If there was a spirit within these walls that could influence people, well, Clara was keeping a level head about her. She hadn’t mentioned seeing or experiencing anything unusual. Ezra had encountered a few strange occurrences so far. He was stressed and on edge. If a spirit were going to choose a target, it would be him.
He couldn’t even imagine ever harming his wife, but a small part of him worried that the evil spirits might try to influence him to do something awful. Even if they didn’t use him, his father seemed to be suggesting there were plenty of ways they could be harmed. Ezra was facing an invisible enemy, and the thought of losing everything was too much to bear.
“Ezra, sweetie, I understand you’re worried but…” Clara tried to think of the right words to say, but it didn’t seem being understanding and empathetic was helping. He couldn’t be allowed to continue believing this. Letting Brittany excuse everything away with ghosts was one thing, but allowing her husband’s mind to run wild was clearly causing some huge problems.
“I know seeing your father’s ghost was terrifying but…” she looked into his eyes, wild with fear. “I’m going to put it bluntly; there’s no way you saw him. Ghosts aren’t real. I don’t want to invalidate your fears or discount what you saw, but it must’ve been a nightmare. You were tossing and turning a lot last night. Sometimes dreams can seem so real it’s hard to fathom they aren’t real. But it’s not real. Your father is dead, and he didn’t come back.
“This house isn’t haunted. There are explanations for why strange things happen, even if they’re not always readily apparent. And as for Lyla and Richard, we don’t even know for certain that they did kill their children. However, if they did, they were likely struggling with very human problems brought about by selfishness, anger, or mental illness. There are a ton of possible explanations, but we can’t blame things like that on ghosts.
“This is all scary, I get it. I believe you saw what you saw, but we also must stay rational. We can’t let the stories get to us.” She took his hands and kissed them. Worry was bright in his eyes, paired with a fear of being judged. Shame weighed on him. “I love you, okay. We’ll get through this together. I’m not judging you for coming to me with this. I’m glad you did. I just want to help you see the truth in it.”
“I know,” he whispered. His voice raised. “You’re right. There’s no such thing as ghosts. I know that, but it’s hard to fully convince myself of it when I saw him there.”
They were quiet as Clara gave him a moment before she offered a solution she hoped he wouldn’t react badly to.
“Ezra, I don’t think any less of you, but I am worried about you. Maybe it’s time to talk to a doctor. I’m sure it is simply a nightmare due to sleeping problems, but they could give you something to help you sleep better. They could probably give you something to help with the stress.
“I’m not saying you have to be medicated forever, but it might be something to look into for now. Maybe we could even try to find a therapist of some sort. Something to help you feel yourself again.”
Ezra wasn’t offended. If a doctor could offer him a pill that would chase the ghosts away, he’d gladly take it.
“I’ll look into it,” he told her.
“Good,” Clara said. “There’s no shame in needing some help. In fact…” she looked around the room, her mind returning to renovations, “why don’t you take a break from the normal stress today?
“I’ve been wanting to make some changes around here. I have so many ideas, and they’re going to take a bit of time to put into place. We’ll want to get started on them soon so everything’s ready for the opening. Why don’t we take the day to do some shopping? It might help you get your mind off things. If we can plan for the future, maybe you can look away from the past.”
“That sounds nice,” Ezra admitted. “But I have to get the menu done. I have to order food.”
“Ah, but the café also needs to be sorted out. Any changes to the room need to be made ahead of time. At the very least, our guests will need tables and chairs. We can even pick out some décor for it.
“It’ll likely take some time for everything to be delivered. So, tomorrow you can get back to work on the menu while we wait for everything else to come in. I’m not sure you’d be at your creative genius best when you’re exhausted anyway, or when you’re this stressed.”
She had a point. This was so important to him, and he didn’t want to make mistakes simply because he couldn’t fully focus on it. His mind admittedly wasn’t at its best.
“Come on,” she said, wielding that smile that always got him. It was the thing that drew him to her in the first place, infectious in the best way. “You deserve a break for the day, and it isn’t even fully a break. We’d still be productive. These sorts of things have to get done regardless. Maybe shopping will give your brain space to focus on something else. A little retail therapy always helps me. And it’ll be fun to spend the day together.”
She wasn’t even sure it was the right decision, but she wanted to make him happy. She’d do anything she could to purge that haunted look from his face.
“Okay,” he relented. “Just for today. But first… I think it’d be good if I called a doctor. There’s no way I’m getting an appointment today. These things take time, but I want to get better.”
“I’m so proud of you,” she said.
20
As Ezra searched for
