Chapter 3
My first impulse was to run after the two. But then I realized how strange it would look if I followed my date into the men's room. So I settled for slipping back to the table and giving Gina's arm a light pinch. She looked at me questioningly, but with Joey around, I couldn't say anything.
Perhaps I should take this time to explain. I am a mediator. This means that I can see, speak to, punch, and make out with the spirits of the dead. Only, not all the dead. Just those who, for whatever reason, are sticking around on earth. Generally, this means that they have some unfinished business to take care of, which is where we mediators come in. It's our job to help the ghosts get where they are supposed to be going (Father Dominic assures me that this is either Heaven or Hell. I'm not so sure. I mean, who's to say that they don't go on to be reincarnated, or whatever?)
If you are one of those weirdoes who think seeing dead people would be "cool", I can assure you that it is not. Mediators don't get paid, even though we spend more time mediating than most people do at normal jobs. The only benefit that I can see is that sometimes we run into really hot ghosts who we accidentally bring back to life and who become our boyfriends. Well, this is my only benefit. Somehow I doubt that Father Dom, Jesse, or any of the Slaters would be very interested in excruciatingly hot guy ghosts.
Before I moved to Carmel, I had never met another mediator. But Father Dominic, the principal of my new school, assured me that there had to be more. And he was right. I later met Paul and Jack Slater, two brothers who each shared what Father Dom likes to refer to as our "great gift". I hadn't seen Jack in quite a while, but Paul went to my school, and we had become friends, after learning together that messing with the past is generally not a very good idea. However, in our case, it had some not-too-bad results. We unintentionally brought Jesse, the ghost of a rancher who died in 1850, back to life. In the nineteenth century, Jesse hadn't been a mediator, but ghosts can see other ghosts, and this ability stuck with Jesse even after he became alive again.
The only other mediator I had ever met was Dr. Slaski, Paul and Jack's grandfather. Dr. Slaski had dedicated his life to learning more about mediators, or shifters, as he called us, and he was the one who warned Paul and me about the unpleasant side effects induced by time travel. So after that first incident, Paul and I decided to stick with the basic "help guide lost souls" principle, and not mess around with the shifter stuff. Father Dom was pleased.
It seemed that Carmel, California was some sort of mediator haven, while New York was devoid of people who knew about us. That is, until I told Gina. She had had some idea of what I was up to, back when I lived in New York, but I had never talked to her about it. Ironically, I ended up coming clean with her after I had moved. And now, when I had just come back for a visit, I met Damien, who was obviously another mediator. Funny how things work out, isn't it?
I spent the whole meal trying to talk to Damien about this without Joey thinking that we were both mental. Meanwhile, oblivious to the fact that I could see him, the ghost hovered next to Damien's chair, looking out of place. Finally, my break came when Joey stood up to go to the bathroom.
"Who's he?" I asked, gesturing at the ghost.
"Who's who?" replied Gina.
Damien's eyes bulged. "You can see him?" he said incredulously.
"Oh. " Gina looked mildly interested. "Another ghost? Anyone I know?"
"I doubt it. Unless you habitually hang around with thirty-year-old men."
"I'm twenty-seven," the man informed me in an annoyed voice.
"Whatever," I told him, as Damien cut in.
"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" Damien must have spoken a bit too loudly, because some of the people at neighboring tables glanced at us, looking annoyed. I suppose we were ruining their romantic evenings, or something.
"Apparently," said Gina, laughing in her seat "You and Suze here can both see some thirty-year-old dead dude who's been hanging around an Italian place looking for guidance. Interesting way to spend an afterlife."
This explanation, delivered in between bouts of giggles, served to confuse Damien more than enlighten him. The look on his face only sent Gina into fresh peals.
"Hey guys. What's up?" Joey asked, as he dropped down into his seat.
"Nothing," I replied, because Damien was too confused, and Gina was too hysterical to answer. Joey may have been hot, but he obviously wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, as he seemed to believe me. Harder to convince was Damien, who spent the next half hour staring at me and Gina, trying to decide whether or not we were telling the truth. It was clear that he had never met another mediator.