I was too stunned to move, I could only say, “I’m calling the police.”
“But I haven’t given my son his present! A wonderful present pour mon beau fils!”
I did not want Declan to receive anything from her so I found my strength and quickly shut the door on her. Then I scooped Declan up in my arms, and as hard as it was on my body, I carried him down the stairs, going as fast as I could. We were almost at the bottom when I heard the door to his room open and Declan gasp.
I turned around just in time to see Régine holding a beehive in her hands. It was a young hive that Curtis had taken down a few days earlier when he found it growing on the side of the house. The droning sound emanated from inside the white, papery exterior and before I could comprehend what was going, why she even had it to begin with, she threw it down the stairs and it bounced after us like heatseeking missile before it hit the back of my legs and then the tiled foyer. It cracked open and thank the Lord there were barely any bees or wasps left in the thing otherwise we might have been in big trouble.
I made it to the front door and out onto the street with only one sting at my ankle. Declan, with his allergy, was traumatized but fortunately unscathed. I headed to a house across the street where I knew the couple and used their phone to call the cops.
This wasn’t the first time I had called the cops on Régine and it wouldn’t be the last. There were many incidents similar to this one and I was powerless to stop it. I had expressed concern for my safety and the children’s many times to Curtis but he didn’t want word to get out that his wife was a drunk. He was against sending her to a treatment center and would get angry when he found out the police had gotten involved.
After that incident, Declan slept in my room. I wanted to sleep on the couch, but he was too afraid to be alone, so I took to sleeping on a cot beside him. He had become more withdrawn and irritable. His grades at school went down, he was disinterested in the activities he once liked, he had a hard time concentrating and the differences between him and his do-good brother became more and more apparent. He was also becoming increasingly agitated by what I could only assume were ghosts. You see, to add to the horrors of his daily life, it turns out my dear boy was just like me.
A year earlier, Declan and I had taken the bus to Central Park as we often did. I invited Michael too, of course, but he said he’d be spending the day at a friend’s. I didn’t blame Michael for spending as much time as possible away from the house, from his family. Unfortunately Declan was still young and at the time, curiously friendless, so I took up most of his attention.
We were strolling along the path, the trees just sprouting new, fresh green leaves and I noticed Declan staring curiously at a woman who was standing out on the Great Lawn. I had seen her many times before. In fact, the woman in her 1920’s attire, was always there, standing in the same spot and staring at the ground, never moving. I knew she was a ghost of course, but this was the first time I could see Declan noticing her.
“Declan,” I said. “Do you know where people go when they die?”
He didn’t seem too concerned over my odd question and ate a piece of caramel corn from the box he was cradling in his arms. “To heaven or hell.”
“That is true, though no one can be sure for certain,” I told him. “But I do.”
“Where do they go?’ he asked, his eyes glistening with new curiosity.
“Some don’t go anywhere,” I said. I kept my eyes on the woman in the field. “Some stay where you and I can see them.”
“They do?”
I stopped walking and pointed his body towards the wide green lawn.
“Yes, Declan. Do you see that woman over there, standing in the middle of the lawn?”
He nodded. A surge of pride ran through my old blood.
“I see her every time I come here,” I continued, so happy to be able to talk about it. “It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, or what season it is, but I see her. And now that I know you see her too, it means we share the same gift.”
“A gift?” His dark brow furrowed in comic confusion.
“Yes.” I pointed over at a nearby bench where an old chap was feeding pigeons. “Go over to that man there, don’t be shy, and ask him if he sees her too.”
Declan looked even more puzzled but there was a side of him that was brazen and bold with strangers. He nodded and walked over to the man who peered away from his cooing birds with annoyance.
“Yes son?” the old man said.
Declan pointed to the woman. “Excuse me sir, I have to ask you a question. Do you see a lady standing right there?”
The old man followed his finger and gaze and then looked back to him with squinty eyes. “You pulling my leg?”
Declan sniffed and peered back at the woman. Satisfied, he said to the man, “No sir. But do you really not see the lady?”
“There’s no one there,” the man said gruffly after he sneaked another peek.
“But that’s not true, she’s right there, my nanny and I can see her!” Declan’s voice was raising a few octaves and he bit his lip, getting anxious.
“Your nanny is either a nut or she’s lying.”
“But I see her too.”
The man waved at him dismissively and turned away, looking back to the pigeons. “Then you’re both nuts or maybe having a bit of fun. Now scram, you’re scaring my birds.”
At that, Declan moved his little legs over to me.
“Well?” I asked.
He was wide-eyed as he spoke. “He says you are a nut and I am a nut.”
I crouched down and brought him close into me and looked deep into his eyes. “And that is why we must never tell people about the things we see. They can’t see it and they won’t understand. It’s not safe.”
“But she’s standing right there. Why can’t he see her? Is he blind?”
“In a way, Declan. In a way. You see, she’s dead.”
He jumped at that.
“Dead?” he asked incredulously and looked back over at her, his eyes filled with fear and wonder.
“She’s a ghost,” I said simply, trying my hardest not to scare him.
“But…ghosts are only in books and movies.”
“And in Central Park,” I said and ruffled up his hair. “Would you like to go talk to her?”
“Can we?” he asked.
I smiled at his bravery and took his hand. “Why not? It’s what we are meant to do.”
Together we walked across the lawn toward the woman. I could feel the eyes of the old man watching us as he threw seeds at the pigeons and knew he’d soon see us talking to no one, but I didn’t care.
As we got closer to the woman, I saw that she was in her late twenties and pretty with a short, curled bob. Her dress hung off her in the Flapper-esque way that was so popular back then and she had on dainty white gloves that lay clasped in front of her. Her eyes continued to stare at the ground, lost in sadness, and she didn’t acknowledge our presence until we stood right in front of her. She looked up at us, tired and confused, and then looked away.
“Hey lady,” Declan said.
She was startled.
“Me?” she asked with a shaking voice.
“Yes, you.”
“Don’t be rude, Declan,” I chided him.