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“Alice, please wait.”
“No,” she yells as she pulls on her shoes. “I know what I saw. There was a man standing right there.” She points down the hall. The empty hall. “He was right there and then he just disappeared right in front of me. He just disappeared, Geno!”
“I think maybe is just your imagination. Had a little bit of wine with dinner and-.”
“It was not the wine.” Her eyes dart around the foyer and then flash up to the ceiling as footsteps travel from one side of the house to the other above them. “You said you lived alone.”
“I do.”
She drops her voice to a whisper and digs her nails into his arms in fear. “Then who is that?”
Geno shrugs. “Old house, pipes bang sometimes.”
A huge crash comes from the kitchen and Alice grabs her coat off the hook.
“That’s not a pipe,” she hisses then jumps as the door swings open behind her and she runs out into the night without even putting her coat on.
The door closes slowly on its own and Geno shakes his head.
He fell in love at first sight with this house five years ago. The house was incredibly well preserved even though no one had lived in it since the sixties and he couldn’t understand why no one had scooped it up before him.
The real estate agent didn’t really have an answer for him and quickly ushered him out of the house while telling him she’d get the paperwork moving as soon as possible.
He moved in a month later and tried his best to get used to the bumps in the night, the doors creaking open on their own, and the cold spots that seemed to follow him around.
He wasn’t even afraid the first time he saw Sidney.
Sid actually seemed more surprised to see him than he was to see Sid.
He came floating down the stairs while Geno was reading on the couch and they both looked at each other at the same time.
“Oh,” Sid had said, eyes are round as saucers. “You’re really quiet.”
Geno closed the book and put it down on the cushion next to him. “You’re really loud.”
Sid had laughed, loud and kind of dorky and Geno knew there was no way he could ever be afraid of him.
It was nice having Sid there. Knowing he was there. He liked having someone to come home to. The house was so big and having someone else there to fill it was nice.
Even if the other person did die in 1915.
He leans on the closed front door and locks it before he yells Sid’s name.
“What’s wrong,” a voice says from behind him and when he turns there’s Sid standing above the hardwood with his brows furrowed like he really doesn’t know.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“You know what. Chase her out like that.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
Geno scoffs and Sid wrinkles his nose.
“Did you even like her? She seemed kind of dull.”
“That is not the point. For me to decide.”
“You’re too nice sometimes. I’m afraid you’d end up stringing her along because you don’t want to hurt her feelings. I couldn’t think of another way to get her out of here. I was doing you both a favor.”
“You do this all the time.”
“I won’t do it next time, promise. Just try to meet someone you’d think I’d like for you.”
“You never like any of them. What was wrong with Kyle, huh? From last week.”
“He chewed too loud.”
“And Sara?”
“She didn’t know what icing was.”
“It’s a confusing rule, Sid.”
“You explained it to her like three times while you were watching the game and she still didn’t get it.” He rolls his eyes. “It was annoying.”
“Fine. Laura, Collin, Aaron.”
“Laura said she didn’t like dogs, Collin kept rolling his eyes behind your back and Aaron….I don’t remember what Aaron did but it had to have been something.”
“Sid.”
“What? You bring them back here to get my opinion on them and I’m giving you my opinion.”
“You don’t have to give opinion like that, scaring them out of here right when we move to couch and start to kiss.”
Sid quickly looks down and if ghosts were able to blush Geno’s sure that’s what would be happening.
“Oh, Sid.”
“This is your house,” Sid says quietly. “It’s your house now and you should be free to do whatever you want in it. It’s wrong of me to keep scaring your guests away.”
“Sid.”
“So the next time you bring someone home I’ll just….I don’t know. Go up to the attic or something. I’ll let you have your privacy. You deserve it.”
“Not fair,” Geno says as Sid starts to fade away. “Can’t just disappear everytime you don’t want to talk. I can’t do that so you shouldn’t be able to either.”
The house stays quiet and Geno closes his eyes and tips his head back in frustration.
He hears a small knock coming from the attic and Geno takes the stairs two at a time mumbling about his noisey ghost the whole way.
Sid’s standing in the corner with his back to the door.
He’s holding a stack of old photographs, so worn with age that they’re tattered at the corners and threatening to fall apart at any moment.
It took months for Sid to show him the photos of his family. Geno listened quietly as Sid told him story after story about his parents and his sister and there was nothing Geno wanted to do more than reach out and hold him. To try to take some of the pain and years of loneliness away.
He wants to do the same thing right now.
Sid carefully places the photos back in the box in front of him but doesn’t turn around. “I know it’s stupid to be jealous. I can’t kiss you or hold your hand or lay with you on the couch while we watch the game. I just can’t do that so it’s stupid to be jealous of those that can.”
Geno steps towards him. “It’s okay to be jealous. Everyone gets jealous sometimes. You only human.”
Sid laughs bitterly and turns. “I used to be.”
Geno walks across the floor and stands in front of him. “I wish for all those things too,” he says and Sid looks up. “You’re like, perfect guy. Funny and likes hockey and very neat.”
“You’re such a mess sometimes. Someone has to clean up after you.”
Geno laughs and Sid finally smiles.
“It’s good like this, you know, you and me.”
“You’re going to want more, Geno.”
Geno wordlessly holds his hand out in front of him and Sid shakes his head.
“You know I can’t.”
Geno holds his palm completely flat and raises his eyebrows and Sid shakes his head but slowly places his own hand on top anyways.
Geno’s hand goes cold but he can definitely feel pressure there.
He smiles at Sid.
It’s more than enough.