Colors of Love

Twenty-Three

June, 1992

        Hidden Hills, Cali

Another two months passed, and by the Time the first of the Summer Sabbats–Litha, which celebrated the Summer Solstice–rolled around in late-June, the combined family was moved into their new house. In what the trio of musicians'd originally thought was just a stroke of dumb Luck, the family who'd been living in the house just North of Calabasas that they'd chosen were all but desperate to move. Not only did the head of that household get a promotion that required moving to New York, but they swore the house was haunted.

        Even the seller's young children swore that strange things'd started to happen in the house they'd lived in for several Years without previous incident. Things'd go missing entirely, they'd go missing and reappear in the strangest of places, and they'd even started seeing Shadows. Sometimes, those Shadows'd look like a really tall man with long hair–other Times, they'd look like a Cat slinking along a wall.

        Bobby hadn't been able to help a chuckle when the seller–who'd insisted on meeting them in the Realtor's officeta give them fair warning–insisted they were making a mistake by buying this house. Neither he, nor Duff were scared of a couple Ghosts–or even the same Ghost who could just Change its form at Will. A lil bit of Sage and Cedar could go a long way, if they really felt the need for it, so they weren't backing down since their needs far outweighed a lil Fear. For that reason even Richie'd been willing to buck up and go through with the purchase, rather than backing down 'cuz he was scared.

        The first thing he'd done upon walking in with one of the lightest boxes, considering he'd made it to seven months pregnant by the Time the closing was finished up, was let out a laugh. Even if he couldn't sense any Spirits around him, he'd already gotten an idea of what–or, more aptly, who–was haunting the house. Based on the description given by the previous owner's kids, it'd become pretty obvious that Nikki'd decided to make his presence known elsewhere. Considering the Timing, he'd no doubt that his late mate'd been listening in on their conversations about a new house and decided to help them out the only way he could. Sure, running a family outta a house just 'cuz he thought it was perfect for them was more than a lil harsh, but it worked out. They got a bigger house that better fit their needs, and the sellers got it taken off their hands faster–win, win.

        It didn't take more than a couple minutes for a figure to appear in one of the chairs still situated in the sitting area adjacent to the foyer after they walked in. Despite being transparent, it was easy to tell that it was a Cat, and its eye Color when it opened its eyes totally gave it away. Sure enough, Nikki sprawled in said chair as if he'd owned the place for decades and could do whatever he wanted here. The look on his kitty face could only be called a smug smirk as he stretched lazily, then slid down outta the chair so he could shift. Naturally, that'd taken his younger mates by surprise, but the older bassist simply moved to hug the Spirit he was surprised still hadn't crossed over.

        Over the course of the month after wrapping up closing and starting the process of moving, they'd been told the full story a lil at a Time. The late bassist couldn't bring himself to cross over when he could still help them out from Time to Time like this. He felt it was the only way to provide for his family from beyond the grave, which was why he stuck around instead of crossing over every Samhain.

        "Ohhhh, Goddess." Groaning as he sat up, one hand instantly went to Bobby's lumbar for extra support as he reached up to rub the sleep outta his eyes with the other.

        "Mmm–ya all right, baby?" The younger bassist cracked open an eye to glance up at him.

        "Just sore," he answered, moving to toss his legs over the edge of the bed. "Then again, when am I not these Days, as closeta my due date as I am?"