"You're learning!" The Ancient One remarked.
Out of sight of others they changed form again and soared away. "I see," the girl remarked. "We have to keep a solid form so you can hold onto the receipts. What if somebody sees us?"
"They'll never admit it!" The Ancient One answered.
They came to a very expensive neighborhood and again took on human form, coming to the backyard of a very expensive house. 'Ooh, nice pool!" the girl remarked. "Nice high fence! They like their privacy."
"When you're entertaining nude teenage girls," The Ancient One answered, "you need privacy." He came to the back door and looked inside. "Come on Ralph," he muttered, "where are you?"
A big dog bounded up to the door. The Ancient One smiled. With incredible skill the dog unlocked the door and opened it. "Good boy, Ralph!" The Ancient One praised, patting him. The Ancient One made his way to the laundry room. The spirit of a girl in her early teens sat on the washing machine. She smiled when The Ancient One appeared.
"You really should move on," The Ancient One remarked. "I'm taking care of it."
"When I see it done," the girl answered, "then I'll leave. I'm being good! I'm not doing anything bad."
The Ancient One began to dig through the clothes and pulled out a pair of men's pants. He put the receipt in the wallet pocket, put the pants back in the laundry and covered them up. "There!" he said. "The next time she does the wash she'll find those. She won't be able to remember which pants he was wearing today so won't question it. That he's been so stupid as to write the code words of his new credit card account on the motel slip it won't take her long to find it and find out what he's been doing for the last few months. Then she will probably shoot him. She has a very bad temper! If she doesn't she'll expose him and ruin him, then he'll probably shoot himself."
"And I'll help him!" the girl muttered on the washing machine.
"Were you one of his girlfriends?" The Ancient One's new companion asked.
The girl smiled. "No," she answered, "I'm his daughter!"
"Oh!" the girl moaned. "Sorry!"
"He's gonna be even sorrier!" the other girl answered. 'Hey! Little young isn't she?"
"That's a problem," The Ancient One answered, 'but she's very powerful."
"Can tell!" the girl on the washer joked. "Oh oh! I hear her coming! Boy, hearing through Ralph is really weird sometimes. You never know how much we miss!"
The Ancient One nodded, motioned to his companion and they hurried off, closing the back door and dematerializing just as the woman turned the corner in the walkway and took out her keys.
"Wow!" the girl remarked. "He's messing around with those little bimbos and he's got THAT?"
"Never been able to understand it myself," The Ancient One answered.
"Just one question," the girl asked as they soared skyward, "how do you get the dog to open the door?"
"I temporarily loan him some of my intelligence," The Ancient One answered. "Now, another visit I want to make and then we'll just go have some fun. Got to leave a message on a local detective's computer. He's going to miss working with me if we move."
"What do you mean, if?" his companion answered. "You've got to believe. It's got to be when!"
"Had too many disappointments lately, princess," The Ancient One answered, "far too many. I try to have faith but it's hard, it's really hard. I'm afraid some day we'll have to leave. I don't think I could stay and watch them die. Others might be able to. I don't think I could."
The girl sighed. The Ancient One entered another house, put some drugs where a mother could find them, and then they went to play some more. Sometimes they just had to play, sometimes they had to. When they returned to The Ancient One's home and he prepared to get into his body his wife returned from a little adventure of her own.
"Well!" she laughed, "Did you two have a good time?"
"Oh, wonderful!" the girl answered. "What were you and my brother up to?"
"I was showing him some things," The Ancient One's wife answered, "that I never want him getting involved in. We released a whole bunch of girls and had the immigration people pick them up. He's quite a helpful young man!"
"Don't you get jealous," the girl asked, "when he's with me?"
The Ancient One's wife laughed. "If I was to do that," she answered, "he might get jealous when I was with your brother and none of us would have any fun, would we?"
The girl giggled. "You're so wonderful!" she sighed. "I wish we could get you some money so we could come and stay and do this every night."
"We'd never survive," both The Ancient One and his wife said in perfect unison, "not every night!"
Everyone laughed. "You're escort's waiting to see you safely home," The Ancient One sighed. "Get going! Use what I've taught you."
"I will!" his young friend answered, "I will, father!" She quickly dematerialized.
"God is going to kill me before my time!" The Ancient One muttered. His wife roared with laughter as they got back in their bodies. Tomorrow was another day.