A fair Trade - A Beetlejuice Fanfiction - Betelgeuse & Lydia

Chapter 4

It had been two months since that fateful night, and the newly established family had gotten into a routine of sorts. The poltergeist it seemed truly was a creature of habit and didn't mind the doldrums of daily life as long as he retained his freedom.

When Betelgeuse wasn't 'working' and Lydia thought that loosely since she didn't know what he did during the day; the poltergeist was helping her to take care of Lucy, and she had to admit the man was a decent husband and father. 'It could have been worse,' mused Lydia as Luke came to the forefront of her mind. Oh yeah, it could have been much worse. At least she wasn't alone in all this, and Betelgeuse didn't seem bothered by the weight of the responsibility. Plus, the dead man always had their daughter within his grasps, and Lucy seemed to prefer it that way as well. As soon as the tiny infant noticed that the specter was home, she would fuss until he scooped her into his arms. Their daughter would be glued to his side until she fell asleep. It was apparent the duo had a very strong and close bond and warmed Lydia's heart immensely every time she observed their interactions.

Another part of their routine was their eating schedule and how it vastly differed from the one Lydia experienced growing up. She had seen more take out boxes than homemade food, and maybe that was why she got into that routine of making homecooked meals. Maybe she wanted her family to be different, hell they were different. So that was why every morning she would get up and make them all breakfast. After Betelgeuse would leave for work and pop in later for lunch, then go back to whatever he had been doing until dinner time. Weirdly, it worked for them.

The last of their routine was after dinner, where they usually ended up in the living room watching either a tv show or some kind of movie. Most of the time, Lydia would be curled up on the couch with a blanket, while Betelgeuse sprawled out in his worn chair with Lucy sleeping soundly on his chest.

Tonight, was just like any other night for the little family. After some debate, they ended up watching some raunchy comedy that she would never have given a chance to but had to admit that it was quite funny. Not that she would tell him that. The dead man's ego was large enough as it was, and it didn't need any more inflating.

The phone beside her sprang to life, and Lydia quickly reached over to answer it. "Hello?" She greeted into the receiver and continued to watch the movie on the screen while waiting for a response.

"Pumpkin! How are you and my granddaughter doing?" Her dad's jovial voice echoed in her ear.

A smile sprang forth, as his warmed tone washed over her. Oh, how she missed her father, even if he was a little high strung, and let her stepmother boss him around the majority of the time. "Hi, dad. We're both doing great. How are you and Delia? How's Barbara and Adam?" She asked while praying her father hadn't heard the loud Hiya Chuck that came from Betelgeuse. Lydia glared at her husband sending a rude gesture his way, only for him to return it with a flash of that obnoxious grin of his. He was enjoying this and wanted her to get caught so she would have to tell them. Not that the newlywed was ashamed of being married to the dead man. To tell the truth, she just didn't want to deal with the shit storm that was her folks right now. It simply wasn't the right time. The cheeky poltergeist said some more things, and it caused her to cover the receiver with a hand and whisper to him sharply. "Not funny asshole. Knock it off."

He just kept on grinning obnoxiously and turned back to the movie, purposely laughing noisily at the funny parts. She sent the poltergeist the evil eye, and another rude gesture then returned to the conversation that she wasn't even listening to. From what she could gather, everyone was fine and dandy. Lydia talked to her dad for a couple more minutes, until work called, and he had to let her go.