Lisa & Lewis Collection - Books One to Three

Every time I looked…, Father John was still sitting by my side, and I had to shake my head, and then as I pulled up to some red traffic lights I glanced in my rear view mirror and before I realised it Father John was no longer sitting beside me. I had not seen him leave, heck I was not even sure he was ever there sitting next to me…, let alone that he had been holding a conversation with me.

As I drove to my home my police Captain had left a message on my answer machine, and as I played it back, I heard, “Beep…, Lisa…, its Captain Willis here, I am so sorry to learn of your Uncles death, especially so close to losing your partner and your mother.”

He went quiet after pausing some seconds. “Listen I want you to take leave for a few days and get yourself together, and hopefully by the time you are able to return, I will have a new partner lined up for you…, stay strong girl we love you and do not want to lose you as well.”

At that he hung up…, and there was another Beep on my machine indicating yet another phone message awaited me. “Hi mum its Yasmin, can I stay after school for two hours, as they are holding a drama club and I have been invited to join.”

Again, it went quiet and then she spoke again, “Please mum, I really want to do this, and unless you phone to say otherwise, I will assume it is OK, I Love you” and she hung up.

I was pleased there were no more messages, and as I finished making myself a Gold Blend instant coffee, I sat in my armchair and rested one very tired head. I must have fallen asleep as the next thing I heard was my front door been opened and closed.

“Hi mum we are home,” came voices I recognised. Dear Lord, have I been asleep all this time…, I thought to myself? At that my daughters both came in, dropped their school bags upon the carpet and went to make themselves toast and pour a glass of orange drink.

Yasmin my youngest daughter came and hugged me, and started telling me all about her new drama group, but Elsa my oldest huffed and went upstairs without speaking, leaving her school bag on the floor where she dropped it, I had enough stress, so I forced myself up and calmly walked from my chair, and walked directly into my daughter’s room. Only to find her laying on her bed talking on her telephone.

She glared at me for not knocking, and she knew the game she was playing was dangerous…, but it was almost as if she was forcing me to see how far she could venture over the line drawn of permissible or not permissible behaviour.

I had warned her so many times, but this time too much had been happening and I just snapped.

Reaching over I lifted the phone from her and she screamed “Mumm”, but I simply spoke, “Whoever this is, my daughter will not be talking to you for some time,” at that I switched the phone off and took out the battery and sim card. Then I turned to face my disgruntled hard done by daughter.

“Young lady get yourself down stairs right now and clear away your school belongings, and then start your homework.”

“Mummm that was Justin…, how could you, he…, he will tell everyone and the whole school will know you treated me like a child.”

I ignored her and when I saw she refused to leave, to my shame I grasp her by her hair and yanked her from her bed and she was screaming.

As I walked out of the room dragging her by her hair, I took her to the top of the stairs, and then I let go, “Now get down the stairs or I will drag you down and then withdraw all your privilege’s for a month…, do I make myself clear.”

Good Lord, my friends had warned me teenagers could be a problem, but this was more than I could take at this moment in time.

As Elsa screamed at me crying, I just looked at her and grabbed at her hair once more, and she realised I was serious and not going to back down. She twisted and rushed past me, and ran down the stairs, and went straight passed her bag to run out of the front door, but as she reached for it Father John appeared dressed in jeans and a checked shirt and he looked so much younger and truly attractive.

My daughter ran straight into him and bounced backwards falling upon her butt.

“Wow watch where you are running to,” he said and looked at Elsa laughing, “Are you OK,” he said, as he reached forward and took her hand, and she reached and took hold, and I blinked, but my daughter just accepted his hand and lowered her head.

“Thank you,” she said, and John smiled, “You do not remember me…, but the last time I saw you…, you were but a baby and your sister was not even born.” He said and Elsa blushed.

“My you have grown into a very beautiful young woman,” said John, and my daughter started flirting, yes the little hussy actually started flirting with a sodding ghost…, well OK she was not aware of him been a ghost, nor was she aware he used to be a priest,” but it still annoyed me.

That’s a point I thought, will he still be a priest now he is dead, and then I shook my head, realising he was not dead, but in my fricken house. “John…, I never heard you arrive,” I said to him.

“Girls this is John an old family friend,” I told them. Heck what else could I say, “Hi this is a dead person who knew your grandmother, and died only a few hours ago in front of me, and while he was in a hospital bed…, but Oh no girls he is not actually dead, and this is just all one messed up illusion.

Heck my mind was messed up, and one of my daughters was a hormonal mess and a monster from hell, she must be, as she was certainly not the sweet child, I gave birth to, nor was she the same person only a few months past.

Yasmin blinked, “Who are you talking to?” she enquired, and I shuddered, and Elsa looked at me and back to her sister and looked confused.

“Girls this is John, he…, he is,” but John cut off my conversation and I do not know what he did but I saw Yasmin blink as John seemed to appear and smiled at her.

“I apologise Yasmin…, I must have stood just out of your peripheral vision…, and I did not mean to scare you.” As Yasmin saw her sister talking to this hunk of a young Priest I smiled. “If only they knew” I thought to myself, and John turned and winked at me.

“What the…, he could not have heard my thoughts…, could he,” I quietly said to myself. Yet my girls seemed to see someone younger than even I saw, that was until Elsa stopped and said. “You said you knew me when I was but a child, were you a boy yourself at the time,” She enquired, and John laughed.

“I would like to think I was a bit older than that Elsa…, but yes I was younger than I am now…, and I kind of look younger than I actually am,” he told her, and then smiled and went over and spoke to Yasmin.

“I heard screams and shouts…, and thought something was wrong,” he told the girls and I realised he was giving me a chance of mending some emotional pride and injuries with my oldest daughter.

“Sorry John that was me…, I lost my mother a month ago, and my partner was brutally murdered less than a week ago, and today I watched a much-loved friend die in front of me.”

My girls looked wide eyed and finally understood my reactions, “sorry mum,” stated Elsa, “I should have remembered about Nana and Justin your partner,” she said to me, and she came over and hugged me, and picked up her school bag and then looked at me. “Can I do my homework in my bedroom as you have company,” she knew she had me, and I grinned, “Yes but we will be in to check all is ok,” I told her.

She blinked and I could see she had hoped to get away with it as I had a visitor, turning she smiled at John, “It is nice to see you John…, I hope we can see you again,” and then she turned and went upstairs.

Quietly I prayed thanking God that John had arrived and saved a possible nasty situation.