Ghost Time

Knox reached over and caught me just in time, and he goes, Hey, hey, Thea? Thea? holding on, making sure I was all right, while I got my legs back under me. It was only a second, though, then I stepped away, nodding that I was fine.
    Right then, the bedroom door opened, and a woman walked in: There you two are! she said. At first, she was smiling, and then, looking at us, Knox holding my arm, Melody twisted in her chair. And her eyes kept moving from me, to Melody, to Knox, and back again. The woman didn’t say anything, but she gives me this look like, Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing in my house? Then she goes, Oh, hello, I’m Heather—it’s Knox’s wife, right?—and I wiped my nose on my sleeve, trying to smile, and I said, Hi, I’m Thea. And she goes, Oh. Thea… of course! How nice to meet you.
    She’s being perfectly nice, but right away, I can tell she doesn’t like me at all, and me, I’m just like, Of course what? So I tried smiling, but I was as obvious as she was, and I had to look away, smiling at Melody. His wife, Heather, she’s really pretty, and you can totally see the resemblance, too, but she’s gotstrawberry blonde hair and freckles. They have the same eyes, though, Melody and Heather—they have the same blue eyes. God, talk about awkward; Heather smiling at Knox, waiting for some explanation, then Knox goes, I was driving Thea home when Shelley called. Guess Dylan stuck a box of raisins up his nose, and Heather goes, A whole box? I almost started laughing, because it was the same question I asked, you know, but I didn’t want to have anything to do with her. We don’t know yet, he said, and she turns to me and goes, I’m so sorry I couldn’t leave work, Thea, and I said, It’s fine. He was just telling me Melody’s birthday is coming up. When is it? I said, and Heather smiled, stepping between us—almost like she wanted to get me away from Melody, I could tell. But Melody goes, June 16 , and I go, June 16? That’s my birthday! Melody goes, It is?! And I almost said yes, but I caught myself, and I just nodded. It was really nice meeting Melody, I said, seeing the shock on Heather’s face, then she looked at Knox, like, WTF? Nice meeting you, Thea, she said, ushering us toward the door, and I go, You, too, and I walked out, hearing Melody calling to me, Bye!
    So Knox pulls out, and we drive a few blocks, not a word, no communication. We made it to the highway, and then a light went on, on his dash, and he said, I need to get some gas, and I didn’t say anything. So we pulled into the first station on the highway, and he got out, and I sat there, turning in my seat. I could still hear her voice in my head, Melody’s voice. I could still hear her begging me not to leave, that she was in there, right there—I know what I heard. Knox got in, but he couldn’t even look at me. Look, I said, I don’t care if you believe me or not,but why would I tell you something so crazy? You think I asked for this? And my ears are still ringing, just so you know, I said, plugging one ear with my middle finger. I mean, seriously, Knox, and then I just looked out my window, never mind. So let me… I’m trying to—let me just, he said, struggling, covering his mouth with his left hand. Did you, do you have to look at her to hear her? No, I said. I don’t think so—no more than I’d have to look at you to hear you talking.
    Finally, I go, Is it palsy? Is that what Melody has, palsy? Knox nodded yes, and I said, How long’s she been in a wheelchair? And he puffed up his cheeks, thinking about it, then he said, Twelve years. She’s never talked? I said, and he started to answer, then he just shook his head no, staring straight ahead. I said, You don’t believe me, do you? He didn’t answer—for like a whole minute, he didn’t say anything—then, finally, he goes, I don’t know what to believe anymore, and I go, Yeah, me, neither.
    We were just about to pull out on that highway, when Knox said, Thea, look! Look, look, he said, pointing up at the sky. There was a yellow balloon, floating, like it had all the time in the world. Sad kid, he sighed, smacking his gums, like, tough luck. And I thought about it, watching the balloon move through the air, just so proud, so free, you know? Sad kid, but happy balloon, I said.
    Knox pulled up to the building, parking below our door, and I said, Thanks for the ride, unbuckling my seat belt, and he said, You’re welcome, and