Ever settled into the squashy, single couch in the living room, letting out a sigh. He shimmied to the left, just as Mimi came scampering towards him. She stopped about a foot away from him, waiting.

  ^Why aren’t you picking me up?^ A single bark, whine and turn of the head.

  “Say please.” Ever smiled playfully, looking down at the dog.

  ^Why? I’ve never had to say please.^

  “It’s polite.”

  Mimi stopped panting, trotted over to the oval rug in the middle of the room, circled around a couple times before laying down in the center. Her dark eyes smouldered ruefully at him.

  They held the stalemate for a few seconds before Ever conceded. Mimi watched her person come all the way from the couch, kneeling on the rug before scooping her up. He sat back in the couch, letting her settle in her groove next to his leg.

  ^Thank you.^

  Ever scratched her ears for a moment before pulling out his phone. There was a message from Zoe that he came through while he was at work.

  “Why can you see ghosts?”

  He stared at the message, thumbs stationary over the slightly scratched phone screen.

  “I… am… Death’s…”

  No. He backspaced to the beginning.

  “I… can… reap… souls.”

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  He looked at the message again, shaking his head and wiping it out again. They had already ascertained that both of them could see ghosts. Why was it so hard now to just come out with the facts?

  “Free to talk?”

  He put the phone down on his lap and closed his eyes, resting his hand on Mimi’s head; she had fallen asleep quickly.

  “Not really.” A reply followed up in quick time. “Let’s save it for the date next week. We’ll have more time to talk about it then. ??”

  “Good idea. ????”

  He put the phone down again. It was awfully comfortable here. He could just hear the clock in the kitchen ticking. The window behind him heaved and creaked as the wind pressed in.

  Bzzzt, bzzzt.

  Ever opened his bleary eyes, swiping at the new message.

  “Actually I’ve got to ask…”

  “Are you responsible for Bozo being gone?”

  He stared at the sentence. He knew what it meant, but it was hard to tease out what Zoe was really asking, especially when he was half asleep.

  “Yes, I am. I saw how much he was bothering you. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “He was a good dog but yes haha very distracting. Thank you ??”

  “All those other animal ghosts then…”

  Ever used one thumb to type. “Yes, all me.”

  “Are they all living with you now?”

  “No,” he tapped the emoji menu and found the face he was after. “??”

  “Are they in a better place?”

  “I think so.”

  “You forgot one of them.”

  Ever smiled. “Was it a ghost of a cat sitting on top of a cabinet?”

  “Yes! ??”

  “He’s always cranky.”

  “I know.”

  Ever yawned. Maybe one more message. “Are you responsible for the animal ghosts?”

  The question remained unasked. The phone slipped out of Ever's hand onto his lap as finally, he joined Mimi in slumber.