Ghostbusters: Resurrection

18. Epilogue: A Wedding

*Note: this work is an 18 chapter novella, not a collection of shorts, best started at chapter one. Rating PG13*

Two years later, in the spring of 2026, Callie and Gary get married in front of the family farmhouse.

Where Gozer's trap system used to lie in the bare dirt, is now a beautiful garden buzzing with honey bees. Small but already growing, cherry trees in full, fluffy pink bloom line the long driveway. Daffodils poking their heads up everywhere. The collapsing old barn has been replaced by a glass and steel laboratory structure, strung with festive white string lights for the occasion. All the piles of rusty junk Egon had used to scare curious townsfolk away have been recycled or dumped. The old farmhouse has been painted a fresh milkpaint white, and all the crumbling trim has been repaired and the drafty old windows replaced. The guests can't see it from where they sit, but there's a sizeable addition on the back of the farmhouse, too. They've enlarged the kitchen and added a full Father In Law suite for Ray on the bottom floor. And the top floor has extended office space for Callie and added guest rooms for their frequent visitors.

Time for the ceremony.

The sun is just beginning to set and there's a string quartet playing softly as everyone finds their seats in the garden. Rows of little gold chairs and a flower arch have been set up. Candles glow in the softening dusk light.

Callie walks the aisle alone because she doesn't need anyone to give her away or give her permission. She is fully her own person. Radiant in a cream and blush colored lace gown. Her bouquet is a wild riot of berries and dandelions and creamy roses and herbs. As unconventional as the bride and her path to this moment.

Gary is barely holding up. He is awash with tears. Has anyone ever been as in love as Grooberson is in this moment? Yes, of course, but he's gone all wobbly anyway. He feels like the luckiest guy in the world. Winston gives Gary a fatherly pat on the back and Trevor gives him a nudge and he manages to pull himself together. There is a single dandelion tucked behind his ear.

Winston has the honor of officiating. He got his license off the internet just for this when Callie and Gary asked if he would do their vows. He's looking dapper in a sharp charcoal suit, a cluster of dandelions and rosemary pinned to his lapel.

Callie and Gary stand, holding hands in front of Winston beneath the arch. Trevor and Ray beside Gary. Phoebe and Janine beside Callie. Podcast is filming the nuptials from the side. Venkman is on the front row, trying to pretend he's not tearing up and is only jokingly dabbing his eyes with a hanky.

The ceremony is short and sweet. The party afterwards is long and boisterous.

Lucky is there. Her Dad's plus one. An hour into the party, she looks beautiful and nervous as she walks over to Trevor and asks him to dance. He doesn't spill punch all over himself at her approach, so that's cool. They dance. Later they slip away and talk. And that is also very cool.

Janine and Ray dance together. They both have moves. Ray is the kind of big guy who is light on his feet and can really turn up on the dancefloor. Janine is tiny and graceful and easy to fling around. They have a ball.

Venkman needs a hip replacement and won't admit it, so he doesn't dance, but he sits with Winston and his wife Tiyah, holding court and cracking jokes.

Most of Summerville is there. Not just because they want a peek at Dirt Farmer's family and all the spiffy new renovations that have happened at the spooky old place, either. They're also here because two of the town's heroes are getting married and no one has forgotten the summer before last and how the Ghostbusters saved them all from Gozer's grip. Summerville is proud of the Spenglers now and happy to pretend they always were. There's even a little Spengler museum and Ghostbuster's themed gift shop in an old storefront downtown now.

Egon is everywhere.

Egon Spengler is a breeze blowing a few stray rain clouds away from the party. He's the moonlight that caresses Callie's pretty cheek. He's in the music and the food. In hands held under the table. In Trevor's courage. He's in Ray's heart and the sparkle in Janine's eyes when she looks at him. He's in the precise angle of Phoebe's jaw when they finally kiss Podcast for the first time, over on the porch swing, when no one is looking.

Egon is everywhere.

-the end-

AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I set out to write this, I wanted to answer some questions:

1. When did Egon find out about Callie and why hadn't he been in her life?

2. Did Ray or the other Ghostbusters know about Callie?

3. Why did Ray and Egon break up?

4. So Gozer is just trapped in the front yard indefinitely? What happens when the traps fail? Or if someone lets Them out?

5. What happened after Afterlife?

6. Was there a way to get Ray and Egon back together?

7. Could Ray heal and grow, come back to life? Could he find love again and get out of the book shop?

8. The Spenglers gave Gozer 40 years of vigilance. Could Egon's family finally break free of servitude to Gozer forever?

I wish I could have brought Egon back to life, gotten him and Ray that retirement honeymoon they so deserve. I wanted them to get to do the things in real life that they do in Ray's dreams at night. When I realized that Egon was going to sacrifice himself to defeat Gozer and Shandor, I cried! I was so mad and I kept trying other ways to end it.

But somewhere along the story, I realized that the resurrection would be Ray's not Egon's, that it would be Stantz who came fully back to life by the end.

Janine and Ray's friends-to-lovers sidestory surprised me. She's a cheeky gal. If Ray wants to dry his tears on her bossom, he should. He's earned it. And I think Egon wants them to be together. So, why not?

I also think Venkman has a big crush on Ray so if things with Melnitz go sideways, there's always Peter.

I grew up on Goonies, not just Ghostbusters, so naturally there had to be a hidden treasure at the end of it all. Egon had to have a secret fortune. I hope Callie has a blast spending it. Janine certainly deserves a fat check.

Finally, perhaps you noticed I used "they" for Phoebe's pronoun at the end. They'd be 18 at that point, by the way. I wanted to hint at a nonbinary identity for Phoebe's character because I didn't want the only gender binary nonconforming character to be the villain. Though, Gozer was a pretty rad character in the 80s for being androgynous. But we deserve nonbinary heroes, not just aliens, robots, etc.

If you'd like to read Ray and Egon's love story, I wrote Ghostbusters In Love, a sweet, spooky, smutty novella about Stantz and Spengs realizing they were in love with each other, set during the events of the 1984 movie. It's more mature than this one, contains explicit scenes.

Thanks again for reading this. Please share it with anyone you think would enjoy it.