I joined Ruskin House so I could be part of a philanthropic work but had no idea what I was getting into.
I couldn’t fathom the mysterious goings-on around the office and felt unequal to the task I was assigned.
I felt I had no alternative but to resign and amazingly as soon as I came to that realization a secret panel clicked open in the wall opposite me and I was invited into the director’s inner sanctum..
It was there that I discovered that the firm’ guiding light, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, was in fact not just a silent benefactor but also a phantom partner.
It turned out he was a spirit and the beautiful secretary with whom I had been infatuated was also a wraith.
Upon experiencing these revelations, my head was whirling and I felt shaky and faint.
“You’re telling me Jeannie is a ghost, like you?” I croaked.
The phantom held up a hand to stop me. “Oh no, my boy—she’s a ghost all right, but not like me. I’m incorporeal, but she can manifest. She has the ability to re-materialize as long as she remains in this locality. We’re all different, and we all have limitations, and that is hers.”
I tried to process this new fact. “You mean she has to remain in this building?”
“She’s not confined to a building, but a locality. Our office is located here in this tiny Victorian village on the fringes of Toronto, and so far she’s found she can manifest materially if she stays within these borders. It’s not too bad—not terribly confining.”
“I see. So, she’s flesh and blood like me as long as she stays within her allotted territory.”
He smiled, “something like that.”
His explanation made sense but didn’t explain everything.
“But even if that’s the case, that doesn’t account for the way she treats me. Why does she dislike me so much?”
“Ah, but that’s just it, my boy—she doesn’t. The fact is she likes you very much and it pains her. She avoids you so she won’t become too close to you. She feels if you both fell in love, it’d be too much to ask for you to give up traveling and seeing the world and be limited to life in this small village.”
“Well, I’d like to have the option of making that choice.”
“Well then, why not stay and give your relationship a chance?”
A silent partner who’s a ghost and a matchmaker—yeah, that sounds about right. Well, it’s typical of my life right now.
I’m continuing to work at Ruskin House and exploring my possibilities.
Actually, life in that other realm is very much like ours, once you get used to it. Admittedly, Anthony gets frustrated at times when he can’t catch hold of things—but then, that’s why he has me.
As for Jeannie, she’s beginning to warm up. We’re not dating or anything, but we are talking.
Unlike Anthony, she lived in a different time closer to mine—only separated by a a few generations.
I’m learning a lot about the 60’s music and fashion—that was her era, before the microchip revolutionized our lives.
I’m starting to like those 60’s business suits, Audrey Hepburn dresses and vintage perfumes and lipsticks.
I can even take Petula Clark singing Downtown ad nauseam on her scratchy vinyl records because the words resonate with me:
