Free Ghostly Liaison by Stacy McKitrick

forehead. Was this normal for all mothers or had she just been lucky? “Mom, you need to get you some friends. Better yet, why don’t you and Dad go on a cruise or something? I can’t be your life. It isn’t healthy for either of us.”
    “You know your father won’t go on a cruise. He has a hard time taking any vacation.”
    “He might surprise you. Have you even tried?”
    Mom looked down at her lap. “You’re really trying to get rid of me, huh?”
    The pounding intensified and Bridget reached for her temples but stopped herself. Why worry her mother more? “I’m not trying to get rid of you. I have my life, you have yours. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work?”
    “And you don’t want me in your life?”
    “Of course I do, but I think you need a friend you could talk to.”
    “I talk to you.”
    “No, Mom, you don’t.” Bridget took a deep breath. She hadn’t planned on disappointing her mother tonight, but apparently that was the agenda.
    “But what if I did? Will you be my friend?”
    She loved her mother, but being her friend? Maybe it could work. “On the condition I’m not your only friend and you don’t talk about Dad.”
    “I can’t talk about your father?”
    “Not in the personal, bedroom-way, no. You have to find other friends for that.”
    Mom nodded. “Can we talk about your boyfriends?”
    Boyfriends? As in more than one? Rob wasn’t even one. Bridget briefly closed her eyes. This friend thing was going to take some work. “Only if I bring it up, okay? I need my space.”
    “And curtains.”
    Did her mom just crack a joke? Bridget laughed and gave her a hug. “Yes, and curtains.”
     
     

Chapter 7
     
    Bridget and Mona hung the curtains and chatted. Charlie was almost jealous. Their closeness brought back fond memories of similar times with her mother, who’d died much too young. The pain of losing her had never quite gone away, even in death.
    Existence as a ghost was the pits. She could talk, but why bother when all the conversations were one-sided—hers. And having only two of her five senses was frustrating to say the least. Sight was great and she could hear, but not being able to touch, smell, or taste the things around her tortured her. She couldn’t even enjoy the heat of the sun. She would remain the same temperature—cold.
    Not the shivering-in-the-winter type of cold, but the emptiness-of-never-feeling-warmth type.
    That was one area where she did affect others. If anyone walked through her, they shivered. Rob hadn’t reacted the first time she had touched him—probably in shock from finding her dead—but he had rubbed his arms and checked the AC the other times. After that, she made it a point to keep her distance. Why give him an excuse to stay away?
    Mr. Murdock sufficed at times. At least he liked watching TV. But he seemed more susceptible to her coldness, no matter how far away she stood.
    Then there was Bridget. A godsend. Too bad she only had the sight when they were alone. Boy, what fun Charlie could have then, making it look as if Bridget were talking to thin air. Nothing better than a good prank. Of course, that might cause Bridget to move out, so maybe it was for the best. Still, that didn’t mean Charlie couldn’t have fun in other ways.
    She popped into the doorway of the bedroom, where mother and daughter were currently hanging curtains and getting along a little better than earlier—actually laughing at times.
    Mona sat on the bed and slid a panel onto one of the rods. “Rob’s kind of cute, isn’t he?”
    “Mom, we’re not going to talk about him again, are we?”
    “Oh, yes,” Charlie said. “Please talk about Robbie. I want to know what you think.”
    “All I said was he’s kind of cute. Can’t you talk about him as a friend?”
    Bridget smirked. “I can, but can you?”
    “If at any time you feel I’ve reverted back to being a mother, let me know. But I need the practice.”
    Bridget laughed as she took the