Slow Dance in Purgatory(13)

"Shadrach, sit down." Gus smiled to soften the reprimand.

Maggie tried not to laugh and ended up snorting instead. Aunt Irene looked at her sharply, and Maggie quickly changed the subject.

“So the music? You think that’s Johnny?” Maggie said doubtfully. The ghosts she had seen had never acted like they could see her at all. In fact, they had ignored her completely, and they definitely didn’t play music, or mop floors, or even make eye contact the way Gus described. She didn’t doubt what Gus had seen; she knew firsthand that it was possible. It just wasn’t anything like her own experiences.

“It isn’t me, and it isn’t you, Miss Margaret.”

"And it sure as heck isn't me," Shad interrupted trying to sound tough. "We should be listenin' to some tunes though, Pop. Maybe me and Mags can teach the ghost how to do a few moves." Shad was attempting to be funny, but he was clearly bothered by the thought of a ghost lurking around the school, and his brown eyes were as big as saucers.

Maggie ignored Shad's suggestion and shivered a little. All this talk of ghosts was giving her the creeps, too. “What happened to him anyway? Why is he haunting the school?’

“His brother died there," Aunt Irene broke in softly. "Maybe he did, too. They never found his body, though. It was a terrible night. I’ve always wondered if things would have turned out differently if I’d warned him. You see, Roger was going to lure Johnny into the school. He and a couple friends were going to jump him there. Roger knew he couldn't beat him by himself." Irene shook her head in disgust. "It was all planned out. Roger had gotten his hands on a key, and he planted a group of his friends outside the school and a couple of them inside, although, when Billy Kinross shot out the window they all scattered and ran.

“Roger smashed up Johnny's car and then went inside the school, trying to lure him to follow. But…I guess Billy followed him. I'm not really sure how it all transpired. Nobody is." Irene was quiet and reflective for a moment.

"It scarred our little town. I think it ruined Roger. He wasn’t such a bad boy before that. He was just angry. You see, Dolly Kinross, Billy and Johnny’s mother, had a reputation of being a bit of a floozy and had been, well, sleeping with Mayor Carlton, Roger’s father,” Aunt Irene whispered ‘sleeping with’ as if she had said the ‘F’ word. “Roger found out about it and made life difficult for Billy Kinross around town – he was a much easier target then Johnny. Rumor had it, he even roughed Dolly Kinross up a little and warned her to stay away from his father.”

Shad had gone very quiet and stared down at his plate. Rumors of his own mother's shady exploits had found their way around Honeyville in the last few days. Apparently, Malia Jasper had turned up in town but had yet to drop in and see her son. Maggie's heart hurt for him. Gus sighed, and Irene continued dabbing her eyes, unaware of Shad's discomfort at the turn the conversation had taken.

“Why in the world did you marry Roger Carlton, Aunt Irene?” Maggie couldn’t help but ask, shifting the subject away from wayward mothers. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not my business but….it just seems so…”

“Wrong?” Aunt Irene finished quietly. “I thought I loved him. And there was guilt, pressure from my daddy, pressure from Roger’s momma, people’s expectations, and maybe somewhere in all of that I felt like I owed it to him…like maybe if I’d protected him from himself, if I’d had the courage to do the right thing that night, to speak up, he wouldn’t have had the death of those boys on his conscience. And I wouldn’t have had them on mine. I suppose it was a kind of penance.” Aunt Irene’s voice wobbled a little, and she used her napkin to dab the corners of her eyes.

“Oh, Aunt Irene.” Maggie shook her head and rose to wrap her arms around Irene’s thin shoulders.

“There, there, Miss Honeycutt.” Gus patted Aunt Irene’s hand gently. “I think that’s enough storytellin’ for one night. Thank you very much for that fine supper. Come on, Shadrach. Let's see ourselves out.” Shad and Gus rose from the table, and Gus slung his arm around his grandson's thin shoulders as they ambled toward the door.

“Gus?” Maggie called after him, and Gus turned as he reached out toward the doorknob.

“I’m a little...afraid. If a ghost can turn on music and do…other things,” Maggie still hadn’t confessed that she hadn’t actually mopped that long hallway, “then couldn’t he be dangerous? Couldn’t he actually hurt someone?” Like Me? Maggie didn’t say the last part, but her meaning came out loud and clear.

Shad looked up at his grandfather fearfully, and Gus seemed to consider the question for a moment.

“I suppose maybe he could, but that school’s been filled with people for the last fifty years, and he’s never harmed a soul. I don’t think Johnny Kinross is dangerous, Miss Margaret. I think he’s lonely.”





5


“LONELY BOY”

Paul Anka - 1959





She had seen him. The girl Gus had called Margaret – the girl with the long dark hair who looked so much like Irene Honeycutt. The very first time he noticed her she was dancing alone in the room with mirrors. She had seemed so familiar to him, like he had known her long ago in the time before he had become a ghost of himself. His heart had pounded, and he had cried out to her in recognition, only to have her name elude him and the familiarity fade like he had mistaken her for someone else. Maybe it was just her resemblance to Irene, but the impression had nagged at him still.