HOOKER SATURDAY~6

Here's another snippet from my wip that I'm working on with my loveable ghost, Seamus.  He's trying to get Rachel, an ICU nurse to help him with his unfinished business...

“But where is Devon Jameson, now?”



“He’s at my house, Rachel. He needs a little help. You’ll have to go there and tell him I’m dead in person,” Seamus said from the passenger seat beside her.


Rachel’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, and the car swerved slightly. Somewhere behind her, a horn blared and she ignored it. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Seamus, you scared the daylights out of me!”


"Watch your language, young lady," Seamus scolded as she pulled onto the side of the road.


She groaned and leaned her forehead on the steering wheel. Not again! Trying to calm her jittery heart, Rachel started the relaxation breathing techniques she’d used while going through her divorce.


“That’s it, Rachel, breathe. You need to stay calm.” Even the deep rich timber in Seamus’s voice sounded the same.


Why did she think she was seeing Seamus again? He was dead. Was it stress? Grief? Or, something else? Normally a superstitious person, Rachel believed a lot of different things were possible--but did she actually believe in ghosts?


Maybe her mother was right--she should lay off the late night horror movies. “Now, I’m talking to a figment of my imagination. The only plausible explanation is that I haven't dealt with my grief yet. I know it’s only a matter of time before I’m picked up by men in little white coats and placed in the Looney bin."


Another headline flashed before her.

'Nurse Placed In Psych Ward After Nervous Breakdown'.

"I don’t know how much more I can take. With the possibility of the hospital closing and losing my only source of income, the upcoming custody battle, and Seamus dying...”


Unable to hold it in any longer, Rachel burst into tears. She didn’t know how much time had passed with her forehead on the steering wheel. Occasionally, she thought she heard Seamus murmur soft words of comfort.


Finally, she lifted her head and found herself taking a couple of tissues Seamus offered.


“Feel better?” Seamus asked. “A good cry always made my Maggie feel better, you know.”


“No, I don’t feel better. I’m wrung out and tired. My face is probably all red and blotchy, and I’m getting a major headache.” Blowing her nose, Rachel glared at the apparition sitting next to her.


Was she going completely mental? “Maybe I should look up Dr. Lee and get that free psych eval, after all."  She narrowed her eyes at him, and waved her hands. "Why don't you just shoo? Go away, Seamus!"


“Rachel, you’re not going insane and I’m not a figment of your imagination. I’m really here. I don’t know the how or the why of it. It just is. I need you to go to my house right now. Devon’s in trouble and only you and I know about it."


Rachel stared, not bothering to hide the disbelief she felt.


"No one else can see me, but you. I tried getting the attention of several other RN's when Parker Mortuary came to pick up my body at the hospital. Those nurses only had eyes for the young buck who came for me. Sheesh, you’d think they’d never seen a man before.”


The exasperation in Seamus’s voice made her smile. The morticians from Parker’s could fill any Chippendale’s Calender. Dressed in three piece suits that moved with their excellent physiques like a second skin, and wearing their sympathetic, caring smiles, they many a nurse swooned.


Rachel's frowned, chewing her lower lip.


This wasn't real--he wasn't real.


"Do you know what a pessimist is? A man who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself, and hates them for it," Seamus said, the aura surrounding him flashed a red brilliance briefly as he quoted one of his favorite Irish sayings from George Bernard Shaw.


"I told you to shoo!" Rachel nearly shouted. "You're not real!" She had a childish urge to clamp her hands over her ears and start singing La La La...

Thanks for stopping by.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story.  Wondering if it is worth my time dusting it off and revamping it.  Please leave a comment.  Enjoy your weekend!
Kathleen