I could see headlights coming up the road that led to my front gate.
"It's probably Bobby and Jessie. I was supposed to go back to the party. You had better go inside."
.
She floated back to the veranda. "It's ok, Daddy. They can't see or hear me, unless you want them to.
I can only appear to you and of course, the cats."
.
The car pulled up in front of my house. I waved to Bobby and Jessie as they got out.
.
"Hey Will, I thought you were coming back to the party," Bobby reminded me, as he jumped up on the veranda, next to me.
.
"I'm sorry, buddy. I just didn't feel like it."
.
Jessie walked up next to me. "Are you alright? You look like you have been crying."
.
I nodded. "New Years Eve is a hard time for me."
.
She gave me a hug.
"I understand."
.
"Am I missing something here?" Bobby wondered, innocently.
.
Jessie laughed, as she kissed my cheek.
"You gotta love my husband. Completely oblivious to everything."
.
I patted Bobby on the back.
"That's okay my friend."
.
"Don't you remember what Will told us about last New Year's?"
.
Bobby shook a little.
"I do, but I was hoping that wasn't what you two were talking about."
He started inside.
"I need a drink. You guys want anything?"
.
We both said yes.
.
Whisper was standing by my side looking up at Jessie.
"She doesn't sense me, Daddy."
.
"What?" I answered, aloud.
.
Jessie smiled.
"I didn't say anything, Will. You sure you are okay?"
.
I nodded.
"I will be."
.
She started laughing.
"And what is with your cats?"
.
"Why?"
.
She pointed to the living room window.
"They are just scratching at the window and jumping around like two crazy animals."
.
I looked at them and laughed.
"Maybe they have rabies or something."
.
"Who has rabies?" Bobby inquired as he passed us beers.
.
I chuckled.
"No one does, my friend."
.
'Maybe I should go in with Spirit and Ghost.'
.
I looked down at Whisper.
'Go on, hun. I will be in later.'
She disappeared.
.
"What are you looking at, Will?"
.
I shook my head.
"Itchy leg."
.
"Maybe you have rabies," Bobby cracked.
.
Jessie and I just stared at him.
.
"So," Jessie sighed, obviously wanting to change the subject from rabies.
"You coming to dinner tomorrow night?"
.
I had forgotten about dinner.
.
"I, ah ..."
.
Whisper's voice filled my head.
'Go, Daddy. I will be okay. They are your friends.'
.
"Maybe I didn't phrase that the proper way. You are coming to dinner tomorrow night."
.
I laughed.
"Of course I am."
.
"And after," Bobby continued, "we can work on some songs, like we have been planning for the last year.
So bring your guitar."
.
I took a deep breath, smiling.
"Sounds like a plan, my friend."
.
Bobby was all smiles, but Jessie was giving me her patented ...
'you are hiding something'
... look.
.
~~~~~
.
Having Whisper back was, to say the least, fantastic. Her new abilities were so advanced from before. And she had a maturity and confidence about her, that was beyond her 11 years.
.
She stayed visible and there were times, I swear, when the glow would fade and she almost looked human. She told me that she could disappear, if I wanted her too, but she would forget to do her little bell thing and basically, she would scare the crap out of me.
So after a couple broken mugs and plates, I asked her to stay visible and act as normal as she could.
.
Her abilities to move things had improved also, to the point where she could do things like play board games and even cards. She loved playing Fish, but after losing about 20 games in a row, I realized that guardian angels could see things through your eyes, like the cards you are holding.
I reminded her that was called cheating.
"It is strategy, Daddy. Not cheating."
Begrudgingly, she turned off her strategy, when we played games.
.
She could open anything, including the refrigerator and oven, which scared the crap out of me, especially when she would peek inside to check on the roast or chicken.
I asked her not to do the oven thing anymore.
.
"But why, Daddy?"
.
"Because, I expect to see you pull your head out and your hair be on fire."
.
Of course, the next time she looked in the oven, she screamed.
When I ran to the kitchen, she was standing there, orange flames rising from her head.
.
I pointed my finger at her.
"That is not funny, young lady."
.
She huffed off, hands on hips.
.
I waited until she was out of the kitchen and I started laughing. She actually was developing a sense of humour.
A little twisted, but at least she was trying.
.
But her new abilities had its advantages, too.
She would, on occasion, get me beer from the refrigerator, but I learned quickly not to let her attempt to open them. She was not quite strong enough and would, more often than not, shake the beer while trying to pull the tab. So, after getting sprayed several times, I decided it was best for me to actually open the beer.
.
I did feel sorry for her at times, especially at meals, because she had no need for food and drink. She would sit at the table, sadly watching me.
So I began setting a place for her and even putting food on her plate, just so she could pretend to eat. Of course most of the meat and such ended up in the bellies of the two eager cats that never left her side, but I didn't care.
She was happy.
.
She still never slept, but at night she would go to her room and read or watch television.
She still loved cartoons but her love of reading made me realize that I would never keep up with her as far as new books go so I bought her an e-reader and gave her my credit card number and let her go.
I even signed her up to the writing site, Wattpad.
I had been on the site for about a year and I felt that her thirst for reading would be quenched, by the millions of books there.
.
Ghost and Spirit never left her side. They were constantly there and even when she would hide from them by becoming invisible, a game they loved to play, they would usually find her and do their little dance. Up on their hind paws and twirl around.
It was the only time they would do it. I could never get them to do it for me.
But at night, when I went to bed, both cats would come into my room and sleep at the foot of the bed or by my side, which kind of surprised me.
.
"I told them to Daddy," Whisper informed me, one day, "because I don't want you to sleep alone."
.
Whisper stayed out of my bedroom, unless I invited her in. She explained that I would need the privacy, especially in the future.
When I asked her what she meant, she looked at me blankly, shrugging her shoulders.
"I don't know Daddy."
.
It took a while for me to get used to the new Whisper, but it was worth every second. It was like having a real little girl around the house.
She was there, every morning, when I woke up and she even learned to make my coffee, exactly the way I liked it.
Whenever I went to the village to get things, she would always be in the living room window, on my return, waving at me and then greeting me, with a hug, when I opened the door.
And at night, we got into the habit of bedtime stories and quiet time together, in her room, before I went to bed.
I would even tuck her into bed and she would pretend to sleep, although I knew as soon as I closed her bedroom door, she was up again.
But it felt real. And it made me feel like Whisper and I were real family.
.
Jessie seemed to be getting more suspicious, as time went by, but I assured her that it was all in her mind.
Bobby often agreed with me, but in private. He did not like the patented ...
'you wanna sleep on the couch'
... look, from Jessie.
.
But even with all the surprises that she had brought with her, the biggest surprise was yet to come.