Free If Onions Could Spring Leeks by Paige Shelton Page A

think she knew how many times she’d served mashed potatoes in the replacement bowl. Dad and I had years of shared conspiratorial glances over holiday dinner tables.
    â€œWell, I thought I saw something in it. No, someone. Someone over my shoulder.”
    Goose bumps sprung up on my arms. “Really? That’s creepy.”
    â€œIt was, but the figure wasn’t a creepy figure. He was just a cowboy. You know, from the olden days. Old hat, old-fashioned mustache. Know what I mean?”
    â€œI think I do.”
    â€œI saw him in the mirror. He tipped his hat to me. When I turned around, he was gone. Not there. I never saw him again and I hid the damn mirror. I blamed it on the mirror, not any sort of mental condition I might have. My diagnosis has thus far been proven correct, because I haven’t seen any surprise visitors in any other mirrors.”
    â€œHuh. What if you see him again while you’re re-glazing?” I asked.
    â€œI’ll break it. Surely, accidents happen during re-glazing.” Dad smiled. He was all dad when he wasn’t all high school principal. The gray patches at his temples had gotten a little grayer but mostly he had a full head of thick, dark auburn hair. His green eyes were friendly, intelligent, and constantly somewhat suspicious. This probably happened to all high school principals. Whenever he smiled, he looked somewhat baby-faced. I thought he was an adorable man. He was also a great dad, even if terribly mechanically uninclined, unlike mymother. Mom could mop a floor with precision, turn around and fix a carburetor without breaking a sweat or a nail, and look amazing doing it all.
    â€œI’ll help you break it if you want,” I said.
    â€œOh, good. That sounds like fun. We’ll have to do it when we’re in bad moods about something. Take out our aggressions on an innocent mirror. To hell with superstitions. I suppose, though, if I see that cowboy again, it won’t be so innocent.”
    At this point in his life, it would be, at best, confusing, at worst completely discombobulating to tell Dad that he probably had inherited some of his mother’s skills of seeing and communicating with ghosts. Besides, since the ghost rules kept changing anyway, I didn’t want him thrown into the mix just when we weren’t sure what might happen next.
    If I ever saw him in person again, I’d try to remember to ask Jerome to stay out of Dad’s mirror if he could help it.
    â€œIt was probably just a trick of light or something,” I said.
    â€œMaybe,” Dad said doubtfully.
    I put my arm around his shoulders and hugged him. He put his hand over mine.
    â€œYou really okay, sweetheart?”
    â€œI’m okay,” I said.
    â€œWell, let me know if you need anything from me. I suggest running inside for some of your mother’s breakfast casserole. I’m sure it is delicious enough to help ease all ills and worries, but, fair warning, as I said, Opie is in there.”
    â€œI’m trying to be nicer to her. I think she and Teddy actually like each other. It baffles me.”
    Dad shrugged. “Love is weird and blind, and sometimes plain old stupid. She’s trying—well, she’s doing the best she can do with the personality quirks she’s been dealt. Oh, thatsounded a little mean. I don’t want to be mean. Don’t tell your mother about that either.”
    I laughed. Dad was far from mean. He was just trying to be supportive. I appreciated the effort and kissed his cheek again.
    â€œI’ll go say hi and have some casserole,” I said.
    â€œGood girl.”
    As I made my way into the house, I thought briefly about how much fun it would be to have Dad in on the ghostly encounters. But there was no need to bother him with it at this point. If his ability hadn’t been strong enough to see and communicate clearly with Jerome outside a mirror back then, then maybe his abilities just