The Valkyrie’s Ghost

Author's Note:Apologies for the delay in Part 05. The site returned it due to the flashbacks involving childhood assault. It's a difficult line to walk, and I truly appreciate this community for helping me stay on the right side of it.

Ireallyappreciate the feedback from so many readers. Thank you for taking the time to tap a star or two (or five, if you're feeling generous), and an extra thank you to those who leave comments--your words mean the world.

And don't forget the all-too-familiar warnings: glacial burn and grammar that limps. Hopefully, somewhere in the slop of my prose, you'll find your pearl. Enjoy, PHD

Chapter 26

Friday, December 26th

The Five House

8755 Ridgeline Hollow Road

Grants Pass, OR

Riley---------------

At Lysandra's adamant insistence, Riley returned to his closet and male wardrobe to dress. He had a comfortable pair of tan firehose tactical cargo pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt and thick cable knit wool sweater that had a stand collar and leather patches on the elbows, and a pair of Keen hiking shoes.

He was closing the door with his foot when he heard a whistle, followed by a "Wow, you man up well." from Lysandra. He found her on the stairs, dressed in a designer ruffle skirt and V-neck pullover sweater in complementary blues and whites. Her blonde hair was platted into an intricate braid. "Oh, you are woodsman of note?"

Riley chuckled. "I saw Gary's truck, so they are here. I will drop this by the fireplace if you wouldn't mind grabbing the potato salad out of the fridge."

"Sure thing," her athleticism on display as she bound down the stairs and bounced into the kitchen.

Riley dropped the wood and just got to the door to see Paula walking up the stairs, with Gary hovering behind her ready to jump to her smallest need. Riley opened the door wide and stepped out with a huge smile. "Momma Paula, it is so good to see you," he flung his arms wide in an invitation for a hug, she walked in and hugged him tightly.

Paula moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered, "Thank you. I feel like I am a sick zebra at the zoo and Gary is the vet in charge." She pulled back but then her smile filled her face, and whispered, "but it seems he still cares about me."

Riley moved in and kissed her cheek and breathed a soft "more than like momma, he still loves you."

Her eyes went wide. Riley shook his head with a yes, before he pulled her into a side hug.

"Now pops, I see you getting all jealous of us, you are more than welcome to join our hug." Riley offered and while he hesitated for a millisecond, he stepped in and put his large arms around them both. "Ahh, I remember these famous momma and poppa bear hugs before I crawled into my bed. Dreams about those kept me sane in some scary places."

"Now Gary, can I help you with the barbeque?" Riley asked.

"I got it, get your mother inside and watch for me at the door." Gary smiled, enjoying the contact with his ex-wife.

"Yes sir." Riley replied quickly. "Momma, Lysandra is in the kitchen."

Lysandra--------------

Lysandra helped Paula set the table, pulled home-made bread Riley baked from the high-end warmer drawer, and set out pitchers of iced tea and freshly squeezed lemonade. When Riley called Gary, he had two racks of ribs smoking, so it was decided he would bring the meat and smoked corn on the cob.

Riley held up hands to Paula to one side and Lysandra on the other and said a short prayer that touched healing and support to Paula and Brett, thanking for returning Puala to him and allowing Lysandra to enter his life, and the food. Then with a devilish smile, he added an "oh, bless the hands of the pit master."

Dana was never religious and so Lysandra was surprised to feel a sense of peace as her hands were held by both Riley and Gary. She glanced up to see a tear rolling down Puala's cheek, but a slight smile on her lips.

The food was beyond good. Paula and Lysandra both sang the praises of the barbeque, but it all broke up when Riley picked up his bread and with an exaggerated stage whisper sang to his bread about being the most delicious bread ever baked. Gary turned to Paula and said, "You know, this may be the best..." he looked to the bread. Riley's eyes went wide with anticipation, but then Gary picked up the lemonade that Lysandra squeezed, "...lemonade I ever had." Riley deflated and then turned to Lysandra and winked, the very second that Gary did the same for Paula. Lysandra reached under the table and laid her hand on his thigh and gave him a squeeze of affection.

Lysandra and Riley cleaned up while Riley asked Gary to give Paula the big tour. As they were about to leave the kitchen, Lysandra apologized for her mess but begged her to see the Crimson Hollow when she toured the others. Gary promised to explain as Paula had a quizzical look to the strange name.

Paula-----------------

A shocked Paula entered the game room after Gary opened the door for her. Her eyes seemed to grow even wider as she scanned the room. The room ran the full length of the west wall, which was 73 feet wide. The ceiling towered 10' high and the room had three distinct spaces.

The far north was covered by a mahogany dark wood bar one would see in an Irish pub, than ran the full length of the 25' north wall. The floor was covered with reclaimed large wood planks stained to match. On the floor was a pool table with a low hanging golden light fixture with white and green porcelain glass that focused the light on to the table. Next to it was a full-size, custom-built ping pong table and pair of counter high pub tables with four chairs. The space was separated with a series of 36" bookcases, carving off a bar space that was 20' by 25'.

The center space seemed to be a place for board and card games. The 33' by 25' space was covered by lush carpet, which had six different tables of all sizes. The largest table, a 6 by 15-foot monster, sat near to the west wall. The felt top had 10 stainless steel cup holders sitting in front of leather wrapped, wooden chairs. A massive 70" monitor seamlessly installed into the middle of the table. At the eastern end of the table, there was a box with a Christmas scene and a half-assembled puzzle. The rest of the space had round, square, and oval tables that had a different number of seats around to accommodate different numbers of players.

The final third of the room had three quarters of its space dedicated to game systems and the far southeast corner reserved for a music space. The game systems included three pinball machines, three arcade-style games (Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Galaga), to massive monitors that each hosted four leather recliners and Xbox and PlayStation systems and an army of controllers. The music space had a Yamaha YUS5 professional upright piano. Hanging on the wall were five different acoustic guitars.

"Welcome to Family Game Center!" Riley announced.

"Riley," Paula said as she struggled to find her words, "Your house. It is so..."

"Extravagant? Huge? Gaudy?" Riley offered.

Paula smiled, "It is the best of us," she turned to caress her ex-husband's shoulder absently-mindedly, "Gary was kind enough to give me the background of each room, each piece of furniture, of each decoration." She took a deep breath. "I know you and I read those fairy tales thousands of times, but each room includes things you would ask about or have me read a certain passage two or three times." She swiped her cheek, "then I come to this room. It includes all of the things Gary, Brett, Mandi, and I loved to do, I remembered how you would just smile and play whatever was selected."

"Riley shared with me this afternoon that the Trenholm Family Game Nights were among the best of his childhood memories." Lysandra said as she reached to squeeze Riley's shoulder to connect with him.

Riley slipped his hand and patted Lysandra's hand and then took a step towards Paula. "I did say that and it is 100% true, the best of the best involves games with momma and pops Trenholm."

Paula stepped forward and pulled her son into her arms. "Mine too, Riley. Mine too." Paula then noticed the music space. "Riley, do you still play with music?"

"I try, but I had some space and I was sure you would be back, so I built it for you." Riley said. (Marcia and I spent a good month on refurbishing that Yamaha. The harp, soundboard, and bridge were rock solid, so we refurbished or replaced most of the wippens, jacks, hammers, and dampers. I spent a month on eBay to find set of keys that would work. The finish was toast, so we stripped and did our polished ebony lacqure finish. It isn't the same has their polyester finish, but we were proud of it. When the piano tech came out, she was impressed."

Gary and Lysandra stood the side as Paula reverently approached the music area. She trailed her fingers alongside a Martin D-28 as she took in the Taylor 814ce, Gibson J-45, Yamaha LL25 ARE, and Larrivée D-40.

"Nice..." she murmured.

"I remember you would pack your Martin for the campfire," Riley said, "It was my first purchase. I am still not the best, I wish I had your long fingers."

She got to the piano and looked back, "would you mind?"

"Please," Riley said with a radiant smile.

Paula pulled up the keyboard cover and slid on to the bench. She started to play some scales.

"Really nice action Riley. The piano tech was right, this piano is a jewel." Paula complemented.

"Pol, do you have some Beethoven in you?" Gary asked.

Riley's face sparked with excitement.

"It has been a few days since..." then she bowed her head and almost reverently bowed her head in concentration and her fingers slowly danced across the ivory keys.

"My favorite," Gary said, turning to Lysandra, "Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata."

A solid 6 minutes later, Paula finished seemed to come back to herself, and turned with an almost embarrassed giggle, "I am sorry, you probably..."

Riley stopped her, "Thank you. You haven't lost a beat." He walked over and bent down and kissed her on her cheek, "thank you for sharing your music."

Gary walked and kissed her other cheek, "Yes, Pol. It has been too long."

When she stood up, Lysandra smiled and added her thanks.

Gary cleared his voice, which was also heavy with emotion, but the other three paid him the courtesy of ignoring that. "Lysandra, if I remember right, those two shamelessly cheat, so we will need to make sure that the devilish duo is separated." Gary's voice cleared, "Now Riley, what games do you have in mind?"

It wasn't until 1:00 am until the thoroughly exhausted foursome called it a night. Riley and Lysandra ruled 15 Spades games, while Gary and Paula controlled the 12 Hearts games.

Gary refused the leftovers and was opening the door for Paula. Lysandra stood on the porch, but Riley walked Paula to her door, holding it for her. He didn't return to the porch until Gary's red lights bounced down the drive way.

"Sorry, that Clyde Vaughn habit. Walk your guests to their car and watch them leave. Smiling and waving them so they want to return."

"Well, you may want to skip that with my mother," Lysandra cautioned, "You may not want to have her return."

"Can I talk you into a cup of hot chocolate to warm you for a restful night sleep?" Riley asked.

"Hmm, does the said cup of hot chocolate happen to have some whipped cream?" Lysandra asked cautiously.

"Of course, I am not a heathen!" Riley answered in a mock hurt voice.

Riley had milk warming on the stove, a whisk mending the perfect temperature without scalding. "I am socially as dense as lead, so did I imagine something or did Gary look lovestruck."

Lysandra smiled from her seat at the bar. "Definitely, but she may be worse. Did you see their constant eye contact, loving touches, and absolute focus on the person when the other was talking?"

"God is good!" Riley smiled a radiant smile. "Amanda said her dad had ZERO interest in dating. "You only find your one true love once Mandi" he would say to her. Helena said the same thing about Paula. She was a recluse. Mandi thought it was embarrassment associated with Brett's case, but I really think it was she lost her life and was lost."

Riley reached for the cocoa and sugar and whisked the ingredients, then he looked to Lysandra. "I am feeling especially naughty tonight." He then reached for the chocolate chips and dropped them into the mixture. Soon the small pot was emptied into two mugs, whipped cream was returned to the refrigerator, and the two nursed hot mugs of chocolate.

There were few words, just occasional sips and looking into the dying fire. "Lysandra, how are you doing, after this afternoon. You had to wade through some stinky memories."

"I am not sure." Lysandra answered, as she attempted to scry her own emotions, "this trip has been..." she continued to try to figure out how to say what she was feeling, "...amazing," she said with a comforting smile. "Beside realizing that I was a controlling bitch to make you cross dress, you, your pearls, this house, the food, the laughter, and the hot chocolate with whipped cream."

"It has been an honor to share everything with you." Riley answered. "It has been kind of surreal in some ways..." his eyes went wide. "It must be late, my brain is having issues..."

Lysandra's eyes squinted in disbelief. "Surreal?"

Riley, "ahh, it was nothing noteworthy."

"Riley Rivers, no judgement..." Lysandra stressed.

"Ah, my silly brain." Riley chided himself, "this is just an observation, not a request or expectation or anything."

"Absolutely." Lysandra focused in his eyes.

"Remember the whole trauma-induced asexuality thing?" Riley asked.

"I do," she said softly.

"Well, tonight it wasn't 'Let's go visit Riley and keep him company.'" Riley said with a silly voice expressing someone doing something nice and not what they really wanted to do. "Tonight it felt different. It was let's go over to Lysandra and Riley's place. Lysandra is fixing the salad, Riley is carrying in the wood. We were a team in cards. We walked our guests to their car."

"And..." Lysandra asked.

"Sometimes, I am so lonely. I have people and they are so great to visit so I see people three or four times a week. But after they leave? I find myself in the garage working on a car, woodshop working on a piece of furniture, or working out. Just stay busy and the sound of loneliness will fade." Riley shared with a weak smile. "Something I found out, sad does not endear you with people. Thank the good Lord for audiobooks, I might start talking to myself."

Lysandra's heart was twisted by the words that sad does not endear. She stood and walked up to him. "Riley, my dear friend." She pulled him into a gentle hug, "you can be as sad as you want with me dear."

He returned the hug, "must be a bad batch of cocoa. Me getting all melancholy." He took in a deep breath and held it forever, "however, if you are going to hug me, I may be conditioned to show more emotions."

She chuckled. Lysandra towered over him, but bent down, using her right hand to lift his chin up. "Thank you for the use of your Super-Secret Healing Spa," she said softly and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. She stood up, "I better get some rest, my mother is showing up in the morning," she finished with a grimace.

Chapter 27

Saturday, December 27th

The Five House

8755 Ridgeline Hollow Road

Grants Pass, OR

Lysandra---------------

Lysandra paced the great room. Looking at her Apple Watch and then peering out the window at every turn. Riley smiled behind a woodworking magazine as he enjoyed the warmth of the fire.

"T-2:00 minutes" she announced.

"Do you think she will actually arrive right at 10:00 am?" Riley asked, "There are a lot of variables--traffic, first time travelers to Grants Pass, a slow coffee shop--that could impact her arrival time."

"I will bet you the big spoon position on the next healing hug session," Lysandra said, "Dana Vale breaks every factor to her iron-clad will."

"Mm, deal." Then in his excited kid voice, "I get another healing hug session with Lysandra Vale" and drummed his feet on the floor.

Riley pulled his finger to his comms unit in his year. "Registered too?" He paused. "Expected. Thanks."

"Thirty seconds." Lysandra counted down. "You're the little spoon, here is Dana Vale," she said as if her execution was just confirmed, "and it is 10:00 right up."

"That is so pleasing to my OCD," Riley said as he moved up to her. "They have seen you in the window, we might as well go great them."

Lysandra, remembering the breathing Riley shared with Elizabeth, took a deep cleansing breath. "What is the worst that can happen?" she muttered and they walked out the door.

----

Lysandra paused with her hand on the handle of the large front door and took a deep cleansing breath, she turned to see Riley trying to cover up his smile, knowing he was not successful, but gave her an encouraging smile and wink. She pulled open the door and stepped out on the large, covered porch.

A two-toned Mojave Silver over Emerald Green Metallic Mercedes Maybach GLS 600 stopped at the walkway. Three doors opened. The front driver, front passenger, and the rear driver-side doors opened. Lysandra's eyes scanned her mom, ever the elegant black blazer over a white blouse, her blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Aunt Fiona stepped around the driver and had a huge smile on her face, her long chestnut brown hair, which was slightly streaked with distinguished gray, her green eyes sparkling with mischief. Finally, the driver was tall, maybe 6'5", he had silver streaked dark-hair with warm brown eyes. He also wore a black blazer over jeans.

Riley stepped up beside Lysandra, and stood with a welcoming smile. Riley hip checked Lysandra who broke out of her frozen deer imitation, cleared her voice. "Mom, Fiona, and Graham, I err, we are so glad you made the trip over safely."

Riley jogged down the steps and with great confidence approached her mom.

"Ms. Vale," Riley smiled, looking up into the shocked eyes of her speechless mother, "I am Riley Rivers. Welcome to my home. Lysandra has spoken of you often, I am sure she is looking forward to catching up." He was about to hold his hand out, "Err, would you mind if I give you a welcoming hug?"

Lysandra's jaw hit the ground as her mom, still off balance said in her soft voice, "Riley, I really appreciate you playing host and I would love a welcome hug."

Lysandra moved by reflex in Riley's wake and gave her mom a tentative smile and said, "When in Rome..." and hugged her mother for the first time in years. Her mom, seem to tense for a second and then pulled her daughter into her body, as if she was hungry for her embrace. "Its good to see you mom."

"Lyssie," her mom said with an emotion filled voice, "I have missed you sweetheart."

Lysandra resisted the urge to look up to see if a comet was crashing to earth. She just leaned in and gave her mom a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks for driving over. I am sure you are busy."

Her mom seemed to reluctantly release the hug, and Riley, had arrived at Fiona.

"Would I be stepping out a limb to guess you would be the infamous Aunt Fiona?" Riley asked.

Fiona's smile announced she was pleased with Lysandra sharing that she was important to her.

"I expected to see some wings or a halo. One time, Aunt Fiona did... or Aunt Fiona helped me..." Riley offered in an awestruck voice.

"I didn't know bodyguards were so eloquent." Fiona said, "Now does the hug policy apply to aunts?"

"Aunts, angels, and even scoundrels," Riley said with a smile, "I will try not to ruffle your wings."

Riley stepped into hug with the older woman, who with her modest 2" heels stood five inches taller.