Mom and I got that shot done when dad had went into the electronic store. It’s just a silly photo but it always makes me smile. She’s such a goofball. I don’t think I could have asked for a better mom. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her and dad but…I’ve noticed that she and dad have slowed down on drinking their daily green sludge. It worried me. I wasn’t ready to let them go.

To take my mind off of that morbid crap I took up my drumsticks and started to drum out a beat. I looked up when a flashbulb went off.

“What was that for?”

“You just looked so intense that I had to capture it. You really should think about getting into the music business somehow.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. It all depends on if Gai’s plans pan out.”

“What do you mean?”

“If she can’t bring Val back then I’d take up her plan.”

“You would do that?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I see how mom and dad still look at Val’s picture. She’s gone but not forgotten. Never that.”

“Do you remember her?”

“Yeah, she was kinda mean but cool. Like, she didn’t take crap from anyone and she was always teasing us but she never let anyone else do it.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Val.”

I don’t know if it was us talking about her or whatever but I could have sworn that I kept seeing that ghost that Gai always said she had seen. Out the corner of my eye I would think I’d see something but when I turn around whatever it was it was gone. One night I was rubbing Donna’s belly, what was she carrying in there an elephant? She still hadn’t had those puppies yet! Anyways, Donna hopped up and stared barking at a corner. An empty corner.

Shaking my headed toward mom and dad’s room to make sure that mom was awake for her job. All the sudden a cold chill went through me and…

“Alice!!!!!”

“AH!!!!”

“You’re still so easy to scare Al,” she said with a laugh before she disappeared.

“Oh…my…GAWD!!!”

I had just seen my older sister’s ghost…and she was still as mean as ever. Shaking my head a small smile pulled at my lips. She was still Val.

After mom left for work I fixed dad and me some breakfast. We were just talking and eating, having fun and then he got all personal on me.

“Soo…have you had your first kiss yet?”

“Daaad!”

“What? Can’t I know if my baby girl has met a special guy?”

“No, no you can not!”

“Alice, you’re sixteen now. I just want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself if…you know, things start getting hot and heavy.”

“Daaad!”

“Aaaalice!” he mocked.

I puffed out my cheeks and played around with my french toast before I shrugged.

“I haven’t really met any guys that I want to kiss.”

Hmm…what about that guy at the diner?”

“What?”

“I saw the way you two were eyeing each other.”

“How could you? You were too busy sucking face with mom!”

“Yeah.” He smiled then blinked. “But she was kissing me to distract me from going over there and beating the shit out of him.”

“Dad! He was nice.”

“Uh huh. So, have you called him?”

“No. He told me to call him when I’m legal.”

“Well, well, well. Smart boy. Are you going to call him?”

I shrugged. “A year is a long time dad. By that time I could be heading to college like Gai and he could have a girlfriend.”

“True.”

“Are we done with the uncomfortable conversation now?”

Dad grinned. “Sure.”

“Good!” I shoved away from the table. “I have homework to do.”

I tried to do my homework but with dad bring up Jerrod, who I had tried to forget about, it was kinda hard. I couldn’t really focus. Geometry wasn’t my best subject and here I was daydreaming about some guy. I wasn’t that sort of girl. At least I thought I wasn’t.