A Holiday Haunting Ch. 02

"Sex magic?" Erin said, "How? What?"

"This is left-hand path magic!" Lucy yelled, "There's always stuff involving sex."

"So, when do we do this?" Jack asked, pouring himself a glass of wine; he needed it. Glancing at Erin, she looked like she wanted one as well.

"We need to pick the right date. A date real important." Lucy then got in front of Erin and asked, "What do you remember about the day you died?"

"I um... it's hard," Erin said, "I can't. No."

"The diary doesn't say much. All I know that she died on December 21st."

"December 21st?" Lucy repeated, "The Winter Solstice usually falls on 20th or 21st. If Erin was murdered on the Winter Solstice, it can explain a lot. Tulpas. Midwinter. This is getting weird."

Lucy told him that she will explain later. But there was a plan, and all they had to do is get some materials, research more into Erin's life and wait a week. Jack remembered that the ritual would probably happen with his parents around, maybe his sisters. He needed another drink.

***

Erin felt comfortable, sitting in the living room with Jack, watching a Christmas movie. It was a pleasant feeling. Jack was supposed to be working, but he told her that he was now in the holiday zone, so he was expected to do the bare minimum until the new year. When she asked what his boss would say, Jack replied that he's probably doing the same right now. If this was what the modern world truly is, then Erin knew she would love it.

She glanced at Jack, and he smirked back at her. Last night was still replaying her head. They were in bed, and had finish watching another Christmas movie. Some of the jokes Erin didn't get, also the ending was confusing. Frozen orange juice and future markets. Overall, she enjoyed the movie but was curious about the amount of nudity and asked if that was normal.

"Depends on the time and what you are watching," Jack said, "When you see actors and actresses naked, sometimes is just as is, like they're waking up or taking a shower. Over times, it's sexual and they might even pretend to have sex."

"You mean fucking?" Erin grinned.

"What?"

Erin explained that she picked up some modern words. Jack immediately guessed it had to be Lucy. There was literally no one else.

"I have only had sex twice in my life. Well, once when I was alive," Erin smiled, "What happened with us was unexpected and I had to tell someone. And she taught me some new words." Erin then moved closer and shocked him, "Lucy even showed me videos. Porn."

Jack stayed still, not believing what he had heard. He had tried to work out how and why Lucy showed Erin porn. For the last couple of days, he had tried to be protective of her nineteenth-century mind, slowly exposing herself to the modern world. He looked at her, seeing if she was embarrassed. He couldn't tell. No, she looked more curious.

He had to ask Erin what she was shown, intrigued at what she thought. Erin then described the scenes in vivid detail, telling the actions of the porn actors, her own emotions and what Lucy said. A man and woman slowly undressed, she was eaten out, then she gave the man a blowjob and then they had sex. Pretty vanilla.

"Can I ask you something? Were you watching porn that night?" Erin then asked.

That night. It felt so long ago to Jack; his life had changed so much. He told her yes, and wasn't surprised when Erin asked what type of porn. Lucy had really provided her some tutoring as Erin began rattling off porn genres.

"Do you want to see what I watched?"

Erin blushed but nodded her head.

Jack set his laptop on the bed, directly in between them. He told her what he usually liked, amateur, lesbian and POV. Looking at Erin, her face was red, but she had this eager look on her, still curious. He played some videos, letting her watch for a while before asking her opinion.

"It's. It's something," she said, sounding breathless.

Erin watched each video carefully, amazed. One was through a man's eyes, bedding a young woman with many tattoos, which confused her as tattoos only belong to wealthy males during her time. Her eyes would drift to the right side of the page, suggested scenes. The words they used shocked her, anal, stepmom and orgy. Jack then played another movie; this time, it was two women. Erin had this initial disgust, but it slowly disappeared as the women sensually writhed together.

It quickly got too much for her. She turned to face Jack, seeing a large bulge in his pants. She didn't know why, but Erin asked if Jack needed to sort himself. She insisted. He nervously pulled out his penis; her eyes flared at the sight of it, hard and veiny. With his dominant hand, Jack then slowly stroked his shaft.

Erin quickly became entranced by the action, wishing that she could touch his prick again. But she became distracted, heat from her groin rippled up to her brain; Erin wanted to touch herself. Her eyes glued on him, she hitched up her skirt and slid her hand underneath her bloomers.

Both Jack and Erin forgot about the FFM scene that was playing and just stared at each other. Jack's hand became a blur over his cock, while Erin had slid two fingers deep into her pussy. There was little resistance from her Catholic upbringing; all those years she had been told that self-pleasure was a mortal sin were forgotten.

Jack then cried out her name as ropes of cum shot out his cockhead. He grabbed a tissue and quickly caught the other spurts. Erin came immediately after him, also crying his name. There was no awkwardness between them as they settled in bed, watching each other as their breathing went back to normal. Jack then said something that made Erin's heart thud, saying that he wished that he could kiss her.

She didn't want to think about that as they watched TV. She was still this spirit, telling herself that this could be her life until the Last Judgement.

Still, Erin couldn't believe that she would ever try something like that with a man. Glancing at him, he was more handsome than her previous men. It was no contest with Patrick, her forty-something betrothed. With rotten teeth and shaking hands, Erin had hated the thought of touching him.

Jack was more like Robert. Not physically, Jack was taller but didn't have Robert's square jaw and his lighter brown hair. Since seeing his naked body during the séance, Erin noticed that Jack was more athletic than her previous lover. But Jack had Robert's charming and intelligent personality. He was also honest and aware of his limitations, unlike Robert. Whenever they were away from the Franklins, Erin would see him turn into an almighty braggart after a drink.

They heard the front door opened then quickly closed.

"Erin? Jack?" Lucy yelled.

"In here," Jack said back.

She was carrying a big tote bag as she walked into the living room. "Hey guys," Lucy smiled, "You okay?"

Both Jack and Erin shrugged and then nodded their heads, saying fine at the same time.

"What are you guys watching?" Lucy asked, facing the TV.

"I don't know," Erin then turned to Jack and asked, "Which movie is this one?"

"It's the Mistletoe Connection."

"I've been watching a number of these Hallmark Christmas movies." Erin said, then shrugged her shoulders. "I do enjoy them, but I am finding a pattern. Struggling family business, a woman from the big city, a father with a young child and a lack of minorities?"

She glanced at Jack to see if she was correct. He smiled and nodded.

"We've been watching Christmas movies non-stop. If this ritual goes like it should, then Erin's going to be out in the world with no pop culture reference point. We watched Gremlins earlier and I figured that she needs a palate cleanser."

"I was streaked," Erin said, looking back at Lucy.

"She means scared."

"For once, I was glad that I am a spirit. Those monsters would have made me cascade if I had a body."

"She means puke." Jack then turned to Erin, and they exchanged grins.

"You need to switch to Netflix Christmas movies. There's more variety." Lucy said. She took a seat and pulled the grimoire. "I need to ask you some questions, Erin. I want to make sure that we can get everything right for the ritual. Also, I can't find where you were buried."

"Of course."

"Why don't you guys take the living room. I probably should do some work today." Jack said, standing up. "Do you want some coffee, Lucy?"

Lucy said yes, and they quickly settled around the coffee table. She booted up her laptop and asked Erin about her past, trying to squeeze information out of her last days alive. Erin gave vague answers back to her. She had been asked about this before, she hated thinking back.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, lowering her notepad.

"What do you mean?"

"You keep looking away and you're repeating yourself. What's going on?"

"It's just," Erin said, but then stopped. "Lucy, I just need to tell someone about what had happened."

Erin then leaned in, wanting to make sure that there was no way Jack could eavesdrop on them. Erin then told her how she and Jack watched porn, first describing the videos she saw. She caught Lucy's eyes widen as she went on. Erin then did a long exhale and told her that the evening ended with her and Jack mutually masturbating.

Just like a move from a sitcom, Lucy did a spit take. Wiping her mouth, she turned back to Erin and said, "Sorry. But that's really hot. I didn't know that you can do that."

"Nor did I," Erin replied, "I just can't control myself around him. I want to feel him again. To kiss him."

"Just kiss?"

Erin blushed and dropped her head. "I do have some other carnal thoughts."

"Let's see what happens tomorrow. If I'm reading this thing right. You might get to have some fun tomorrow."

"If only," Erin said.

"So, you going to do it again?" Lucy asked grinning.

Erin said nothing, trying not to laugh.

"Hey, I'm a pervert," Lucy said, shrugging her shoulders.

They went back to their research. Finding Erin's burial was difficult. Her death certificate was nonexistent. Either the hundred years that passed since her death made it impossible to find, or it was another insult by the Franklins.

"O, space, then C-E-A-L-L-A-C-H-A-I-N," Erin said, spelling out her last name.

"I'm not going to pretend to try to pronounce that." Lucy typed in the search bar and then asked, "I thought your last name is O'Callaghan?"

"It is. That's just the Irish spelling. Jack said that if we are successful, I'll need identity papers. I may shorten it to Callaghan." Erin shrugged and looked away.

With that done, Erin helped Lucy find her grave. She learnt that the Franklins had her buried in a Potter's field-like cemetery in a town near the border with New Hampshire. She also told Lucy more about her life, traveling across the Atlantic from Ireland, Boston and being forced to move to Portland due to Patrick.

They were in deep concentration, but quickly looked up, hearing a car door slam shut. Then some voices that sounded like there were coming from outside.

The front door opened, and a deep-sounding voice yelled, "JACK?"

Jack jumped out of his chair; he was already prepared. He had been going over this moment since morning. He had to distract his parents while Lucy and, more importantly, Erin had to exit without drawing too much attention. His mom will probably faint if she saw Erin phase through walls, his dad would definitely spend an hour asking Erin to do tricks.

He met them by the door and quickly lob questions at them. While his dad went upstairs to use the bathroom, Jack marshaled his mom into the kitchen. He showed her what he had bought for Christmas dinner, and asked about other things that they might need.

In the living room, Lucy frantically piled her notes, her laptop and the grimoire back in her bag. She bounced from different spots of the room, trying to tidy up without being caught. Erin followed her around the room, not knowing what else to do.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Lucy said out loud but to herself.

"Please be calm," Erin said, resting a hand on Lucy's shoulder though both could feel nothing. "We can say that we border together. But that we have to go now."

"That's not a bad idea." Lucy replied. She paused and stared at Erin's clothes. "Can you do yourself up. Like how you used to look."

Erin had her sleeves pulled up to her elbows, her hair down and her shoes were under Jack's bed. It was this weird quirk that she could change her appearance briefly, but it would just reset itself to how she always looked. Sometimes it was random, or if she just thought strongly enough.

She nodded her head, and then Erin pressed her chest like she was doing the pledge of allegiance. With a quick flash, every bit of her clothing and her hair was back in its place. "Let's go," she said.

While Jack was distracting his mother, they walked to the door, both looking at the kitchen. As Lucy opened the door, she waved at Erin and pointed to her mouth.

Erin got the hint and said, "Bye Jack. We have to go."

"Thanks for your help," Lucy added.

They watched as a woman in her late fifties walked out of the kitchen. She was then joined by Jack. He looked like he was biting his lower lip.

"Well, hello," she said. Her face had this inquisitive look like she was quickly judging them.

"Hello, I am Erin," she said, "This is Mi... umm Lucy."

"Hi, I'm Mary. Jack's mom," she replied, "That's umm interesting dress that you are wearing."

Erin stayed quiet, her face frozen and her eyes stretched wide.

"Oh, Erin's just shy," Lucy said, "She came from a rehearsal." She then turned to Erin and asked, "You're playing Scrooge's maid, right?"

"Yes," Erin replied, not sounding anywhere convincing. "I'm sorry, but we need to be leaving."

Jack left his mom's side and walked to the door, blocking her view of Erin just in case. "See you guys later," he said loud enough for his mom to hear him. He then leaned in and whispered, "Hide in my room, I'll be up soon."

Both Lucy and Erin nodded. Jack slowly closed the door, watching Erin fade away as soon as she stepped outside. Lucy twisted her head left to right; he guessed that she was checking if anyone noticed a nineteenth-century maid disappear. Jack then locked the door and turned around, seeing his mother giving him a sly look. She suspected something. She was going to ask him so many questions, he knew it.

***

Erin stared out of the window, bored. She realized that she had never really checked out the change in her surroundings. That was interesting for a while, but after two hours, she needed something else to do. Erin had tried to see if she could focus all her energy and press the TV remote power button but got nowhere.

She attempted not to think about the ceremony tomorrow. Thoughts of her future, of Jack and life would occasionally creep in her head, and Erin had to ignore them. She trusted herself, knowing that if it went wrong and she would stay like this, that she could survive. But what about Jack?

There was a knock and Erin turned her head.

"Erin?" Jack said before opening the door and poking his head in.

"Jack?"

"Sorry, I had to leave you alone for so long. Mom and Dad really wanted to know what I got up to."

Jack then climbed onto his bed and switched the TV on. He flipped through the channels before settling on ESPN. He looked at the door as he played around with the volume.

"I understand." Erin then joined him on the bed.

"Oh yeah. Mom really likes the tree. I told her that you helped me decorate it."

"Were they upset that I didn't fully introduce myself to them?"

"No. Not really. But over dinner, Mom wanted to know about you. I had to think of something to say. I told them that I met you recently and we've been seeing each other. Also, you're crashing at Lucy's."

"Seeing each other?" Erin replied, "Is that what modern courtship is?"

"Something like that," Jack said, smiling, "What was courtship like in 1800s?"

"Courtship was not for people like me. Especially for someone from Ireland. My Da worked with a man and he said he was looking for a wife. My Da then brought him home one night, I may have said five words to Patrick during dinner. Two weeks later, we were engaged."

"Whoa. Is that what you wanted?"

"I never had a say. My parents said I was to be married and that was it."

"What did you think about Patrick?"

"A drunk," Erin said, rolling her eyes. "I could tell the type of husband he was going to be during that dinner. I was to be a nurse for him, bring him whiskey, wash him and clean off umm vomit from his mouth." She blushed again, still not comfortable with some modern words.

"But when he died. How old were you? Couldn't you marry someone else?"

"I was 25. A different time. One that I am so happy to be out of." Erin smiled. "There is something I want to ask. Is courtship similar to dating?"

"Dating?"

"I've heard that word spoken so many times in this house. Back when I was alive, dating meant buying a night with a whore."

Jack tried to explain what dating meant now. The use of apps, having coffee dates or low-key ones like going shopping. Also, casual sex and friends-with-benefits. The dating stages, how couples usually go from casual acquaintances to dating, boyfriend and girlfriend, moving into together and finally getting married if they like. He saw Erin's shocked look when he explained that divorce was so common and accepted. Jack carried on, saying how some couples don't use labels to describe themselves; some do while others have their own thing. Embarrassed, but Jack had no choice to use experience from his own life.

"We have had sex." Erin said, slowly smiling, "I guess we're more boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Probably." Jack replied, smirking at her.

Jack's phone then started buzzing and interrupted them. Reaching to the nightstand, Lucy was calling him on Facetime. He turned to Erin and said, "Lucy's video-calling me."

"Video-calling? So, she can see us? Wow."

Jack answered and said, "Hey Lucy, what's up? Where are you?"

They could see Lucy in a dimly lit storeroom. There were boxes of Budweiser beer and whiskey stacked behind her. Her clothes also looked weird for her, wearing a white shirt and a black leather apron. There was no make-up on her face, and her hair was tied back.

"I got a shift at the Cord & Rifle. Anyway, how you guys doing?"

Erin looked at Jack, he shrugged, and she turned back to Lucy saying, "We're good."

"What happened to your mom & dad?"

"They had some questions. I told them that I've been seeing Erin for a while and you guys came over, so I can help you with your laptop."

"And. I am crashing at your home," Erin said, emphasizing any modern words.

"Cool cool." Lucy looked passed her phone, then there was a knock and a muffled voice. She nodded and said, "They need me back behind the bar. There was also one thing. Tomorrow, it's just us and your parents, right? Like your sisters aren't going to burst in while we're burning sage or nude?"

"Nude?" Erin looked at Jack, squinting her eyes.

He shook his head and turned back to Lucy, "No. You don't have to worry about them. Katie and Beth will be flying out on 23rd. They got tickets to Taylor Swift tomorrow. Unless LA gets a plague of spiders, they are going to be there."

"Okay then," Lucy nodded, "So, we need to drug your parents," she said, so casual. She then looked away, mouthing 'what' at someone. "Shit, I need to go."

"What do you mean, drug my parents?"

"Yeah, we need to drug them." Lucy stood up and looked like she was moving.

"Why?"

"They have to be drugged," Lucy replied, "Bye guys!"

Jack glanced at Erin, then back to his blank phone screen. Tomorrow is going to be a long, stressful day.

***

In a couple of hours, the Winter Solstice would happen, and Erin sat on Jack's bed. She watched him paced in the room, on the phone with one of his sisters. He said that he was helping her out with a computer problem, but as he talked to his sister, Erin only heard half of the conversation and it made no sense to her.