Pebbles: A Collection of Short Stories

The Ghosts of Hall Manor

"It was Halloween night, and they were on their very first date." Mesa twisted her voice in a deliberately unsettling manner and spoke in a hushed tone to exacerbate her ghost story. "Tommy, the football team captain, and Debbie, the head cheerleader, made a match in 1950s heaven. Tommy had just picked Debbie up here, and they were headed to the local malt shop a few miles away, but a car stalled ahead of them. He tried to stop, but had to swerve to avoid the car. In a flash, they were gone, but the story goes they lived happily ever after as the ghost of Hall Manor." Mesa flourished her hands around the house as she finished her tale.

Silence blanketed our group for a slight moment as we took in the story. We had heard it for years. The story of Tommy Day and Debbie Hall was as entrenched in Camden tradition as the annual lobster festival.

"Boo," a young stranger said behind us, causing our group to jump from our lingering distraction of the story.

Like most of the guys, he dressed in a vintage letterman's sweater. My poodle skirt swished across my calves at my fright. It was part of the fun; everyone always dressed as the town's favorite ghostly couple. It gave everyone hope that somehow a slice of happiness came from such a tragedy. It also made every Halloween party more like a sock hop. Mesa loved to feed the tradition with songs from the period and many retellings of the tale as she hosted the annual Hall Manor Halloween party.

"Is he old enough to be here?" I griped about the stranger that had scared us.

Mesa shrugged. "Everyone looks so young in these get-ups," she noted.

"True," I absently spoke as I let my eyes follow the stranger.

He had escaped to a corner with yet another Debbie Hall. They looked so young, but part of my mind pulled to how in love they looked.

"It is me, or do couples in love always look younger?" I mumbled to myself.

"That's a thing," Mesa confidently agreed. "Love looks good on everyone."

"Mmhmm," but my focus was far from Mesa's agreement. My eyes clung to the couple huddled in the corner, giggling over the fright he had given our group. "Who are they?"

"Not a clue," Mesa passively said. "Probably a friend of a friend. Everyone wants to be at Hall Manor on Halloween in case Tommy and Debbie decide to return." Mesa once again slipped into a Boris Karloff voice as she spoke. "Well, as fun as it is to hover with you while you stare at a couple of party crashers, I'm off to mingle. I'm still looking for my very own Tommy Day," she added with a wink.

I nodded as more of a knee-jerk response as opposed to accepting her teasing of my fixation. Mesa was right, though; the two in the corner captivated me. My eyes trailed them as they crossed the room and dipped out of view. My feet instinctively followed.

They chatted in the study. Eavesdropping on these young loves was stealing, but I couldn't resist the draw to them.

"Dance with me. This is our song," the young man's voice filled with a lively tone of warm humor.

"Oh, Tommy, you think every song is our song." The girl teased back with a swat to his chest.

I watched them twist and swing around the room. The moment the young woman ventured almost out of reach of the young man, he would turn her back deep into his chest while they giggled.

"We have a guest," Tommy noted as he beamed at his girl.

"Mmhmm, right on time," Debbie agreed.

"She's shyer than I expected," he noted.

"Go on, Tommy, no one can resist you," she gave him another playful tap on his chest.

"You can come in, Josephine," Tommy called over Debbie's head.