A Kyrie Carter Thanksgiving

Untitled Part 4

Chapter 4

"Happy Thanksgiving, Grandma!" Spook and Katie said together, raising their glasses to some unseen presence. Unseen, but not un-felt. I glanced around uneasily, feeling as though someone else had joined the group.

Janice smiled at me reassuringly and explained, "Ever since my mother died seven years ago, every holiday meal we have, we all feel a sudden draft, and then the chandelier starts swaying."

Roy laughed and turned a playful eye on Spook. "Spencer was just getting more serious about his ghost hunting pursuits at the time, and he ran to grab his new gadgets out of the car to try to talk to her."

Katie laughed through a mouthful of dinner roll. "I wish I'd had a video camera to capture Erin's reaction to the whole scene."

I glanced at Spook, wondering how he'd handle his ex-wife's name being brought up, but he seemed to take it in stride. "Well, that first time was a bit more intense. Grandma never could stand Erin and said she'd boot her out of the family if she could." His expression darkened for a moment. "I guess I should have listened to her to begin with."

Katie's mirth subsided as she looked tenderly at her brother, obviously a bit sorry she had mentioned her former sister-in-law. She turned her eyes to me and said, "The first time Grandma paid a visit, the chandelier swayed, the light bulb closest to where she was sitting exploded, and one of the candlesticks fell over onto her plate." My eyes widened as I imagined the scene she had described, and I hoped the same thing wouldn't happen to me.

"She refused to ever come to our house for another get-together," Janice continued. "Not that I minded one bit." A slight edge to her voice suggested that she had never approved of Spook's first wife either.

Tired of hearing his ex-wife's name, Spook slipped his arm around me and declared, "Well, I'd say my tastes have improved dramatically, and since the light bulbs are still in one piece and the candles are still standing, I think it's safe to assume that Grandma approves of Kyr." As if affirming Spook's words, a sudden warm sensation settled over me, as though someone embraced me. A slight change in Spook's expression told me that he had felt something too.

Obviously wanting to take the conversation in a different direction, Roy asked, "So, Kyr, are you a ghost hunting fanatic like my son?"

I glanced up in surprise, not expecting that question. "No, I'm not a fanatic about it," I replied, wondering how much Spook had told him about our adventures. "In fact, I only went on my first ghost hunt a little over a year ago." I gave Spook a lopsided smile. "That's how we met."

Spook gave me a sheepish look and replied, "I told you that, Dad."

There was a gleam in Roy's eye as he teased, "I know you did. Maybe I want to hear the young lady's side of it. It seems things didn't go so well at first."

"You can say that again," I said, giving Spook a disapproving look. I proceeded to give the details of my side of that first investigation, while he tried to eat nonchalantly, only pausing a couple times to look at me questioningly.

Katie broke in at one point to say, "He and Gabe really had some issues for a while. Dorko here though you were trying to put the moves on Gabe, and he was so jealous, even though he wouldn't admit it."

"I was not jealous," he protested unconvincingly. "I was just worried that she might cause trouble in his marriage is all."

"Baloney!" Katie laughed. "I could tell you had it bad for her from the very first time you told me about her." It was my turn to give a questioning look. When Spook's face turned bright red and he refused to look at me, Katie told me gleefully, "He spent a half hour grousing about this red-headed newbie investigator that won this stupid contest and came ghost hunting." She ticked off on her fingers. "He complained that you didn't know what you were doing, claimed you were scared of everything, and bragged about how he had to keep coming to your rescue. He said he couldn't stand you, but it was obvious he liked you."