Nearly Departed, Max Schlienger [the gingerbread man read aloud txt] 📗

“I meant... Oh, nevermind.”

Bobo flashed another of his grins. “Oh, one thing, though,” he said, holding out a hand. “Give me your phone.”

“What?” Dennis gawked. “Why?”

“Never bring a phone on a date, September, it’s common manners.”

Dennis dug into his pocket. “I’ll set it to be silent,” he said, pressing a button.

“Not good enough. Give it here. I’ll put it in the other room, and you can have it back when you’re done.”

With a glare and a muttered insult, Dennis dropped his phone into Bobo’s waiting palm, and then turned to face the table. With as little ceremony as he could manage, he slid into the chair across from Evy’s and waited. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it hardly surprised him when the worn armchair remained conspicuously empty.

Dennis sighed inwardly. He felt ridiculous, as though he were about to play a game of make-believe with an eager child. Perhaps Evy felt the same way, since she was remaining tactfully absent. Finally, Bobo stepped forward with a serious expression, and made a show of glancing from Dennis to the vacant chair.

“May I interest either of you in a selection from our dessert menu?” he asked.

“Uh, maybe in a few minutes,” Dennis replied. He looked across at the empty space where the ghost’s head might have been. “Unless you want anything, Evy?”

“None for me, thank you,” a feminine voice replied, and the girl faded into view. She was clad as she always had been, and the only change in her appearance was in the straightness of her posture. “Though if you could see to clearing our plates, that would be excellent.”

For a moment, Dennis pondered what life – or, at least, Evy’s approximation of it – might be like from the perspective of a ghost. Evy in particular didn’t seem to retain any memory from one appearance to the next, and Dennis could only speculate at how disorienting it would be to suddenly find oneself in the midst of an upscale dinner date.

“Of course, ma’am,” said Bobo with a quiet bow. He kicked Dennis’ leg, and Dennis snapped back to reality. “Some more wine, then?” He gestured to a pair of empty crystal goblets, both of which had a thin red residue at the bottom.

“That would be lovely,” said Evy. She turned to Dennis as Bobo gathered the plates, and flashed a coy smile as the bigger man left the room. “Although, I think I may have had too much already. Why, I can hardly remember your name.”

“It’s Dar... It’s Dennis.” Still feeling a bit silly, he plucked his napkin from the table and made a show of dabbing his lips. “How was your meal? The steak here is supposed to be excellent.”

“Oh, yes, quite so.”

Silence hung in the air as Dennis thought about what to say next, and Evy used the time to make nearly-revealing adjustments to her neckline. “So,” said Dennis hastily, “you were telling me about your family. You said you have a younger sister, right?”

“Oh, yes!” Evy laughed. “Yes, Ellie is absolutely adorable. You should hear the way she carries on about things.” She leaned forward conspiratorially, and although the motion afforded Dennis an easy view down the ghost’s dress, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on hers. “Just the other day, I found her hiding in my closet. She gave me quite a shock, but I could hardly be angry with her.”

“Well, maybe you can introduce me to her someday soon,” Dennis said. “After all, I think it’s about time that I met them all, don’t you?”

“Oh, that’s hardly necessary.” Evy waved her hand dismissively. “They’d just get in the way. Father, for one, is far too protective.”

Dennis fought the urge to pounce on the comment, remembering how it had effectively annihilated his attempts at conversation during their last meeting. Instead, he turned to look over his shoulder, and then looked back at Evy.

“That waiter is certainly taking his time, isn’t he?”

Evy snorted and shook her head. “Honestly, I’ll be surprised if he remembers us at all. The last time I dealt with him, he completely forgot to bring me my tea.”

“Shameful, isn’t it?” Dennis remarked. It was another second or two before Evy’s words registered. “Wait... When was that, exactly?”

“Oh, I can hardly be bothered to mention it, really,” Evy said.

“Well, I’m interested,” pressed Dennis. “What happened?”

“It was nothing, dear, really. I simply asked him for some tea, and he never did see fit to bring it.”

With either excellent or atrocious timing, Bobo chose that moment to reappear, carrying a half-empty bottle of red wine with him. Dennis arched an eyebrow and was given a shrug as Bobo moved to refill both of the goblets.

“Have we decided on a dessert?” he asked.

“Not just yet,” Dennis replied. The sight of the crimson fluid was already enough to turn his stomach, and he was beginning to suspect that Elspeth had a dessert course waiting in the kitchen, should it prove necessary. Bobo finished his task without further comment, twisting the bottle in midair with an expert motion of the wrist, and leaving the nearly-empty container on the table.

“Take your time,” he said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to check on you.” Dennis gave him a polite nod, finally getting into the right character, and turned his attention back to Evy.

“Well, he seems responsible enough now.”

“I suppose,” the ghost murmured. “Quite a change from before.”

“He’s really stuck in your mind, isn’t he?” Dennis asked cautiously. If his words had any adverse affect, it wasn’t apparent.

“He reminds me of someone I knew back in England,” said Evy with just a hint of sadness. “A boy named Dante. Of course, I could never tell anyone about him. He was a servant boy, and I....” she trailed off, a nostalgic look in her eyes. “Well, it would hardly have been proper.”

The conversation had gone off-track. As interested as Dennis was in the fact that Evy might have actually recognized Bobo, it