Ghostly Graveyard (Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery Book 17) (15 page)

Zimmerman Academy

From the Diary of Phyllis King

New Traditions

I have experienced many firsts since Brooklyn, Eve, and Pepper came to live with me. In many ways, I feel as if I am beginning a new chapter in my life at the ripe old age of sixty-two. In the past six weeks I have shared a home with someone other than my parents for the first time, gone on my first date, purchased and worn my first pair of jeans, and learned how to style my hair and apply makeup to bring out my best features. The first I am the most excited about, however, is sharing my first holiday with my new family. In the past I’ve never much bothered with the trappings associated with Halloween, or any other holiday, for that matter, but this year I want to establish new traditions and experience everything the season has to offer.

“Jeremy is here,” Pepper called from downstairs.

“I’ll be right down,” I called back.

Jeremy Fisher is the assistant to my good friend Zoe Donovan. When I found out that he was going to be a single dad, I offered to let him rent one of the townhomes I own at a very reasonable price. At the time I thought I was doing the young man and his adorable daughter a favor, but Jeremy has allowed me to serve as a surrogate grandma to Morgan Rose, which has turned out to be a blessing without measure.

The girls absolutely adore Morgan, who is now eighteen months old, and she in turn adores them. Today we are babysitting Morgan while Jeremy is busy with his band. They are playing a concert in the park, which the girls and I plan to attend after we take Morgan shopping for her Halloween costume. The girls and I will be looking for costumes as well because we are all invited to a party at Zak and Zoe’s home on Halloween night. As odd as it may sound, this will be my first Halloween costume ever.

“P’ma,” Morgan greeted me as I walked into the room. When Morgan began to talk I couldn’t decide what to have her call me. I wasn’t her actual grandmother, so Grandma seemed presumptuous, but Phyllis, Ms. King, or Professor all seemed wrong as well. P’ma, an amalgamation of Phyllis and grandma, is the name we came up with after trial and error.

“How’s my girl?” I asked as Morgan reached for me and I took her into my arms. Morgan is an adorable child with dark brown hair and huge brown eyes. The lashes that framed her eyes were long and thick.

“Kitty,” Morgan said after she planted a wet kiss on my cheek.

“The kitty is upstairs,” I answered. Surprisingly, my cat Charlotte, who doesn’t like anyone, likes Morgan, and the two have formed a bond that I have to admit I don’t completely understand.

“Cookie?” Morgan tried instead.

“How about if Pepper gets you a cookie while I talk to Daddy?” I set Morgan on the floor. “Be sure to put a bib on her so she doesn’t get the cookie all over her pretty pink jumper.”

“I will,” Pepper assured me as she took Morgan’s hand and led her into the kitchen, where I kept a supply of cookies made especially for toddlers.

“I really appreciate your doing this,” Jeremy said.

“You know I love to spend the day with Morgan as often as I can,” I answered. “The girls and I are going to do some shopping and then we will see you at the park. Did you have a specific theme in mind for Morgan’s costume?”

“Whatever you decide will be fine. I’m just happy for the help. Zoe has been superbusy lately, which means she hasn’t been spending much time at the Zoo, which translates into Tiffany and me putting in extra hours.”

Tiffany Middleton was Zoe’s other full-time employee besides Jeremy, who was actually the manager of the facility.

“Maybe Zoe should consider hiring some extra help,” I suggested.

“We’ve talked about it, but she seems to think that once things settle down a bit she’ll have more time to spend with the animals. The problem is that Zoe seems to have a knack for getting involved. In
everything
. I really don’t see her freeing up much time in the near future, although it does slow down at the Zoo over the winter, after the bears go into hibernation and the snow discourages pets from wandering too far away from home. I think we’ll be fine until spring.”

“I know Zoe wants what is best for the animals, so if you do find you need extra help I definitely think you should bring it up again.”

“I will.” Jeremy looked at his watch. “I really should get going. I’ll see you at the park. Have fun shopping.”

Jeremy left and I headed toward the kitchen, where I could hear Pepper and Morgan laughing. Of the three young women who have come to live with me, Pepper is the most outgoing. Pepper is a fourteen-year-old with a kind heart and a whole lot of energy. She is also by far the least complicated and easiest to get along with of the three, an extreme extrovert who would generate enough energy to power a small town if we could figure out a way to harvest it.

I had to smile as I observed Pepper chatting with Morgan, who sat contentedly in her high chair with cookie smeared all over her face. The pair seemed to be having a good time, so I decided to head back upstairs to finish getting ready.

“Can we stop off at the health food store while we’re in town?” Fifteen-year-old Eve asked as I passed her on the stairs.

“Absolutely. We can make any stops you girls want.”

“Thanks. We’re out of flax seed and granola. I meant to add them to the shopping list, but I forgot. We could probably use some more fruit and veggies for my shakes too, if we have time to go by the farmers market, and I overheard Brooklyn saying we were getting low on coffee.”

“Not a problem. We’ll pick everything up while we are out.”

Eve is not only a vegetarian and a health food nut but she is an introvert like I am. She loves to read and I suspect she is secretly trying her hand at writing as well. In spite of the five-year age difference between them, she has a lot in common with Alex, and the two spend a lot of time working on a project neither of them seems willing to share. I asked Zoe about it, but she said Alex is being as secretive as Eve. If I didn’t know the two girls so well I’d be worried, but if there was anyone you could trust to do the right thing it was Alex.

After I finished applying my makeup the way the girls had shown me, I braided my hair and grabbed the new leather jacket I’d splurged on. It is a deep caramel color that perfectly matches the leather boots I’d also decided to buy. I had to admit the jacket spoke to a wild side I never even knew I had.

I said good-bye to Charlotte and headed down the hall to knock on Brooklyn’s door. She is a sixteen-year-old with a troubled past who I was certain I’d never be able to handle, but as it turns out, she is an agreeable girl with a willingness to take on the role of big sister to the others. We haven’t discussed her need for the birth control pills she mentioned on her first day with me, but I do know she has been to the doctor in spite of the fact that she doesn’t appear to have a steady boyfriend.

“Come in,” Brooklyn called.

I opened the door halfway. “I just wanted to let you know we will be heading into town in a few minutes.”

“Does this top make me look fat?”

“Fat?” I asked. Brooklyn watches her weight more religiously than anyone I’ve ever met. “I doubt any top could do that, but in answer to your question, the sweater is adorable and it absolutely does not make you look fat.”

Brooklyn smiled. “Good. Pi said we might hang after the concert and I want to look my best.”

“You look beautiful as always and I love that deep blue color on you. It accentuates your blond hair and blue eyes. You look just perfect, although you might want to grab a jacket if you plan to go out after the concert. The temperature here drops dramatically after the sun sets.”

Brooklyn sighed as she opened her closet and looked at the options. “I need something new. Something different. Like the jacket you’re wearing. It’s the bomb, by the way.”

Brooklyn was a diva who usually thinks my clothes need updating, so it tickled me to death that she actually wanted a jacket like mine.

“You can borrow it if you’d like,” I offered.

Brooklyn grinned. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Secretly, I was thrilled that young, sophisticated Brooklyn would want to borrow
anything
of mine.

“That would be awesome. I’ll take really good care of it. I promise.”

I handed the garment to the teenager. “I know you will. We leave in fifteen minutes. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

After I checked in on Pepper and Morgan, I headed out to the garage to warm up the car. Today we would take the Volvo because we have Morgan with us, but on most weekends I prefer the Caddy convertible my daddy left to me. There is something about cruising along the highway with the radio blaring and the wind in your hair that frees up your inhibitions.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the costume I will look for. On one hand, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with anything too extravagant or revealing. Brooklyn mentioned her intention to dress as Cleopatra, which I’m most certain she can pull off in spite of her blond hair, but I think a sixty-two-year-old virgin should dress a bit more conservatively despite the fact that I’ve watched my diet and still wear the same size I wore in high school.

On the other hand, I don’t want to go as anything too stodgy and conservative. Will Danner will be attending the party and I want to make an impression. The right impression. Pepper isn’t sure what she wants to be and Eve plans to attend as Eliza Doolittle, the character from
My Fair Lady
and not the singer the girls like to listen to. I’ve been toying with a character from fiction myself. Finding just the right persona to adequately convey the image I’d like for Will to see has been more vexing than I imagined it would be.

I realize Mr. Danner will most certainly never look at me in quite the same way I look at him, but in spite of what Charlotte thinks, I feel there is no harm in giving my imagination just a bit of free rein. I’ve never met anyone quite like him. His personality is the perfect blend of archetypes melding the hero, the rebel, and the caregiver. Will is a caring man, a talented teacher, and a lively friend. His real gift, however, seems to be that of a magician because he is more than adept at making an old woman like me feel young again.

Pepper walked up behind me with Morgan in her arms. “Do you need help with Morgan’s car seat?”

“It’s in the trunk from the last time. I just need to strap it in.”

“I’ll do it,” Pepper offered. “I wouldn’t want you to hurt your back.”

So much for feeling young.

Later that night, after we’d all returned home, I said my good nights, then headed upstairs for a little one-on-one time with Charlotte. We really had had the best day. We had all managed to find costumes we were happy with and Pepper bought a whole cartful of decorations to spruce up the house. Pepper and Eve were stringing lights around the windows when I decided I’d had enough fun for the day and was ready to come upstairs. Brooklyn had helped in the beginning, until Pi called, and she’d been in her room on the phone ever since.

I like Pi and am happy Brooklyn is interested in him, but I sense he might not return Brooklyn’s affection to the same degree. He seems to be more interested in his music than dating, which, I suppose, isn’t really all that odd when a young man is just sixteen.

Charlotte curled up on my pillow as I began removing my makeup and moisturizing my skin.

“You should see the costume we got for Morgan,” I said to her as she watched me go through the predictable steps of the process. “It’s a fuzzy lion that just makes me want to cuddle her up even more than I usually do. It was so cute the way she toddled around the costume shop, growling at everyone. I am finding that I do regret my decision not to have children of my own. I really did miss so much.”

Charlotte yawned. It was part of my nightly routine to recount my day to her, but most of the time it appeared as if she wasn’t really listening.

“Still, what is done is done and all I can really do is to cherish every minute I have with my adopted family. I am so very excited about Halloween for the first time in my life. Shopping with the girls was so much fun, and Morgan warms my heart every time I’m with her.”

I slipped a flannel nightgown over my head and then began sorting the clothes I had removed. I hung those that could be worn again on hangers and separated those that needed laundering into differing baskets for the laundry service.

“We ran into Mr. Danner at the concert,” I informed Charlotte as I unwound my bun and began brushing my waist-length hair. “I know we are just friends, and I know that is all we will most likely ever be, but I have to confess the man has a way of making my heart pound and my mood soar.”

After I brushed my hair one hundred times I fashioned it into a long braid that hung down my back.

“I know you think I am being a foolish old woman to allow my mind to wander when it comes to thoughts of Will. And I know you are right. But a little fantasy of the romantic kind isn’t really all that scandalous.” Charlotte jumped off the bed and trotted across the room to the windowsill. She turned her back to me, effectively communicating that she was bored with my chatter.

“I know you tire of hearing about Will but there is no need to be rude.”