slipping through me. It was the kind of considerate thing that only he would ever think of doing for someone. I reached out, putting my hand on his shoulder as he led me off the boardwalk and out onto Hancock Street, leaving the carnival music behind us. The soft worn cotton of his T-shirt made me smile.
“Hey Sadie, don’t get your hopes up with Greg. Really think about whether staying because of him will be worth it. You probably wouldn’t want to stay if I’m the only person you can talk to. It’s been a whole year. That bond that you had with Greg when you were alive, it might be gone now.” He shuffled along the sandy sidewalk, looking at his feet.
“If I can make contact with you, I can make contact with Greg. I won’t be hanging out with you all the time. I can stay for him.” Sheepishly, I added, “I love him.” I imagined us laying side by side on a beach blanket like we used to do before, lazily telling each other stories about our day. At least now he wouldn’t be able to tease me about being sunburnt.
“Sadie, what are you going to do when he gets married?” Paul Michael’s words interrupted my happy thoughts.
“He won’t. If I’m there, it will be like it was before.”
“You’re right, I’m certain a long-term relationship with a ghost won’t do anything to disturb his sanity.”
“Stop making this sound so messed up.” Had I been audible to the rest of the world, my voice would have echoed down the street, bouncing off the shore houses until people looked out their windows.
But thick silence followed, and I wanted to be sucked up into the blackness of the night.
“I don’t want you to make the wrong choice.” Paul Michael cleared his throat. “Eternity is a long time. I don’t want you to spend it in the wrong place.” He waited. I refused to say word. “If you can make it through a visit with Laura, I won’t make another argument against you staying,” Paul Michael told me finally.