Free Shades of Grey by Clea Simon

neighbors. She couldn’t really say why she’d wanted to reread those segments today. She’d just wanted to check, make sure they were still there. And that she could re-enter the labyrinthine world she knew and loved.
    So maybe that was why she was in a mellower mood, willing to be swayed by Suze’s enthusiasm for Alana’s party. She’d even taken some notes on what to wear from her better socialized friend, on the odd chance that she might actually go.
    But they hadn’t talked about shoes. So when the phone had rung again almost immediately after they’d hung up, Dulcie wasn’t completely surprised. Suze might be falling-down tired, but she was also Dulcie’s best friend. Maybe she’d get the OK to wear flip-flops. Maybe there was even hope about the guy from Justice. Much to her surprise it was her mom, Lucy, making a rare long-distance call from the community center.
    ‘Dulcie, is everything all right?’
    Somewhere in the background a door closed. Dulcie imagined her mother taking the phone into the communal kitchen for privacy. Without waiting for a response, Lucy kept talking.
    ‘I’m asking for a reason, darling. I’ve had a serious sense of something not being in balance.’
    Dulcie rolled her eyes. Out of balance probably had more to do with her mother’s digestive system than any weird waves in the atmosphere. ‘Why, are you not feeling well?’
    ‘I’m fine. And I’m serious, dear.’
    ‘Well, it has been a bad week.’ Dulcie wasn’t the sort to confide in her mother. She had Suze for that. But this had been a truly awful week, and a mother, even a mother like Lucy, was supposed to listen, after all. And so she told her. ‘And I was the one who found him. I mean, Lucy, there was so much blood!’ Just thinking about it gave her shivers.
    ‘Good riddance to bad rubbish.’
    ‘ Mom !’
    ‘Seriously, Dulcinea, he had bad karma. I could sense it from here. There was something wrong with that boy and I’m glad he’s out of your house. At least, I hope he is.’
    Dulcie waited, wondering what was going to come next.
    ‘Sage sticks – that’s what you need. I’ll send you some smudge sticks for purification. Sage, and maybe some sweetgrass for inner harmony. When you get them, start one burning immediately. Burn them in sequence for three days straight, dear. Promise me you will. You don’t want any ghosts hanging around your space.’
    Dulcie made a noise she hoped would be taken for assent, but her mother’s words had brought up another thought. ‘There’s one other thing,’ she said, choosing her words carefully. Anyone else would think she was odd, but the supernatural was one element Lucy Schwartz knew well. ‘I think – well, I think I’m already seeing a ghost.’
    ‘You are? Have you seen its aura? I may have to convene a circle to dispel—’
    ‘No, no, it’s not a bad ghost.’ How could she explain? ‘I mean, I’m not really sure what I saw – or heard. But before I came in that day – the day I found Tim – I thought I saw Mr Grey, and he was telling me not to go into the house.’
    There was a rare moment of silence on the phone. Dulcie wondered for a second if she had finally succeeded in out-weirding her mom. But when Lucy spoke again, her voice was confident, calm and completely unfazed.
    ‘This is marvelous news, Dulcie. That’s not a ghost you’re seeing, you’ve got a spirit guide. Spirit guides often take animal shapes. I’ve always wanted one. Now, a cat – what would that be? I know I’ve got a book on them somewhere . . .’
    Dulcie knew the call was costing her mom more than she could afford. ‘Why don’t you just look it up and write me about it?’ She paused. Had the cat been a spirit guide? ‘But maybe don’t send the sage. I mean, just in case this is the ghost of Mr Grey, I don’t want to get rid of it – of him.’
    ‘Oh, sage won’t disperse guardian spirits, don’t worry about that. And do keep in mind, that young man had