Whenever Abigail brushed her hair, he could see the demon in the mirror.

They’d shared the apartment for as long as he could remember. Just him and Abby. Sometimes, their kids came to visit. Other times, Abby would drive them to the store. But most of the time, they stayed in their apartment.

The first time he’d seen the demon standing behind Abby had been…Christ, he couldn’t remember how long ago it’d been. But it’d been standing right behind her shoulder, a few yards back. It had…black hair? And red eyes, of course. It was a demon, after all. Abigail hadn’t seen it. She’d just run her comb through her beautiful silver-gray hair. Swish. Swish. Swish.

“Abby. Abby! Somethin’s behind you.”

She’d stared in the mirror. “Lou, there’s nothing there. Are you feeling alright?”

He’d looked again. Nothing. He’d looked behind her. Nothing. He’d looked around, eyes darting every which way. But there wasn’t anything to see. Just his toothbrush—minty green paste ready for him to use—and his wife. His beautiful, beautiful wife.

He’d kissed the back of her neck. She’d giggled like a schoolgirl as his lips brushed her wrinkled skin. “I love you, Abby,” he’d whispered to her.

“I love you too, Lou,” she’d whispered, turning to kiss him back. “Get your teeth brushed. We’re going to the park to meet with Cynthia and her kids.”

He’d taken another good look at her beautiful face in the mirror. Her green eyes had peered through crow’s feet a mile deep, her upper lip dented from a car accident when she was just a mother of one. Before Willem, Jeff, or even Cynthia. When they’d only had Emily to look after. The scar was a reminder, every day, of what he’d lost. And what he’d been fortunate enough to keep all these years.

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Lou sat on the exam table. He shifted, the paper crinkling under his weight. He’d always hated the doctor’s office. And this time was no exception. For some reason, Abigal wanted to talk to Doctor Stephens by herself. Without him.

She hadn’t done anything without him in a decade. Anything. But it was alright.

He could see them down the hall, talking. She was facing away from him. He couldn’t see her talking, but Doctor Stephens’ brow wrinkled. He nodded. His lips moved, but Lou’s vision wasn’t good enough to read them anymore. Maybe it never had been.

He looked away. He could trust Abigail. Whatever she had to say, he supported her.

The room was tiny. A few posters of muscle groups on the walls. A sink with a paper towel dispenser. A rack of hammers for testing reflexes, stethoscopes, and thermometers.

And a mirror.

“Lou, Doctor Stephens is going to check up on a few things, alright?” Abby asked.

He pulled himself away from the mirror and looked at his wife’s curly white hair. “Of course. Anything for you.” He gave her a quick kiss. She was his wife, and he’d kiss her whenever and wherever he wanted. And if the young Doctor Stephens didn’t want to see two octogenarians kissing? Then he shouldn’t be in geriatrics.

His eyes drifted across the mirror. They widened. The demon’s red eyes stared over Abigail’s shoulder. Was it a touch closer to her? Nah.

“Alright, Mr. Korper, we’re going to run through a few tests just for a baseline on your cognitive skills. It’s pretty standard procedure for adults your age, so let’s get started.”

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Abigail tucked a few pamphlets into her handbag. Lou shrugged. Doctor Stephens had given them to her after another conversation in the hallway. Whatever they were, they weren’t important. Not to him. What was important was the demon. He hadn’t seen it in a while. Not since the examination room.

As he sat in the waiting room, Abby paid the copay. The plexiglass barrier between his beautiful wife and the receptionist shone brightly in the fluorescent lights. Lou nodded approvingly. He’d been a custodian back in Cleveland. Or was it Flint? Anyways, he’d been a custodian, and whoever cleaned up Doctor Stephens’ office was a good, hard worker. He approved.

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He shut his eyes and leaned his head back against his meshed fingers. Before he’d been a janitor, he’d served in the war. The big one against Germany and Japan. He’d been on a ship but couldn’t remember the ship’s name anymore. But Captain Hawless. He could remember Captain Hawless constantly shouting about the mess in the mess. He and the rest of the crew had scrubbed for hours. They’d paused to go to battle stations a few times, off some island with an ‘O’ name in the Pacific. He’d hated every minute floating there, waiting for the planes.

But the mess had gotten clean.

He opened his eyes.

The demon was back. It stooped over Abigail, moving its face closer to hers. Lou stood up, hurried over to her, and shooed its red eyes away from his gorgeous wife. “Abby, we’re leaving. Now.”

“Just a minute, Lou. I’m almost done.”

Lou had to save her. He grabbed her hand and started yanking, dragging her away from its ebon hair and bloodshot eyes. “No, we need to go now. The thing from the mirror at home is back. Let’s just get back into the car and go.”

He pulled on her hand. As she followed him, she looked over her shoulder apologetically. What was she apologizing for, anyways? “Sorry. We think it’s LBD. Can I pay over the phone later?”

“Yeah, later is fine,” The receptionist said. “Enjoy your day.”

Abby couldn’t see the demon! It was up to him to keep her safe.

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“Go faster,” Lou said.

“Lou, I’m driving the speed limit near a park. This is as fast as we go. We’ll be parked soon.”

“Not soon enough.” Lou glanced at the rear-view mirror. The red-eyed demon jogged along on the Chevrolet Cavalier’s driver's side, about twenty feet back. How the hell was it so fast?

They swung into a parking lot. Abby unbuckled her seatbelt and waved as she slowly stepped out of her door. A woman in her forties, the spitting image of a younger Abigail but with Lou’s nose and brown hair, waved back. Lou shot one last look in the rearview mirror. The demon had stopped. It just paced back and forth between the mirror’s edges, always staring at Lou. No, at Abigail.

He shuddered and hurried toward the park. Cynthia’s kids were already on the playground. Jeremy was trying to push the girl…Caroline! Jeremy was trying to push Caroline on the swing, but he wasn’t big enough to really get the toddler going. Cynthia and Abby hugged. Then Lou hugged his daughter—a hard, strong hug. He pulled her in close and whispered in her ear.

“There’s a demon after your mom. Keep an eye on her. I’m gonna go push Caroline.”

He walked over to the swingset as his daughter and wife sat on the bench and watched. Whatever they were talking about, he couldn’t hear. “Hi, Caroline—”

“It’s Carly,” the girl said, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Carly, sorry. Hi Jeremy. Let me give you a good push.”

He grabbed the chains and pulled Carly back until she started getting nervous. Then he counted down from five—the way he always did—and let go. The little girl giggled and shrieked as the world dropped out from under her, then scooped her up before she could hit the ground.

When she swung back, Lou shoved his hands against the small of her back. Caroline catapulted back and forth, laughing wildly. “That’s high enough, Grandpa! Stop!”

He stopped and watched. Caroline rocked back and forth while Jeremy pumped his legs to get higher than his sister. And, as he glanced over, Cynthia looked over at him and put her hand over her mouth. Her eyes looked horrified. Abby tapped her shoulder and turned Cynthia around. She said something, but Lou couldn’t hear what.

“What was that?” He asked as we walked over.

“Nothing, Dad.” Cynthia lied. From the look on her face, it wasn’t nothing. “We’re just talking about the wedding. It’s coming up soon.”

“Oh.” He muttered. If his daughter wanted to keep secrets, that was fine. Abby would tell him later. “What’s his name again?”

“Daniel, Dad. His name is Daniel,” Cynthia said. She glanced at Abigail. “Mom, you and Dad will be there, right?”

“Of course we will, Cynthia,” Lou said. “Is Caroline going to be the flower girl? She’d be a cutie with a basket and dress.”

“Yes, we’ll be there unless…” Abby said.

“Unless nothing. We’ll be there. Period. End of conversation. Where’s it going to be?”

Lou listened as his daughter gushed about her fiance for a while, watching her kids run around and play as kids do. After a while, Cynthia called Jeremy and Caroline over. “Time to head home for dinner, then bed. School is tomorrow again.

“Aww, Mom, please!”

“Five more minutes!

“No, listen to your mom,” Lou said sternly. “Caroline, Jeremy, it’s time to go.”

“It’s Carly, Grandpa. Carly.”

“I’m sorry, Carly. I forgot.” Lou hugged his grandkids and Cynthia. Then he and Abby headed back to the Cavalier. As they climbed in, Lou felt relaxed and happy. And why shouldn’t he? Cynthia was finally going to tie the knot. The grandkids were good. And he hadn’t seen the demon in a while.

Right. The demon. He looked out the rearview mirror as Abigail backed the car up. He tensed up and gasped in a sudden breath.

The demon was backpedaling to avoid the car. It lurked just behind the car’s bumper…just behind the driver’s side.