Hurry Up, Get Happy (a Beetlejuice: the Musical Fanfiction)

Worried

"She told me everything," Barbara explained to Charles an hour later. The still-living man listened, nodding along as Barbara continued speaking, "I didn't know that it's been a year since your first wife died of cancer. It must be hard. Right?"

Charles's nodding slowed. "It is."

"When was she diagnosed with cancer?" the female ghost asked.

"At the beginning of last year," Charles replied, a sad tone to his voice. He sighed and continued to speak, "Lydia and I were equally worried about her. Lydia even more so than I was. We were both afraid she was going to pass on within a month of her diagnosis. She was a fighter to have had made it to the end of last year."

"Were you and Lydia pained when you guys received the news about her death."

"Me, I was as equally pained as Lydia was. It worried me when Lydia's pain showed when I was trying my best to hide my pain. That's why I hired Delia to be Lydia's Life Coach after taking Lydia to see a Psychiatrist didn't work."

"When did you fall in love with Delia?" Barbara asked curiously. Charles thought to himself for a minute.

"It was nearing the end of mine and Lydia's first visit to her office," Charles explained with a smile and Barbara nodded along. "She was telling me about her first boyfriend and about how he left her to live with his boyfriend in Rome. I felt sorry for her and assured her that everything was going to be alright."

"Long story short?"

"Long story short," Charles said with a chuckle. "I guess Delia and I clicked over loss. After Lydia and I left Delia's office, I started going on secret dates with Delia whilst Lydia was at school."

"So she didn't know about the relationship you had with Delia until she pulled the sheets off your bed and discovered Delia underneath them," Barbara said knowingly. She still remembered that day. As did the rest, excluding Betelgeuse, of the Maitland-Deetz Family.

Charles nodded in response, a sad smile on his face. "I hadn't quite anticipated on her finding out that way. Delia and I were going to wait until we announced our wedding to tell her."

"By the way?" Barbara asked. "When is yours and Delia's wedding scheduled?"

"In a couple months from now," came Charles's immediate response. "Around the end of February."

Barbara nodded. "Have you thought about having it here at the house? If it is, Adam and I would love to come."

"That depends." Charles laughed. "Is the backyard big enough?"

"Why don't you go outside and see for yourself."

"I'll do that later," Charles said. "Right now, it looks like Lydia wants to talk to either one of us."

"Actually, dad," Lydia interrupted. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Alright," Charles said, surprised. "I guess I'll wait until tomorrow to check to see if the backyard is big enough for a wedding." He followed Lydia out of his office.

Barbara left soon after, heading back up to the attic.

Barbara found her husband in the attic, still working on his model of the town of Winter River, and quietly coughed to grab his attention. He stopped working on his model, placing down a model house, and looked up towards her.

"Was there something you needed, Barbara, honey?" he asked as Barbara sat herself down in a chair and focused her attention on him. He sat down next to her and rested an arm around her shoulder. She placed a hand on top of his.

"You know," Barbara quietly told her husband, "I'm still worried about Lydia. I get why she's been down but it's worse than when she, her dad, and Delia first moved in."

"Did she tell you why she was down?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, she told me it was the first anniversary of her mother's death."

Adam thought to himself for a minute. "I think I'll go talk to her for a little bit." He left the attic and Barbara followed closely behind, not wanting to be left alone.

The two ghosts found Lydia and Charles sitting together on the back deck of the house. They tried their best to stay hidden, their heads and the top halves of their bodies poking through a wall. From the sounds of it, Lydia and Charles were, again, talking about Lydia's mom.

Lydia was the first to notice that Adam and Barbara were there, Charles following soon after, and turned to look at them.

"How long have you guys been there?" she asked her ghost parents.

They looked at one another before refocusing their attention back over towards Lydia and Charles, both of whom were looking at them. Charles had a smile on his face and Lydia, a frown on her face. The Maitlands could tell Lydia didn't want them here at the moment but decided against going back inside.

"We just wanted to check on you," Barbara said, "Adam and I are worried about you."

"And I just wanted to spend some quiet time with my dad," came Lydia's response. The Maitlands both looked hurt. They both didn't expect Lydia to say something like that.

They disappeared back inside, leaving Lydia alone with Charles.

Charles looked at his daughter, astonished. "Lydia," he said and she looked at him. "Later, I want you to apologize to Adam and Barbara."

"I will," was all she said.