Eight
of strolling around the perimeter, Bruno takes us to the women.
I’m a little leery, but Bruno has been very pensive lately, with lots of long looks toward his wife. Something has changed.
I’m just not sure if that’s good news.
“Good morning,” Bruno says as we approach Audrey and Clothilde. “How was your night?”
Clothilde looks like she’d love to make fun of his question, but she holds back with a glance at Audrey.
Could they have made some sort of progress, too?
“It was great,” Audrey replies dryly. “Just like the day before, since we don’t sleep anymore. No offense,” she throws at Clothilde, “but this place gets really boring after a while.”
Clothilde snorts. “Why should I get offended? I didn’t make the rules about how this works. I’ve been bored for years.”
I’d be offended by her remark, but she’s right. Waiting around for nothing can get really tedious, even in good company.
Bruno chuckles and takes a seat at the tomb across from the one his wife is currently occupying.
“Takes some getting used to,” he says. “I’m so used to always doing something. I feel guilty, I think.”
“You didn’t seem to be feeling guilty when you let me handle everything for the wedding.” The comment doesn’t come as a surprise, but the tone has changed considerably since the last altercation the couple had about their differences. The tone is…almost playful.
A corner of Bruno’s mouth lifts a fraction. “That’s because I knew you had it all handled, chérie.” There’s real affection in the delivery of the last word, and he seems as surprised by it as the rest of us.
Audrey opens her mouths.
Closes it.
Opens it again.
“But I asked you for help so many times.”
Bruno sighs. Runs a hand through his hair. “Whatever I said, it was never the right answer. Instead of feeling like I was helping you, I felt like I had to pass a quiz. One I didn’t even know I was supposed to study for.”
Deep in thought, Audrey stares at her husband.
I share a look with Clothilde, where we silently agree to stay as invisible as possible in this conversation.
“I’m sorry you felt that way,” Audrey says, her voice soft. Her face has lost the hard edge we saw during the fighting days and the look she sends her husband is downright soft.
Bruno nods at the apology. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help more. I guess I sometimes spent more time than necessary at work to avoid coming home to the wedding-planning frenzy.”
They stare at each other, doing their own silent communication.
“Guess we could have been better at talking about this back then, huh?” Audrey says.
“That would probably have been a good idea.”
Audrey glances around at the cemetery. “Wasn’t in our cards.”
Bruno breaks out in a smile that completely transforms his face. He goes from looking like a harried man in his mid-thirties to a happy twenty-something newlywed.
“With tempers like ours,” he says, “this ending probably was in our cards.”
Suddenly, and making both Clothilde and I jump in surprise, Audrey breaks out in giggles. “It really was epic, wasn’t it?”
I realize I can see the tombstone behind Bruno through his ghostly body.
He’s turning translucent.
So is Audrey.
“Hey, guys,” Clothilde says gently, not wanting to break them out of their newly found happy bubble. “I think you finally found your closure.”
They both frown, not understanding. Until they realize they’re fading away.
“Come here!” Bruno holds out a hand to his wife. “We need to go together. I don’t want to lose you again.”
They pop out of existence just as their hands touch.
“Well,” Clothilde says into the ensuing silence. “That was an original twist to a double murder for us.”
“Sure was. Didn’t even need any outside help.” I take a seat next to my friend and bump her shoulder with mine.
She plays along and pretends to be bumped instead of having me go through her.
“I think we did good, though,” she says. “We should add it to your non-existent plaque.” She holds up her hands as if visualizing it. “Robert Villemur. Detective and Marriage Counselor.”
I chuckle. “I think I prefer just ‘Ghost Detective.’”
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