A Spirit's Touch

Five. A Rose Without Thorns

"Hi babe!" Rose said a little excitedly and pulled Judith in for a hug. "Guess you didn't hear me knock."

"Sorry, I was indulged in my book," Judith half lied.

"Must be some book, you look spooked," Rose half joked.

"I get invested. Would you like coffee first or shall I just pull out that bottle of wine?"

"Don't tempt me just yet, babe," Rose laughed. "Coffee please."

"Coming up," Judith smiled and headed for the kitchen.

"How are you settling in?"

"It's alright. Neighbourhood seems friendly enough. The house can get quite cold though."

"We miss you back at the office," Rose replied as Judith returned with two cups of coffee.

"Most of them only miss my little outbursts towards the end," Judith remarked.

"Not completely true, we all know Neil was the arsehole that did you wrong.

Judith did not respond, the mere mention of his name was enough to grate her bones.

Rose changed the subject, "I got you something." She pulled out a neatly wrapped parcel from her handbag and handed it to Judith.

"Thank you, you really didn't have to."

Rose smirked,"Wait till you see it. I really did."

"Oh, it's an owl," Judith held up the wood carving. "He looks familiar."

"Not just any owl. Remember that dickhead, Pete?" Rose asked begrudgingly. "This was his."

Judith gasped, "No way, is this Ollie? He looks different."

"The very one. He was grubby so I sent him off to be cleaned and polished."

"You know I hate this owl," Judith grimaced.

"Which is precisely why I stole him for you," Rose beamed. This caused a raised eyebrow from Judith but Rose continued, "Remember that time Pete renamed it Judith? For two weeks he continuously belittled you and said wooden Judith was a far more useful employee."

"Yes, I don't need reminding of that episode, thank you."

"Well it's yours now. One last middle finger at Pete as our final parting gift," Rose mimicked an offensive finger in the air.

"He must be pretty upset over it going missing," Judith smiled at the thought. She accepted the wooden owl gratefully after that.

With coffee finished Judith pointed to a bottle of wine. They both giggled like school girls before Judith unscrewed the cap.

"This is more like it," Rose complimented. "Let me get the wine glasses from your kitchen. Chance to be nosey." Rose stood and shuddered.

"What's wrong?" Judith asked.

"Sudden blast of cold air, you really outta check the windows for drafts." Rose thought no more of it and entered the kitchen.

Cute, she thought. It was small and would in no way suit someone such as herself. She did not have to search long for the glass cupboard. She pulled out two glasses, as she did so a noise from behind startled her.

She spun around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Hmmm," she said aloud. In her mind she thought she heard a distinctive knocking on the worktop.

"No more coffee for me today," she said softly and returned to the front room.

"Find them ok?" Judith asked.

Rose nodded, "Yes, but I was disappointed not to find anything I could use as office gossip."

"Sorry, I'm not a Heat magazine," Judith replied sarcastically. She began pouring the wine.

"Have you not had a man over yet?" Rose asked suddenly causing Judith to falter and spill some wine.

"Excuse me?"

"You must get lonely, babe. Are there no men you can call to service your boiler?"

Judith's cheeks turned red, "Rose! I haven't been here a week yet. No, there are no men to service boilers or likewise."

"Too bad, I could not imagine living on my own, I'd get lonely too quick."

"Well, I don't know if I should say this, but-" Judith paused.

"Go on," Rose said with a hunger to fill her curiosity. "What is it? Tell me."

"This is going to sound crazy, but I think this house may be haunted."

"Bitch, that is crazy," Rose said playfully. "I was hoping you were going to tell me the neighbours son was a hot Spanish body builder type guy that you watch or something."

"Somehow, that sounds crazier when it's you saying it," Judith laughed. "I'm being serious. Things get moved around, I hear strange noises. What's most bizarre though is that it cleans up after me, like a lot. Like it has OCD or something."

"A ghost that cleans up your mess? Where do I get one of those?" Rose asked with a very serious tone.

"Don't joke, it is great, but somewhat annoying. I know I lack motivation at the minute but I don't need some spirit making me out to be a slob."

Rose thought for a moment while sipping on wine, "So you genuinely believe you have a ghost?"

"If held at gunpoint, I would say a resounding yes. I am convinced I have a ghost."

"I am convinced you drink a lot of wine," Rose responded.

"Don't believe me then," Judith retorted.

"Ok, I'll play along. Have you seen him? This ghost?"

"No, I haven't seen it," Judith thought hard about her experiences. The tidiness, the compulsiveness towards cleaning, the hand written letter on the first day.

Judith lowered her head as the remembrance of being touched just that morning. The nights where she felt like someone was caressing her body with delicate hands.

"I think it might be a she," Judith finally replied.

"Why's that?" Rose asked curiously.

Judith waved an arm around the room, "I mean, come on, look at the place. Neil wouldn't even know where the hoover was unless oral sex was offered as a bloody reward for using it."

"I think that's just most men," Rose replied. They both broke into laughter.

They continued laughing and drinking wine until they felt tipsy and Rose knew it was time to go.

"Take care of yourself, babe," were her last words to Judith before leaving.

Judith returned to the front room and stared at Ollie the Owl, "What shall we do with you, pal?"

The wood carving sat there silently, watching her. Judith checked the time, it was later than she thought.

"Dinner, wine and bed," Judith said drunkenly to herself. She knew tomorrow would be back to solitary but she was eager to go to bed soon so she could cherish the friendly company she had received that day.

"Goodnight Ollie, or Judith or whatever Pete named you last. Keep an eye out for spirits."

Judith took her book and the remainder of the wine and closed the front room door. A takeaway in bed was definitely the choice of dinner tonight.

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