Temporary Goodbyes
What does goodbye mean to a ghost?
Tiny Kitten
This is one of the early pics of Sanji, before I even adopted her and her sister.
…Time for this week’s story…
Temporary Goodbyes
It's not a long walk to take out the trash, but with the recent heat wave, Luke was not inclined to leave his apartment. If he waited until night, it pretty much guaranteed he would run into a ghost or two. They're usually very friendly and he hated to be rude, but he didn't want to get stuck talking to ghosts for an hour on a task that didn't even require five minutes. So, he tolerated the heat and hurried downstairs without his shirt on.
There was nobody outside on Luke’s way to the dumpster. Luke preferred ghosts to people, but as luck would have it, the sun had scared them both away. Naturally, after dumping his trash he didn't expect to turn around and see a middle school kid standing there.
The boy looked familiar, so Luke assumed he was one of the local kids, but something was off. He looked like a punk, too confident for his own britches. He eyed Luke up and down with a mischievous grin. Then, Luke recognized him.
“Ronnie?”
“Oh man, you really can see ghosts. I'm sorry I didn't believe you.”
“At least you didn't make fun of me. Hold on, you can't be here. You're… we're the same age. We're not even forty. You're not dead.”
“Bro, we go when we go. I died an hour ago. You'll find out through the normal channels in a day or two.”
“Why do you look like you're 13?” Luke asked.
“Because that's how you remember me.”
“But, the last time we talked was at the end of high school.”
“Yeah, but you started at a different high school and when you switched to mine, we never really hung out,” Ron pointed out.
“I guess you're right. I'm sorry, man.” Luke looked at his feet, sweat dripping down his brow from the heat.
“About what?”
“I guess for being too caught up in my own world to reach out. You were the coolest guy, and I didn't feel like I had any right to try to like… try to be your friend.” Luke’s voice cracked.
“Dude, you know I never cared about any of that stuff. You were a cool guy too. Some chicks were into you bro, you were just too much of a nerd to realize.”
“I guess,” Luke said sheepishly. When all the girls were fawning for Leonardo DeCaprio, Ron was the blonde-haired blue-eyed dreamboat they were looking for. Luke, with his darker complexion, felt far from what girls wanted. “But, you were like… the epitome of cool. You were the top athlete, you were nice and treated everyone with respect, and you stuck up for people. I heard you punched a teacher because they were bullying a student. Is that true?”
“Yeah!” Ron’s body kicked back in laughter and he stumbled to keep his balance as if he was physically there. “Speaking of which, I remember punching you!”
The last time they spoke, Ron did not recall meeting Luke on the first day of middle school, which culminated in Ron punching Luke. It did not result in a fight, with the two acknowledging the exchange and moving on. The event went unnoticed by the coach and none of the students dared say a thing or risk being punched.
“I'm still sorry. I stand by that, but you were right, you were totally asking for it,” Ron admitted, hands in the air.
“Oh yeah, I invited it. You said you would punch me and I wanted to see if you would. Neither one of us knew each other yet.”
“Yeah. You can take a punch. You're the only person in middle school who took a square punch from me and just brushed it off. I guess that stayed with me, even if I didn't remember punching you.”
“Thanks.” Luke perked up, energized by the compliment.
“You know, I would have liked being friends if you had reached out online. I would have totally hired you when I needed art.”
“I never realized that,” Luke said.
“You know, we're all people. It's okay to reach out to someone who wasn't part of your inner circle back in the day. We're all on this roller coaster together, we just don't get on and off at the same time.”
“I guess I understand that, but in practice it can be a lot harder. You, for example, were a truly extraordinary person at a time when most of us are still figuring ourselves out. And, I don't know what I look like to other people, especially back then when I really lacked self-awareness.”
“That's fair.” Rob nodded. “I did my share of that, too, so I guess I can't really criticize. It's easy to see it all from this side. I just thought I'd pass that along, in case it helps.”
“I'll remember that, just like I remember your yearbook advice not to hold in your farts because it's bad for you,” Luke pointed at Ron with a smile, and Ron grinned back, shaking his head.
“That was actually from an interview for the school paper.”
“Oh, it was?” Luke ran his fingers through his curly black hair.
“Yeah, you're remembering it wrong.”
“Son of a bitch, all these years.” Luke shook his head.
“Well, I can't keep you for long or you'll get sunburnt. Why are you so light? Get some more sun.”
“Bro, you're vanilla white,” Luke exaggerated slightly.
“Yeah, and it never stopped me from going out in the sun, did it? I’m dead and I’m still out here.”
“Alright, point taken. I'll get some more sun.”
“Maybe exercise a little, too.”
“Alright, Ronnie, stop by any time.”
“I'll see you when you catch up.”
Ron and Luke shared a quiet moment, then a car alarm blared in the street nearby and distracted Luke. The driver turned it off almost immediately and Luke only looked away for a second, but when he turned back, Ronnie was gone.
This story is dedicated to Roger
Rest In Peace
Oh I love this one!