He Followed Me Home

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Come to the bar with me," Janice begged Francine once the two women were settled into their apartment the next day.

Francine shook her head, "I'm tired," she replied. "I'll stay in, look over the notes, write down what else the ghost said and listen through the tapes. I have to get my article done by tomorrow and I have a lot of work to do with all the information we gathered the last month."

"Now I feel guilty," Janice whimpered with a pout as she slid into her barely there little black dress. "Should I stay and help you?"

Francine settled back on the worn out, but heavenly soft couch and shook her head, "This isn't even your job and you've done enough already. Go ahead and have fun. I can manage on my own."

Janice nodded, "I'll finish up what you don't get done tomorrow morning."

"Go have fun. The article is for my job not yours."

"You should call Gregory and let him know you're home," Janice urged. "Maybe he'd come keep you company."

"He's away on business. We have a dinner date Friday," Francine replied.

Janice rolled her eyes as she pulled her hair up and secured it with a clip, "He's always away on business. Honestly I don't know why you waste time on that man."

Francine simply shook her head at her friends usual complaints about her boyfriend and began looking through the folder full of notes and stories they had collected, "He's a good man," she muttered distractedly.

"No, he's not. He won't even introduce you to his family and he doesn't want to meet yours. He doesn't believe that you have the special gifts that you do when it comes to ghosts and he won't let you talk about your job around him because he thinks it's foolish. He's a rich, snobby jackass with bad hair and big teeth," Janice argued as she stuck her dangling, faux diamond earrings in her ears.

"That's mean," Francine scolded and then she looked toward the kitchen. She would have sworn she saw movement but there was nothing there. Probably just her eyes playing tricks on her because she was exhausted.

"The truth hurts," Janice replied as she slid her feet into her four inch bright red heels. "How do I look?"

"Like a movie star." Francine assured her as she looked at her best friend. Janice really knew how to play the sexpot role when she wanted to. Francine looked down at her own blue flannel pants and oversized gray t-shirt and sighed.

"You sure you don't want to come?" Janice asked again.

"I'm sure." She had always been a homebody. She had never cared much for going out.

Janice shrugged and kissed her cheek before winking, "Don't work too hard and don't wait up on me. I plan on having fun."

"Please be careful and call me if you need me."

"Yes, mom," Janice waved her hand as she walked out the door and shut it behind her.

Francine decided that there was no point sitting out here on the couch while listening to the tapes that Janice had recorded. She might as well do that while enjoying a nice hot bath. She grabbed the tapes and headphones and walked to the bathroom. She laid them on the floor beside the tub and started the water. After adding some cinnamon spice scented bubbles to the water she walked back to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator.

It might be more common to enjoy wine during a relaxing bath but Francine lived on a beer and chips budget not champagne and caviar. She grabbed a cup from the cupboard. It looked like a fancy glass but really it was made of plastic and she and Janice had bought a set of them on New Years Eve to sip their white grape cider out of.