Chapter Four

"You've been sent here to give me advice on my dating life?" Cyrus Sinclair asked with a shocked expression on his face.

"That's right," Candy nodded, "and I see from the expression on your face that you're shocked. Don't worry I was shocked too when Raphael told me. You see I was never much into the dating scene. My wife and I were happily married. Some of my single male friends were always telling me about the problems they had dating though. Maybe that's why Raphael thought I could be of help to you. They unburdened themselves with their dating problems onto me so much, I felt at times as if I was a psychiatrist, a bartender or a New York cab driver."

"Really?" Cyrus was impressed.

"Yeah," Candy nodded.

"But other than that, I wonder why you specifically was sent here to give me advice on dating?" Cyrus asked.

"I don't know," Candy shook his head, "I asked Raphael that and he said you'd be able to tell me. He said there was some special type of bond between you and me and you'd be able to tell me why I of all people, living or departed, would be able to help you. Do you know what this bond is that Raphael was referring to?"

Cyrus thought for one long hard minute before he spoke and then answered in a whisper, "No, I don't."

"Maybe you just can't think of it now," Candy said.

"You were probably my favourite actor of all time," Cyrus answered.

"Really?" said Candy.

"Yes, the day you died, that was the only time I've ever cried over the death of a celebrity. I had never cried over a celebrity's death before and I've never cried over a celebrity's death since. There are some people who do cry over the death of a favourite celebrity but I didn't count myself as being one of them until the day you died," said Cyrus.

"Really?" A tear appeared out of the corner of one of Candy's spectral eyes, "You'd never seen me before in person had you?"

"No, I had only seen you in movies and on television," Cyrus answered.

"You had only seen me in movies and on television," John Candy was really blubbering away now, "and yet somehow I had such an impact on you even though you had never met me personally that you cried the day I died. Thank you. Thank you for telling me that. I don't think an actor could ask for a greater compliment. I think that's the best compliment I ever received." The friendly ghost's tears were coming down like Niagara Falls now, "You don't happen to have any Kleenex tissues on you, do you?"

"Well I do but would a ghost be able to use them?" Cyrus asked.

"Good point," Candy nodded as he blew his nose into the arm sleeve of his ghostly jacket, "Egad! I'm going to have to wash this now."

Cyrus decided to resist the urge to ask how ghostly clothes could be washed, "I didn't know ghosts could cry."

"Neither did I," Candy continued to wipe away tears, "When you're in Paradise, you have nothing to cry about."

"I'm sorry about making you cry," Cyrus apologized.

"It's all right," Candy brushed it off, "They're really tears of joy. It was such a nice compliment." Candy continued to brush it off and then added, "I can't seem to get it off my finger."

"What?" Cyrus asked.

"A ghostly bougie," Candy was still trying to shake it off his fingers, "This reminds me of a scene in the movie "Ghostbusters" with my good friends Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis."

"I remember that scene," Cyrus recalled.

"Boy, any kids who could see me now would really call me the bougie man," Candy commented.


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