The Ghost Collector

The Ghost Collector — page 7 — around her nipping at the ends of her hair as she waits for Grandma to finish talking to the woman about the monster she imagines is hiding under her bed People are always coming by the house to see if Grandma will get rid of their ghosts cats that wind around their ankles and trip them when they walk Dogs that bark in the middle of the night startling them out of sleep Shelly catches the dog in the ends of her hair then scoops it into her arms when Grandma and the woman come back into the hallway scratching it under the chin Holding it is like holding a cold wind and when the puppy licks her face it feels like someone is rubbing an icicle against her cheek Will this take long the lady asks getting her wallet out of her purse Is 300 enough Three hundred is a lot for a ghost Most of Grandma’s clients pay in knickknacks and favors and food Grandma doesn’t normally charge much because if people know they have a ghost they might pay anything to get rid of them do anything Not long at all Grandma promises We’ll be out of here before you know it They walk the dog to the park and Shelly and the dog play ALLISON MILLS

The Ghost Collector — page 8 — fetch with an invisible stick until the dog fades away finally ready to rest They go home and Shelly helps Grandma out of her coat Shelly’s mother is in the kitchen and there’s a frozen lasagna in the oven You’ve got to be responsible Grandma tells Shelly You can’t charge people through the nose to get rid of a ghost Mom looks over from putting her hair up to go to work her uniform shirt all nicely pressed Her hair is long like Grandma’s and Shelly’s but she almost never wears it down outside the house She doesn’t want anything clinging to it I made dinner for you and Shelly Mom points a finger at Grandma as the oven timer goes off You could charge a little more We’ve got to undercut the frauds so people come to us instead We can help people Grandma says pulling the lasagna out of the oven Sit and eat before you go Someone has to pay the bills Mom says but she sits and cuts up the lasagna in its tinfoil pan What about helping us The duplex they rent isn’t anything like the fancy apartment apartment Shelly and Grandma spent the afternoon in The floors THE GHOST COLLECTOR

The Ghost Collector — page 9 — creak when it’s cold and the front door opens right into the kitchen because there’s no space wasted The cabinets are sturdy wood but old and every room has orange wallpaper Shelly’s mother hates but can’t change because they’re renting renting She did cover Shelly’s walls with posters of cats and dogs and other pets Shelly likes but can’t have to help make the room look nicer though Shelly’s bedroom is the smallest one With her dresser shoved into the doorless closet there’s enough room for her bed and a bookshelf but not much else especially since she tends to leave her clothes on the floor clean things folded and stacked neatly dirty clothes in a heap in the corner instead of putting them away where they belong The only thing Shelly puts away is a sweater blue with an orange cat on the front Shelly and her mom found it brand-new at the thrift store and it always goes in a drawer because it’s Shelly’s favorite The room feels softer and more lived in around the edges with clothes everywhere more comfortable Grandma grabs her purse as she sits at the table pulling out the money she and Shelly made for the ghost dog Is this useful Mom looks surprised For just one ghost ALLISON MILLS

The Ghost Collector — page 10 — The lady was rude Shelly says leaning over to scoop noodles from the pan and onto her plate She talked about burning sage to cleanse the spirits from her home but it was just a little dog Mom laughs setting the cash down on the table One of those clients she says You need to get more rich people who don’t know anything about the dead this is the kind of money we need around here It was a one-time thing Grandma says shaking her head I don’t want to seem like some kind of fraud You go around telling people you can clear out ghosts You already seem like a fraud Mom serves Grandma some lasagna lasagna then serves herself If you don’t want rude women with small dogs making assumptions about you maybe don’t offer to be the brown woman they bring in to spiritually clean their house Grandma frowns at Mom We’re not a stereotype Mom you’re a bit of a stereotype It was a cute dog Shelly says loudly A ghost dog would make a good pet don’t you think You wouldn’t have to buy food or take it to the vet Mom and Grandma both turn to look at her THE GHOST COLLECTOR

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