“Irma, what are you doing?” I said to a head full of blonde hair. I took a quick glance around and saw that the crowd was busy drinking and dancing. No one was glancing my way, watching me talk to an empty chair.
“What does it look like? I’m coming along to see the sights and sounds of Music City. But right now, I’m looking at a ghost.”
“What do you mean you’re looking at a ghost? You are a ghost.”
“Can you see her?” The blonde wig nodded at the stage.
“See who?”
“A young girl dressed like a hippie. She’s standing next to the band.”
I looked at the stage and then looked back at Irma, “No, I can’t see her.”
Seeing dead people is nothing new. I saw them when I was a kid, mostly relatives, and my favorite dog. My Aunt Sadie told me she saw them. I guess it runs in my family. They disappeared as I got older. So far, I can see Irma and a Native American friend of hers, Chief Little Bear. He’s the silent type and has anger issues. I can’t really blame him.
“How about him?” Irma pointed over at the crowded bar. “Can you see him?”
“See who?”
Irma speaks in specter code.
“A young man sitting at the end of the bar near the stage. He’s watching her intently. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
I watched Irma zip over to the bar and sit down on a barstool. She looked like she was talking to someone. The band finished, and I could see Lili and Bob coming back. Peggy and Josh stood near Joe at the bar. Her way to signal they were ready to leave. Lili sat down next to me. Bob excused himself to go up to the bar to grab drinks. “Last call,” he said jokingly.
“Is your friend here?”
Lili could always tell when Irma was nearby. She says I get this discombobulated look on my face.
“Yes, she’s sitting at the bar talking to someone.”
“Is that so?” Lili said.
I watched Lili squint her eyes. Lili grew up in New Orleans, a city steeped in the supernatural. Lately, if she squints, she can make out Irma.
“So, there’s someone here who could see her?”
“Irma said there are two other ghosts here. A young girl on stage and a young man sitting at the end of the bar watching her.”
Lili looked from the stage over to the bar and then back to me.
“Can you see them?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Interesting,” Lili said. “I wonder what this is all about.”
“I don’t know, Lili, but I have a bad feeling I’m not going to like it.”