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“BRIDGETTE... BRIDGETTE...” Bridgette woke up slowly to find Genevieve standing at the edge of her bed. She was still as a statue and completely fixated on her. In all of her years living here, Genevieve seldom came into her room at night, or if she did, she never made her presence known. That had changed recently as she visited her more and more lately.
Bridgette looked at her, waiting to see if she would say something. Instead, she just pointed to the courtyard. Bridgette got out of bed and looked out into the courtyard to see what Genevieve was pointing at. Beyond the courtyard was a blur of images, none seemed to have a face. Bridgette was unsure where these new ghosts came from. She turned to ask Genevieve but watched in dismay as she disappeared once more.
Looking back outside, she saw the slightest hint of orange and pink hues coming over the bayou. Sunrise would soon be here, and the sky would be vibrant with yellows, reds, and purples to greet the morning sun. Bridgette stepped outside to catch a breath of fresh air. The air still carried the lingering scent of gardenias from her mother’s garden. Growing up, her mom would place the gardenia blossoms all throughout the house, making the house aromatic.
KNOWING SHE WOULD NOT be able to go back to bed, Bridgette decided to get her day started. Besides, the day had come. The day that she would remove her parents' belongings from their room, so that she could use their room as her bedroom. It was the only logical choice. Their room was separate from the other bedrooms that her guests could use. The guests could stay upstairs, while she remained downstairs and had some privacy.
With a deep breath, she opened their closet. As she carefully boxed their clothes, she brought her dad’s favorite jacket to her nose and inhaled the scent. Tears formed in her eyes as memories rushed forward.
She thought this would be easy, that she had given herself enough time to heal. However, going through their belongings was more difficult than she realized. With a shaky breath, she told herself that she had to get through this. The B&B would be opening soon and she could no longer delay this daunting task.
Straightening her back, she continued to pack their clothes in boxes. The clothes would be donated to the church for their annual yard sale. The clothes were still in good shape, and someone could make good use of them. Special mementos would be kept in the attic.
As Bridgette was going through the items stored on the upper shelf, she came across a box of photos. She carried the box to the bed and slowly started going through them. She smiled when she saw a picture of her dad and her fishing when she was little. As she went through the photos, Delores knocked on the bedroom door before entering. "My dear, I told you I would have helped. This isn't something you need to do by yourself.”
"I appreciate the offer Delores, but this is something I wanted to do. Or maybe something I needed to do to put some closure to their death."
"If you need anything, anything at all, I am here to help you.”
Walking over to Delores, Bridgette gave her a hug. "I really do appreciate all of your help and everything you have done."