What to get Whisper for Christmas?
And even if I could figure out exactly what to get her, how do you sneak something past an entity?
Most people don't have those issues, but for me; it was a part of my daily routine.
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Truth was, I knew exactly what I wanted to get Whisper, but I had no idea how to do it.
I had to come up with a plan and quick, if I was to have the gift ready for Christmas.
I only had 8 days to prepare my surprise.
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I needed some help and I knew just the man who could help me.
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As I walked into the General Store, the first person I saw was Sheila.
"Shit."
I forgot to talk to Whisper about Christmas dinner.
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She came straight to me and gave me a warm hug.
"Nice to see you, Will."
She kissed my cheek.
"I still love that shade of red," she whispered to me.
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I have to admit, I was becoming quite attracted to this wonderful woman and she seemed to be interested in me.
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"So, have you decided about Christmas dinner.
I don't mean to nag you, Will, but, if you are coming, then I have to get dinner ready. If not, Henry and I will have dinner with John and Cora."
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I took a deep breath.
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She smiled a sad smile.
"Its okay. I just thought that ..."
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"I would love to," I said, gently.
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Her big brown eyes got even bigger.
"Really?"
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I nodded.
"What time?"
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"Anytime after 3 in the afternoon. We could have a drink before dinner and maybe you could even help a little."
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"Then its a date."
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Sheila smiled.
"Yes, it is."
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There was a moment of awkward silence that probably would have continued on, if not for John.
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"Will Templeton. Nice to see ya boy."
He came up to me and slapped me on the back.
With him were a man and woman.
"I wants ya to meet a couple people. This be Bobby Traverse and this lovely creature is his wife, Jessie."
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I shook hands with both of them.
"You wouldn't happen to be a carpenter, would you?" I joked.
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Bobby laughed.
"Matter of fact, I am."
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"No shit," I gasped.
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He shook his head.
"John was just telling me that you are looking to have a garage and shed built in the spring."
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"I am," I happily informed him.
"You wouldn't happen to be available right now, would you?"
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He simply nodded.
"Off for the winter, my friend."
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Now I was all smiles.
I had a date with a beautiful woman and hopefully, I had found my carpenter.
"Well, I have a job that has to be done very quickly."
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"How quickly?"
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"Before Christmas," I said, meekly.
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Bobby shook my hand, again.
"Then I guess its best we get to work boss."
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"What about wages?" I asked him.
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"Let's do the job first and then you pay me what you think it is worth."
His voice went to a whisper, as he stepped closer to me, "and under the table in cash."
He nudged me playfully.
"On the pogey, you know."
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I was confused.
"Pogey?"
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"Unemployment Insurance," John informed me.
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I nodded in acknowledgement.
"No problem. Cash it is."
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"Then when do you want to start?"
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"Don't you want to know what the job is?"
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Jessie started laughing.
"At this point, we don't care what it is. It will just be nice to have a few extra bucks for Christmas."
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I was surprised.
"You're a carpenter too?"
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She nodded.
"You get two for the price of one, Mr. Templeton."
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I shook my head.
"Please, call me Will."
I immediately liked this man and his wife.
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"So," Bobby continued.
"Why don't we drop by your house this afternoon and see what you have in mind."
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I nodded.
"Let's say around 2."
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They both nodded.
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"I'd like to tag along," Sheila said.
"If that is okay with you, Will. I'd love to see your house."
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I nodded.
"Sure."
I started for the door.
"Then I better go home and fix the place up a bit. See you all at 2."
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Actually I had to go home to talk to Whisper.
As soon as I walked in the house, I called out to her.
"Whisper? Where are you, hun?"
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"I'm in the living room."
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I went to the kitchen, grabbed a beer and went to the living room.
"Whisper? Can you turn off the tv, so I can talk to you?"
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The tv turned off immediately.
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"What do you want to talk about, Will?"
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I took a deep breath. I did not want to upset Whisper.
"Sweetie, I have some people coming here today and I need you to not play around upstairs. They might not understand you like I do."
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"Can I play in the basement?"
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I smiled.
"You can, sweetie, but if you hear us coming downstairs, I want you to hide, until we are gone."
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"How come, Will?"
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I took a deep breath.
"Sweetie, not everyone is comfortable with having a ghost around. They might get scared."
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"Of me?"
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"Yes. Do you understand what I am saying?"
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"Of course I do. You want me to stay quiet and hidden until they are gone.
Then I can come back out, right?"
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I nodded.
"I will call you as soon as they are gone."
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"Sounds good Will."
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Now came the hard part.
"Remember how we talked about privacy?"
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I heard the giggle.
"You mean when you are getting dressed and having a shower?"
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"That's right."
I just hoped I wasn't blushing.
"You know the room next to my bedroom?"
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"The one with all the boxes in it?"
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I nodded.
"Yes that one. I need you to respect my privacy in that room too, for a little while."
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"Why, Will?"
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"I need to do some things in there with the people who will be here today. Some work things and ..."
I searched for the words.
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"They might not understand me like you do? Like you said, they might be scared?"
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I nodded.
"Yes, sweetie. It will only be for a few days and then all will be back to normal."
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"By Christmas morning," Whisper said, excitedly.
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"Exactly."
I took a deep breath. She seemed to be understanding so well.
"And I will be bringing a lot of things into that room and you have to promise to stay out. Make me a promise."
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"Daddy, I promise."
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I was stunned. She had never called me that before.
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"I mean Will. I'm sorry. It just kind of slipped out."
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"That's ok, sweetie."
Actually it felt good to be called Daddy
"You just have to promise."
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"I promise."
Her voice suddenly sounded so sad. I watched as the cats disappeared down the hall. I knew she had left.
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"Whisper?"
I started to walk down the hall. I felt alone.
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Ghost and Spirit, both, stopped in their tracks.
They turned and looked at me.
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"Whisper?"
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Still nothing. A sudden coldness came over the house.
Had I driven my little ghost away?
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I was about to search for her, but I heard the doorbell ring.
I looked at my watch.
It was 2. I made myself a promise to look for Whisper, as soon as they left.
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The doorbell rang again.
"Coming," I called out.