you,” his father answered.
“Stop me from what?” Will asked.
“Living to work,” said his father.
“You don’t want me to work?” Will asked, a bit confused as he started to sit up on the floor.
“Not here, Will. You need to enjoy life beyond work,” his father replied.
“You always worked here,” Will said.
“It killed me and I missed so much of life because of it. Please learn from my mistakes, Will,” said his father.
“Well, I don’t have a working phone, my laptop is probably destroyed and you won’t let me leave. I guess all I can do is try to relax at this point,” Will said.
“Right now, that is all I want from you,” his father said.
“Well, I’ll probably go back to bed. My head is killing me,” Will said, but then paused.
“Sorry, that came out wrong,” Will said.
“Just get some rest, Will,” his father said.
“Okay, dad,” Will said as he slowly started to stand up.
“Are you going to stay?” Will asked.
The darkened hallway was quiet. He realized he was alone again. The kitchen and bedroom lights came on and the air conditioning system could be heard restarting. He slowly walked to the bedroom, holding his head where it had struck the floor.
When he reached his bedside, he thought of changing out of his clothes, but decided to just lie in bed wearing them. Before getting into bed, he reached for the cell phone on the nightstand and turned it off. He then lowered himself into the bed and was asleep within a few minutes.
He awoke to the sound of the phone ringing in the kitchen down the hall. Barely able to open his eyes to see the morning light filtering in from his bedroom window, he let it ring for the answering machine to pick up. After the greeting, he could hear the machine start to record the message.
“Hey Will this is Greg. Just calling to let you know that Menson has parts on the way to Down River, so other than being down for about three hours, things should be okay. We have other shipments lined up too. I’ll follow up with Mension on the root cause and let you know the details when you get back. Not sure if you cell phones off or what, but keep it off. I won’t bother you again, okay? Enjoy the rest of the time off. Thanks,” Greg said before he hung up.
Will smiled with his eyes still closed. His head still hurt, but it was not as bad as when he got into bed earlier. He was finally relaxed.
A few years later, Will entered the cottage holding Brian, who was sleeping against his shoulder. Danielle closed the door behind them trying to be quiet.
“Oh, I don’t remember if I asked before we left if you were bringing your work laptop. Did you forget it?” Danielle whispered.
“No, I didn’t forget it. I left it at home,” he replied softly.
Danielle smiled.
“I’m hungry, so I’ll go make something in the kitchen,” she said.
“Sure, I’ll unpack in a little while,” he said.
She patted him on the arm and left to go into the kitchen.
Will slowly walked into the hallway and then into the living room. The sun filtered into the room though the windows overlooking the lake. He made his way to the door and used his free had to open it. After stepping onto the deck, he felt the light breeze against his face. Brian stirred and raised his head off of Will’s shoulder. He first looked into Will’s eyes, and then turned to look at the beach and the lake. Will watched as Brian observed the lake for the first time. Brian turned back to look at Will again. His toothless smile warmed Will. Will smiled broadly back at his son as he clutched him with both arms.
###
About the Author
John T. Gaffield is an automotive engineer in southeast Michigan with a wife and two children. He published his first novel, "Heir to Winston Manor," in October 2010 as an ebook. "Heir to Winston Manor" is story of a large haunted house set on the west coast of Michigan. John’s second ebook, "The Wahl House Curse," set in mid-Michigan, was published in January 2011. John’s third full length horror novel, “Alone Again,” was completed in fall 2011. Please note: these novels may not be available from Amazon while they are being re-edited.
John also has four additional free (in North American) short stories available on Amazon.com called “Slow Down,” Denning Swamp,” “Winter Visitor,” and “The Ghost of Birch River Cabin.”
John uses his past memories and his local knowledge combined with his engineering sense of detail to create realistic ghost stories. He has an interest in ghost stories and creepy old haunted houses.
John’s latest short ghost story:
“The Haunting of the Charles F. Campton.”
A ferocious Lake Michigan storm in late November 1953 battered and contorted the steamer Charles F. Campton to its limits. The captain and first mate struggled to keep the crew safe in the turbulent waters. They were not alone. Ghosts from the freighter's tragic past emerged for some reason. Would the spirits make the situation worse?
A short story with about 3500 words.
Connect with me online (for more novels and short stories):
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4548666.John_Gaffield
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