Bubblegum and Breath Mints

We were back in Rhode Island, and were patiently waiting our next call. It had been a few weeks since the Allerton Park case, which proved to be not haunted, but definitely spooky, and we were all impatient. I was in the back room with Steve, watching him as he played the PacMan Google image game. It was PacMan's 30th birthday, and Google had decided to make a game out of their logo. I couldn't beat it, but Steve was on level three....

"How do you do that?" I asked.

"Magically."

"Well, I mean besides that."

"I'm just that good."

"Fine, don't tell me."

"You have to make him eat all of the dots."

"I know!"

Dave came in and laughed at us, "Are you two seriously arguing over that stupid logo."

"One, yes, we are, and two it's not stupid... it's PacMan."

"Oh, well I'm very sorry."

Turning to look at Dave I gave him a smile, "What's wrong Pouty Face?"

"Nothing."

"Is wittle Dave still sad Steve and I pranked him with the hand soap?"

"Do you know how long it took me to wash off the ink?"

"No... how long?"

"Hours! I scrubbed my hand until it was red."

"You mean blue-ish red.... Cause of the ink." I giggled, and Steve offered his fist to pound.

"You guys suck."

"If it makes you feel better, it was Steve's idea."

"Hey," said Steve, "Don't go blaming this on me!"

"It's true, though," I said, "Remember?"

Steve sat back in his chair, "No. Refresh my memory."

"You were all like, hey! let's pull a prank on Dave, and I was all like, yeah okay!" I imitated Steve's voice, making it sound lower than it was.

Dave laughed, "She has your voice down, man!"

Steve smiled, "Yeah, whatever."

Jason and Grant came in through the front door and made their way to the back, "Hello, everyone," said Grant, "What's up?"

"Nothing much."

"Any new cases?"

"Nope."

"That stinks.... I was really hoping for one."

"We're all hoping Gee," I said.

"Did you just call me Gee?"

"Yeah?"

"Okay. Just making sure."

"What have you guys been doing?" Jay asked as he sat down on the love couch in the corner.

"We've been checking our e-mails looking for anything that sounds interesting," I said, "But sadly there's just things that go bump and not boo."

"What kind of bumps?" Grant asked.

"The kind that wind can cause, or the kind that happen when the AC comes on."

"Oh."

We were all quiet for a moment, when Dave jumped in his chair, "Woah!"

"What?"

"Listen to this," he moved the mouse of his computer a bit, "Dartford Cemetery in Greenlake, Wisconsin."

"Oh," I exclaimed, "I've heard of that place! There's a mausoleum in the center of the cemetery, and if you sit on it, you'll get pushed off."

"Yeah, and apparently there's an old Indian grave where the Indian chief can still be seen."

"Sounds promising," said Steve.

"How do you know about it, Teegan," asked Jay.

"Oh... it was on a TV show called A Haunting.... Never mind."

"Alright, nix that one," Grant said.

We all sighed, and we continued to wait for something to happen.

Jay and Grant went out to get food with their families, and I took over the love seat. I fell asleep while Steve and Dave talked about the differences between the Episodes I, II, and III vs Episodes IV, V, and VI of the Star Wars series. Yeah, I know, lame. No wonder I fell asleep. However, I didn't get to sleep long before Dave woke me up.

"Hey, Teegan, wake up."

"What?"

"You wanna play a prank on Steve?"

"He's my boyfriend...."

"So."

I paused, "Okay, what do you want to do?"

"I have this pack of gum that turns your mouth black when you chew it."

"Won't he know by the taste?"

"No. The dye is flavorless, but the gum part tastes like mints."

"Awesome. Oh, shoot."

"What?"

"Steve likes breath mints."

"Damn."

"Oh, I've got it!"

"What?"

"Just let me have the gum," I looked around the room, "Do you know where I put my tin of Altoids?"

"Yeah, they're right here."

"Thank you," I sat up, "Where is Steve?"

"He's getting food."

"Oh."

"We got a possible case."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome."

"I'm back," Steve said, "Oh good, you're awake."

"Yeah, hey."

"I have food," he held up bags from the local Dairy Queen.

"Yes! I'm so in love with you right now."

"I'm glad my manly looks aren't the only thing keeping you with me."

"No, it's really just your awesome taste in fast food."

Tango faked a gag and turned back to his computer. Steve sat next to me on the love couch and handed me a crispy chicken flame thrower with no tomato, a medium thing of french fries, and a medium root beer. I smiled as I popped one of those deliciously crispy strip of potato in my mouth, "Man I love these fries."

"So did Tango tell you about the new possible case?"

"No."

"I wanna tell her," Tango said, pulling up a chair to sit by us, "Okay, so it's in a house in up-state New York, and it's a mother of three little boys who experience voices, their toys going off, footsteps in the attic, and other things. No apparitions or shadows, but it's still promising."

"How old are the kids?"

"Three, two, and a month old."

"Aw!"

"Really," asked Steve, "You think that's cute?"

"I like little people."

"Little people?"

"Don't judge me!"

Steve laughed and gave me a kiss on the cheek, "I would never judge you... I would think you're crazy but I'd never judge you."

"You two need to get a room." Dave said before taking a bite out of his hamburger.

"Oh yeah... well you should... get a room with your burger!" I said.

"Wow...." said Dave, "I'm not even going to comment on that one."

"You three fight like the guys off of the Office," said Grant as he came into the back room.

"Hey, Grant," I said, "Didn't hear you come in."

"We came in while you were sleeping."

"Oh...."

"So you guys updated her on the case?"

"Yeah," said Dave, "She thinks it's interesting."

"I actually thought that the boys were cute, but yeah, it's worth checking out. Especially with the ages of the children."

Grant nodded and grabbed two bags and two drinks, "Thanks for getting the food Steve."

"No problem Grant."

"Hey, Kris and Amy are coming on this one as well."

"Yay," I bounced up and down, "I love Kris and Amy!"

Grant smiled and shook his head before leaving, and the three of us were alone again. We finished our food, our conversation going from ghosts, to trolls, to Lord of the Rings, to Harry Potter, then to Tango's hats - don't ask. We gathered up all of our junk, and Tango went to throw the bags away, then I turned to Steve.

"Hi."

"Hi," he said with a laugh, then he did exactly what I wanted him to do... he leaned in to kiss me.

"Woah," I said, "Before you do that, have a breath mint!"

"Why?"

"Um... your breath smells?" I tried to make him think the mints was messed up, make him think I was pulling a prank on him.

"What's in your other hand?"

"Bubble gum."

"Why do you want me to eat the mints?"

"Um... because I don't want to eat them."

"Why not?"

"They're um... not my favorite kind of mint."

"They're peppermint... that's your favorite."

"You know, that's so creepy that you know that."

"What's wrong with the gum?"

"Nothing is wrong with the gum."

"Then can I have a piece of gum?"

"But you hate gum."

"I don't trust the mints."

"Why not?"

"You love peppermint... you should be shoveling that pack into your mouth, yet here you sit saying that they're gross."

"Well, they're perfectly fine."

"I'll have a piece of gum."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. There's something wrong with the mints, and I'm not falling for it. So hand over the gum."

I gave him the entire pack, and he took one, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth. He chewed it, then said, "These aren't that bad... do you mind if I keep them?"

"No... I have another pack in my purse."

"Thanks." He leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. As he did so, I looked at a giggling Tango and gave him a thumbs up.

We found ourselves in up-state New York at the Delaney's house. Ms. Delaney was recently divorced and was trying to start over with a clean slate for her boys, but moving into a haunted house made it hard for her to feel like they were safe, so she contacted TAPS. With Grant and Jason being parents, they responded to this one immediately, saying that they wanted to make sure that the environment was safe for the three boys. The house was a simple two story house, the kind that would be perfect for a family. It was Tudor style and looked like it was built a long time ago. We pulled into the drive way and we got out to meet the family.

Ms. Delaney welcomed us into her house where we were also greeted by two little boys named Steven, and Jack. Steven was three, and Jack was two. We sat down on the available chairs, and I sat on the floor the two boys sitting around me. While their mother gave told Jay and Grant what little she knew about the house, I got to know the kids better.

"So, what's going on with your house?" I asked.

"It scary." Said Steven, his R's sounding like W's.

"It's scary?"

"Yeah."

"Why is it scary?"

"Um... my toys play by them selves... and I don't want them to."

"They just turn on?"

"Yeah."

"Feets," said Jack, "Feets."

"Feets?" I asked.

"Yeah! Feets come from up there," he pointed at the ceiling, his hand at the side of his face and his finger by his eye almost as if he were looking down the scope at a target.

"You hear people walking?"

"Uh-huh."

"You two must be really brave to stay here."

"Yeah... well we gots ta be brave for mommy and Calvin."

"Who is Calvin?"

"Our little brother," he said, "But we gots ta be quiet 'cause he's asleep and we don't want him to wake up the dead."

I chuckled softly, his response and Steve tapped my shoulder, "You done talking to them? We need to set up soon."

I watched his mouth for any signs of black, but there was nothing, "Yeah," turning back to the boys I said, "I got to go set up cameras around your house to look for ghosts, okay?"

"Okay," Steve said, "Bye."

"Bye," said Jack he waved.

"Bye, guys." As I stood up, their mother came and took them out to the car.

I walked with Tango and told him about Steve's mouth, "The package said it would take a while, so maybe it'll still work."

"Oh my God," I said, a smile coming across my face, "We need to keep him away from Jay and Grant."

"And Amy and Kris for that matter."

I laughed, "He's chewed like half the pack, he really likes them."

"Wow!"

"I know."

The two of us laughed as we moved the camera a little to the right.

"What's so funny," asked Steve over the two way.

"Nothing," I responded.

"Okay."

Everyone finished setting up and we were divided into teams. Kris and Amy were a team, Jay and Grant were a team, which left Dave, Steve, and I as a team. Perfect. We separated, Grant and Jay taking the first floor, Kris and Amy in the basement, and the three of us in the upstairs/attic. We entered the kid's playroom, and we started off checking out how easy it was to turn on the toys, which it wasn't. So we stood there and tried to contact the spirit.

"Is there anyone in here," asked Steve. As he was talking, I noticed his teeth were blackened, and I started giggling. I nudged Tango who started chuckling too, "What?"

"Nothing."

"You two have been laughing all night, what's up?"

"It's an inside joke."

"Okay...."

"Um... if there is any one in here, how old are you?" I asked, trying to change the subject, "Can you turn on any of the toys?"

We waited and one of the toy dinosaurs turned on.

"Can you turn it off," asked Tango.

It went off.

"We have a little machine with a light that's fun to play with," said Steve as he set the K2 meter on the ground, "When you wave your hand in front of it, you came make the light go off, and you can also communicate with us."

"I don't think the ghost will understand you, Steve," I said, "It's a child."

"How do you know that?"

"Are you a big kid," we looked at the light and nothing happened, "Are you five," nothing, "Four? Three?" The light went off at three. Turning to Steve I said, "Told you."

"Shut up."

I smiled as I saw how black Steve's mouth was, but turned back to the K2 meter, "Did you live here," the meter went off, "Do you like the boys the live here now," nothing happened, "Do you not like the boys that live here now," the light went off like crazy.

"Shit," said Dave, "That's not good."

"Are you trying to scare them," asked Steve. The light went off.

"Is this your room," I asked. The light went off, "Do you feel like they're taking away your room?"

Yes.

"Well shoot," I said, "That's not good."

"No, it's not," said Dave.

"Lets get out of here, and tell Jay and Grant," said Steve. As he spoke members of the television crew noticed his mouth, and wore a confused look, I made a signal for them to keep quiet, as Steve and Dave made their way out of the room.

"Excuse me, Teegan," said one of the crew members, "May I interview you about what happened in the room?"

"Sure."