Chapter One, Episode 89 - Crushing - Situationally Theirs

Review, Revision, Edit and Update
This morning I actually had time to spend on this revision. It didn't hold any surprises for me - adding context to the dialogue was my biggest revision. Although I try not to interfere with dialogue, I did find some inconsistencies and hopefully cleared them up. I finally had to say to myself to stop twiddling and fixing things. Any typo's should have been be cleared up in the process.

Crushing

Joey had almost gotten used to Sarah. Brigitte said that she had never had a problem with the little ghost girl. But for Joey, almost as soon as he set his foot on the top stair, Sarah had already materialized. She always stood in gauzy quietness, hands behind her back. Her voice floated toward him. “Good morning, Joey. It is a pleasure to see you each day.” Everyday the same watery image, the same quavery voice. He hadn’t told Brigitte yet but today he was tempted to thunder down the stairs, find her or find Mrs. Beaufort and quit this job. But he didn’t. Just like every other day. At least he was only here three days a week and just for half days. Joey didn’t have any brothers or sisters but his friend Steven did. He had one sister and three brothers. The three brothers were all right, but his kid sister was always wanting to follow them around. Sarah was like that. Just because she was from another generation - a hundred, two hundred years ago didn’t make a difference. She was still like an annoying little sister who just couldn’t leave him alone. Joey just wanted to get his work done and get out to the garden to work with Samuel.

“You like being outside with that old man more than you like me.” Her shadowy figure floated up to the ceiling, her voice almost a high-pitched scream. She wrapped herself around the old grandfather clock before hovering at the window, then disappearing outside.

“That’s not true.” Joey was desperate. When he realized Sarah had gone, he whispered to himself “Almost not true.” Joey's thoughts raced ahead: If I upset her more the whole upstairs will be a wreck. What would I tell Mrs. Beaufort? How will I explain that the ghost had destroyed everything? An excuse from a dumb teenager. And I’d be fired. Joey did like Samuel more than Sarah, but that was just because he didn’t wreck Joey’s hard work. Thinking of Samuel pushed any thoughts of the little ghost girl to the back of his mind. The evening that he stayed for supper at the Estate, he had met Samuel Forrester, the yardman, and apparently the gardener. Brigitte Smithson, the young woman he would be replacing, was giving him a ride back to Hartley after supper. Before they left, she took him out to where Samuel was working in the garden and introduced them. While there, Joey noticed a little square of land that looked like an untended garden. For a day or so, he just watched out the living room window. Samuel never touched that little square of land except to water it regularly. One day after work, as he was coming down the stairs to leave for the day, he saw Mrs. Beaufort in the kitchen talking to Cook. She sounded kind of sad or disappointed. Joey barely knew her so wasn't sure, but he did catch the tail end of their conversation. “……..Samuel dug that little garden for me and I haven’t done a thing with it.”

Cook looked up from making pastry for pies, without a stop cutting the cold shortening into the flour and said “Didn’t you and Miss Dez plant potatoes? And you had some other plants, didn’t you? I remember you two coming back from town with every bedding plant you could find. Didn't Giles help you girls load them into a wheel barrow? Seems that's what you told me.” Before her hands were busied rolling out pastry dough, Cook took down three pie plates from the cupboard above the stove, setting them on a countertop free of the dustings of flour. Thinking about the little garden, she had always known she really didn't need any more vegetables. Samuel kept her well taken care of, but she was glad that Miss Emelina was growing an interest in where her food came from.

“Yes, but I didn’t take care of them and most of my bedding plants died.” Emmie was very disappointed in herself but, as Dez told her more than once she had big ideas. It was recognizing the time she'd need for her get her ideas moving. She continued “The potatoes will come up, but the rest was just a lot of money down the drain. I didn’t know I'd be so busy…and I suppose my interest in gardening wasn’t all that great. Good thing I have Samuel taking care of the big garden or you'd have Giles making his grocery store trips a whole lot more than he already does.” Emmie shook her head and smiled at herself.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Beaufort,” Joey was hesitant to interrupt. Even at sixteen he was still shy to approach the boss lady, but he had an important question. 

Miss Emelina turned. “Hello, Joey! You're so quiet. I didn't even hear you come downstairs. Do you need something for the upstairs?” She was pleased with having hired the young man and hoped there was nothing wrong. 

Joey stumbled out his words. “No ma’am…..I mean Mrs. Beaufort…..the upstairs is good. I’ve got everything I need. What I’d like to know is about the garden you and Cook were just talking about. If you don’t have time to work it, do you think I could. It would be on my own time and after I’m finished upstairs.” Joey had the big ideas of a teenager, and the energy to go with them. “We don’t have room for a garden in town and my parents both work. They are working at home right now. My mother only has some herbs in the kitchen. If I could grow one out here I’d appreciate it. Vegetables for my mom.”

Emmie was relieved and, at the same time, pleased “Joey, that sounds like a fine idea. Let’s go out to the garden now…..” Emmie laid her hand on Cook's shoulder. “Cook did you need anything before we go?” Cook wiped the flour from her hands with a clean tea towel. Walking to the pantry in the corner of the kitchen she said. “I don’t need anything but Samuel needs his lunch. Here’s the basket all ready for him.” Still talking from inside the pantry Emelina and Joey heard “I've put a cold pack under the sandwiches.” Walking across the kitchen she set the well packed basket on the table. “And tell him to make sure he uses the wet napkin I've put in there before he gets his dirty hands on the sandwiches. It's in a plastic bag.” Shaking her head at the thought of Samuel she said absently “I always have to remind him.”

Before the basket had been on the table for even a second, Joey stepped forward and offered to carry it. He recognized a well packed and heavy basket when he saw it. “Here, Cook. I’ll take that.” Picking it up easily, he said to his boss. “Mrs. Beaufort, I’ll carry the basket to Samuel. You just lead the way.”

“Just a minute, Joey.” Joey stopped and looked over at Cook. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a chocolate cake. Cutting off a big slice, she put it in a glass container, snapped its plastic lid shut and put in in the basket. “That’s for you. Samuel has his own piece in there so don’t let him talk you out of yours.” Cook, realizing she'd forgotten Miss Emelina, said “One more minute, Joey. I need another piece for Miss Emelina.”

Emmie held up her hand. “No thank you, Cook. Save it for when I get back up here. I'll only be gone long enough to walk Joey out to the garden and re-introduce him to Samuel.” Relieved that she hadn't made a real gaff, Cook put her cake knife down and put the lid back on the cake.

Joey hadn't even noticed the little cloud that had passed over Cook's face and picked the basket up again. “Thanks, Cook! I’ll be sure to tell him your message and there’s no way he’s getting his hands on my cake.”

~~~~~

While they walked to the garden, Emelina had some time with Joey. She really liked this young man and hoped they’d see him more than just three days a week to do some cleaning. “Any problems upstairs, Joey? I thought I heard you worrying about something this morning.”

Joey's mind answered before he could speak: What a question. Problems! Only having a ghost acting like an annoying kid sister. How do I answer Mrs. Beaufort? He really didn't know quite how to answer her, but just started to talk “No…..well……I don’t know if I should say. I mean it sounds kind of weird even to me now that I’m away from her……I mean ‘it’…..I…………That ghost girl is driving me crazy!”

“What’s she doing? I hope that she's not going to make you quit?” Emmie tried to sound calm. She had had some experience with Sarah, the resident ghost. She was, for the most part, a nice little girl. However, when she got angry, the ‘nice’ became ‘not so nice’.

Joey's next words spilled out of his mouth, forgetting that he was talking to the woman that signed his paycheque. In frustration he said “Sarah is there every single morning that I come. Right at the top of the stairs. One of the rooms is always messed up - I mean really messed up - when I get there. Furniture tipped over, ashes from the fireplaces on the floor and furniture. The only things never touched are your room and the china cabinet. Today was the first time I saw her face stretched and kind of like melting plastic. Didn’t you hear her scream? At first I just put up with her, but I told her today if she didn’t stop I’d quit.” As soon as he said it, he realized his mistake. He looked up at Mrs. Beaufort. She didn't look happy. “It was just a threat to her, I didn’t really mean it.” Joey explained why he talked about quitting to the little ghost girl. “She doesn’t like that I want to go out to the garden and spend time talking with Mr. Forrester - I mean Samuel. Do you know what I can do?” Joey tried to sound confident and reasonable. 

Emmie tried to get a serious look on her face, but if you looked closely, she had a tiny smile and thought: I think Sarah has a crush on Joey. “I think maybe she likes you Joey. There's never anyone around that's even close to her same ghostly age. If she was a normal living, breathing twelve year old girl visited every few days by a handsome young man such as yourself, I suspect that girl would have a crush on you. That's just my guess, Joey.”

Joey groaned. Of course. She acting just the way Steven’s sister acts when Josh is around. “So what do I do, ma’am?” His childhood training and his nervousness let the forbidden ‘ma’am’ slip out. He quickly started to apologize. “Sorry….I mean …….” Emmie laughed “Don’t worry about that ‘ma’am’ thing, Joey. If that’s the way you have been taught then just let it go….. I know you're just being respectful and I appreciate it.” Emmie struggled to answer his question about what to do about Sarah. “Let’s see. I think, maybe, if you get her to help you? I don’t really know what ghosts can do.” Emmie took another minute to think. “Oh yes..when I was rearranging the living room one night, Sarah would lift the really heavy things up for me. I thought it had all been a dream for a long time. After a little while, our little ghost girl got bored and went out on her swing. Maybe you could give her something like that to do to help you. Especially in the rooms she messed up. Try that tomorrow……” Emmie stopped and pointed to the little plot of land Joey had seen from the upstairs. “We're here.” Joey set the basket down. It seemed to have gotten heavy on their slow walk out to the garden. Emmie"s voice was quiet. “Here we are at my sad and forlorn little garden plot.” She turned to Joey who was checking inside the basket to make sure his cake was alright. You really think you’d like to take care of this? See, there’s already potato plants coming. Samuel’s been keeping it watered so I didn’t lose all of the bedding plants. But it really needs weeding. If you want to work it, it’s yours to work. If you've got any questions, just ask Samuel.” Joey stood up, confident his cake was alright.

“Here he comes now.”  Emmie waved at Samuel, denim overalls and straw hat, as he came towards them.

“Afternoon Mz. Beaufort. Joey. You gonna be workin’ this little plot? Needs some carin’. Samuel had spied the basket Joey was carrying. Trying, but without much energy, to not too eager he said.......“Did I see a basket from Elizabeth?”

“You mean Cook? Yes, it's right here.” Emmie leaned sideways towards Joey and whispered in his ear “Samuel always calls Cook by her name - Elizabeth.” Joey nodded in silent response then, picking up the basket from the ground he said to Samuel. “Cook sent a message to you. She sounded pretty strict about it. She told me to tell you to use the wet napkin to ‘wipe your dirty hands on’ before you eat your sandwich.” He looked serious, but Samuel looked amused. “Yep, that's my Elizabeth.” He didn't seem upset at all. 

Emmie interrupted them. “I’ll see you two later on. I need to get back to the house.” Emmie smiled at them both. “I'll show this young'un where everything is, Mz. Beaufort - garden, tool shed, waterin' hose. But we'll need to eat first.” Before Emmie was two steps away, Joey and Samuel were walking toward the old chairs by the tool shed, in deep conversation over the basket that Cook had sent out. 

“Having a crush makes you an idiot.”

~ Amy Spalding,  The Summer of Jordi Pérez