The Problem

“Laura, this has got to stop.”

The little girl looked up and furrowed her brows. What had to stop? What had she been doing that warranted that hard frown on her father’s face or that sharp tone in his voice? He only used that voice when he got mad, but Laura…didn’t do anything bad. Or, at least, she didn’t think she did anything bad.

Here she was, sitting in the living room and eating her peanut butter sandwich as she watched TV. Yet, her father stood in the way of the TV (which she thought was rather rude of him) and stared her down with those crazed, reddened eyes of his like he was about to explode. Her mother often said that his eyes got like that when her father worked too hard or didn’t get enough sleep. Maybe that was the problem…?

Laura opened her mouth to as—

Her father took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “Laura, honey, I heard you talking for the last few minutes.”

Laura blinked. Yes, she’d been talking. Of course she had! Her dog, Nini, was lying next to her on the couch. It was rude to ignore people, right? Yes! So, it had to be rude to ignore dogs, too! That was basic manners.

Laura turned to look at Nini, who tilted her head at the girl as if she was just as confused. Nini was a pretty girl, and cute, too! Laura’s mother used to say that Nini was called a “Black Retriever”. Whatever that meant. All Laura knew was that Nini had these big sweet brown eyes, a pair of floppy ears that often looked like pig-tails, and a tail so strong that it could bruise people when she wagged it.

Nini started wagging her tail right then, too, as if to try and smile at Laura as they locked eyes. To Laura, it looked like Nini did a happy dance when she wagged her tail. Maybe she did. Laura vaguely wondered how that dance would look with music—

“Laura!” her father snapped, pulling her attention back to him. “Sweetie, I need you to answer me honestly, okay?” He took another breath. “Who have you been talking to?”

Laura straightened up a bit and set her sandwich down on her plate. “Daddy, don’t be rude!” She pointed to her right, where Nini still lay with her tail wagging. “Nini’s right here. I’ve been talking to her.”

Really, couldn’t he see her? She was right there!

Nini lifted her head and gave a short, but loud bark to prove the point.

Laura’s father shook his head. “No. No, Laura.”

“But, Dad—”

“Laura,” he interrupted (rude again!), “Nini’s not here, remember? We had to put her to sleep last week, right?”

Laura paused. Yes. Yes, they did…but Nini followed them out of the animal clinic. She climbed back in their van and came home with them. Nini was really sick, took a nap, and got better! It was clear as day, wasn’t it? Honestly, Laura was beginning to frown, too. What on earth was the problem here?

“Yeah,” Laura said slowly, “and now she’s here.” She pointed to Nini, who stared at Laura’s father with bright eyes. “See? Right here!”

“Laura, stop,” he said, sounding a little mean. “Nini’s not here.”

“Yes, she is!”

“No—”

“Yes!” Laura cried, standing up. “Look!”

She took her sandwich off her plate and threw it up into the air above Nini’s head. Nini watched it fly for a moment before hopping up on her back legs, opening her mouth wide, and catching it. As usual, it didn’t take the dog long to chew and swallow it down.

“Aw, good girl!” Laura praised.

Nini plopped back onto the couch and looked at Laura with her tail wagging. Her big brown eyes shone like diamonds, reflecting the light of the afternoon sun as it beamed in through the nearby windows. Laura had to smile. Nini really was the same way she’d always been. Sure, she didn’t need to eat or go to the bathroom anymore, but she still played with Laura. She still barked at mean people, especially at night. She still followed Laura wherever she went. Nini even went to school with Laura sometimes!

So…what was the big deal?

Laura turned to her father, motioning to Nini as she said with all the finality that grown-ups used when they just had to be right: “You see?”

And he did see! Laura’s father was looking at Nini. His eyes were wide as the family dinner plates and his mouth had dropped open, but that was good! This was progress…or, it looked like progress. The longer Laura looked, the more she realized that her father wasn’t really looking at Nini. It was more that he was looking in her direction. His eyes weren’t focused enough for him to be seeing any specific thing.

Laura also realized that he wasn’t moving.

“Dad?” she asked in a soft voice. Was he okay?

“Uh…okay, um…” he stammered, pointing a shaky finger in Nini’s direction. “That…your sandwich just disappeare—”

“Nini still likes treats, you know,” Laura clarified. “She just doesn’t need dog food anymore.”

Nini barked in agreement.

“Oh…okay…” he said before his voice dropped to a mutter. It was difficult to make out most of what he was saying, but Laura could just barely hear words like, “ghost”, “haunted” and exor…ex…exercise?

“Dad?” she asked again.

“Hm?” her father said, his eyebrows raising in the way they did when he was on the phone and someone tried to talk to him. He shook his head. “Sorry, sweetie. Sorry. I—okay. That…your sandwich just…vanished into thin air…because she’s still here, and she just ate it. That’s right, huh?”

Laura smiled and nodded.

“We have a new problem,” he said.

Laura frowned and sat back down. “We always do.”

Nini laid her head on Laura’s lap and shut her eyes. Laura didn’t blame her. If this nonsense kept up, she’d need a nap, too.