“We need to put our emotions aside for now,” Oliver said.
He took her hands in his, and turned to look in her eyes.
“After we handle Hannah we can get things sorted out between us, but if I lose you…”
She nodded to indicate her agreement, but her body remained rigid, and she slipped her hands from his.
“Tell us what we need to do, Madeline,” Juni whispered.
“Oliver, you must remind your wife of all the good times the two of you had before the accident, and what kind of person she was.”
“How do I do that?”
“That you must figure out on your own.” Thanks, Madeline.
“Juniper, you must help keep him grounded. Hannah will use everything she has to drag him back down and make him forget how far he’s come. Don’t let her make you feel powerless. You have an incredible strength, and a potent aura of positivity and light. As long as you remember who you are, and what’s important to you, she’ll be at a disadvantage.”
“How can you say that when she just took her over less than twenty-four hours ago?” Oliver asked. He didn’t need her to blow smoke up their asses. He needed her to give it to them straight.
“That was nothing more than a pot shot. She saw an opening and took it, knowing you wouldn’t be on guard against an invasion.”
“What happens after I get her to remember?” Oliver asked.
He was ready to end this. He’d spent the past two years being in limbo. He didn’t like getting jerked back to the same place again. It was like being in purgatory, or the waiting place Dr. Seuss had once mentioned.
“We’ll do a ceremony to help her cross over,” Madeline said.
“That’ll work?” Oliver asked.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s get everything set up,” he said.
“Do you have a plan?” Juni asked.
“Not yet. I’m kind of flying by the seat of my pants here.”
“Nice to see I’ve taught you something.”
The response made him think there might be something left to salvage when they were finished. Providing your feelings aren’t ghost induced or cellular memory. Cellular memory was the concept that somewhere in one’s cells, bits and pieces of memories were stored. He’d read about it a time or two. The question was, if that was the case, could he in good conscience continue to see Juniper? Even without Hannah actively affecting her mood, there might be an inclination to be with him that was out of her control. Would they be together now if they’d met and she had someone else’s heart? He turned the question over and over in his mind, and drew a blank for an answer. There was no way to know, really. Now isn’t the time to get philosophical! Focus on laying Hannah to rest first.
“How much time do we have until she completely takes over my personality?” Juni asked.
“I’m not sure. The heart is the life source of a person, the place where the soul lives. There is residual energy from Hannah living inside of you. By now I imagine you’ve felt the effect, fatigue, headaches?”
Juniper nodded. The pensive look on her face aged her, and strengthened his resolve.
Madeline turned to look at Oliver.
“You need to figure this out quickly, put your plan into action before she catches on to what you’re doing. If she hardens her heart to you, there will be little chance for success. The next step then would be an exorcism.”
He swallowed to moisten his dry throat and nodded. This needed to be handled with precision.
Chapter Fourteen
After a few days of contemplation and an eerie calm on the ghost front, Oliver had come to a painful conclusion. The only way to make Hannah remember who she’d been was to go back to the beginning. Problem was that meant digging up all the things he’d spent the past two years avoiding. Stuck between a rock and a hard place he’d pulled the boxes out of the garage one by one and placed them in the living room. He was currently surrounded by various brown squares. Each one felt like it had the potential to contain a grenade.
God must hate me. He opened up the first box, and unveiled a group of photo albums that showcased his life with Hannah. Oliver picked up a thick, black bound book that contained everything from their last year together. His hand shook as he thumbed through the plastic covered pages. A wave of emotions crashed over him and he choked back tears. Hannah and he had been really happy. Their company had started really bringing in money, their marriage was solid, and they’d begun to talk about trying for a baby. He felt guilty not only for her death, but also for the destruction of possibility.