Page 38 of Eternal Devotion

The same disquiet I felt in the street tickled the back of my brain. I was supposed to remember something, but I didn’t know what that something was. The incident in the mansion’s bathroom came back to me. The mirror. An apparition? No. Impossible. Ghosts weren’t real.

The hair on my neck stood on end. Goose bumps pebbled my skin.

I thought back on my night with Mordecai in the mansion. At no time did I feel the same haunted unease as when I’d shown him the house. Not once had I felt a spectral presence. Yet, I couldn’t shake the idea that something strange had happened. Something… otherworldly.

I spat toothpaste and jerked the tap on to rinse my mouth. “You are clearly overtired and need to sleep.”

“It was one date, Mom. I’m not even sure it went well, so maybe don’t send out wedding invitations, okay?”

My mother’s tsk came through the speaker on my phone. The device sat on the bed, while I dressed for a second date with Mordecai.

“What do you mean you aren’t sure it went well? You didn’t bore him with all that gaming nonsense, did you?”

“It’s not nonsense, and he’s interested.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know. He’s… not from around here.” I selected a retro Nintendo T-shirt to pair with my jeans, second-guessed my decision, then tossed it on the bed anyhow. It would be covered by a hoodie and jacket. Mordecai wouldn’t see it.

“He’s still adjusting.” Or, at least, that was the excuse I’d made.

Mordecai was different than other guys I’d known or dated. I didn’t know if it was his supposed wealth combined with his odd living arrangement or what, but the man seemed out of place. Off-balance. Like he was trying to fit in but didn’t know how.

“Where’s he from?”

“The UK? It sounds like he’s lived all over Europe. We’re exploring museums today. He wants a taste of Owen Sound history.” I’d spent all morning online, so I would be as knowledgeable as any local.

My mother laughed. “That should take all of five minutes.”

“Be nice.” I finished dressing and checked the time. “I’ve gotta go.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“What question?” I winced, knowing precisely what she was asking.

“Are you coming home on the thirty-first? It’s the fifteen-year anniversary.”

I hesitated, not wanting to upset her but unable to come up with a good enough excuse to bail. “I don’t know, Mom.”

“He was your father.”

And I’m the reason he’s dead, I didn’t say. “I’ll have to check my work schedule and get back to you.”

She sighed but didn’t push. I’d left my home for a reason. Attending a celebration of life where the whole town would gather and glare at the irresponsible son of a great man who had died before his time wasn’t my idea of fun.

The mansion looked different in the daytime. Older, wearier, and sadder instead of creepy and haunted. Crusty leaves filled the fountain basin, and a few squirrels scavenged inside, while two black crows perched on the angel’s head, watching the spectacle with marbled onyx eyes.

Mordecai emerged from the front door the instant I pulled to a stop. He wore the same long wool coat, black trousers, and a rich burgundy shirt the same color as his eyes. Something other than black or white. Amazing. But, formal as always. It made me wonder if the man owned casual clothing.

Another variation in his wardrobe that morning was a dark pair of sunglasses. Considering the dreary and overcast sky, the accessory seemed unnecessary.

He was a strange character, yet I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. The noisy thoughts I’d brought home the previous night had abated with sleep, and apart from the unsettling conversation with my mother that morning, I was excited about the day.

Mordecai settled in the passenger seat, and we shared shy smiles of the newly intimate variety. The kind where both of us seemed to ask one another if all was well. The kind that made those few stolen kisses impossible to forget.

I still couldn’t shake the odd feeling that I’d done something to upset him the previous night, but without asking directly, I could only hope we were on the same page.

“You’re styling today,” I said for lack of a better opening line. “Snazzy sunglasses. Kinda hot.”