What to get Whisper for Christmas?

And even if I could figure out exactly what to get her, how do you sneak something past an entity?

Most people don't have those issues, but for me; it was a part of my daily routine.

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Truth was, I knew exactly what I wanted to get Whisper, but I had no idea how to do it.

I had to come up with a plan and quick, if I was to have the gift ready for Christmas.

I only had 8 days to prepare my surprise.

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I needed some help and I knew just the man who could help me.

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As I walked into the General Store, the first person I saw was Sheila.

"Shit."

I forgot to talk to Whisper about Christmas dinner.

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She came straight to me and gave me a warm hug.

"Nice to see you, Will."

She kissed my cheek.

"I still love that shade of red," she whispered to me.

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I have to admit, I was becoming quite attracted to this wonderful woman and she seemed to be interested in me.

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"So, have you decided about Christmas dinner.

I don't mean to nag you, Will, but, if you are coming, then I have to get dinner ready. If not, Henry and I will have dinner with John and Cora."

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I took a deep breath.

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She smiled a sad smile.

"Its okay. I just thought that ..."

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"I would love to," I said, gently.

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Her big brown eyes got even bigger.

"Really?"

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I nodded.

"What time?"

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"Anytime after 3 in the afternoon. We could have a drink before dinner and maybe you could even help a little."

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"Then its a date."

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Sheila smiled.

"Yes, it is."

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There was a moment of awkward silence that probably would have continued on, if not for John.

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"Will Templeton. Nice to see ya boy."

He came up to me and slapped me on the back.

With him were a man and woman.

"I wants ya to meet a couple people. This be Bobby Traverse and this lovely creature is his wife, Jessie."

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I shook hands with both of them.

"You wouldn't happen to be a carpenter, would you?" I joked.

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Bobby laughed.

"Matter of fact, I am."

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"No shit," I gasped.

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He shook his head.

"John was just telling me that you are looking to have a garage and shed built in the spring."

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"I am," I happily informed him.

"You wouldn't happen to be available right now, would you?"

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He simply nodded.

"Off for the winter, my friend."

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Now I was all smiles.

I had a date with a beautiful woman and hopefully, I had found my carpenter.

"Well, I have a job that has to be done very quickly."

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"How quickly?"

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"Before Christmas," I said, meekly.

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Bobby shook my hand, again.

"Then I guess its best we get to work boss."

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"What about wages?" I asked him.

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"Let's do the job first and then you pay me what you think it is worth."

His voice went to a whisper, as he stepped closer to me, "and under the table in cash."

He nudged me playfully.

"On the pogey, you know."

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I was confused.

"Pogey?"

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"Unemployment Insurance," John informed me.

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I nodded in acknowledgement.

"No problem. Cash it is."

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"Then when do you want to start?"

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"Don't you want to know what the job is?"

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Jessie started laughing.

"At this point, we don't care what it is. It will just be nice to have a few extra bucks for Christmas."

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I was surprised.

"You're a carpenter too?"

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She nodded.

"You get two for the price of one, Mr. Templeton."

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I shook my head.

"Please, call me Will."

I immediately liked this man and his wife.

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"So," Bobby continued.

"Why don't we drop by your house this afternoon and see what you have in mind."

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I nodded.

"Let's say around 2."

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They both nodded.

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"I'd like to tag along," Sheila said.

"If that is okay with you, Will. I'd love to see your house."

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I nodded.

"Sure."

I started for the door.

"Then I better go home and fix the place up a bit. See you all at 2."

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Actually I had to go home to talk to Whisper.

As soon as I walked in the house, I called out to her.

"Whisper? Where are you, hun?"

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"I'm in the living room."

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I went to the kitchen, grabbed a beer and went to the living room.

"Whisper? Can you turn off the tv, so I can talk to you?"

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The tv turned off immediately.

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"What do you want to talk about, Will?"

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I took a deep breath. I did not want to upset Whisper.

"Sweetie, I have some people coming here today and I need you to not play around upstairs. They might not understand you like I do."

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"Can I play in the basement?"

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I smiled.

"You can, sweetie, but if you hear us coming downstairs, I want you to hide, until we are gone."

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"How come, Will?"

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I took a deep breath.

"Sweetie, not everyone is comfortable with having a ghost around. They might get scared."

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"Of me?"

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"Yes. Do you understand what I am saying?"

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"Of course I do. You want me to stay quiet and hidden until they are gone.

Then I can come back out, right?"

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I nodded.

"I will call you as soon as they are gone."

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"Sounds good Will."

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Now came the hard part.

"Remember how we talked about privacy?"

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I heard the giggle.

"You mean when you are getting dressed and having a shower?"

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"That's right."

I just hoped I wasn't blushing.

"You know the room next to my bedroom?"

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"The one with all the boxes in it?"

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I nodded.

"Yes that one. I need you to respect my privacy in that room too, for a little while."

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"Why, Will?"

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"I need to do some things in there with the people who will be here today. Some work things and ..."

I searched for the words.

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"They might not understand me like you do? Like you said, they might be scared?"

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I nodded.

"Yes, sweetie. It will only be for a few days and then all will be back to normal."

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"By Christmas morning," Whisper said, excitedly.

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"Exactly."

I took a deep breath. She seemed to be understanding so well.

"And I will be bringing a lot of things into that room and you have to promise to stay out. Make me a promise."

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"Daddy, I promise."

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I was stunned. She had never called me that before.

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"I mean Will. I'm sorry. It just kind of slipped out."

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"That's ok, sweetie."

Actually it felt good to be called Daddy

"You just have to promise."

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"I promise."

Her voice suddenly sounded so sad. I watched as the cats disappeared down the hall. I knew she had left.

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"Whisper?"

I started to walk down the hall. I felt alone.

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Ghost and Spirit, both, stopped in their tracks.

They turned and looked at me.

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"Whisper?"

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Still nothing. A sudden coldness came over the house.

Had I driven my little ghost away?

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I was about to search for her, but I heard the doorbell ring.

I looked at my watch.

It was 2. I made myself a promise to look for Whisper, as soon as they left.

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The doorbell rang again.

"Coming," I called out.