This is the third part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I and Part II before continuing.
No sooner had Abby gotten everything sorted out with her internet provider than she got her Netflix up and running on her TV and hit “Play” on the new season of Virgin River. A few minutes into the first episode, she got that feeling on the back of her neck like she was being watched. She tensed as she started running through scenarios of how she could defend herself if there were an intruder before remembering she lived with a ghost.
Abby turned her head to look over her shoulder and, sure enough, Claire was behind her. And Claire wasn’t even looking at Abby, she appeared to be mesmerized by the television screen. “What is this?”
“You’ve never seen a television before?”
“I know what a television is, but how did you find the space within the television where you could call up any show at will?”
“You mean Netflix?”
“What are net flicks?”
“It’s an app.”
“What is an app?”
“How long have you been haunting this house?”
“Since I died. I watched my parents grieve me and I saw all the people who came to my wake. They said so many lovely things about me.”
“Right, so, back to this century, how do you not know what Netflix is – or what an app is – if you’ve been haunting this house since they were invented?”
“There was quite a bit of time between when the last owner died and you bought the house.”
“Yeah, I should’ve known something was up when I saw how long this thing had been on the market.”
“And she didn’t have an app or a net flick.”
“Did she ever watch TV?”
“Oh, yes. Mostly the news. In the afternoons we would watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.”
“I see. She was an old timer.”
“Not when she first moved in, but by the time she died here, yes, she was very old. So much older than anyone I had ever known before.”
“Hold up, she died here, too?”
“Yes.”
Abby used just her eyes to look around her without moving her head. “Is she here, too?”
“Oh, no. She moved on.”
“Why haven’t you?”
“I’m not sure. I wanted to stay with my parents, and by the time they moved on, I think I had missed my chance.”
“So, you’re stuck here forever?”
“It appears so.”
“Bummer. Anyway, back to Netflix, how to explain this to someone from before the internet was invented …”
“I know what the internet is.”
“Great! Do you know what a website is?”
“Yes.”
“OK, so, an app is basically a website. Netflix is a website, but they put all the content and information from their website onto an app that can be installed on a mobile device,” Abby held up her phone. “Or a TV,” she gestured to the TV.
“That way I don’t have to bring up my browser on my phone and type ‘Netflix’ into the browser, I can just click on the app and immediately get all that information. The same goes for the TV. The TV is hooked up to the internet, but it doesn’t have a browser, at least, not in the same way a computer does, so I installed the Netflix app so I can watch Netflix on my TV instead of having to watch it on my phone or my laptop. Make sense?”
“Not really, no.”
“Well, you don’t have to understand it, you just have to be quiet while I’m watching Virgin River.”
“What is Virgin River?”
“It’s a show about a woman who takes a job as a nurse in this small town in the country when she’s only ever lived in L.A. – that’s a big city.”
“You mean Los Angeles.”
“Yes. Anyway, her husband died in a car accident when they were living in L.A. and she feels responsible, so to get away from all those painful memories, she moved as far away from them as she could, and Virgin River is as far as she could get. But she wasn’t expecting to fall for the guy who owns the bar, who, by the way, just knocked up this other woman he was sleeping with when the main character arrived.”
Claire gasped.
“I know! It’s so good!”
“I don’t suppose he’s married to either of these women?”
“Nope.”
“Well, then he’s a scoundrel and the heroine will surely find someone more deserving of her.”
“No, it’s pretty clearly set up for the two of them to get together. We don’t really frown on pre-marital sex the way they did in your day.”
“I recognize that things continue to change, but I must insist that some things should remain the same.”
“Fair enough. Now, you can watch with me, but remember what I said about making sure you stay quiet.”
“I make no promises regarding my ability to hold my tongue when immoral behavior is involved.”
It wasn’t exactly the promise Abby had been looking for, but she figured it was the best she was going to get, so she pressed a button on the remote so she and her new friend could see how Jack was going to get out of this mess and end up with his true love.
To be continued…