Page 122 of Ghostly

“Are we ever going to tell them?” Gabriel said as they walked over to the blooming garden for a few minutes of privacy. “Or should I let them think I only fall for women called Ida?”

“They’ll say you’re quirky. It’s not a bad thing, is it?”

He smiled. “No.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Not at all.”

Half a game franchise later

“Aw, yes!” Perry dropped the controller and raised his arms in the air. “Victory for me!”

“It’s hardly fair. You created the game,” Ida said.

“The character designs, yes. But it’s got nothing to do with pure gaming talent.” He flashed Ida a smile, blindingly white against his dark face. “So, what’dya think? Minus the losing.”

“I love it. Especially the lady vampire. The mix of her slightly Victorian attitude with modern principles.” She arched an eyebrow. “And her outfit is eerily familiar.”

“Hey, a little bit of inspiration never hurt anybody.”

The front door opened, followed by a dribble of smaller steps against heavier ones. “We’re back,” Gabriel announced.

A second, smaller voice overlapped his. “Uncle Perry!” Seraphina ran into the living room and bounced onto the couch, her twin braids whirling around her head. “Ooh, what game did you bring? Can I play? Why does that lady look like Mommy?”

Ida laughed and lifted her daughter onto her lap—a year more, and she’d be too heavy for it. “Not yet, Sera. You need to grow up a bit.”

“But I want to fight, too!” Sera mimicked punching, adding an exaggerated “Pow” after each jab toward the TV.

Perry looked over his shoulder at Gabriel. “Safe to say this one’s not gonna be a lawyer, huh?”

“For the judge’s sake, I hope not,” Gabriel said. He met Ida with a knowing smile, and she smiled back.

Maybe the next one, though.

One cycle of the Wright-Maxwell comet later

“Two mugs of tea and warmed-up cookies.” Gabriel handed one mug to Ida and sat on the blanket next to her.

She snuggled closer to share the warmth; the April night was on the chilly side, but the skies were clear, and she wouldn’t miss this for anything. “The kids?” she asked.

“Sasha is giving a new meaning to the phrase ‘sleeping like a baby’, Seb finally settled down, and Sera is pretending to be asleep while watching the soccer match replay under the covers.” Gabriel sighed and sipped his tea. “She knows fair well it’s a school day tomorrow.”

“We’ve had a ghost in this family,” Ida said, shrugging. “Maybe it’s also time for a zombie.”

He laughed, then pointed at the sky. “There it goes.”

A bright-tailed ball of space dust appeared from behind the tree, and Ida’s eyes watered.Hi, old friend. I have so much to tell you.

She tucked her head under Gabriel’s chin.

“Fourteen years,” Gabriel said. “Imagine the things it had seen, far out there.”

She let out a happy sniffle. “I could,” she said, “but I don’t need to. I don’t think there’s anything more exciting than what we’ve been through here.”

Gabriel put down his mug and hugged her tighter. Even after fourteen years, every touch and every kiss was still as special as the first one. But Ida didn’t need physical touches to know Gabriel was, and always would be, the one. She’d known it long before she was brought back to life.

It was all written in the comet.

THE END

***