called him Marc,” Tina said.

“Marc, we call on your spirit. You are in a safe place. Your wife and son are here with me,” Kirsty said.

Sparks of light emitted from the book and started moving upward from it. They all kept holding hands and Jasper felt the energy pulling in toward the light that slowly formed into the faint outline of a body and then a face. His mom’s hand tightened around his.

“Marc?”

The being was hazy and he could just make out the hair that was so like his own. His dad? Was this his dad?

“Dad?”

A hand reached toward him, he felt something cold brush his cheek. Then the ghost— his father —touched his mom’s face.

The sparks continued moving up as another breeze swept through the room. The candles on the cake flickered back to life.

“Happy birthday, son.” The voice, distant but clear, reverberated around the room. The candles went back out as wind swirled around them, and his dad disappeared.

Jasper blinked to keep his tears back but when he looked at his mom and she was crying and hugging him it was impossible. Kirsty’s hand was on his back and then she was hugging them too.

He felt Gia and Victor join them and Dan awkwardly patted them all on the back. Then he pulled back.

“Let me check the playback.”

As he left Kirsty pulled back. “That was the voice I heard.”

“What do you mean?” his mom asked her.

“We did a couple of séances to try to talk to the ghost. He didn’t speak out loud, just directly to me,” Kirsty said.

Tina smiled at her. “He must have liked you.”

“Well, he wasn’t too pleased that I was planning to pretend to talk to him,” Kirsty said wryly.

“That sounds like him. Honesty was one of his things. I wish I’d known he was in there,” Tina said. “I hope I showed you everything he would have wanted.”

“You did and more, Mom,” Jasper said.

“My gift is going to pale in comparison to your dad showing up,” his mom said with a laugh.

The playback from the cameras showed Marc’s incorporeal body disappearing. They also captured the happy birthday on the audio. They all kicked back in the living room eating cake and drinking champagne and talking about the night.

Kirsty came with him when he had to let Chewie out. “I wish I’d realized it was my dad.”

“I bet,” she said. “What would you have done?”

“Asked him stuff. You know, advice, things like that.”

“Maybe he was giving it to you with the lights and the songs. I mean he made them explode a few times to get your attention. Even Judge Judy—her quotes seemed to be picked out for you.”

“Yeah.” Jasper hugged her close to him. That empty part inside of him had been filled by this woman. Getting rid of the ghost that had been following him around was just the cherry on top. Seeing his dad for that brief moment and hearing his voice.

“I’ll never forget this day,” he said.

“I won’t either. I’m glad that voice was your dad’s and not just in my head,” she said.

“Afraid I wouldn’t still love you if you heard voices?”

“Nah, you like that about me,” she said, smacking him on the butt as Chewie came back in.

“I love everything about you,” he said.

“I love everything about you too,” she replied.