Falling For a Ghost? How Is That Even Possible?

“You don’t have to be here, you know?” I asked Cale as he tapped his foot impatiently. We were sitting on a green bench in the park with Bird, waiting for Austin to arrive. “Okay, let me rephrase that. I don’t want you here.”

Cale didn’t even look at me and said stubbornly, “I don’t care what you want. I’m staying.”

I groaned with frustration. “Come on, Cale! It’s going to be so awkward with you here.”

He shrugged. “So what? It’s not like this is a date or anything. You’re just going for a walk and then you’re going to eat food.”

I sighed in defeat. “Speaking of food…Do ghosts eat?”

Now he looked at me. “Are you kidding? We’d die without food.”

I half smiled. “Well, technically you’re already dead-”

“We’re still on for tomorrow,” he interrupted. “The Diner at six sharp. Don’t forget.”

My eyes narrowed at him. “What if I don’t forget? What if I just stand you up instead?”

When Cale’s face fell and went blank, I immediately regretted those words. He was looking forward to our…date. Part of me felt bad for actually thinking of standing Cale up. Heck, I still was thinking of standing him up. I just wasn’t ready for the kind of attention that I would more than likely attract. I mean, what are people going to think when they see me talking to myself? What would I tell my family (the staff)?

Cale looked away from me. “You would stand me up.” It wasn’t a question, just a simple fact.

I didn’t say anything for a while, letting the blanket of silence cover us. “I’m sorry, Cale. I just… I don’t know how to handle this.”

He pushed himself up from the bench. “What is there to handle!?” He was angry. “You won’t give me a chance!”

I stood up too and yelled back. “You’re a ghost, Cale! We CAN”T be together! Why can’t you see that?!”

He stomped away from me and turned back. “Why can’t I see that?! Because we belong together, Amy! We’re soul mates!”

I took in a deep breath then spoke softly. “We’re not soul mates, Cale.”

His face softened but his voice was challenging. “How do you know?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The truth was, I didn’t know. I had no way of knowing. I did know that I didn’t want to lose him though. It didn’t feel exactly right being with him, but it didn’t feel anything close to wrong. I was drawn to him. Ever since that first time I met him in the movie theater. I knew there was something about him.

“Amy?”

I whipped around and came face to face with Austin. He was wearing dark jeans and a deep purple T shirt with black converse. He also had a bag slung over his shoulder; probably our food.

“Oh, um, hey,” I said fretfully.

He smiled at me and took Bird’s leash from my hand. “Shall we?” He held out his arm, wanting me to take it.

But I didn’t.

Instead, I stuck my hands in my pockets. Austin pulled his arm back casually like nothing had happened. And so our walk in the park began… With Austin walking on my right and Cale on my left.

“Sorry I was late,” he said. “I wasn’t really sure what to pack for dinner…”

I shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m not really a picky eater.”

He smiled. “So, tell me something about you.”

I frowned. “Um, what do you want to know?” God I was awful at these things.

“Well, what’s your favorite color?”

“Grey,” I answered without thinking. I liked the color grey. It was simple, but complex. And it wasn’t too overbearing or anything. “What’s yours? Blue?”

He shot me a look. “Whoa, was that a sexist guess? You just assume all guys like blue?”

I blinked and nodded. “Either that or green.”

He smiled and studied Bird. “Well, I’d have to agree with you there, and yes, my favorite is blue.”

On my left, Cale couldn’t help himself from commenting. “Boring. Really Amy, what do you see in this guy? He’s just like all the others. His favorite color is blue, favorite food is pizza, favorite beverage is Dr. Pepper…”

I glared at Cale and whispered. “They’re not all the same! He’s different!”

“Did you say something?” Austin asked. I pulled my eyes away from Cale’s and smiled to Austin.

“Oh, I was just asking what your favorite food and beverage was.”

Austin grinned. “Pizza and Dr. Pepper. Yours?”

I didn’t have to look at Cale to know he had a stupid smirk on his face.

“Chocolate cake and orange juice,” Cale whispered.

“Chocolate cake and orange juice,” I told Austin. And it was true. Those were my favorites.

He raised his eyebrows and nodded. “Nice combination, a little gross sounding, but nice.”

We stopped by the swing sets while Bird went pee. I sat down in a swing and lightly pushed myself back and forth. Austin smiled warmly at me, while Cale just leaned against a pole and watched me with a blank expression on his face. After Bird was through going pee, Austin tied her leash to a tree and went behind me. I felt his hands touch my back and instantly went tense.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, and pushed me forward in the swing.

I was thankful he was behind me because I was positive my face was red with embarrassment. I knew that Cale had heard because he went stiff and was now glaring hard at Austin.

“Amy,” Austin said lightly. “Do you have anyone special?”

Cale turned his gaze from Austin to me. And I returned the look, staring deep into his eyes. And that’s when I realized something. There was another reason I liked the color grey…It was also the color of Cale’s eyes.

“Amy?” he asked again. He stopped pushing the swing, making me slow to a stop.

I looked down at the ground and said softly, “There is someone I care about…but I don’t know if we could ever be together. There are circumstances that are making it impossible for us to be together. But then there’s also someone else that I’m starting to have feelings for…”

“So basically, it’s really complicated,” he summarized. He walked in front of me and stared into my eyes. But I wasn’t looking at his eyes; I was looking into Cale’s.

“You have no idea,” I whispered.

And the only thing I could read on Cale’s face was something that was tugging at my heart. But unlike a facial expression, you can't read what someone's heart is feeling. And that feeling was slowly growing... Everytime I looked into Cale's eyes, everytime I saw him, everytime I thought about him, and everytime I heard his voice, that feeling grew...

Hope.