WORK FROM HOME, DAY 15
I sit at the kitchen counter steeping a tea bag in a cup of hot water. An internet search informed me that drinking hot tea is soothing and calming, so I thought I'd give that try even though I'm not really a hot tea kind of guy. I'm more of a tea so sweet it is practically syrup kind of guy. Sandy is gathering items needed to prepare something for dinner. It appears to be taco night and I find that far more soothing and calming than hot tea. She emits a groan of frustration and I can tell she is biting her tongue and calling upon some soothing and calming mantras of her own before she speaks.
"I really need you to put the plastics where they're supposed to go. I had it all set up and now it's all chaos again."
I huff more than I mean to.
"What?" she says.
"Nothing. I'm just sorry."
"You don't have to apologize." She returns to fixing the mess I made. "You're not in trouble. It just makes life easier when things are where they're supposed to be."
"I know. I still feel bad." I fall into silent brooding for several seconds and stare at the tea that I have no intention of drinking.
"Did I hurt your feelings?" Her tone suggests she feels weird asking. I shake my head.
"I just feel bad."
Summoning the best way to introduce the subject of a possible malevolent spirit in our home has proven difficult. I'm not sure how to present it. I pick up my phone for a little research.
Internet search: how to tell your spouse you have a poltergeist.
Nothing.
"Just put everything where it goes," Sandy says. "Nothing to feel bad about it."
The ceiling above creaks. The sound of someone or something moving about in the bedroom upstairs pulls me from my phone with a gasp and I look up.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
The footsteps move from one corner of the room to approximately where the door is.
"That." I point overhead.
"I don't hear anything." She retrieves some ground beef from the refrigerator and I stand and look up. "Are you okay? What's wrong? Why are you looking at the ceiling?"
"We have a poltergeist."