Ghosts of Honor

Ghosts of Honor

By David Connor and E.F. Mulder

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2019 David Connor and E.F. Mulder

ISBN 9781646560370

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author's imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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To gay men and women in uniform who wanted to marry but couldn't. As always, thank you to Belea, a wonder, she is. Thank you, JM, and to all of the spiritual guidance I got from another world along the way.

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Ghosts of Honor

By David Connor and E.F. Mulder

Chapter 1

We gather here today, in Tennessee, to join Goose and Patrick in holy matrimony.

Our officiant's name was Mae. Ironically, we'd met the one-hundred-year-old former USO singer at the local youth center back in New York, where Carrie had worked the previous summer to help put on a production of The Wizard of Oz.

I've done a lot of these weddings over the past forty years, Mae said. But this is my first in a forest on Halloween.

Jack-o-lanterns winked at us, with golden light flickering behind their triangular, oval, or comma shaped eyes. I'd counted twenty, among more uncarved pumpkins, big and small, orange, green, white. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and a collection of other gourd types, many misshapen, added whimsy and a touch of spookiness. Some sat on scattered hay, some on gathered bales, many on the bare ground. There were potted colorful mums set all about as well. Our friends and families had taken charge of the decorations. The result was an all-out All Hallows Eve spectacular.

Relatives, friends, Heavenly spirits and angels... Mae looked skyward and paused to catch her breath. Accept our invitation. Come witness this blessed union and join us in celebration.

We waited, Goose and I, along with our guests. Standing beside Daniel and Jefferson's oak tree, we hoped to feel the presence of those special to us who had passed, family members, recent acquaintances, and especially our two guardian angels.

Please hail, as we do, all forms of love, intellect, strength, and togetherness.

A dark and stormy night--not yet dark, but soon to be, not yet stormy but predicted--beneath a canopy of muted but colorful leaves set off by a pale gray southern sky at twilight was the perfect setting for our I dos. Autumn had always been Goose's favorite season, Halloween his favorite holiday. Now, they were mine, too.

I love you, Goose Tucker, I mouthed.

I adore you, Patrick, he silently offered back.

Gray and black shadows from skinnier trees circling the majestic oak that was tribute to Daniel and Jefferson's pledge to forever creaked and groaned in the chilly autumnal breeze. Eerie sounds to some, we found them quite welcoming and perfect for the occasion and guest list. More hay bales served as seating, and a narrow dirt path that snaked through the small forest made a perfect aisle, one Goose and I had walked down hand in hand, as Carrie sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

We are blessed to stand with you, Goose and Patrick, Mae said, and thank Dear Mother of Earth for the wind and the sun, the clouds, the moon, the stars, storms, and seasons, and acorns that grow into oak trees. We are grateful she brought us here, a rather unlikely group, to such a wonderful place. Marrying the one you love is a privilege many have enjoyed for centuries, one some took for granted, one some could only wish for, one many had to fight to get. A concept many never saw as possible in their lifetime, we can finally call a right of equality. Marriage is a cause for joy, an expression of affection, a promise of forever.

Our wedding attire was casual; jeans and an untucked white button-down under a black vest plus an orange pocket square printed with white ghosts for Goose; black jeans, a black and orange flannel shirt for warmth, and suspenders with acorns all over them for me. It was far less fussy than the 1800s formalwear and top hats we'd donned to stand beside Daniel and Jefferson at their wedding in Heaven. We'd considered putting all that on again, or even costumes at one point, to celebrate the other traditions of October thirty-first. Goose had suggested I show up as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Leonardo. Seeing him in formfitting Batman tights appropriate to his size would have been a treat. A Wizard of Oz theme had also been discussed. Goose felt as if he'd embodied The Scarecrow quite well as he'd wracked his brain to figure out how to bring Daniel and Jefferson, now Ft. Lauderdale cop Tate Wishum and Micah Crane from Colorado by all appearances, at least to us, back together. So many times over summer and early fall, I'd heard him say to himself, Think, Goose, think.

It had taken quite a while, but with the help of others, I'd eventually found the courage to get on with my life after facing death back in April. Cowardly Lion fur and a tail would have been just right for me.

We had a Toto in attendance, who my mother cradled in her arms, while Rip, who would have made a perfect Tin Man, because of his big heart, held on to our little French bulldog, Wilbur.

Shelby had joked about coming as the house that fell on the wicked witch. In the start of her last trimester, she felt rather large. All was going well with the pregnancy, though. Her Ob-Gyn had cleared her for travel down to Cocke County, Tennessee. Goose and I would have married back in New York, otherwise, a ceremony there and a second here, maybe. He'd joked about he and Shelby dressing as a munchkins, since diminutiveness ran in their family. In the end, he decided he would have chosen Dorothy for his sister, because she seemed like the glue that held us all together, the one who believed in our journey, even when hope seemed lost to the rest of us.

Our Carrie would have been The Wizard, since she knew all about the three traits the yellow brick road travelers sought. She recognized them in others and proved she possessed plenty of each herself when facing prejudice and hate.

Finally, there was Carrie's new friend, Nami, who called herself a good witch. She'd already worked some magic, as our whole group tried to unravel the mystery of what our guardian angels were up to down on Earth since parting ways with us and one another back in Heaven months earlier.

Sadly, that mystery was still only half solved. Goose's Halloween ghost and his husband, our Jefferson and Daniel, were still not beside us. They hadn't appeared to Goose or me since April, not as we wished them to, at least, as themselves, in a form we could see and even touch. Though I couldn't imagine them not wanting to attend our wedding, we hadn't yet put the last piece in the puzzle that would make that possible, apparently. Hopefully, before the official I dos we would.

After so much discussion about attire, seasonal colors accessorized with Halloween splendor--a glittery pumpkin brooch, a Boo! necktie, flying witches on socks, and skeleton earrings--was deemed agreeable by all. Most importantly, perhaps, an oak leaf adorned every lapel.

No brainer, Scarecrow. Oak leaves are a must, I'd said when Goose had suggested them.

This time around, one or two frosts had them already tinged with copper, unlike the pristine green we'd found back in springtime in Heaven, the last time we'd been at the tree.

So, let's truly begin, Mae suggested.

Yes, let's, I said.

Just about one year after Goose and I first met at a Civil War reenactment, months after we'd both been given a second chance at life, the two of us were eager to pledge our commitment to one another forever.

Mae offered smile. And we'll do that with another song.

Amazing Grace, a through line in our story, in Daniel and Jefferson's, too, was the hymn we had chosen to begin the ceremony. Jefferson's singing was what had first caught Daniel's attention, back when the two fought side by side as Union soldiers, and Daniel was known as Calvin.

If this song doesn't trigger something, Goose whispered, his eyes bright, his smile hopeful, I don't know what will.

Micha cleared his throat. He looked a bit jittery, there on the large monitor set up by electronic marvel Rip, to project images from several phones. I had Micha on video chat on mine, currently held by my baby brother. Micha, this young, sweet soul, a soul we still believed to be Jefferson Eaves', sang like an angel, we knew, whether he was our angel or not.

Fingers crossed, I said.

Next to the finger with the strip from a vinyl floatie on it. Goose's smile was always a treat.

And another in just a matter of moments. I couldn't wait to see it.

The first few notes Micha sang gave me goose bumps. Goose, too, I would have bet. We would have jokingly called mine Patrick bumps. Was this beautiful singer our Jefferson? Would his song be enough to get Tate, aka Daniel, to remember how in love they were, so their spirits could return together to Heaven? Did they have to remember, in order for that to happen? Only time would tell.

The guest list was small. Micha and Tate had to be there, of course, in order for our plan to work, since nothing else had, so far. Getting them in the same place had proven to be no easy task, but we'd eventually managed, with the help of technology.

I had too many siblings to choose one as a traditional best man figure, so I'd chosen my mother, instead. A few other O'Hanlon relatives were out amongst the trees to the side of us, with the promise of a full family function at Christmastime.

In yet another outside the box move, Shelby and Rip both stood up for Goose. Technically, Shelby sat, because Goose and Rip were both overprotective, at least according to her. Later, we would all pile into cars to travel a few miles up the road to the fancy inn where Goose first entered my life. Any spirit friends who crashed the day would follow in their own way, we hoped, to gather with us for our reception.

I once was lost...

Goose looked at me, and then we both looked at the screen, to see Tate Wishum's reaction to Micha's song, every beautiful note identical to how Jefferson Eaves sang it. I knew Goose was searching Tate's eyes, to see if he could find Daniel's reaction there, Daniel's awe, Daniel's adoration for Micha, also Jefferson. Tate was smiling. That I could see for myself. A smile was a good sign.

Was blind, but now I see.

A part of me was expecting an ascension right then. I hoped to see both Daniel and Jefferson appear to us, at least to Goose, since I could sometimes sense a spirit, but couldn't see them, like he could. I waited for the clouds to part, for a bright golden light, the sound of fluttering angel wings, or, at the very least, the trill of a pair of cardinals. We looked. We listened. Everyone did, even Mae, who'd been apprised of Jefferson and Daniel's history, and how special both angels were to us. A cue would be offered for her to continue. Mae knew we'd want to wait for a sign right after the song. Unfortunately, six months after Daniel and Jefferson gave up their afterlives to escort me and a young man who'd fallen or jumped off a bridge in Colorado back to Earth, none of that occurred. Nothing seemed to change. Their souls were still here, still apart from their bodies and one another.

Disappointed, but so in love, when Goose gave me the sign to go on, I offered a slight nod to Mae.

It'll happen, he whispered to me.

It will.

And now, Mae said, a few of Goose and Patrick's friends and family members have words to share with the happy couple.

Maybe this will be the magic moment. Goose and I were doing a lot of whispering. So far, no one had objected.

Maybe. I did it again.

You two... Carrie shared her blessings first. I can't even come up with the words, enough words, certainly not the perfect ones, to express how much you have changed my life in such a short time.

She was wearing a dress, black with coppery oak leaves, as a tribute to the setting and to Jefferson and her several times great uncle Daniel. A metallic headband held back her hair, and she even had on makeup. Carrie was stunning, physically so, and in every other sense, as she presented herself to the world in the way she had always seen her reflection in her mind, if not the mirror.

Though I had the name Carrie on my locker at work, I'm pretty sure my supervisor thought it was my girlfriend or something. I had never spoken it out loud to anyone, except my parents, until the two of you brought me in out of the cold during that blizzard. Who I am went unspoken for so long, until I could finally be Carrie all the way, at first in private, with you two, then with Rip and Shelby, and now, everywhere. You are my angels, she said, "like Jefferson and Daniel, but here on Earth. Thank you. Keep loving each other, like I know you will. Anyone you love is very lucky that you do. Anyone who finds love is lucky. Jefferson knew this. Yesterday, I met a former slave who goes by the name of Calvin, he wrote in his diary. He is jovial and kind, despite what he has been through in his short time on Earth. Two years younger than I, he seems far more adult. His beautiful face smiles for me when I sing or tell the one joke I know, one he has likely heard a dozen times. I think this quote is a wonderful example of love, Carrie said. When someone can make you smile just by being in front of you, that is love. Love is smiles."

In lieu of poetry or bible verses, we'd chosen to include a memory from Jefferson and Daniel's love story, a quote or a description of a special moment from their journey. The tributes were special to us, and yet another effort to spark something in Micha and Tate. Two total strangers a few months earlier were now a major part of our ceremony. One wanted nothing to do with us, at first, and the other couldn't even be found. Now, luckily for us, here they were, maybe not believers but definitely willing participants.

Goose's bro-ham, Rip, went next. Still cradling Wilbur, he stood. "Love is patience. I have grown to adore him more and more with each passing day, each passing hour, Jefferson said of Daniel, then known as Calvin. No words were needed between us to know something was building, something like love. He whispers we shall kiss someday. Rip, with love in his eyes, looked to his adoring wife nearly the whole time he spoke. I'm impatient and ask why not now? 'Soon,' is what he tells me. 'Soon.'

I can relate to this. Resituating Wilbur, Rip was able to blow Shelby a kiss, one she caught and brought to her lips. It took me a while to convince the love of my life we could make this marriage thing work. I fell in love with her brother first. Actually, first, I doubled over in pain because of him.

I hit him in the nards with a hockey stick in seventh grade, Goose explained.

TMI, Bro-ford. We could have left that out.

The gathered crowd tittered with amusement.

"I,