CHAPTER 8
Stella leaned in close to him, so he could feel her breath on the left side of his face, and said breathily, "Tell me everything."
"Well, I don't really know where to start" Casper said, a little surprised by her bluntness.
She looked a little sad and said, "Just start from the first thing you remember."
Casper gazed at the eyes staring at him and thought to himself, "Me, She actually wants to know about me"
"Um, I usually don't get any questions like this, I mean I am usually just Casper, the friendly ghost, so I guess I just have to think." Casper said a little shyly.
Smiling, she lifted his chin, "Honey, I want to know about you,take your time, we've got all night."
"Well, everything kind of gets shoved together in my mind now, I can't remember everything in order. But, I remember a lot of time with my Mom and Dad. Dad was an inventor see, so I had all sorts of things. I still have some of them. He would make me toys that no one else had." Casper kept going, looking a little sad in remembering, "My dad was the oldest outta the four brothers. It was just him, and my three uncles for a while, because my grandparents died along time ago, I never knew them. But I guess my dad was kind of the good son out of them. He was a gentleman, he was smart, sophisticated,kind of everything that the other three weren't."
Stella laughed seeing a smile rising under Casper's words. She made a sharp turn to look over at Stretch ,who was still laying soundly on the bed, and said, " Wait Wait, you are telling me that YOUR father was related to THOSE three? I mean with you being so calm and pure, your father must have been alot like you. So..."
" Yea you wouldn't figure he was would you there brother, right. Well yea he was was. " Casper said as he turned to look at his sleeping uncle. " He looks kinda innocent like that don't he, um...anyways where was I... Oh yea... My dad took care of them all, until they got of age and then one day shortly after my dad met my mom, my uncles just sorta left, and they only came around every so often. "
"So, why are your uncles here and your father is not? Oh, oops, sorry kid, that was harsh…what I meant was..." Stella said with a fumbling recovery.
" No, no it's ok, I understand," Casper said as he looked a little sad, "they are here because they want to be, they didn't want to cross over so I stayed with them." He looked at Stella.
" So they actually take CARE of you?" She said rather loudly with a bit of surprise
"Look don't get me wrong, I know they seem bad and all, but there is a good side to each of them…you just have to look hard; and yes, even Uncle Stretch." Casper said light heartedly.
Stella laughed, "Are those their real names by the way? Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso?"
Casper laughed along with her, and then explained, "Well, no, those were just their nicknames. That's what the people at that old Italian restaurant used to call them. Their real names are…well, I don't know if I should say…"
Casper looked up at Stella and saw her raised eyebrow and crooked half smile, half frown, which said exactly what she wanted it to. Remined her alot of another ghost she just met, all that was missing was the devious sneer and accent and he would be...
"Okay, okay…well, Uncle Stretch…his name was Thomas. " Casper started as he inturrupted her thoughts, " Uncle Stinkie's name was Maurice, and Fatso's name was Charles…" The ghost said, looking almost embarrassed by the names that hardly matched their personalities.
Stella stared at him with a small smile at the right corner of her lips until his finished the entire spiel. Casper stared up at her, waiting for a response…1….2….3...
"HAHAHAHAHAH! BWAHAHAHAHAHAH! OH MY GOODNESS! HAHAHAAHAHAHAH! THAT'S….HA!…THE FUNNIEST THING I'VE HEARD ALL DAY! ALL MONTH FOR THAT MATTER!"
Casper was terribly amused and more than slightly intrigued by this human he'd met only a short few days before. And now, she was sitting in front of him, laughing manically, doing her best not to wake the other ghosts in her uproar, and all he could do was smile and think that he had known her before...
After a minute of slow breathing and giggles, Stella regained her ladylike composure and looked thoughtful, "Okay…so, what about when they were alive. If your dad was everything they weren't, well, what were they?"
"Well, they were very…eccentric men I guess you would say. From what I know, they weren't exactly loved by the town, but they weren't hated either. Dad used to say that they were the most hated loveable guys in the town. They used to hang out at the Roadhouse Bar and that's kind of where they got their reputation for being so bad I guess."
"Um, how did they finance themselves? I mean, were they rich by inheritance?" Stella asked rather inquisitively.
"Rich? Oh, um, they weren't really rich. But I guess they did get around a good bit. And they kind of lived like rich people, but they really had modest jobs…" Casper said, a little dazed at the question.
"Jobs?" Stella thought a little, and then said, "Jobs? How did THOSE three hold down jobs?"
Casper laughed, "Actually, I wouldn't say they really held down jobs…they more of held on to different jobs at different times."
"Dad told me a few of their jobs that I remember. Uncle Fatso's first paying job was as a vacuum salesman…" Casper began to say
"Wait, wait…did you just say Fatso was a vacuum salesman? Like…a guy who sells vacuum cleaners? HAHAHA!" Stella choked out laughter.
Casper smiled and laughed with her, saying, "Yeah, and Stinkie was a garbage man…as if you couldn't guess that yourself."
Casper and Stella laughed, but stopped when they heard rustling from the other side of the room.
"Hmmm…and what about him? What did he do, 'Mr. I am the boss so don't mess with me' himself. I'm sure he had a much higher standing than the other two in the job market." Stella asked in a light whisper.
Casper looked slightly suspicious, "You really want to know a lot about uncle Stretch, don't you?"
Stella smiled, knowing she had been figured out by the young ghost in front of her, "Well, I mean, I get Stinkie and Fatso. But Stretch…I just don't get him. You two, I mean, you and Stretchy are so much the same, but so different too."
"The same? Um, I don't really think we are…" Casper said, frowning a little
Stella looked surprised, "Yes you two are! I mean, he is…he's…"
Stella was cut off when Stretch appeared hovering over them, glaring down, "What? What am I, doll face?"
Stella got a big smile on her face and stood up to see eye to eye with Stretch and said, "Well, for starters a bastard, a liar, a spying PRICK!"
Stretch got a redness in his eyes and yelled, "WELL, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING YOU LITTLE…"
Stretch continued for several more minutes, rambling on and on about how it was his house and he made the rules.
Stretch seemed as if he'd never stop, so Stella busted into her cute laughter with wild abandoned.
"AND THAT'S NOT A…." Stretch trailed off, completely confused by this woman. He was doing his damnedest to intimidate, even scare this woman for speaking to him in such a way…and all she would do is laugh. He was struggling to keep his anger up, seeing her, smiling and beautiful.
"HEY! WHADDYA THINK YOU'RE DO-" Stretch started in.
Stella jumped up and gave him a long passionate kiss, and then jumped back onto the bed giggling.
Stretched just stood…er, floated there. He was shocked, surprised, stunned…he didn't know what he was. He was scared and elated. Who the hell was this woman?
Stella stopped her laughing for a second to grab Casper's hand and run over to the dusty window and look out. Stella, whipped around smiling, "Well, boys, it looks like it's time for breakfast!"
Stella skipped out of the bedroom pulling Casper behind her, leaving Stretch alone in the room, to think and to wait for breakfast.
