The Black Lion was the closest watering hole, and one of my regular haunts. Pete opened the door for me and then guided me to a table. Why wasn’t he this nice when we dated?

“I’ll get the drinks,” he said.

“But I’m paying,” I replied as I pressed a five-pound note into his hand. He didn’t object. I was relieved the evening rush hadn’t found its way to the pub yet; I didn’t want to have to shout above the noise. Pete soon returned with two large Brandy and Cokes.

“I ordered some fish and chips too, you shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach.”

“You sound just like my mam,” I said smiling weakly.

“As long as I don’t look like her too, no offense, she’s a fine-looking woman, but I don’t want to see her face looking back at me when I look at myself in the mirror.”

I laughed remembering the days when we dated, my mam had liked Pete. If only she’d known what a womanizer he was.

“OK, spill, what’s wrong?”

I tried to organize my jumbled thought, wondering where to start.

“Try starting at the beginning,” Pete prompted, “It usually works best.” He always seemed to know what I was thinking.

“Alright, but open your mind, remember how scared I was when I ran from that cemetery at Easby Abbey?”

Pete laughed. “When we all went on a midnight Halloween Ghost hunt! You were really freaked. You started seeing things!”

“No I didn’t START SEEING THINGS! I saw a woman sitting on a grave crying. She looked at me and held out her arms. Then she was snatched away by something dark!”

“We’d been smoking pot!” Pete was laughing now.

“Pot doesn’t make you HALLUCINATE, anyway, I’m not going to argue with you, if you can’t keep an open mind, I can’t talk to you now.”

“Ok, I’m all ears! I’m sorry.”

“Pete, I have a gift. It’s a gift I’d give back if I could, but unfortunately I’m stuck with it. I attract restless spirits, among other things, and I have a feeling I’ve attracted a dark handsome dead stranger (My heart fluttered just thinking about him). He’s playing with me.”

“How?” Pete wasn’t laughing anymore. He ordered another round of drinks and listened attentively as I told my story.

I love to tell stories and I love to travel. Check out my other blog Travel Tales and Mishaps. Learn about the places I visit and the everyday adventures of my ordinary (and sometimes not so ordinary life).

I published my first book Dead of July, in December 2013. You can buy it on Amazon for $0.99. Give it a try. There are more books to come when I find time in my busy life to publish them. Thanks for visiting this crazy lady. I hope you’ll come back one day.