‘Hi, Dad!’ Leo said, as Adam sailed at speed into the darkened room where Zofia’s séance was taking place.
‘Leo? Is that you? Where are you?’
‘Here. Just not materialised yet.’
‘I thought you were going to spy on Granny and her carer?’
‘Jadwiga. I was, but I changed my mind.’ Leo laughed. ‘Matilda was behaving in such an odd manner. You don’t go to meet a friend to see an exhibition if you don’t know the details, do you? Nor do you have to hurry to get there, unless it’s one of those huge shows of very famous artists with timed slots.’
‘There she is!’ Adam said, relieved that he could see his daughter and she appeared to be okay. Only now did he take in the other silhouetted figures hunched around the table in the lamplit gloom.
‘What’s going on?’ he asked.
‘It’s a séance,’ Leo explained.
‘I have summoned him,’ Zofia was intoning, loudly, ‘and now I fe-e-e-el his approach. Come, Adam Albury, let me he-e-e-ar you.’
‘Jesus!’ Adam said. ‘Is that woman responsible…?’
‘… for getting you here,’ Leo finished. ‘So it seems. Now what are you going to do?’
Adam stared at the velvet, jewelled, bangled figure of Zofia at one end, head back against the chair, carmined lips twisted into a grimace, eyes closed. ‘Let me se-e-e you, Adam,’ she was saying.
‘Can she actually hear us?’ he asked. ‘Or is she faking it?’
Leo shrugged. ‘Search me. She looks convincing enough, doesn’t she? Though she hasn’t even noticed me yet.’
Zofia was wriggling around like a restless python. ‘Let me se-e-e-e you, Adam,’ she repeated. ‘Let me he-e-e-ar you.’ She cupped her hand theatrically to her ear.
‘If all she wants to do is talk to me,’ Adam said. ‘There’s no need for all that squirming. What’s her name?’
‘Zofia,’ Leo whispered.
‘Hello, Zofia,’ Adam said loudly.
‘Ojej!’ cried Zofia. She looked as if she’d been punched in the stomach. ‘Who… who…?’ She trailed off. A stiff smile countered her scared eyes as she looked round at the whole table watching her.
‘Adam Albury,’ Adam replied. ‘I believe I’m the spirit you were calling.’
‘Oh my God!’ she muttered. ‘Are you here?’
‘I am.’
‘He’s here!’ she cried. ‘Adam. The spirit I was summoning.’
There was a ripple of excitement around the table. A skinny woman with long, dark, obviously dyed black hair looked petrified, hands shaking even as they grasped the rim for support. Opposite her, a shaven-headed fellow with an elaborate collage of tattoos emerging from under the arms of his black Elden Ring T-shirt had a strange, sly, slightly-crazy smile; his oft-mocked beliefs were turning out to be true after all.
‘I… I… I’m so happy about that,’ Zofia went on.
‘Me too, Zofia,’ Adam replied.
Adam wondered whether she had ever successfully ‘summoned’ a spirit before in her life. If she had, from this showing, it was certainly a rare event.
‘Come closer, Adam.’ Zofia’s fingers fluttered invitingly as she held out both arms, amazingly within twenty degrees of the right direction.
Adam moved across the room. ‘I’m just here,’ he whispered. ‘Next to you. N-e-e-xt to yo-o-ou!’ he repeated in a spooky voice, grinning over at his son.
Zofia threw up her hands. ‘Please, no need for any drama, Adam. I can sense that you are close.’
‘I’m right here.’
She maintained her calm. ‘Are you able to show yourself to us?’
‘Check this out.’ He jumped up and started spinning around in the air just above the table, arms akimbo.
‘Dad!’ Matilda said, her jaw dropping.
‘Hello, darling. Can you see me?’
‘What are you doing?’
‘Showing myself, as instructed.’
‘You can stop now, if you like. It’s a bit embarrassing.’
‘Even in death, you don’t like my dancing. But I’m quite enjoying it. Though I don’t seem to be visible to your friend.’
‘She’s not my friend.’
‘Matilda, please!’ said Zofia. ‘Quiet now. Or your father’s spirit will never appear.’
‘But he has appeared. That’s who I’m talking to.’
Zofia’s expression adjusted rapidly. ‘Are you?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you are the chosen one today. Can you speak to him again now? Ask him why he won’t appear to me.’ She sounded almost petulant. ‘Especially as it was I who summoned him here.’
‘Dad, did you hear that?’
‘It’s not that I don’t want to appear to her,’ Adam replied. ‘I don’t know why I’m not. Maybe she’s approaching this in the wrong way.’
Matilda repeated this back to Zofia, who bristled visibly.
‘Tell your father that I’ve been summoning spirits for years. I’m not going to suggest that he’s stubborn, but, but…’
‘But what?’ asked Adam.
‘He says, “But what?”’ Matilda repeated.
‘But – look – sometimes there are difficulties,’ Zofia replied. ‘Not always created by me.’
‘Wouldn’t it be easier to ask him what he wants to say?’ Leo interrupted. He had been silently watching this exchange from the corner of the room.
Zofia’s head span right round, as if she’d been slapped.
‘Who’s this now?’ she asked.
‘My name’s Leo. I’m Adam’s son.’
‘Leo!’ gasped Matilda.
‘Adam’s… son,’ Zofia repeated slowly. Adam was impressed to see how quickly she recovered her poise. She looked round magisterially at her little group, as if all these surprises were intended. ‘So you are here with us too. It’s becoming quite the family visit.’
As she said this, Adam was amazed to see that Leo was slowly materialising.
‘Now I see you, Leo,’ Zofia said. ‘Greetings.’
‘Leo!’ Matilda repeated.
‘Greetings,’ Leo replied, polite as ever, to Zofia. ‘Hi, Matty.’
‘Leo! It is you.’ His sister was in tears.
‘Ah, Matilda,’ Zofia said. ‘It’s not a bad thing to be emotional when you are reunited with a loved one from the other side. Comfort her, Olivia.’
‘I am,’ Olivia muttered. She already had her arms around her friend. Leo was right next to her too.
‘Matty,’ he was saying. ‘It’s okay. Don’t upset yourself.’
‘Of course I’m upset, Leo. Seeing you like this.’
‘It’s okay. I’m okay. Really.’
‘Are you?’ Matilda’s eyes were glistening.
‘Yes.’
‘But you’re dead.’
‘I know. It’s fine. It’s not that bad. I feel the same. And I’m with Dad.’
‘So can you see your father, Leo?’ Zofia asked.
‘Of course.’
‘That is only to be expected. Perhaps if you or Matilda speak to him, he may appear to the rest of us as well.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ Adam said. ‘I’m perfectly happy for you all to see me.’
Leo repeated this.
‘Thank you, Adam,’ Zofia said. ‘I expect we’re almost there. Manifestations don’t always go entirely to plan. Sometimes there are limitations put in place by the spirit powers. What they decide is what they decide. Speak to your father, Matilda.’
‘Okay,’ she said. Adam sensed that his daughter was embarrassed, in front of Zofia, not to mention the ghost of her brother and this strange-looking tableful of South London odd bods. ‘Hi, Dad.’
Adam felt equally constrained, though could the rest of them even hear him yet? ‘Hi, Matilda. It’s good to see you again. Did you want to ask me anything in particular?’
‘Not really. It was just so good to see you, last time, and then Olivia, my friend here, mentioned the idea of a séance, and said Zofia might be able to summon you, so I thought… maybe… that would work…’
‘And here I am,’ said Adam. ‘So it has worked. Is everything all right?’
‘Obviously not. With Leo.’
‘It’s okay,’ said Leo. ‘It’s not ideal, I’d rather be alive, but I’m fine. Really. It’s quite a revelation to discover there is an afterlife…’
Matilda was smiling now, through her tears. ‘Oh, Leo, you’re just the same. Ridiculously upbeat, even in death. I can’t tell you how reassuring that is. So then, Daddy, when I met up with Eva, that was rather cut off, because of the call from Mum about Leo. So I was wondering if everything was okay, for you, and with Eva, if you found out what you wanted…’
What a sweetie she was, still worrying about all that now. ‘It’s fine, darling,’ he replied. ‘I did manage to speak to her. We had a good talk.’
‘Did you get your answer?’
‘I did, yes.’ Suddenly Adam was on the edge of tears, remembering how they’d left it. ‘I’ll try and explain another time. If I get another time.’
‘But you’re okay, Daddy?’
He wasn’t. He badly wanted to hold her again; indeed, all of his loved ones. Matilda, Eva, Serena even. ‘I’m fine,’ he repeated.
‘Now I can see you,’ Zofia’s shrill voice interjected. ‘Oh my God! There you are. Please say something else, Adam.’
‘Hello, Zofia,’ he managed. ‘How are you?’
‘Yes! Yes!’ The medium was clapping her hands. ‘A real spirit. Can the rest of you see Adam now?’
Half the table nodded, half shook their heads. It wasn’t clear whether any of them were telling the truth.
‘Let us continue–’ said Zofia.
‘Zofia,’ Adam interrupted.
‘Yes?’ The medium was well excited now.
‘Would you mind leaving us alone for ten minutes. I’d just like to have a few quiet moments with my daughter.’
‘But we’re just getting going…’
‘I appreciate that. But I really need to talk in private with Matilda. We won’t go anywhere, I promise.’
‘Please, Zofia?’ Matilda asked.
The medium drew herself up, as if considering a weighty problem. She looked around the faces of her charges, whose eyes were fixed on her, devotedly, awaiting her verdict and guidance. ‘Not a problem,’ she replied. ‘We can… go into the kitchen for tea and biscuits. As we normally do after our séances. Is Olivia coming?’
‘If she wants to,’ Adam said. He turned to his daughter’s friend. ‘Olivia, do you want to stay?’
Olivia looked at Matilda. Matilda looked at Adam, who nodded encouragingly. If his daughter wanted some human support from someone she knew, that was fine by him.
‘If you don’t mind,’ Olivia said. ‘And Zofia doesn’t mind,’ she added tactfully.
‘Of course not!’ Zofia replied, with a wave of the hand that was trying to be more casual than she clearly felt. ‘Come on, guys,’ she said to the rest of the table. ‘Let’s leave our friends in peace for a moment. But please don’t go, will you, Adam?’
‘I’ll do my best.’
Zofia got to her feet, paused for a moment as if about to add something, then swept decisively out of the room, robes swishing, bangles jangling. She was, Adam noticed, visibly trembling. The others got to their feet and followed her. One fragile old lady, with hair as white as his mother’s, turned and gave the four of them a long and rather hostile stare. Almost as if she didn’t believe the two spectral visitors were real. Perhaps she was a sceptic, and by appearing, they had upset her belief system. Or perhaps she wasn’t, and she was upset that they had appeared, rather than her dead husband or some other chosen spirit. Eventually, she turned round and shuffled off. The door was closed from the inside by another hand. Adam was left alone with his daughter, her friend Olivia, and his dead son.
But hang on! Where was Leo? He had vanished, without a word.