Steven laughs. "I mean, to be a ghost, you usually have to be dead first, don't you? Isn't that morbid enough? Especially from the standard American perspective that finds death and the dead discomforting." But then he smiles fondly, gently at Carly. "I don't. Not really. Not at all. It's not even just that Mexican-Americans are in general more comfortable with that shit than most Anglos, although we are. It's... maybe you could say it's a family thing, on my father's side? My favorite uncle was studying to be a pathologist. I always thought my little sister was going to follow in his footsteps--it surprised the hell out of me that she got an English degree from a CSU school instead.

"But, you know, it's a little weird, right? So I always used to be-- kind of quiet about how interesting I find those things. And I taught Charley to be too." He shrugs. "I'm... trying not to be ashamed so much anymore. Of-- well, a lot of things. The 'morbid fascination' included--which, ah, I stole as a phrase from an Andrew Bird song."