Love is Enough

Hannah laughed then covered her mouth. It was the first time she smiled since Sunday. "I never been a bearcat," she said. "Jeepers, TJ! I wanted you and when I got you my lights went out. That never happened before."

A woman stepped up to the ticket window, and Hannah disappeared. TJ chatted with his customer about seats and ghost sightings, and he sold two more tickets.

TJ had an idea while he waited for the computer to update. When Hannah reappeared he made her sit on a stool next to him and put a notepad and a pencil in front of her. "Draw for me," TJ said. "Draw all the dark things you thought about, and just keep drawing. I have more note pads and more pencils. Don't worry about running out."

At first, Hannah didn't know what to do. She drew her flowers and the letters of the alphabet. TJ answered the phone again and watched her scribble out the letters because some were missing and others were backwards or in the wrong order.

Hannah tore the paper off the pad, crumbled it and tossed it away. Then she drew pictures that TJ didn't understand. Hannah's mood grew more violent with each picture she drew, scribbled out and crumbled up. She cursed—sometimes under her breath and sometimes loud enough to make TJ wince—and she threw things.

Hannah looked up when someone stopped at the ticket window, and she disappeared. She wasn't visible, but she kept drawing, and she kept cursing and hurling the results across the room.

Customers who stood at the ticket window sometimes heard Hannah, and they saw notepads, pencils and wadded pages flying behind TJ. He ignored the hurled objects as much as he could, and when customers asked questions he told them, "We're reorganizing some old files. It isn't going well."

The box office closed at four o'clock, and Hannah fell quiet before that. TJ shut the window and locked the door. He picked up the scattered pencils and notepads and unfolded each scribbled-out, wadded-up drawing. There wasn't one he could really understand, but he could feel, as much as he could see, violence and despair.

TJ found Hannah by her cold presence. She was curled in a corner, and from the sound of her even breathing he could tell that she was asleep. "Hey, beautiful." TJ said, and felt Hannah stir.

"Are you talking to me?" Hannah asked. She appeared, blinking her eyes against the light.

TJ looked around to see if he might have been talking to anyone else then sat on the floor and said, "I didn't know ghosts slept."

"This one does," Hannah said. She sat up and looked at the papers in TJ's hand. "I don't want those. I don't never want to see'em again."

"I do, if you don't mind me keeping them," TJ said. He was surprised when Hannah started tugging at his tie. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I want to see my marks," Hannah said. TJ watched while she opened his shirt one button at a time. She bit her lower lip and slid her hands over his skin to touch first the bite mark on his chest then the bruises and fingernail marks on his sides.

"Don't give me no bushwa, TJ. That's gotta hurt," Hannah said. She pulled her knees up and wrapped them with her arms. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

TJ put the drawings beside him and started buttoning his shirt again."Okay, it hurts," TJ said. "I thought you were never sorry."

Hannah changed the subject. "You're gonna be here tonight, right?" she asked. "If I can have a chance, then I want to be your girl again."

"I brought some lines for Gabby to read," TJ said. He picked up Hannah's drawings then stood and helped her up. "I'll be back after dinner to take care of that, and you can be my girl."

* * * *

The whole day had been gray and cool, and snow started falling after the sun set. When TJ got back from dinner he locked the box office door behind him and keyed in the security code. He shook the accumulated snow out of his hair and brushed it from his shoulders.

Gabby appeared as if she'd been waiting, then jumped back. "Jeepers, TJ," she said, "You're getting me wet."

"I can't help that if I can't see you." TJ said and stamped his feet to knock snow off his shoes.

Gabby waited until TJ was done, squeezed close, and said, "Hannah said you had something for me."

TJ put his laptop on the counter, found a tissue to clean off his glasses, and said, "I wrote something for you." Gabby watched his laptop come on then she jumped when the printer beside her came to life and started printing her lines.

Gabby seemed fascinated at first when TJ handed her the script, but then she looked up at TJ in confusion. "I don't get this." She said. "What's a 'cronkite?' How can I read this?"

TJ was surprised at Gabby's reaction, but he gave her a smile he thought would be encouraging. "Give it a try," he said. "Read for me."

Gabby tried, but she stopped in the middle and dropped the page. If it had been an audition, then TJ would have sent her home. "TJ, I can't," she said. Gabby wiped tears off her cheeks and disappeared.

TJ picked up the page and read it aloud to himself. It didn't take long, and when he was done he climbed the stairs to the balcony. He found a seat near the rail and watched the dancers rehearse for a moment before Hannah appeared in the seat beside him. "Gabby's crying on the back steps. What did you do to her?" she asked.

"I gave her the script," TJ said. "She couldn't read it—too modern, I guess." He shrugged in the darkness. "I guess I'll rewrite it."

Hannah motioned toward the stage where long-legged girls in glittering white tutus stepped and turned with the music. "So you came to watch the pretty janes in their little skirts?" Hannah asked.

TJ smiled at Hannah. "I'm watching the prettiest girl around," he answered, and lifted a blond curl away from Hannah's cheek. "Are you still going to be my girl tonight?" he asked.

Hannah wrapped both hands around TJ's arm and leaned close. "And how," she said.

"Come with me," TJ said, and led Hannah to the mezzanine. He stopped to unlock a door then locked it again behind them while Hannah stared. "Nutcracker has a huge cast," TJ explained, "So they're using this old office as a dressing room for the youngest girls."

Moonlight through the window lit feathered wings and tulle skirts that hung along the wall, all waiting to transform little dancers into Christmas angels. The floor was covered with mats, and cushions were positioned in front of mirrors where the girls put on their makeup.

She walked along the row of hanging costumes to touch each one then stopped at the window. TJ stepped up behind her and watched the scene outside. The moon shone through a break in the clouds and ice crystals danced in the air. New snow reflected blue light from the roof tops and window ledges, and it gathered on the remaining rubble of the hotel.

"Do you miss home sweet home?" TJ asked, and Hannah turned to him.

"The hotel was where the quiet man left us," Hannah said. "It weren't our choice." TJ must have looked confused. Hannah explained, "We met a man after we died. He told us we weren't done yet, and he left us there. Some fella is supposed to tell him when we're ready. Then, I guess we'll leave.

"Gabby and me sometimes wonder if you could be the fella."

TJ moved a blond curl from Hannah's cheek, and he cupped his hand behind her neck. "Why would I want you to leave?" he asked. He bent to kiss her mouth, and she rose against him. Her tongue was soft and wet. Her touch and her scent excited him.

TJ stroked his hands over Hannah's back and her hips then pulled her camisole over her head and dropped it behind them. He sunk to his knees and pulled Hannah with him. Hannah took TJ's glasses and dropped them with her camisole then cradled TJ's head in her arms and stroked his hair while he kissed and sucked her tits.

Hannah peeled TJ's jacket off and left it behind him, and then she squawked in surprise when he rolled her onto the moonlit mat. TJ kissed Hannah's ears, her cheeks and her lips while she struggled to loosen his tie and push her hands under his shirt.

TJ winced when she touched the bruises on his sides, and Hannah laughed in his ear when he pushed her hands down. She opened his belt and slipped her hands into his pants. He was already hard, and his shaft filled her hands.

"You're going to make me come right now if you do that," TJ said. Hannah let him go and clutched her hands together while TJ kicked off his shoes, then she helped him push his pants and boxers down and off.

TJ caught Hannah's wrists and held them together with one hand. Hannah asked, "What are you doing?"

"After last time, I think I want to know where your hands are," TJ said. "So I'm holding on. Now I want you to give it to me." He pushed his free hand down into Hannah's knickers, combed his fingers through the curls between her thighs, and lifted her leg over his hip.

"Give you what?" Hannah asked. Her breath was already coming hot and shallow against TJ cheek. His fingers found her pussy slick and wet.

"I want you to come in my arms, just for me," TJ said. Hannah's excitement was already growing out of control. Her mouth fell open, her head tipped back, and her eyes drifted shut.

TJ's fingers slipped along her hood and over her trigger. He worked faster with each stroke then paused to wet his fingers in her slit. Hannah caught her breath and ducked against his chest; he kissed her ears and her shoulders and went to work again.

It didn't take long before TJ knew that Hannah was going to give him what he wanted. Her body grew tense. He had to grip her wrists harder to keep her from pulling her hands away. She thrashed in his arms and groaned in his ear.

Hannah's orgasm started under TJ's fingers. She clenched her teeth while it filled her center, and she threw her head back when it exploded through her body. Her fingers and her toes curled, and each spasm made her thrash in TJ's grip.

It was when Hannah's climax passed, when she melted into TJ arms, that he had what he wanted. She was soft and warm and barely conscious. She was his to hold and protect. He held her close and stroked her hair until her euphoria slowly released her.

The first thing that Hannah did when she moved again was twist her hands away from TJ and push them down to find his cock. "Was that what you wanted?" she asked. TJ nodded his answer and she laughed. "I think that done more for me than for you."

TJ wondered only briefly what Hannah was doing when she pushed herself away from him. She shoved her knickers down then rolled onto her elbows and knees. The curls between her legs parted around wet lips that glistened in the moonlight, and she swayed her back to push her butt up.

Hannah offered just what TJ wanted next. He climbed to his knees behind her, rested one hand on the soft spread of her hip, and wet the head of his cock in her. The sensation from that alone made his nostrils flare and forced him to catch his breath.

"Oh boy!" Hannah said when he thrust into her. He held her against him and pushed until his hips pressed against her soft butt. It was only then, with his hard shaft inside Hannah's body, that TJ could breathe.

TJ held Hannah's hips and pushed into her again, and then he looked up at the row of angel wings along the wall. He watched them without thinking while he slapped against Hannah's body. His cock seemed to grow inside her. It ached with excitement.

Hannah gasped in TJ's rhythm while he fucked her. She clawed at the mat and pushed back against him. She picked her head up when TJ leaned over her, and he kissed her ear and her jaw.

It wasn't long before the wet sensation of Hannah's body wrapping his cock drove TJ out of control. He slammed against her and pushed her down flat on the mat. He caught his breath again when he realized he was too far gone to stop. TJ shoved himself as far into Hannah as he could reach and bellowed at the ceiling. The spasms gripped his balls, and his essence gushed the length of his shaft and erupted inside her.

TJ was empty, and Hannah was full when he collapsed on her back. She giggled into the mat while he kissed her neck and whispered nonsense in her ear, and then TJ rolled away and tried to cool down.

Hannah sat up beside him, and he could just see her face in the light from the window. She leaned over him and asked, "Am I your girl now?"

"You are," TJ said then bit his lip. "But I think Gabby is, too."

"It's all copacetic" Hannah said. "Gabby and me share, you know. We can share you." She picked up TJ's jacket and showed him the light flashing in the pocket. "What's this?" she asked.

TJ lifted his phone out of the pocket and groaned at the message. "It's Mack," he said. "He wants to see me in his office as soon as I get in tomorrow. I don't like the way that sounds."

9.

TJ tapped on Mack's office door and walked in before he looked up from the papers on his desk. "Close it behind you," Mack said and motioned to the door.

He didn't wait for TJ to get settled in the chair before he asked, "What the hell happened in the box office yesterday? Two people told me you were working in a shit storm when they went to buy tickets, and you pretended it wasn't happening."

"I told people we were working on some old files," TJ said. He leaned forward with his arms on the desk and said nothing for a moment. The time to tell Mack the truth had finally come, and he had to think about how to do it. "I was with a ghost," TJ said, and looked up to watch Mack. "She was dealing with some issues."

Mack sat back with his mouth open. "She..." he started. "So the place is haunted." Mack had so many questions he didn't know where to start. He rubbed his cheek and said, "Tell me more."

"There are two ghosts," TJ said. "Hannah and Gabby, and they've been here for a month, I guess. They used to be in the old hotel, and they came here after it blew up."

"Wait, so they were your two volunteers in underwear that Joan saw decorating the tree? He sat up and said, "So Joan isn't crazy, but maybe you are."

"I'm not crazy," TJ said. He stood up and paced in front of Mack. "But now that you mention it, that could be an easier explanation."

"Can you see them? Why can't I see them?" Mack asked.

"I can only see them when they want me to," TJ said, "And I can't see them now." He held his tongue for another moment before his frustration boiled over. "Dammit, Mack! They haven't hurt anybody—well, anyone but you and me—they just need a place to be, and this is a good place for them."

Mack realized what TJ meant and touched the fading scar on his forehead. "I guess there's an explanation for this?" he asked.

"Gabby was watching the TV when you turned it off. She lost her temper and pushed you into the door," TJ explained.

"So they're not entirely benign," Mack said. He sat back in his chair and tented his fingers in front of him. "People are afraid of ghosts," he said. "That includes the Trustees. They hired some ghost whisperer to come here after the show tonight and figure out what's going on. They don't want ghosts—like it could be a liability or something—but so far the rumors have sold a lot of tickets."

"Maybe we can make everyone happy," TJ said. "You know, make the Trustees feel secure, keep the rumors alive, and leave the girls alone."

TJ had an idea. If it worked, then maybe everyone but TJ would be happy.

The crowd that night didn't fill the theater. It was Thursday, after all, and like most small crowds they didn't take long to leave. The house was empty, and the stage was clear when TJ let Miriam in through the stage door. She was the ghost whisperer the Trustees hired.

Miriam was earthy, like maybe she'd been a hippy once. She slipped out of her comfortable shoes and tossed her long gray hair over her shoulders. She settled cross-legged in the middle of the stage and rested her hands in her lap.

Miriam wanted to be alone while she called the ghosts, but TJ wanted to be there. He left through stage left then came back at the top of the balcony and found a seat as far from Miriam as he could get. It wasn't long before he knew that Gabby and Hannah were invisibly with him.

"I'm here to talk with you," Miriam said. Her voice was firm but quiet and TJ could barely hear her. "Will you talk with me?"

Gabby whispered in TJ's ear, and he shuddered from the cold. "What do you think? Should we talk to her?" she asked.

"I think you should," TJ answered, as quietly as he could. "We want the Trustees to know that you aren't dangerous. You aren't dangerous, are you?"

TJ didn't get an answer. He got giggles, and he felt Hannah and Gabby leave. TJ watched Miriam and knew when she smiled that the girls had reached her.

TJ stayed quiet, watched and listened. He never knew what was happening, but he saw Miriam relax, and he saw her laugh. She waved her hands in animated conversation. She looked like a woman chatting with her friends at a coffee shop.

It was over when Miriam looked around and said, "Bye-bye." She composed herself then looked directly at TJ and nodded her head to him.

Miriam let herself out through the stage door and left TJ wondering what her quiet nod meant. He was still wondering the next day when Mack called him into his office. TJ didn't even wait for Mack to tell him why he was there before he asked, "Have you heard anything from Miriam? Do you know what she'll tell the Trustees?"

Mack sat back in his chair and looked at TJ's strained expression. "I haven't heard a thing," he said. "Now sit down. We need to talk about Sunday."

TJ dropped into the chair and asked, "Why is Sunday a problem? The dance company is tearing down, and it'll be fairly late before they're done, but I'll cover that like usual."

"That's what we have to talk about," Mack said. "The Trustees are going to meet here Sunday night to hear what Miriam learned, so I'll be here the whole time. I want you to start your weekend a day early." He leaned over his desk and watched TJ. "You look terrible," he said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," TJ said. He waved off Mack's concern, but he was lying. TJ was exhausted. He wasn't getting much sleep, and Gabby's script weighed on his mind. He felt like something could happen at any minute that would keep him from giving Gabby the chance she needed.

That night during the show, TJ sat in the break room and typed to the sounds of Tchaikovsky's music and the audience's ovations. He went to the darkened box office to get a printed copy when he was done. One of the girls was with him, but he didn't know who it was until Gabby materialized and leaned over the printer.

"What's this?" she asked and squinted at the page by the light from TJ's screen.

TJ picked up the sheet and said, "It's your new script, and if there are problems, then we can fix them." He looked around then asked, "Hannah's not with you?"

"Hannah's watchin' the show," Gabby said. "She likes the light and the color, and she's tryin' to figure out the story. It has a story, right? I told her it did." She took the script from TJ and held it by the screen to read a few lines. "I can read this one, but you know? I don't think I can carry it around with me."

"We can leave it here," TJ said. He opened a drawer and closed the page inside. "You'll need to come here to read it, but you'll have some time." TJ explained his extra day off then said, "You guys disappeared when Miriam left. What do you think she's going to tell the Trustees?"

"I don't want to think about that right now," Gabby said and draped her arms over TJ's shoulders. She stood on her toes and pushed her lips under his ear. "Let's neck," she said. She made a strong argument for her case.

TJ found Gabby's script again the next afternoon. It was undisturbed. That wasn't what he wanted to see, but he laid the book he brought with him on the desk and walked away. There were important restrooms to check.