Bestie and the Ghost

When my best friend passed away, it ripped my heart out. We knew it was coming. Even so, nothing prepares you for that life changing pain. My bestie was closer to me than my family. So much so that many of her family members adopted me as their own.

She left different people gifts in her will. Jewelry to her sister. Her sister-in-law, a painting. Her brother, the family Bible. I got a dishwasher. You may be thinking, ‘what a strange gift?’ I ask for practical gifts when questioned. Such as tools, a rechargeable flash light or a golf umbrella. We had talked for years. Weighing the pros and cons of getting a dishwasher. Now it was go time. I wasn’t going to get rid of the gift my bestie left me.

Every day, when I come home from work; my dog meets me at the door with a toy. Today he didn’t meet me. I found him in the kitchen staring at the dishwasher. It wasn’t till I patted him on the head that he finally noticed me.

A couple nights later, I woke to discover he wasn’t in the bed with me. He had taken all his toys and piled them up in-front of the dishwasher. He was curled up asleep.

One of the things we did, my bestie, her husband and me; almost every night we ate dinner together. Now, I cook most of the stuff she fixed. It never tastes as good as when she made it. But it’s a little piece of having her with me.

We ate. Cleaned up the kitchen. Then went for a walk. Imagine my surprise when I came home and found a plate, fork, and a half drunk pop on the table. When I take Chico out, I never lock my house. Our walks are around the yard. Was it possible that someone snuck in, ate and left? Just to be on the safe side, I searched every inch of my house.

One evening I made fried pies. They sat out to cool. Upon returning to the kitchen, I saw a pile of crumbs on the table. As if someone had stood there eating a couple of the small pies. That mess wasn’t there when I left, was it? I cleaned the table off. Right? I shrugged my shoulders.

Was I loosing my mind?

This started happening more and more. I would find half empty cans of pop, tea or coffee cups. Empty pop corn bags. It was strange enough that half empty pop cans were on the kitchen table but what made it even weirder; they were a brand I didn’t drink. And the tea, I used tea bags; there were tea pods in the coffee pot.

If someone is breaking into my house, eating then leaving; this person is beyond quiet and for the most part neat.

There is never anything of great value missing, just food. One day as I sat on the couch I screamed, “Idiot! You have security cameras.” No one ever has appeared on the footage. So no one is breaking into my house. And I know Chico isn’t setting the table, eating with a fork and enjoying a cup. If he is, I’m going to be rich and he’s going to be famous.

I found a question mark written out in the icing on a confetti cake. However, a large hunk of a marble cake was gone. A batch of soft chewy oatmeal raisin cookies had been arranged in the shape of a sad face on the plate. The peanut butter cookies were all gone. Chico distracted me and they baked a little too long, for my taste.

There was a night that I caught Chico begging. Standing by the dishwasher on his hind legs. He ate something. I never saw a hand or the food. Just his actions.

I took great comfort in the knowledge that my bestie was coming to visit me. When I fixed something I knew she like, I sat an extra place for dinner.

One sunny day, we were able to get together and reminisce. I was reminded of a story she told often about living in an apartment with a food ghost. Suddenly it all made sense.

Now, I’m married. He has witnessed the little things that happened and accepts that they give me comfort. He even shares in my joy when he knows that we are fixing’ a meal that my bestie would like. He says I seem happier when I know my bestie is coming to dinner.

God has ways of making life’s painful moments not hurt so much.

The End