“That’s fair,” I allowed. I was personally of the opinion that Delaney had realized he’d really screwed up this time. If it was a matter of him losing the ability to work for the FBI altogether, he might have decided he really should straighten his act up. Maybe. I didn’t know him well enough to judge, and that was part of the problem. “Just don’t put him with us if you can help it. Brandon’s ready to flatten him.”
“Seems to me he needs a bit of flattening. But we’ll work out logistics when I get there and can see with my own eyes the layout of the building. A lot depends on that. Well. Mack, you’ve been very helpful and candid. Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow. And enjoy more hot monkey sex, okay?”
I laughed, delighted at the teasing. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!”
Brandon popped his head out of the bathroom. “Who were you talking to?”
“Our exorcist. Get dressed, cher, then we’ll find breakfast. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
One of the things Eli had requested was salt, and a lot of it. Falisa and Ken offered to go and buy some, as we technically still had the day off, and we left them to it.
Mama wanted to have lunch with us, so we headed up towards Opelousas but not directly there. I guided Brandon to one of the many graveyards in the city. I wanted practice with my sight, and this was the easiest place to go. Saint Charles Borromeo Cemetery was right off the beaten path coming up from Lafayette, and the most sensible place to stop. It was a peaceful place, with wide open fields on all sides and mature trees shadowing the gravestones. On this slightly chilly day, I didn’t appreciate the shade, but I did prefer the privacy.
We bypassed the large white church sitting on the grounds, heading towards the cemetery itself. Parts of it were blocked off by a low fence—probably a family plot—and another was secreted into the side of a hill. It was a funny sort of place in that aspect, as little of it was perfectly lined up. Showed its age that way, I supposed.
Brandon’s hand found mine as we slowly strolled through the grounds. He felt warm even in this chill. The person who’d thought up the adage ‘cold hands, warm heart’ had never met Brandon Havili.
This graveyard didn’t hold unpleasant memories for me, per se, as I’d only been to it a few times in my life. But graveyards in general sat uneasily with me. My brothers had thought it marvelous fun to drag me into such places and then abandon me there. If Brandon wasn’t with me now, I wouldn’t be so nonchalant about walking these grounds.
It didn’t take a minute of us being there before I saw a spirit. She sat on her gravestone, just looking out over the fields. I stopped where I was and looked at her for the longest time.
“How is it?” Brandon asked quietly.
“Different,” I answered, not sure how to describe the change. “She’s more transparent to me. More…distinctly otherworldly. I don’t know how else to put it. Before, spirits to me were just like flesh and blood. I couldn’t separate them out without truly looking at them head-on. Now, I feel like if I passed her, I might initially make the mistake. But all it would take would be a moment, and I’d see the difference.”
“So a glance might still confuse you, but nothing else?”
“That’s what it feels like. She’s so obviously a ghost to me, even in that first second of looking.” That satisfied me immeasurably. Maybe I wouldn’t be such a road hazard now.
We walked a bit more, and I stopped at the base of a tree to look over at the gentleman who sat on one of the stone mausoleum. Again, it only took me a moment. It might have been excused away because I was in a graveyard—of course there were ghosts at every turn. But still, I didn’t mistake him as anything else. I took immense heart in that.
More ghosts popped up as we walked about, but they seemed content to stay where they were, and I wasn’t interested in hassling them.
After twenty minutes of tooling about, I tugged Brandon toward the car. “Okay, that’s enough. I’ve seen what I need to.”
Brandon went willingly, shortening his stride to match mine. His head canted, he studied me curiously. “You don’t like the atmosphere here?”
“It’s not that, cher. The place is pretty and well-kept. I just have a bad history with cemeteries.” A few choice memories popped to mind, and I grimaced. “It got to the point that, after about age seven, Mama would leave me home and not let me near any funerals. These grounds are like a battlefield to me. I never know if I’ll meet friend or foe, and they don’t wear uniforms to tell me the difference.”
“Fair enough.” Brandon, bless him, didn’t ask another question after that.
Loading back up into the SUV, we traveled the rest of the distance to the hardware store in companionable silence. I still held his hand. People joked about ‘bonding behavior’ and how bonded couples especially were touchy-feely. I no doubt would get some teasing because of my behavior, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. If anyone had spent as many years as I had on their own, only to be handed this amazing man to be a partner and protector? They’d be a bit over the moon about it too.
We swung by to pick up lunch, then went to my mother’s workplace. She only had a half-hour lunch break, which didn’t give her a lot of time. But I knew her favorites and picked up a barbecue sandwich with her preferred fixings.
We came through the front door of the store and Mama immediately came around the cashier counter, giving us both a hug that threatened my air supply. I knew she was happy for me, but seeing her face now, I saw that relief overwhelmed the happiness. Most of my life, she’d struggled with how to help me. First in believing what I could do, what I saw, and then supporting me as I struggled to figure it out.
I’d not realized how much she trusted Brandon up until this moment. She smiled up at him, and there wasn’t a trace of shadow in that expression. But then, he’d earned that trust, too.
“We will celebrate later,” I promised her and wished I’d taken a picture of that hug. “Let’s eat lunch before it gets any colder.”
She led us straight through the store, to the back area where a breakroom sat. It was a simple picnic table with a mini fridge, microwave, and coffee maker standing by. We spread out over the picnic table and dug in, all of us hungry.
I wanted to talk to her about something but figured I’d start out easy first. “We’ve got a limited amount of time here. An exorcist is coming in tomorrow, and we’ll really have to buckle down then, so today’s the only free time we have until we win the battle.”
Nodding, she swallowed what was in her mouth. “Let’s do a family dinner tonight to celebrate, then.”
Annnnd here we go. “Mama, most of my siblings won’t be happy about this.”
Her mouth tightened. “So you don’t want me to invite them?”
“I think it would be better if you only invite the people who will be happy for me. Otherwise you’re asking for drama.”
“People do grow up, you know.” Mama looked defensive on the part of her children.
Brandon shot me a look that plainly asked if we should tell her about Georgie. I was of two minds on the whole thing, frankly, and wasn’t sure which was the better tactic. Not that I wanted to do my brother any favors, but I didn’t want to break my mother’s heart, either.