End of May // Luke Patterson

03

JULIE'S HOUSE

Carlos placed a fourth 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 sat as she 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 repeated.

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

"She was out there talking to herself," Carlos said.

"I was 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, tía. 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 has been cleaning out Mom's studio. Hopefully we can get the house on the market and some offers soon." The four 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 yelled, seeing the ghosts, and Luke and Ruth exhaled sharply before she grabbed his hand with a panicked expression.

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

Carlos chuckled.

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

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

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

Victoria gasped. "Oh, I'm just here to help, mija."

"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," Victoria said before she chuckled.

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

Ruth nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

"It's nothing," Victoria 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?"

Ruth frowned. "Excuse me, but music matters very much."

Julie shot the female ghost a look, warning her to be quiet.