stores. Our goal was to eventually have the entire home
furnished in Victorian era décor. Our pièce
de résistance was a beautiful bedroom set
Dad bought on one of our antiquing trips to Boston. I couldn’t stop
admiring it so Dad splurged and got it for my birthday present when
I was thirteen. I especially loved the intricate four-poster
bed.
The doorbell rang shortly after Dad
and I returned to our projects after stopping for lunch. I opened
the door to find a very subdued Sophia.
“ Hi,” she said
cautiously.
“ Hi.”
“ Do you mind if I come
in?”
I stepped aside and she entered the
living room. Dad was outside in the yard working on his summer
vegetable garden. It only consisted of tomatoes and a few herbs,
but he was proud of it nonetheless.
“ I’m sorry about last
night,” Sophia began. “You were right to be angry. I’ve been alone
for so long that I’ve forgotten how to act around true friends.
Yes, I have ghost friends, but they come and go. You never know
when someone is going to extricate and disappear for good without
so much as a goodbye. I’ve been waiting for so long to
finish my business
so that I can go be with my real family that I haven’t been very
nice. I’m sorry.”
“ Apology accepted. I’m sorry
I yelled at you.”
“ I did a lot of thinking
last night . . . and . . . I decided we should tell Camille about
my true identity.”
“ Really? Are you
serious?”
“ Yes.”
“ You don’t get struck down
or something if you share your secret with too many people, do
you?”
Sophia laughed. “No. Ghosts can tell
whoever they want, but most people don’t believe them and it’s much
easier to live a normal life if people don’t think you’re crazy. I
was able to convince you so I thought maybe we’d be able to
convince Camille as well. Are you okay with her
knowing?”
“ Absolutely. Let’s do it.” I
felt a huge weight lifting off my shoulders. “I will warn you,
though—Camille will absolutely flip out. I don’t think her reaction
will be what mine was.”
“ You weren’t exactly a
picture of calm yourself,” she reminded me.
I grabbed my cell phone and texted
Camille, asking if we could come over to talk. Her response was
only one word. “Fine.” At least it wasn’t “No.”
Dad came into the house just then,
raising his eyebrows when he saw Sophia standing next to
me.
“ Hello, Sophia,” he said in
his always polite voice.
“ It’s nice to see you again,
Mr. Peters.”
“ Dad, Sophia and I are going
over to Camille’s house. I think the three of us will go do
something after that so I might be kind of late.” I hoped he knew
we were making an effort with Cam.
“ That’s fine. Enjoy
yourselves, but be safe.”
“ Don’t wait up,” I said as I
grabbed a jacket and we hurried out the door.
As “old-fashioned” as my home was,
Camille’s home was modern. Her mother, an interior designer,
continually changed the decor. I never knew what to expect when the
door opened. Sophia and I rang the doorbell and Camille’s older
sister, Allison, answered it. She would be a senior the next year
and was a total snob. She rarely gave Cam or me the time of day.
That time was no exception.
“ Camille,” she screamed up
the stairs without even greeting us. “Your friends are
here.”
Allison turned back around
and gave Sophia a second glance and a nod of approval before
disappearing into the kitchen. I looked around the living room from
our position near the front door. It had been changed again. There were
new throw pillows in yellow and blue on the cream-colored leather
couches and a new bowl filled with yellow and blue glass beads on
the coffee table. It was a simple look that complemented the sky
blue walls. I was sure that by autumn the decor would be changed
again.
I looked up to see Camille slowly
walking down the stairs. She looked disheveled. I didn’t remember
ever seeing her that way before. Apparently she had a rough
furnished in Victorian era décor. Our pièce
de résistance was a beautiful bedroom set
Dad bought on one of our antiquing trips to Boston. I couldn’t stop
admiring it so Dad splurged and got it for my birthday present when
I was thirteen. I especially loved the intricate four-poster
bed.
The doorbell rang shortly after Dad
and I returned to our projects after stopping for lunch. I opened
the door to find a very subdued Sophia.
“ Hi,” she said
cautiously.
“ Hi.”
“ Do you mind if I come
in?”
I stepped aside and she entered the
living room. Dad was outside in the yard working on his summer
vegetable garden. It only consisted of tomatoes and a few herbs,
but he was proud of it nonetheless.
“ I’m sorry about last
night,” Sophia began. “You were right to be angry. I’ve been alone
for so long that I’ve forgotten how to act around true friends.
Yes, I have ghost friends, but they come and go. You never know
when someone is going to extricate and disappear for good without
so much as a goodbye. I’ve been waiting for so long to
finish my business
so that I can go be with my real family that I haven’t been very
nice. I’m sorry.”
“ Apology accepted. I’m sorry
I yelled at you.”
“ I did a lot of thinking
last night . . . and . . . I decided we should tell Camille about
my true identity.”
“ Really? Are you
serious?”
“ Yes.”
“ You don’t get struck down
or something if you share your secret with too many people, do
you?”
Sophia laughed. “No. Ghosts can tell
whoever they want, but most people don’t believe them and it’s much
easier to live a normal life if people don’t think you’re crazy. I
was able to convince you so I thought maybe we’d be able to
convince Camille as well. Are you okay with her
knowing?”
“ Absolutely. Let’s do it.” I
felt a huge weight lifting off my shoulders. “I will warn you,
though—Camille will absolutely flip out. I don’t think her reaction
will be what mine was.”
“ You weren’t exactly a
picture of calm yourself,” she reminded me.
I grabbed my cell phone and texted
Camille, asking if we could come over to talk. Her response was
only one word. “Fine.” At least it wasn’t “No.”
Dad came into the house just then,
raising his eyebrows when he saw Sophia standing next to
me.
“ Hello, Sophia,” he said in
his always polite voice.
“ It’s nice to see you again,
Mr. Peters.”
“ Dad, Sophia and I are going
over to Camille’s house. I think the three of us will go do
something after that so I might be kind of late.” I hoped he knew
we were making an effort with Cam.
“ That’s fine. Enjoy
yourselves, but be safe.”
“ Don’t wait up,” I said as I
grabbed a jacket and we hurried out the door.
As “old-fashioned” as my home was,
Camille’s home was modern. Her mother, an interior designer,
continually changed the decor. I never knew what to expect when the
door opened. Sophia and I rang the doorbell and Camille’s older
sister, Allison, answered it. She would be a senior the next year
and was a total snob. She rarely gave Cam or me the time of day.
That time was no exception.
“ Camille,” she screamed up
the stairs without even greeting us. “Your friends are
here.”
Allison turned back around
and gave Sophia a second glance and a nod of approval before
disappearing into the kitchen. I looked around the living room from
our position near the front door. It had been changed again. There were
new throw pillows in yellow and blue on the cream-colored leather
couches and a new bowl filled with yellow and blue glass beads on
the coffee table. It was a simple look that complemented the sky
blue walls. I was sure that by autumn the decor would be changed
again.
I looked up to see Camille slowly
walking down the stairs. She looked disheveled. I didn’t remember
ever seeing her that way before. Apparently she had a rough
Similar Books
