Ghosts of Halloweens Past

Chapter 5

Nick strolled into the Ellsworth Inn and Spa five minutes before his shift started. His coworkers eyed him with relief, probably expecting him to be late since half the time he was. He clocked in and took over the front desk, shifting into his customer service role.

It was a Monday, with not too much going on around town or the nearby city, so he expected a slow day, which was fine by him since he had some research to do anyway.

After the overnight shift left, he settled down at the desk. He took out his phone and read a message from Erin. "Mom is coming by tomorrow for dinner. Please be there."

He typed back. "Can't. Working."

And then replied to his brother from last night. "Cool shark, bro. Don't lose any legs over there. All well and good here. Catch you later."

Why didn't you tell him? Rose asked.

Told you, I'm weak.

Don't say that. You are not weak.

Nick shrugged and opened the internet browser on the desk computer. He typed in Edmund Piers 1695 to do some digging.

Tell me about Erin and Jamie. Are you close to them? Rose asked.

Mmm. Yes and no. We can go long stretches without talking but we know each other pretty well, I guess. Jamie is the adventurous one. He's going to school for marine biology. Erin is the serious one. She's a defense attorney. Then there is me, in the middle with a dead end job and no idea of what I actually want to do. It's no wonder Chelsea left me.

He scrolled through some of the search results. Edmund Piers, woodworker and cabinet maker, died in 1695 from a cracked skull falling from a horse. He had been engaged to Elizabeth Brewster at the time of his death.

Does this sound accurate?

Yes. I mean, I didn't know he was engaged, he never mentioned Elizabeth, but everything else is what he told me.

Weird. Maybe Oscar just meant he isn't a good person? Did they not get along?

They didn't talk all that much but they never seemed to have a problem with one another. I can't imagine, if Eddie wasn't a decent person, that I wouldn't have seen some indication of it in the last hundred and fifty three years.

A couple with their two kids walked over from the staircase. Nick closed the internet and shifted back into work mode. He helped them set up transport to the nearby amusement park's Spooktoberfest and sold them discounted tickets, smiling and speaking with confidence and ease the entire time. He was like a different person completely. When they were gone, his smile faded and he slouched back into the seat.

His phone buzzed again. Erin. "Can't you switch your shift?"

He typed back. "No. Sorry."

You didn't even try, said Rose.

I'm not actually working tomorrow night. I just don't want to see my mother.

How come?

Because she doesn't give a flying fuck about us. It's all a show to make herself look and feel good. When she does show up once in a blue moon all she does is make passive aggressive comments. Nothing we ever do is good enough. Erin cooked an entire meal from scratch once and all she did was complain at how she didn't like the lumpy mashed potatoes or that the gravy was thinner than hers or the green beans were too soft. If I'm there I'll never hear the end of how it didn't work out with Chelsea because I'm not ambitious enough. I don't make enough money and I've been in school for six years and have gotten nowhere. But Jamie, oh Jamie is the perfect child. She is so proud of Jamie and we should be more like him. Of course, all of this is slurred because she pops a fist full of only God knows what kinds of pills and starts drinking wine at 9 a.m.