`` there 's some talk , '' he said after a few moments . but the gun is empty , i think . my mother reached up and wiped a tear away as she said , `` marriage takes work . i looked at the expression on his face . `` well , what would you call it ? '' `` i 'm just waiting for my new dog to get healthy , then i 'm coming home . '' he dragged the vampire behind him by slow degrees . he was as much a ghost as any of the spirits i had met . 