Jennifer leaned back from the table, holding her stomach. "Aunt Jessie, I think you killed me," she moaned.
Aunt Jessie smiled sweetly at her niece. She was a plump woman with a once athletic build. Her hair was bleached blonde to the point of ridiculousness, considering that she was in her mid-fifties. "You sure you don't have room for some banana pudding, Puddin'?" she asked in a voice as sugary as the dessert she had mentioned.
Jennifer quickly shook her head. "No way, I'll bust a gut. I think Egon here might want some, he's got a real sweet tooth."
"You want some, hon'?" Aunt Jessie asked, turning to Egon.
"No thank you, ma'am." Egon's talk with Jennifer about Texas protocol had kind of spooked him, so he was going out of his way to be polite, but mostly, to just not have to speak at all.
"Did you just call Jennifer 'Pudding', Mrs. Colby?" Ray asked Aunt Jessie.
"Oh Lord," laughed Jessie. "Let me tell you the story behind that little nickname we gave Jenny back when she was in fourth grade."
"You really don't have to," Jennifer quickly said.
"Oh hush, your friends want to know," Jessie told her. "Now let's see. It was back in sixty-four, and little Jenny here had won the "Lil' Miss Puddin' Pageant." See, it's a special pageant for girls who got a little, uh, puddin' around the middle."
Jennifer groaned. "It was just baby fat, Aunt Jess. Not 'pudding'."
"Wait," said Ray, turning to Jennifer. "You mean, as a child you were…"
"Yes, yes I was," Jennifer said quickly. "Can we talk about something now? Like this super scary chupacabra?"
"You know, I was just talking to Betsy Craddock today," said Aunt Jessie, disregarding Jennifer's comment. "She said her boy Colton's still not seeing anyone."
Jennifer threw her arms up in the air. "I don't even like Colton Craddock! I dated twice in high school and he was the most annoying boy I've ever met!"
"Well still, you could go over and at least say hi," suggested Jessie craftily. But Jennifer saw right threw her aunt's plan.
"Aunt Jessie, I can't see anyone back home because…I'm already seeing someone," Jennifer made up a lie off the top of her head.
"You're seeing someone? Who?" Jessie asked, falsely pleased. She was actually disgruntled because it wasn't a hometown boy.
"Uh..." Jennifer's mind ticked around for a name, any name at all... "I'm dating…Egon!" she finally exclaimed, gesturing to him. Egon, who had been taking a sip of sweet tea at the time, choked on his drink at Jennifer's words and started to cough.
Jennifer jumped up and patted him on the back. "Are you alright…uh, sweetheart?" she added quickly.
Egon swallowed, his face turning back to a normal tone. He stared up at Jennifer quizzically. Play along, PLEASE, Jennifer's face told him. He nodded slightly. "I'm fine…honey," he said awkwardly.
Jennifer gave him one firm nod. Good, keep it up. She sat back down.
"Oh…how nice…" said Jessie slowly. "Well, anybody else want pudding?"
"Look man, I'm really sorry for putting you on the spot like that," said Jennifer later to Egon. They and Ray had gone to the motel where the boys were staying. The family had insisted that Jennifer stay with them. "I had to say something, and you were the first person I thought of. Can you forgive me?"
"It's not a problem, Jennifer. I don't mind," replied Egon.
"You say that, but I know how…uh…" Jennifer trailed off, not sure how to word her thought without insulting Egon.
"How awkward he is around women?" Ray finished.
Jennifer glowered at Ray. "Thanks, Ray. That's the exact phrase I was trying to avoid."
"I guess I'm not exactly a ladies' man," muttered Egon.
"Egon, don't downgrade yourself. You've got more game than, say, Peter." Jennifer paused. "Now that I think about, a stick has more game than Peter…but my point is, you are actually attractive. You just have no self-esteem."
"Wait…I'm attractive?" Egon asked surprisedly, raising his eyebrows.
"Have you met Janine Melnitz? Have you really not noticed how ga-ga she is over you?" Jennifer asked him incredulously. Egon looked shocked, as if it had never occurred to him that a woman could view him in a way other than platonic.
"Anyway," Jennifer went on, "so tomorrow we should probably take some valences and start looking for this chupacabra. The longer we wait…"
"Yeah, I agree," Ray piped up. "But let's get some shut-eye for now."
"Definitely," Jennifer nodded, yawning a little. "Good night, boys."
"'Night, Jennifer," replied Ray and Egon as Jennifer walked out.
The next day, Jennifer and Ray were taking valences at Aunt Jessie's. "Got anything yet, Raymond?" Jennifer called.
"Nothing," Ray replied. "You?"
"Uh-uh. How the hell are we gonna find this thing if we can't get a read on it?" Jennifer fretted.
"Well, it's not a ghost, it's a physical being," Ray reminded her. "It's going to be tougher to get PKE levels unless they're fairly fresh."
Suddenly, the truck pulled into the driveway and Egon climbed out. He had been at the library doing research on the chupacabra. "Alright, all I could find was a list of farms where bloody goat carcasses were found. The chupacabra appears to hitting farms in a specific order."
"So all we have to do is determine the chupacabra's next target and we've got it in the bag," Jennifer concluded. "By the way, how's that special physio-trap coming?"
Egon and Ray had been building special equipment in case they ever came across a living paranormal being in their adventures, like now. One of which was the physio-trap, a trap that converted a physical being's molecular make-up into psychokinetic energy. That way, a living organism could be trapped and contained like a ghost. "It still hasn't been tested, so I'm not sure how it will work," Ray answered.
"Why don't we try it out now?" Jennifer suggested.
"Sounds good to me," agreed Ray. Suddenly, Clark stuck his head out the door and called to the three of them. "Hey, Ghostbusters, we just got a call. Someone just saw the monster at Hadley's Ranch."
"Thanks, Clark!" Jennifer called up to him. Then she turned back to Ray and Egon. "No time to test the trap now. Let's go!"
End of Part 2.
