Weirdness Magnet

hi from the dress ghost

I was painting my parent's foyer yesterday morning, and my mom, who works nights, was asleep. My stepdad had been talking on the desk room phone, next to the foyer, but had just hung up, and was looking at some paperwork.
Both of us looked up from our tasks at the sound of someone walking down the stairs.
"Mom must be up," he said.
"Hello?" came the woman's voice from the stairwell.
"Hello," I called back.
"There's fresh coffee," my stepdad added, getting up from his desk and walking past me. I followed him, thinking to join them for a cup.

We walked past the stairs and looked all around.
"Mom?" I called. No answer.
"Hello?" he called, before heading upstairs.
A few moments later, he reappeared, saying, "She's still sound asleep up there, and the dogs are with her."

"Ah, it must be the ghost," I say.

He gives me that uncertain, slightly bemused, I-can't-ever-tell-if-you-are-joking-about-this-sort-of-thing-or-not kind of look.

"You know, the new house doesn't seem to have a ghost. We could take yours, if you're not using her...if she's just taking up space in your closet, I mean..."

He smiles back, " Well, I don't know, If you've got to have one, this one's not too bad. But if you want her, go ahead..."