Good-bye Grandfather

  Good-bye Grandfather

 

  It had only been one month since Amys' grandfathers' funeral and she always seemed too busy comforting the rest of her family to be able to grieve herself. Her husband turned in early and the kids were finally asleep so she grabbed the bottle of whiskey and headed into the basement. For Amy, grief of any kind was always best released with a fair amount of booze and some good music. Drink by drink it became a little easier to shed the built up tears she hadn’t been able to release.

  While browsing through the latest pictures of her grandfather, Amy sat at the computer with the headphones turned as loud as they would go listening to the music she had downloaded. He had been sick for a while and seemed to keep bouncing back, amazing everyone. Amy believed that her grandfather, Walter, held on for as long as he did out of sheer stubbornness. She was getting married and her Grandfather wanted more than anything to be there on her big day. The wedding was on August thirty first and Walter, once again, took very ill shortly after. He passed away on October eighteenth, less than two months after the wedding.

  “Well at least he made it for my wedding.” Amy whispered to herself through her tears.

From the doorway into the computer room, Amy felt as though she was being watched. She glanced over expecting to see either her husband or one of the kids standing in the doorway. To her surprise the doorway was empty so she turned her attention back to the photographs of Walter.

  She drank more whiskey, listened to more music, and browsed through more pictures. That same feeling came back, the feeling that someone was watching her. She wiped the tears from her swollen red eyes and glanced around the room. There was no one in the room with her, no one standing in the doorway. She appeared to be all alone but didn’t feel all alone. The first time she felt watched she figured it was just the booze kicking in but this time it felt stronger and more real. She took off her headphones and listened carefully. The music was faint through the headphones. The pipes moaned and groaned as the heat was pushed through the house. The mini fridge that sat in the corner buzzed quietly but no other noise caught her attention. Deciding she was more than a little drunk she banked again that it must be her imagination.

  As Amy lifted the headphone to place them back on her ears she felt something cold but gentle brush against her back. Her hands gripped the headphone tightly as she jumped up out of her chair. The cord popped out of the computer and loud music spilled out into the room scaring her even more than she already was. She fumbled for the volume on the side of the computer screen with shaky hands. She found the knob, turned the volume off and whirled around to see nothing but the dartboard that hung on the wall.

  It had been what seemed like forever since Amy had thought about ghosts. As a kid she thought she could sense presences but thought of herself as all grown up now. She didn’t believe in such things any more. The feeling of being watched and then the cold brush on her back were making her rethink the whole “no such thing as ghosts” concept. Amy wished her husband would sense something was wrong, wake up and come downstairs to rescue her but knew that she was on her own. She wanted to scream but knew she would wake the kids as well as her husband.

  Amy gathered a bit of composure and decided that even if there was a ghost in her company it probably couldn’t hurt her. She slowly made her way for the stairs. As she approached the doorway she stopped suddenly when she saw the door slowly closing on its own. Just as she was about to scream she heard a soft whisper and her scream was caught in her throat. At first she wasn’t sure if it was she that made the whisper or someone else. She heard it again, only a little louder, behind her. She spun around so hard she almost lost her balance and caught herself on the wall at the last minute.

  “Is someone there?” She asked

  The panic grew thick in her chest but was quickly released when she felt a soft kiss on her cheek. There stood no one in front of her or to the side of her. she knew all at once who was in the room with her. That kiss was so soft and familiar, there was no mistaking it. It comforted her when she was a small child who had scrapped her knees after falling of her tricycle. It eased her sorrow when she was a teenager and suffered her first heart brake by the boy down the street. That kiss made her feel better ever since she could remember and now it eased her grief. She missed those kisses and was happy just to have one last kiss. Amy could feel the presence fading little by little and knew Grandpa Walter had just come to say goodbye.

  “I love you Grandpa. I love you grandpa. I love you grandpa…..” Amy whispered over and over until she felt that he was no longer there.

  “Good-bye.”