Page 39

S itting here in Eula’s kitchen, the reality of the situation suddenly hit Ethan hard.

If this worked – and it was a big if – he would never see Curtis again.

And sure, a few days ago nothing would’ve made him happier. But now, he realized that things had changed.

Ethan was a different person now than he’d been last week. And Curtis was a huge part of that. Without his interference in Ethan’s life, Ethan would have never gone to Girdwood Springs, would never have met Chloe.

Beyond that, though, Curtis himself had been a positive influence. His general upbeat attitude and fascination with things that Ethan found mundane had been refreshing, bringing Ethan a whole new perspective on life.

Yes – as unbelievable as it seemed, he would miss Curtis.

I won’t, the pegasus sniffed. Ethan decided that for the sake of its near-nonexistent dignity, he wouldn’t comment on the tremble in its voice.

He was pretty sure that the pegasus was over its fear of ghosts, now – or its fear of Curtis, anyway. The two of them seemed to be getting along pretty well.

He sighed. The longer he sat here ruminating on things, the more difficult it would be to say goodbye. Probably best to get started – especially since Chloe was waiting outside in the cold with the locket.

They hadn’t wanted to bring it too close, just in case its presence would cause Curtis to disappear into the ether before they could talk to him.

She’d done a little swap with Janie when they’d arrived so that she could come in and say hello to Curtis, then gone back outside to take possession of the locket once more.

He turned to Curtis.

“How was yesterday?” he asked. “Sorry we couldn’t bring the locket then – things were a bit hectic.”

Curtis waved an airy hand. ~Please don’t trouble yourself about it – Miss Chloe’s health was much more important. And in any case, I had a wonderful time catching up with my descendants.~

“Yeah,” said Janie. “We went bowling, then we came back and made popcorn and watched Below Deck .”

~The boats of this age really are quite something.~

Ethan stifled a sigh. Probably it wasn’t fantastic that Janie had been poisoning poor Curtis’s mind with the most mediocre things the modern era had to offer, but at least it seemed like he’d been enjoying himself.

“And then Great-Grandpa Curtis Zoomed my parents and brothers to say hi,” Janie said, wrinkling her nose at the word brothers . “He’s real good with Zoom – much better than Grandma. Even though he’s dead.”

I’m well aware of Curtis’s proficiency with Zoom, Ethan thought, though his mouth twitched with the beginnings of humor.

Eula smiled fondly. “It was a really good day, Ethan. I’m glad we had the opportunity.”

Her voice was tinged with a nostalgic sadness, and Ethan felt that he understood why. It must have been an amazing thing, to meet an ancestor you’d only ever known through a dusty photograph – and to know that you had to let them go again.

~The townspeople came by to say hello as well, despite my not being visible to most of them,~ Curtis went on with a smile.

~When they heard that the necklace had been recovered, they wanted to deliver their well-wishes in case I disappeared all of a sudden.

And Miss Margot showed me some old pictures of the town, which were very interesting to look at. ~

Whether the pictures had been more or less interesting than Below Deck , Ethan didn’t dare ask. But he was glad that the people of Girdwood Springs who had encountered Curtis had come to say their farewells.

Ethan set his jaw. As hard as this all was, there was no point in delaying further.

Yes, do it, his pegasus said, its voice catching.

He cleared his throat.

“Are you ready to go, Curtis?”

Curtis nodded serenely. ~Yes. While I wish I could divide my time between the afterlife and the wonders of your time, I cannot. I would very much like to return to my family.~

Eula sniffled loudly. “We’ll miss you, Great-Grandpa,” she said. “If for some reason you ever find yourself back here, drop by anytime. You’re always welcome – you, and all your family.”

~They’re your family, too,~ Curtis said.

Eula looked like she was one step away from bawling, and even Janie was looking misty-eyed, though she was clearly trying to cover it up with teen bravado.

“Well, we’ll see you all again one day, won’t we?” Janie said. “I mean, when we’re dead and all.”

“Janie!” Eula hissed. “Good Lord. That girl will be the death of me.”

Curtis laughed. ~I sure do hope so, Miss Janie. But not for a very, very long time.~

Janie held her hand up for a high five – and, shockingly, Curtis reciprocated the gesture, his hand passing through hers.

“Yeah!” Janie said. “You the man, Curtis.”

Just what has that girl been subjecting him to? Ethan thought despairingly… but in the end, he supposed it didn’t matter. The two of them appeared to be enjoying themselves, and that was the important thing.

“I’ll just go get Chloe,” Ethan said.

He went outside to fetch Chloe from the front yard, where she was admiring an enormous golden-orange beech tree.

She turned to face him, and her beauty took his breath away.

“Is it time?” she asked.

Ethan nodded. “He’s ready to go.”

“Okay.” Chloe nodded determinedly, though Ethan could see that she was also having some pretty mixed feelings about the situation. It was turning out to be a bit of an emotional day for everybody.

They entered the house, heading back into the kitchen.

“Hey again, Curtis,” Chloe said, raising her hand in a wave. “I’m not sure how any of this is going to work, but – here.”

She laid the locket out on the table, opening it carefully.

~Hello again, Miss Chloe,~ said Curtis, who hadn’t popped out of existence – though Ethan thought that maybe he was looking a little more transparent. It was hard to tell how much of it was real, and how much was his expectations.

Everyone crowded around the table to look – and a collective gasp went up.

“Oh, my,” Eula said, leaning forward. “I was always too scared to try and force it open – I never realized those pictures were inside.”

“They’re okay, I guess,” Janie said, with a poorly disguised sniffle.

Curtis just stared at the pictures for a long, long time, his eyes misting over with a mix of emotions that Ethan couldn’t even begin to describe… though he could definitely identify love .

After several more moments of silence so profound that Ethan could hear his own heartbeat, Curtis looked up…

And he smiled, a more open and genuine smile than Ethan had seen from him before. It was like he had been freed from invisible shackles, a profound weight lifting from his shoulders. For the first time, Ethan thought he was seeing Curtis fully as he was in life, even though he was fading fast.

~Thank you, everyone, for all your help,~ he said. ~I think I’ll be going back to my Alice and our dear children, now.~

“Bye, Curtis,” Chloe said tearfully. “We’ll miss you.”

“Like I said – come back any time,” Eula said, well beyond tearful and somewhere into blubbering . “Watch whatever you like on the TV, you hear?”

“Yeah, what she said,” Janie monotoned, her eyes suspiciously shiny. “You don’t tell me off for throwing popcorn, so you’re cool, I guess.”

Fare thee well, foul specter! the pegasus hollered, its horsey chin wobbling with repressed emotion. Your presence was a curse upon us all! Do not forget it!

Ethan swallowed hard. “Catch you ’round, Curtis,” he said – and he meant it. “I hope we’ll see each other again someday.”

Curtis smiled, and inclined his head. ~We will, Ethan. Thank you most of all. I could not have done this without you.~

Ethan nodded back – and then, all of a sudden, Curtis was gone.

Eula slumped down into her chair, clutching the locket in her hands and sobbing.

Ethan watched on, surprised, as Chloe and Janie awkwardly tried to comfort her. He’d known that Eula would take it hard, but he hadn’t realized just how hard.

Still, it made sense. Curtis had been not only a relative of hers, but potentially a connection to loved ones who had since passed – it was possible that he had even met Eula’s grandparents.

Ethan wondered what the two of them had talked about last night, sharing memories and things that the other never knew about their family.

Feeling at a bit of a loss – and trying to ignore a pegasus that was apparently in mourning for a ghost it had been afraid of – he went to the fridge and pulled out every drink he could find, whether alcoholic or not, and then put on a kettle to boil.

It felt weirdly like a wake – which, he supposed, in a way, it was.

It was obvious that Sylvie had been one of the people who had stopped by yesterday, if the fresh box of cakes was anything to go by – and so he spread those out as well, before raiding the fridge and cupboards for anything else that seemed even mildly appropriate.

“Cup of tea, anyone?” he asked, bringing in four already-filled cups on a tray. Apparently everyone was getting tea, whether they liked it or not.

“Thanks, Ethan,” Chloe said with a gentle smile, before turning back to Eula. “Oh, Eula. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Eula said, blowing her nose with a honk. “Ol’ Eula will be fine. These are happy tears, you know? More or less, anyway.”

She sighed, dabbing at her eyes and looking down at her lap. “It’s just that… well, I’m the oldest one left in my family. All my parents’ generation are long gone. It was so nice to have that connection back, you know? And then, to have it all go away again…”

Janie gave her a hug, and Eula sighed again, stroking Janie’s hair. “Don’t get old, is all I can say.”

“I don’t know, Eula,” Chloe said with a smile. “You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself. Most of the people I know who’re half your age don’t seem to have a quarter of your zest for life.”

“Heh, I guess you’re not wrong there,” Eula said with a watery smile. “I do like to enjoy myself from time to time. I’m not quite as wild as I used to be, though!”