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of town on business. As a matter of fact, I’ve been
looking for something to keep me occupied. I’d be delighted to help
you move.”
    The last thing I wanted on earth was to be
one of my sister’s projects. “You know, I don’t have that much
stuff after all. I’m sure I can handle it by myself.”
    “ Nonsense. When are you
moving?”
    I’ve long known that my sister has been a
thorough planner since kindergarten, so if I was going to dodge her
assistance, I knew just what I had to do. The best way to throw her
off was to accelerate the time frame right on the spot. “I’m going
to move right after work tonight. It’s probably going to run pretty
late, so I understand completely if you want to pass on it.”
    I thought I had her, but it just proved I
didn’t know my sister as well as I thought I did. “Tonight would be
perfect. We’ll make a party out of it.” Lillian had been hovering
in the background, no doubt afraid I was going to rat her out
again. Sara Lynn turned to her and said, “You’re helping too,
aren’t you?”
    “ Sorry, I’d love to, but I
can’t. I’m busy.”
    If my aunt was seeing anyone, she’d failed
to mention it to me. I didn’t doubt it was a date with Ben &
Jerry, but I wasn’t about to push it. I said, “That’s fine.”
    She frowned, then said, “Jennifer, I’ll be
there to help, you know that.”
    “ Don’t cancel your plans on
my account.”
    “ Please,” she said. “You
know that my family always comes first.”
    “ If you’re sure.” Lillian
might have had something going on, but then again, she might not
have. Either way, I knew I could count on her.
    I hadn’t packed a thing yet, hadn’t even
planned to move until the weekend in fact, so I was going to have
to hustle to get ready on the new schedule. I hadn’t given notice
yet at my old apartment, but it was the kind of place where it
wasn’t really required, since folks had a tendency to move out in
the middle of the night there. After my sister left, it suddenly
hit me. Whether I was ready for it or not, I was moving into a
haunted apartment in Whispering Oak.
    Moving a residence is a real wake-up call. I
must have thrown out more than I packed, shedding the remnants of
an old life along with the apartment. My cats were taking the
changes with their normal reactions. Nash was perched on the TV,
watching with disdain as Sara Lynn and I worked, while Oggie had to
investigate every box as we packed it. I was going through a stack
of old bills, letters and cards when something caught my attention.
It was a Hallmark greeting card, something as rare in my place as
snow in Miami, and I wondered who’d sent it. I opened it and saw
that it was from Greg Langston during one of our “on again”
periods. “My Dearest Jen,” it said in his clear and firm hand.
“Being with you is all I ever want. I love you more than I can say,
Greg.” Evidently he wrote it a little prematurely, but the
sentiment had been sincere at the time. What happened to us, Greg?
I thought. Any rational person would think that two broken
engagements would be enough to close that door forever, but there
was something about that man, something magical when we were
together. Maybe that was why I was so abrupt with him all the time.
I knew that if I gave him the slightest sign of encouragement, he’d
wedge himself back into my heart, and I doubted I could take
another breakup with him.
    Lillian’s voice brought me abruptly back to
reality. “Child, why ever are you crying?”
    “ I’m not crying,” I said as
I wiped the tears off my cheeks.
    “ Okay,” Lillian said in an
even tone, “then what’s so mesmerizing about that card? You’ve been
staring at it for the last five minutes.”
    “ It’s nothing,” I said as I
resolutely chucked the card into the growing pile of discards from
my life now littering my living room floor. That was best, getting
rid of all those old reminders, so maybe they’d stop haunting
me.
    Five