Cinderblock Garden // Julie and the Phantoms (Luke Patterson)

03

JULIE'S HOUSE

Carlos placed a fifth plate on the table.

Julie's father placed food on the table. "There we go!" Julie placed a bowl of salad on the table. "Okay. Let's do this." He sat.

Julie and Cassandra sat as they said, "Let's do it."

"Your turn, Carlos."

Carlos prayed, "Thank you for our leftovers and the power of the mighty microwave. Amen."

"Amen," Julie and Cassandra repeated.

Mr. Molina chuckled as he dished spaghetti. "So... Carlos tells me he found you two in the studio."

"They were out there talking to themselves," Carlos said.

"Cassie and I were rehearsing for a play," Julie explained to cover up.

"Hello, hello!" a woman exclaimed.

"Oh, busted!" Carlos said as he got up and removed the dishes from the empty spot.

"Yeah, we're in here," the father said. "Quick!"

Cutlery clattered to the ground as Julie pulled it away and Carlos sat in his chair.

"Huh!" the woman exclaimed. "Spaghetti. Again?" She set the dish on the counter.

"Yeah," the father replied. "Yeah."

"That's took bad. I brought you my pasteles and arroz con pollo."

"Yum."

"Mm," Julie hummed, turning. "Thanks, tia. It smells great."

"You can have it tomorrow." She put the food in the fridge. "I can't let you have leftovers every night. My sister would kill me, may she rest in peace." She noticed the table. "Oh... I see things here are going better?"

"Actually..." the father began and sniffed, "Julie and Cassie have been cleaning out Mom's studio. Hopefully we can get the house on the market and some offers soon." The three ghosts entered the house. "Well, I like the sound of that. Moving from here is only gonna help you move on. You've got to rip that Band-Aid off and get the pain over with."

Julie and Cassandra yelled, seeing the ghosts, and Luke exhaled sharply.

Julie chuckled awkwardly. "That's me and Cassie. Ripping off the Band-Aid." They pretended to do so. "Aah!"

Carlos chuckled.

"There's my brave girl," the aunt told Julie, cupping her chin.

"Hey, Julie, Cassie, I really like what you guys did with the place," Luke said.

Julie and Cassandra turned to Luke. "You shouldn't be here."

The aunt gasped. "Oh, I'm just here to help, mija, Cassie."

"Oh... I think that's our cue to leave," Alex said.

Julie quickly thought of an excuse. "I mean, you should be at Pilates. Thanks for bringing us food." She hugged her aunt.

"Oh," the aunt said before she chuckled.

"We should've called first," Reggie said.

"It's nothing," the aunt replied. "And now that you're no longer in the music program, you can concentrate on classes that matter." She looked at her brother-in-law. "You got the e-mail from the school, right?"

Cassandra glanced at Julie and let out a small sigh. What she'd figured had just been confirmed.

"Yeah," Julie's father replied. "We're still discussing it."