The Seance Read Online Free PDF Page A

shelves piled with paper and drawers full of disks around, or all her office supplies cluttering up the small room. Still, her piano looked great right in front of the bay window.
    It was staying, she decided. She would eventually find—and be able to afford—some good oak or maple office furniture that would suit the decor. And if not, the library was across the hall, a perfect place for office supplies and equipment. She could just walk across when she needed something. No big deal.
    Why were there so many boxes? she wondered with dismay.
    Because I’m incapable of parting with anything, she reminded herself.
    She felt like the keeper of the family heritage or something. It was so hard to believe that everyone was gone except for Mike, Dan and herself. And neither Mike nor Dan felt the need to keep things like the cocktail napkin her mom had saved from her first date with her dad. Or all the hundreds of pictures from Ireland, or even the pictures of all of them as kids.
    Her thoughts were interrupted by the clang of the old front door bell. She opened the door to let Ana in. Ana had a big box in her hand, with a plastic-wrapped cardboard tray on top. Christina quickly reached over to help her.
    â€œNo, no…if I just aim for a flat surface, I’ll be fine,” Ana told her cheerfully.
    A flat surface sounded easy enough.
    An empty flat surface involved deeper thought.
    â€œThe pass-through between the kitchen and dining room,” Christina said quickly.
    Ana cut a path through the hall and parlor to reach her destination. Except for the clutter of boxes, the house was clean. It was a large, airy place, the perfect family home, in Christina’s mind. The hall worked as a breezeway, a traditional old time “shotgun” approach that allowed the house the best of whatever breeze was available. The stairway stood to the left of the hall and led to the second floor, a beautifully carved banister leading the way.
    Ana knew her way around the house. She had been Christina’s friend forever, and had spent plenty of time here whenever Christina was up visiting her grandparents.
    â€œThis really is a super place,” Ana said, leading the way.
    The house was wonderful. Christina had always loved it, and her grandmother, knowing how much she loved it and how well she would take care of it, had left it to her. But neither Mike nor Dan had been forgotten. They had received trust funds from the woman who had come to the U.S. to make her own way, and had done well simply by being hard-working, careful and smart.
    â€œOkay,” Ana said, setting down her burden. “Now I’ll have a beer. Want one?”
    â€œSure.”
    Ana headed for the refrigerator and produced two icy bottles, which they clinked together in a toast. “To you living here full-time,” Ana said.
    â€œI always knew I would, but I really didn’t want the day to come,” Christina told her.
    â€œShe lived a good long life,” Ana said.
    A long life, but an often painful one, Christina thought. Gran had lost Granda too soon, and then, much too young, her daughter and son, and their spouses, but she had called on an inner reserve and been there for her three grandchildren. Maybe she had been tired. Ready to join those who had gone before her.
    â€œAh, that she did,” Christina said softly, lifting her bottle again and offering her best imitation of her grandmother’s heavy accent.
    The doorbell rang again. The two of them hurried to answer it.
    â€œHey, is Jed coming?” Christina asked Ana.
    â€œHe said he was. But that won’t be him. He said he was meeting a friend for something work-related this afternoon and he’d be late if he came at all.”
    â€œWho would have figured he’d become a bestselling writer, huh?” Christina asked.
    â€œI thought he was going to be a football hero and get me lots of dates,” Ana said with a sigh.
    Christina rolled her eyes