Lexie's Last Resort

Exploring 2

When she returned to the bar to make sandwiches for lunch the bar top was back in place and completely concealed the sink again. “Message received, Bar Keep. I will put things away and keep things tidy. Now, go play some music on that invisible piano, so I can make lunch.” Sam did jump, as her teasing jest was answered by a peppy jig, on an invisible piano.

Lexie had been at the other end of the Saloon, at a table playing on her computer and did not hear this whole exchange. She did hear the piano playing, though and jumped up to go upstairs, to her room where there seemed to be no ghosts. She opened her door screamed and dropped her laptop. Lexie and Sam met at the bottom of the stairs. “What’s the matter,” shouted Sam.

“Have you been in my room to clean up?” Lexie knew her mother hadn’t had the time to and nor would she.

“No, Lexie. Your room is your responsibility. What have you done in there?”

“I haven’t done anything! All of the stuff I put in there is in different places now!”

Sam was already half way up the stairs with Lexie trailing behind, clinging to her mother. The room was perfectly tidy. The clothes were folded on the end of the bed. The bed was made up and the curtains were draped with every pleat at a perfect swag. There was nothing out of place.

“Baby girl, what made you scream? This room looks fabulous!!” Sam had never seen Lexie keep a tidy room, ever.

“Mom, I didn’t do this! I had my clothes over the rocker and the drapes were drawn and I had shoes right here!” Lexie pointed at the floor in front of her in the doorway by the bed.

“Well you know I would have tripped on those, so they belong where they are by the dresser anyway. Embrace this level of tidiness and put your clothes in a drawer.” She directed her daughter to get the folded clothes off the bed and put them neatly in a drawer. “Thank you, Madam.” She said to the room. Lexie didn’t realize her mother was addressing the upstairs ghost as ‘Madam’. Sam wasn’t going to correct her either.

So far, Sam figured there were at least two ghosts, if not four. She knew the Madam, and the Store Keeper where very different energies. She just wasn’t sure if the Madam had been the bar keep and the piano man or if those were two other energies. Whatever the case this lot really cared about the Saloon. The store keeper, on the other hand, only seemed interested in being left alone, in the back room of the store. Sam really wasn’t in the mood to argue with him, right now, in any case. As long has he didn’t mind them using of the facilities Sam didn’t care much how grumpy he was.

Sam moved slowly back down the stairs toward the bar to finish making sandwiches for lunch as she contemplated their alone time being not quite as alone. As she reached the bar she saw her standing there. She was a lovely red haired, buxom women in her early thirties, wearing a beautiful blue and white lacy everyday dress from the late 19th century. She was almost all there. “Your belief that I do exist has made it easier for me to show myself to you. I am Dinah.”

Sam curtsied and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, madam. Is this your saloon? Are you the only one here? Are there others?”

Dinah returned the curtsy and waited for the barrage of questions to end, so she could pull enough energy to speak again. “This is a busy mining town and my saloon is no exception. The upstairs maid, Shirley, has made your room her favorite, so I will see she is moved out of there. The maestro is James. And yes, this is my place.” She began to fade with exhaustion.

So Sam spoke quickly, “Shirley can stay if she likes. The rocking sound is actually quite soothing. I guess she gave my daughter Lexie a bit of a fright cleaning up after her. I appreciate that, by the way, I will tell Shirley so this evening. By the time Lexie was at the bottom of the stairs, Dinah had completely dissipated and Sam appeared to be talking to the wall, at the end of the bar. James began to play a peaceful melody and Sam went back to making lunch. Lexie sat at the bar and stared at her mother. She didn’t know whether to be really freaked, by what she just saw and what she now heard from the piano that didn’t exist. But all she could feel was comfort and she relaxed. Sam laid lunch out on the bar and went to pull the current pot of water off the fire when James’ song ended.

“Thank you, James that was lovely.” She acknowledged as she sat down next to her daughter to eat. “Thank you, God for this blessed place and for this food.” She graced and ate. Lexie embraced her mother’s simple joy and ate as well.

“Mom, I know you are happy here, but how long do you think we’ll be staying?”

“I can’t tell you what a weight that is lifted. I do not know how long we’ll stay, but I am happy here. I have no plans to leave anytime soon. We can get the internet out here and you can take your classes online and we can learn so much about life by just living everyday here.” Sam beamed and kissed her daughter on the head, as she got up to clear away the dishes and said to the room, “Dinah, when you’re up to another chat, I would love to talk about plumbing and electricity here in the Saloon.” There was a load bang like a piano lid being slammed shut. “Or maybe just up in the Costume Loft so I can make it a school for Lexie.” There was a gentle tickle of two piano keys that almost sounded like an O.K. so Sam nodded in acceptance that the electricity could be up in the Costume Loft. Sam would have to work a bathroom into one corner of the large room, too.

“Baby girl, I am going to head to the jail and see if there is anything special there, do you want to come? We have to wait for the water to cool awhile anyway.”

Dinah didn’t appear but she spoke quite clearly. “Watch out for that wino Earl, he is a piece of work.”

“Thanks for the advice, Dinah.”

Perplexed, Lexie just stared at her mother. She could stay here where her mother had just spoken to Dinah and earlier to James or she could encounter yet another ghost in the form of a ‘wino’ named Earl. “Mom, I think I’ll be in my room for a while.”

“Okay, then when the water is cool please put it in a jug and start the next pot of water. Love you!”