If Catfish Had Nine Lives(115)

            “I do,” Gram said.

            Josey looked at me. “I’m so terribly sorry for the trouble I caused you, but I’m beginning to think that if it weren’t for you, we still might not have a solution. An end to my torture. Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome,” I said.

            “I think things are good now,” Josey said.

            “We had our fun over the years. Thank you, Joe. Josey,” Gram said.

            “We did. And Astin and I will be back someday, I’m sure. And we’ll be together,” Josey said.

            “We’ll see you down the road, then,” Gram said. “And, Josey, I’m ever so glad you aren’t alone anymore.”

            Josey’s horse stomped and looked directly at me. Our eyes made contact, and I was certain he was trying to tell me something. It was too bad that even in the midst of all this weirdness, it seemed that animals still couldn’t speak. I wish I could have known what he was trying to tell me right before he faded away completely, but I’m going to go with gratitude. The horse was either happy to have the truth come out or was so fed up with the rest of us for not being able to figure out that Joe was a she and not a he that he needed one last look of “sheesh.” No, I’m going to go with gratitude.

            Astin pulled Josey up onto his horse. She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. They smiled at each other as he heeled the horse and pulled on the reins to turn it back toward wherever he came from. In a moment, they were all gone, except for Jerome.

            The stress of the haunted moments, as well as holding the now-completely-passed-out Esther, had worn on Vivienne. As Astin and Amelia Josephine and the horses completed their disappearing act, Esther slid from Vivienne’s arms. The unconscious woman fell backward onto Vivienne’s knees, causing her to fall over, too. On their way down, the trigger of the gun got pulled.

            The next thing I knew I was flat on the ground with my face in the dirt, and Jerome was on top of me.

            “What happened?” I said.

            “The bullet was headed your direction,” Jerome said. “It missed you.”

            “But it got you, young man,” Orly said as he crouched down next to us.

            Jerome rolled off me and then sat up. I pulled myself up to my knees and looked at the hole in his shoulder. It wasn’t bloody. It was just a hole.

            “Oh, Jerome, I’m so sorry,” I said.

            “I’m fine,” he said with a smirk. “Can’t die twice, remember?”

            “Excuse me,” Orly said.

            “Look, you two need to kiss and get this over with. We need to help Esther,” Jake said. Gram had the gun, and Jake held Vivienne’s arms behind her so she wouldn’t get away.

            I looked at Jerome. “You think you’re done here?”

            “For now.”

            I tipped his hat back and leaned toward him. I held his face, now so real and stubbly with the paranormal juju all around. I kissed his forehead. I felt him and he felt me. The light around wasn’t bright daylight again, but it was bright enough that we shouldn’t have been able to feel each other. But we did. Some things just might never be understood or explained.

            “I have a boyfriend. I’d better stop kissing other boys on the lips,” I said.

            “That you’d better. Good-bye for now, Isabelle and Miz. See you next time,” he said before he disappeared.

            “I can’t wait,” I whispered.