Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

Chapter 5: Home Alone

  The next week went by slowly for Lydia. New neighbours came to visit her with plates of cakes she didn't like and conversations she had no interest in. They stayed for ages, wanting to scope out the new family in town and get a look at their house. 
A couple of old faces stopped by too. People she had known at school, all adults now and very different to the kids she had once known.
On top of it all she was restless. Agitated that she could not see her ghosts, even more agitated that they did little to prove their existence apart from throwing the odd book around the room. 
"Come on guys," She'd say, apparently to the air, "You can do better than that." And yet they never did. 
  Beth crept up to the attic whenever her mom wasn't watching. Lydia had done all she could to stop her daughters from going up there. She wasn't entirely convinced that the ghosts Beth was talking to were the ones she was familiar with. And though she pushed the thought to the back of her mind, the idea that it might be Beetlejuice roaming around up there kept coming back and frightening her half to death. 

  It was a Friday night when Lydia decided she would in fact attend a Winter River school reunion. She had been debating whether or not to go for months, she'd never really been that popular at school anyway. 
"Be good." She warned Beth, giving her a peck on the cheek. "And listen to your sister." 
Katrina grumbled, "I wanted to go out tonight." 
"I haven't been out in weeks! It's my turn. Look after Beth, won't you. And make sure she's in bed by nine." 
"Nine!?" Beth said, appalled. Lydia shot her a warning look and she shrunk back with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. 
"I'll be back before one." And with that, Lydia was gone. 
  The girls wasted no time. As soon as their mom had pulled out of the driveway Katrina was reaching for her shoes. 
"Where are you going?" asked Beth. 
"Out. You can look after yourself, you're very independent." 
"I'm eight. I'm not meant to look after myself." 
"Yeah? Well I'm eighteen, I'm not meant to do what I'm told." She pointed to the cupboard, "There's food in there if you're hungry."
"Where are you going?" 
"Just out." Katrina said as she slammed the door behind her. Beth hopped up onto the sofa, leaning over the back and peering out into the darkness. She could see the little figure that was her sister, hunched over, her coat pulled up around her ears as the rain came down in sheets around her. She looked a sorry sight already, and besides Beth was glad to be on her own. 
  She bolted for the attic, jumping up the stairs two at a time and flying through the door. 
"You guys really are dead!" She exclaimed. "Mom told me it was true!" 
"You nearly gave me a heart attack." A woman in a floral dress pushed herself up from one of the dust covered arm chairs and gave Beth a friendly smile. "And yes, we are." 
"Why didn't you tell me you were Barbara and Adam, I should have known straight away." 
"We didn't want to scare you." 
"I don't scare." Beth replied stubbornly. 
She turned to see Adam walk through the door, a little purple book in his hand. 
"Evening Beth." He said warmly. "They all gone out and left you?"
"Something like that." She replied, perching on the edge of a table. She tipped her head to the side and studied the cover of the book with eager eyes. "Handbook For The Recently Deceased." She read aloud. "You guys have been dead for ages though, right?"
Barbara laughed, "For quite a while I suppose. We kept the book though, it's amazing how much we still don't know even after thirty odd years." 
"I was gonna say." Beth swung her legs back and forth restlessly. "My mom remembers you being here when she was a child so it's definitely not recent."
Barbara and Adam looked at one another, sadness written all over their faces. 
"I remember those days." Adam sighed. "Your mother was just like you. She could see us as well, we spent a lot of time together back then." 
Beth fiddled with her fingers, "She doesn't see you anymore. She told me."
"I know."
"Why?"
"Well that's just the thing," Barbara complained, "We don't know!" 
"We've tried everything. Moving furniture, slamming doors... Barbara has thrown so many books across the house, but it's no good." 
   Beth sat silently for a second, considering. "There must be a way." She said at last, her eyebrows drawn together in a concentrated scowl. "Isn't there anything in your recently deceased book?"
"I've read this book cover to cover a hundred times and there's nothing about it." Adam said matter of factly. "I'd talk to someone in the land of the dead but they're next to useless too." 
"The thing is we're so desperate for her to see us again." Barbara wiped away a tear. "It's been so many years and she was like the daughter I never had once. When she left Adam and I were in pieces. And when you three moved back in.. well... we didn't know who she was at first and then we heard that awful cousin of mine call her Lydia Deetz and everything fell into place." 
"We should have known really." Adam admitted. "She hasn't changed an awful lot and you are the spitting image of her. But I guess we never expected her to come back." 
"My dad died so she moved us out of our old house and into this one. It was going to be sold off to make apartments or something. I'm not too sure, I'm only eight." 
Adam laughed. "Don't worry," He said, "We'll find a way to let Lydia see us. It's so strange to see her so grown up. She's older than us!" 
Barbara was about to argue that technically she wasn't older than them at all, but at that moment the front door flew open and the sound of raised voices could be heard from the hallway. 
"What the hell did I tell you?" Lydia shouted. "I said look after your sister, not go out roaming the streets at night. For God's sake, Katrina! You're eighteen, how am I meant to trust you?" 
"You're not meant to." Katrina shouted back. "I'm supposed to be out and enjoying life."
"You do enjoy life! Every day! This was my one chance to have a good night with some old friends and you blow it for me. Well done." 
"Someone's in trouble." Adam smirked. Barbara smacked him in the ribs.
"It's not funny." She scolded. 
"It is funny." Beth replied. 
"Beth! Beth! Where are you?" 
Beth turned to Barbara and Adam regretfully. "I have to go. Mom hates me being up here. I don't know why." 
"Alright, better do what she says. She sounds cross." Barbara raised her eyebrows. 
"I'll be back soon though, I promise." 
"Beth!" Lydia was already in the doorway, her face red from shouting and her eyes wide. 
"I can't trust either of you! How many times have I told you not to come up here!"
"Can you see them?"
"Who?" 
"Barbara and Adam. They're right there." Lydia followed Beth's pointed finger, her gaze coming to rest on a perfectly empty armchair. 
"No." She took her daughter's wrist and pulled her out of the room. "Bed. Now." She demanded. 
Beth tripped down the staircase and turned the corner out of sight. 
Carefully Lydia peered around the door and back into the attic room. She stared hard at the armchair. No doubt about it, it was empty. Yet she could see a clear indent in the cushion of the seat itself, dipped like someone was sitting in it. She turned, shut the door and walked away. Maybe coming back to Winter River wasn't such a great idea after all.