They had finished lunch and still hadn’t come up with a plan to get Olivia to come over to Marlow House.
“No matter how we phrase the invitation, there is no guarantee Olivia will accept,” Danielle said after the server removed the plates from the table and left them alone.
“It was your idea,” Heather reminded.
“I know. But the more I think about it, I have this gut feeling she’ll find some excuse not to come. And then what do we do?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t expect her to come to Marlow House. Perhaps we should show up on her doorstep,” Chris suggested.
Heather looked at Chris. “How would that work?”
Chris considered the question for a moment and smiled. “We go over there like the welcoming committee. I’ll stop at Old Salts and have them make us a basket of goodies. Who can resist Old Salts’ cinnamon rolls?”
“Hmm, sort of like a housewarming gift?” Danielle said.
“And we get pushy and get her to let us into the house,” Chris said.
Heather eyed Chris for a moment and then gave a little shrug. “It could work. She hasn’t seen you yet. And when she does, I imagine she’ll invite you in without us having to ask. The trick will be to get the rest of us in with you.”
Chris frowned at Heather. “Oh, shut up.”
Heather grinned. “Come on, I’ve seen how the girls go all weak-kneed the first time they see your pretty face.”
“She has a point, Chris,” Danielle agreed.
“She already saw Chris,” Walt said. “When she visited Marlow House during her out-of-body experience.”
“Did she see him? I think what she saw was you levitating a plate, which is probably the reason for her hasty exit,” Heather said.
“And it might be a reason why she’d turn down my invitation,” Danielle added. “After seeing flying dinnerware taking a crash landing in our dining room, she might be reluctant to come over for a visit.”
The server brought their dessert. After she left the table, they discussed how to approach Olivia that evening, and what they would say once they got in.
Eva and Marie sat at Olivia’s kitchen table, playing cards, while Olivia unpacked the boxes for her kitchen and filled her cabinets. That morning, Eva had finally figured out how to manipulate the cards Marie had imagined, yet now she was having doubts about the playing cards, considering she had lost ten games in a row.
“Marie, there is definitely something wrong with these cards,” Eva insisted.
“What do you mean?” Marie asked. “They seem to work fine. Aren’t you having fun?”
“I’ve lost every game,” Eva said.
Marie frowned. “I’m sorry. I suppose it’s no fun to always lose. But you’ll get better when you get the hang of this game.”
“I used to play this all the time when I was alive.”
“But dear, that was a century ago. You’re just rusty. I could let you win, but that wouldn’t be any fun for you. When I played cards with Adam and his brother, I never let them win, even when they were little. That way, when they finally won, it was something they could be proud of. You’ll see.”
Eva let out a sigh. “Marie, darling, I suspect these cards don’t work quite like regular playing cards.”
Marie frowned. “What are you suggesting?”
“When you imagined them—as I imagine snowflakes or Walt his cigar—we have ultimate control. We determine when they vanish, or the shapes of the snowflakes, or the color of glitter. In Walt’s case the fragrance of the cigar, and in playing cards, what number and suit shows up on each card.”
“Are you suggesting I’m cheating?”
Eva smiled. “Not intentionally. But you were so excited to create the illusion of playing cards, you didn’t consider the unconscious way you’ve been manipulating each card. Think about it. When playing a hand, before you draw a new card, aren’t you imagining what card you need to draw in order to win the hand?”
Marie’s eyes widened as she considered Eva’s suggestion. She looked from Eva to the cards in hand. After a moment of reflection, she gasped, “Oh my! You’re right!” The next moment, all the playing cards vanished.
“I’m sorry, you didn’t need to unimagine them. We could have finished the hand, at least.”
Marie shrugged. “What is the point?”
The front doorbell rang. The spirits stopped talking and turned to Olivia, who had set whatever she was unpacking on the kitchen counter so she could answer the door. They followed her out of the kitchen.
Walt, Danielle, Chris, and Heather stood on the front porch of Olivia’s house. The sun was still up, yet it would set within the hour. Heather held the large gift basket Chris had purchased at Old Salts Bakery. On their way back to the office after lunch, Chris and Heather had stopped at the bakery to order the gift basket, which they picked up twenty minutes earlier.
Several minutes after ringing the doorbell, the front door opened. Standing in the open doorway stood Olivia, with Marie and Eva standing behind her. Marie flashed a smile at her friends and gave a wave, while Eva simply smiled, followed by a brief snowfall, all of which Olivia failed to see.
“We come bearing gifts,” Danielle announced.
“To officially welcome you to the neighborhood,” Walt said.
“And to ask your forgiveness for making you uncomfortable,” Heather added.
“And to meet you, I’m Chris. I live down the street.” Chris turned his legendary smile on Olivia.
Heather hadn’t been wrong. The instant Olivia’s gaze set on Chris, she momentarily froze, staring at the ridiculously handsome man and his charming smile. Heather and Danielle exchanged glances, both speculating on what the woman might be thinking. Walt, who often found amusement at the feminine reaction to Chris, seized the opportunity. He snatched the basket from Heather and said, “Here, let me bring this in for you. It’s rather heavy.”
Before Olivia knew what had happened, Walt was already in her house, with the others close behind him. He didn’t ask, but he headed straight for the living room coffee table, where he deposited the basket.
Flustered, Olivia shut the front door and joined her uninvited guests in the living room, while the two lingering spirits each took a seat in an imaginary chair to watch the events unfold.
“Umm, what do we have here?” Olivia asked awkwardly as she looked down at the basket now sitting on the table.
Not waiting to be asked, Both Danielle and Heather sat on the sofa while Danielle said, “A little welcome gift. It’s from Old Salts Bakery here in town. They make the most amazing cinnamon rolls.”
Danielle thought her neighbor’s smile was forced when she looked at her and Heather, who sat on the sofa as if they didn’t intend to leave any time soon. She felt a little sorry for the woman, especially when Walt and Chris joined them on the sofa, leaving Olivia standing in the living room by the coffee table.
“Umm, this is really nice of you all. Maybe we can visit later, but I really need to finish unpacking the kitchen.”
“Oh, do you have food sitting out?” Heather asked. “Something that might spoil?”
“Umm, no, but…”
“Why don’t you sit down?” Walt pointed to the chair facing the sofa. “We promise we won’t stay long, but we have something we need to talk to you about.”
Olivia glanced from Walt to the others and then to the empty nearby chair. Reluctantly, she sat down, now facing her uninvited neighbors, who made no attempt to leave.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Olivia asked.
When Walt had sat down a moment earlier, he noticed a book on the coffee table next to the basket. Its title was one he had looked up when researching astral projection earlier that day. Seeing it as a perfect opportunity to open the conversation, he picked up the book, looked at it, and then turned the cover to Olivia.
“This looks like a very interesting book,” Walt said.
“Umm, yes, it is.” Without thought, Olivia jumped up from the chair, snatched the book from Walt, and sat back down, hugging the book to her chest. “I like to read.”
“So do I,” Walt said. “The next time you come to Marlow House, you’ll have to visit our library.”
“Umm… thank you, but I really must—”
“Do you believe in astral projection?” Walt asked, cutting off what Olivia was about to say.
Olivia glanced briefly at the book in her arms and then back to Walt. She shrugged. “I suppose I believe anything is possible. It’s an interesting topic.”
“A long time ago I read Out on a Limb by Shirley MacLaine,” Danielle said. “Have you read it?”
Olivia nodded. “Yes.”
“You know what I find fascinating about astral projection?” Walt asked.
Olivia shrugged and clutched the book tighter.
“You know what a medium is, right?” Walt began.
Olivia furrowed her brow and continued to hug the book. “Someone who claims they can communicate with people after they die.”
“I wonder where they’re going with this conversation,” Marie asked Eva.
“I think I know,” Eva whispered.
“There are different types of mediums,” Danielle said. “Some mediums can actually see the spirits of dead people, not only communicate with them. The spirit can look like the person looked when alive. Sometimes the vision is transparent, and other times a medium might actually mistake a spirit for a living person.”
Olivia looked at Danielle. “You believe in mediums?”
Danielle smiled. “I do.”
“In astral projection, the spirit leaves the body of a living person,” Walt said. “And then it returns to the body.”
“I’ve read the book,” Olivia said.
“And you know what can happen when that type of spirit encounters a medium?” Chris asked.
Olivia looked at Chris and shook her head. “No.”
“The medium can see the spirit, just as a medium can see the spirit of a dead person,” Chris explained.
“I don’t remember ever reading that,” Olivia said.
“It’s true,” Heather said.
Olivia looked at Heather. “How do you know?”
Heather smiled. “Because I am a medium. And so are Chris, Danielle, and Walt. I saw you—or your spirit—Friday morning, when you were up in that airplane. Well, your body was in the airplane, but your spirit decided to check out your new house.”
Olivia jumped to her feet, still clutching her book. “You should all go.”
“You know it’s true,” Danielle said. “We saw you the other night. When you barged into Marlow House while we were all having dinner. That’s why Brian and Walt came over here. We were afraid whoever had tried to blow up your car had finally succeeded and killed you. They expected to find your body over here and hoped your spirit was still around so they could find out who killed you. They were surprised when it was your living body they found.”
“No, this can’t be true.” Olivia shook her head in denial.
“You witnessed something at Marlow House that scared you,” Walt said. “But it’s really not much different from astral projection. While you have mastered the ability to disconnect from your body, I have mastered telekinetic powers and can use my energy to move items like that plate you saw flying across our dining room. Or that basket.” Walt looked at the basket from Old Salts. It rose off the table.
Olivia fainted.