Ghost House (8 page)

Seeing the terrified look on his young
daughter’s face, Jim gently moved his wife to one side and said
“Come on pumpkin, dinner is ready.” Suzanne bounced down the stairs
and said “O.K. daddy!”

Jim and the girls were well into their dinner
by the time Sarah had composed herself and joined them. “Suzanne,
the other day when I came back from the store, I found Cooper on
the stairs where you were a little while ago. He was very hot and
had trouble breathing because it is so hot upstairs. When we
couldn’t find you, I was so scared and then when I saw you on those
stairs, my heart just stopped!”

“Your heart stopped, mommy?” Suzanne said,
eyes wide again.

“No, honey.” Jim said, glancing at his wife.
“What mommy means is that you scared us. Didn’t you hear us calling
for you? Why were you sitting on those steps? How long were you
there?”

“I don’t know, but it’s not hot where I
was.”

“It is too, Suzanne, we don’t use that room
or even go up there because it is so hot.” Sarah said.

“No, mommy, where I was it is cold. That is
why I sit there. It’s too hot everywhere else.”

“You have done that before?” Her father asked
her.

“Yep, me and Mr. Pickles and sometimes
Freddie.”

“Don’t make me put a lock on that door,
Suzanne, you are never to open that door again, do you understand
me?” Sarah said rather harshly. “Yes, mommy.” They ate the rest of
their meal in silence and when the girls asked to be excused, they
both ran into Suzanne’s bedroom. Cooper looked at Jim and Sarah and
then trotted off to join the girls.

“Don’t you think that was a bit extreme?” Jim
asked. “No, I do not, you did not see Cooper that day, and he was
panting so hard, he looked like he was dying. He had no energy or
strength to him and he is just a puppy.” “But Suzanne knows how to
open a door.” “Apparently so, what is your point, Jim?” Sarah
snapped at him. “My point is that unlike Cooper, our daughter knows
enough to open the door and walk out if she is feeling
uncomfortable.” “Fine, it’s just me then. Excuse me.”

Sarah got up and poured herself a glass of
wine and went outside to sit at the picnic table. Her mind had a
jumble of thoughts not one of them connecting to the others. She
felt, rather than saw, someone looking at her and she looked
towards the street. There was Mr. Joe Witters slowly driving past
the house in his old beat up truck. “Go screw yourself!” Sarah said
out loud, after the truck had passed.

“Whoa, strong words Mrs. G.” Sarah jerked her
head around and saw Alex standing behind her. “Where did you come
from?” “I was walking by the front of the house and thought I saw
Suzanne’s little Freddie doll over there by the fence, so I went to
look. It wasn’t anything but an old newspaper though. Who were you
talking to?”

“Just the world in general.” Sarah answered,
embarrassed to have been caught. “Hey, Alex, you weren’t around
here last night late sometime with your basketball, were you?”

“Last night? Naw, it was raining like a
mother. Why?”

“No reason. You did a good job on the grass.
Did Mr. Gaunter pay you?” “Yeah, all taken care of, thanks.”

“Alex, you have been around here a long time.
Have you ever seen that garage door over there opened? Do you know
what is in it?”

“I kinda like that it’s always locked. No one
who lives here can put a lawn mower in there. I don’t remember ever
seeing it open. I did see that Witters guy around your house the
other day, you weren’t home.”

“What was he doing?” “He had a couple of
gallons of water and he was watering the flowers over there by the
basement window. I called to him just to let him know someone saw
him, but he didn’t seem to care.”

“I feel like ripping out every damn one of
those flowers!” Sarah said before she could stop herself. “Dude, I
could like have an accident with the lawn mower.” “No, sorry, Alex,
forget I said anything. “Let me know if you change your mind.” Alex
said as he bounced the ball down the street.

Sarah sat there for a long time deep into her
thoughts. She heard giggling behind her and turned, no one there.
She heard it again and this time when she turned around she was
just quick enough to see a little blond head duck down from the
bedroom window.

Sarah got up and walked over to the window
and this time when Riley and Suzanne’s heads popped up Sarah said
“BOO!” That had them all three laughing. Sarah looked down and
noticed that she had stepped on a flower and broken the stem.
Oh, what a pity
. She thought, then stepped on the one next
to it.

“This sucks, mom!” Riley said looking out at
the rain. “I know, honey, we will just have to move the party
inside, it does not look like it is going to clear up before this
afternoon, but even if it does, the grass will be too wet to have
the party outside.”

“I hate Michigan!” Riley yelled, storming off
down the stairs.

Sarah looked at the balloons and streamers,
not sure what to do with them. The house wasn’t really big enough
to have a party inside, unless they had it in the basement.
I
guess we will have to, either that or cancel at the last
minute.

Sarah called Riley up from the basement.
“Look, it is not going to stop raining, would you rather have the
party set up in the basement, or up here?” She asked her. She did
not have time for Riley’s drama. “I guess downstairs.” Riley said
as she sulked around the kitchen and plopped down into a chair in
the dining room.

“Why don’t you call Julia and ask her if she
would like to come over early and the two of you can hang balloons
and decorate the basement together?” “What am I, ten?” “You are
sounding like it right now, Riley, work with me here.” “I
guess.”

Riley and her dad went to pick up Julia and a
few last minute items. Suzanne was helping her mother make cookies
and cupcakes for the party. Suzanne had as much icing on her
clothes and face as she did on the four cupcakes her mom gave her
to ice.

Sarah was bending down to get her cookie
sheet from the lower cupboard when she heard Suzanne giggle.
“Mommy, you are so funny.” Sarah, believing the giggles had to do
with her backside which was close to Suzanne said “It is a small
kitchen, Suzanne, I can’t help it, have to get this cookie sheet
out.” Suzanne giggled again. “Alright young lady, it is not that
funny.” Sarah said. “Yes it is, you have a cupcake on your butt.”
Suzanne said laughing out loud now.

“What?” Sarah turned around and saw a frosted
cupcake on the kitchen floor and Cooper lapping it up. “Suzanne
that icing might make Cooper sick, don’t give him anymore.” “I
didn’t, you did.” Suzanne said.

The side door opened and Jim, Julia and Riley
walked in with two other teenage girls and some grocery bags. “Hi
mom. This is Ava and Emma. This is my mom and sister Suzanne and
that is Cooper.” Riley finished her introductions pointing down at
their little puppy with the pink icing all over his face.

“Nice to meet you girls. Jim, could you fill
the laundry tub with ice and put the bottled water and pop in
it?”

“Sure, girls, bring those bags downstairs.”
When Riley and her friends had gone downstairs, Jim said “You might
want to change before anyone else gets here.” “Why?” Sarah asked.
“You have icing all over the back of your slacks, what did you do,
sit on a cupcake?” Sarah did her best to turn and check out her
backside, but she couldn’t see. Suzanne started to giggle again.
“That is not funny, Suzanne!” Sarah said as she went to change her
slacks.

Two of Jim’s co-workers arrived with their
spouses and daughters that Riley had met when they went to JAMICO
for the company’s bring your daughter to work day. Alex knocked on
the side door and had four of his buddies with him. While Sarah was
glad that Riley had enough other kids to make the party more fun,
she worried about having only one bathroom. It was hard enough for
the four of them when they were used to having three bathrooms in
their house in Tennessee.
What was Jim thinking renting this
little house?
Sarah thought, not for the first time.

The music was loud in the basement and Sarah
heard the side door open and close a few more times while she and
Jim were entertaining Jim’s co-workers. Jim and one of his friends
from work left to pick up pizzas and Suzanne, although she had
cleaned up and changed before the bulk of their company arrived,
was walking around with icing on her face again.

Sarah had gotten a glance of some of the
teenagers when she got up to make another pitcher of ice tea. A few
of those kids looked like they were closer to twenty than to
fifteen. She was tempted to go downstairs to see how many kids had
shown up, but she did not want to embarrass Riley. However, the
last boy who had run upstairs to use their restroom looked way too
old to be attending a fourteen year old’s birthday party. She was
glad they had planned the party for one p.m. instead of later in
the day. Sarah was worn out already.

Jim’s co-worker’s wife was asking Sarah how
she liked Michigan when their big flat screen TV came on, startling
everyone. “That is strange, sorry.” Jim said, taking the remote to
turn off the loud television. The TV would not turn off and
eventually Sarah solved the problem by unplugging it from the wall.
“Must be the wiring in this old house.”

Suzanne, sitting on the ottoman with Mr.
Pickles on her lap, giggled.

Sarah had wondered if she should have put
Cooper into one of the bedrooms with his food and water. She knew
she hated it when animals jumped on her when visiting her friends
in Tennessee. But Cooper minded his own business and did not jump
or even bark at all the activity going on around him. He took
Freddie in his mouth and went into Suzanne’s bedroom and jumped on
the bed.

A loud knock on the front door surprised
Sarah. No one ever used that door. She opened it to find two police
officers, one of whom had been there the night their basement
window had been shattered.

“Oh, hi, did you find out anything about who
broke our window?” Sarah asked, trying to keep her voice down as to
not bring attention to the policemen at the door. “No ma’am. We are
here because we received a complaint about the noise.”

“What? It is….three p.m. on a Saturday
afternoon.” Sarah said after consulting her watch. “We are having a
birthday party for our daughter, but they are in the basement, not
outside. We have a living room full of people who have been able to
carry on a normal conversation without having to speak loud. Who
complained?”

“Don’t have a name, no doubt one of the
neighbors. You seem to have plenty of adults here to oversee the
party. I don’t know, have you had any beef with any neighbor
recently?” The officer asked. “We have to come out and check for
ourselves when we receive a call like this.”

“I understand, officer, but I haven’t met
even one of our neighbors since we moved in here last month.”

“If you plan on having more parties, if might
be a good idea to introduce yourself to some of the folks around
here. It is a good neighborhood. I personally don’t think the noise
level warrants our attention, but like I said, we have to check out
every complaint.”

“I understand, thank you.” Sarah said closing
the door and turning back to her guests.

By five p.m. Jim’s co-workers had left,
taking their daughters with them. The basement had cleared out as
well. Riley had asked if Julia, Ava and Emma could spend the night
and Sarah said that would be fine, as long as she spoke to their
mothers on the phone first.

“Do I dare ask what shape the basement is in
now?” Jim asked Riley. “We will clean it up, dad, it’s not
bad.”

“Can I go down there now, Riley?” Suzanne
asked. “No, you have to wait until tomorrow, it is still my
birthday!” Riley said. Ava and Riley were the only two who
laughed.

Sarah and Jim cleaned up the living room and
the girls brought up two garbage bags full of pop bottles. Sarah
rinsed out each bottle and put them back into the bags to be
recycled next time they did their grocery shopping.

Jim and Sarah sat on their living room couch.
“Well, what do you think? Think the kids had a good time?” Jim
asked.

“Certainly sounded like it. I’m glad Riley
had a good birthday. I was worried about the number of kids who
showed up though for a moment.” Sarah said. “It bothers me that
someone called the police about the noise. I honestly did not think
the kids were overly loud and living on the corner like we do, it
could have only been the people right next door to us. Have you
ever met them, Jim?”

“Nope, never even seen them, not that I have
been looking. A few hours on a Saturday shouldn’t have bothered
them, even if they were outside it shouldn’t. That’s what yards are
for.” Jim said. Cooper walked up to Sarah and made eye contact and
then ran half way to the side door and back again to her. “Not the
only thing backyards are for.” Sarah said, getting up to let Cooper
outside.

As soon as Cooper cleared the door he started
barking. Sarah was shocked to see Joe Witters standing to the left
of their side door. “Mr. Witters!” She screamed.

“Look at this mess! Cigarette butts, pop
cans, just what is going on here?” Demanded Mr. Witters.

Jim, who had heard the commotion, quickly
went to aid his wife. “Good afternoon, Mr. Witters. What can we do
for you?” Jim said, trying to keep his temper in check.

“You can tell me why my backyard looks like a
garbage dump for starters!” Joe Witters spat. Sarah and Jim
exchanged glances. They were surprised to see the mess outside.
There was a pizza box under the picnic table and a few more pop
cans there as well.

“We had a birthday party that just ended.
There might be a cupcake left if you are interested.” Jim said,
trying to smooth things over. But Sarah wasn’t having it, she was
sick and tired of having this mean old man telling them what to do
and when to do it. She squared her shoulders and looked Mr. Witters
in the eye.