Ovie and my mother exchange a look. “Probably because you were dead,” Mama says.
“The beyond does make you think about things other than life,” she explains.
Shocker. Being dead makes you not care about the banal existence of life? Who would have ever guessed?
“So what needs to happen, is that you must stay out of sight,” I tell her.
Nana looks surprised. “Baby didn’t come all this way to be put in a corner,” she says, referencing a line fromDirty Dancing.“God, I loved that Patrick Swayze. You know, I looked for him in the afterlife and couldn’t find him.”
“Probably because he passed on peacefully and had no intention of haunting his family,” I mutter.
My mother places a hand on my grandmother’s transparent shoulder. “We’re not trying to cast you aside, but we don’t want anyone to know about you, either.” My grandmother shoots her a hard look, and Mama adds, “Not because we don’t love you, but how it will reflect badly on Blair and the rest of the girls. If people start gossiping, no one will come to the balls.”
“But I’m only trying to help.”
“Of course you are. But you can help by staying out of sight.”
Nana doesn’t look happy about that. “No.”
We all stare at her. “No?” Ovie says.
“No,” Nana tells her. “I didn’t come all this way, traveling interdimensionally, to be cast aside like a two-bit hooker.”
Yes, my nana has a way with words that would make even the highest of society ladies blush.
From under my arms, Chelsea stirs. “Oh my gosh. I had the worst dream. I dreamed that I saw Nana. That she was here, with us.”
“Chels, it wasn’t a dream.”
My sister’s gaze flicks up and lands on our grandmother, who taps her foot impatiently. “Don’t tell me that you’re going to faint again.”
“No.” My sister shakes her head and slowly gets up on her feet, me behind her, making sure that she doesn’t fall. “I’m not going to faint; I’m just going to find an exorcist who can send you back to wherever you came from.” She glances at Mama. “Does her being here give me bad luck? Like, will a cinder block randomly fall on my head?”
Ovie tsks. “See, Mama? Everyone knowsyouare bad luck. You need to just scurry on back to where you came from.”
But Nana’s not one to go easily. She folds her arms. “Not until Blair’s married. I won’t return until she’s successfully wed. If I return at all.”
Then, for some reason, all gazes turn to me. “What? Do I look like I have a ring on my finger? It’s not like I’m not trying, here. I just haven’t met anyone yet.”
“Yeah,” Chelsea adds. “It’s not Blair’s fault that all the men think she’s going to mind control them.”
Mama shoots Chelsea a hard look and my sister winces. “Sorry, Blair.”
“It’s true. No point in being sorry.”
Nana claps her transparent hands. The action doesn’t make a sound, which is surprisingly not the weirdest part of any of this. “That’s why I’ve invited Storm Grayson. He’s the most eligible bachelor in the country. The whole world will know he’s here, and that will bring a lot of attention to you, Blair.”
No pressure.
“And I’ll be watching every move you make,” Nana adds with glee.
“No, you won’t, Mama,” my own mother gently tells her. “If folks catch wind of you?—”
Nana waves her away. “Fine. I won’t watch every move. Such superstition. Witches and their old wives’ tales. There’s nothing wrong with me being here.”
Ovie rolls her eyes. “Yes, there is. How many ghosts do you see walking around? Pretty much zero, which means that folks will be freaked out by you and all your hovering. The less that you’re around Blair, the better.”
“I’ll do what you ask, but if I see that things aren’t going the way that they should, I reserve the right to act.”
