Housewarming

by Jennifer Bowen

  Heavy footsteps came down the hallway as John, the kids, and an elderly man holding a shoebox entered the kitchen.

  “How do, ma’am.” He was thin, apple-cheeked, and clean-shaven. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your meal. I just thought I’d swing by and say hello. I live in the lemon house next door. Marvin Foreman.”

  “Oh!” Kara smiled. “I met Diane this morning.”

  Marvin’s lips parted and then he nodded. “Oh.”

  Kara pictured the turkey vulture circling and resisted the urge to ask about his dog. She shook his calloused hand. “I’m Kara.”

  “Did you ring the doorbell earlier?” Jack asked, steering formalities to the present mystery at hand.

  Marvin glanced at the front door before looking gravely at him. “When I just came over I did, young man. Did you hear the bell?”

  Kara laughed nervously, hoping he didn’t notice Jack’s tone of accusation. “Either somebody rang the doorbell earlier or there’s something wrong with it.”

  “Probably some kids playing Ding-dong Ditch,” John said.

  “What’s that?” Jack asked.

  John replied, “Nothing, Jack.”

  “Ah, well.” Marvin tugged at the waistband of his jeans, once black, now a faded gray. “I’ve never heard of a doorbell just ringing on its own, but I also don’t know about any pranksters around here.” He gave Kara a reassuring smile and said, “I wouldn’t worry about it. I brought you some fresh eggs.” With a flourish, he withdrew the lid and handed the shoebox to Kara. They all peered in, finding it filled with brown eggs. “They’re from my chickens.”

  “Oh, do you have a farm?” Kara asked, remembering the cows across the road.

  “Just a small chicken coop.”

  “Thanks! We’re starving.”

  Marvin squinted and blinked. “How’s that?”

  John cleared his throat and asked, “Anything we should know about in Grace Township? We’re from Cosgrove.”

  “The only thing you need to know is that it’s mighty quiet. Coming from Cosgrove, that’ll be a big change, I’m sure. This town is a nice place to grow up in. Say, Jack, what grade are you going to be in?”

  “Fourth.”

  “Good year. I don’t suppose you’re in school yet, are you?” Marvin asked Lilah.

  Kara spoke up, “Lilah will be going to pre-kindergarten. Our real estate agent gave us an application for Grace School. Do you know anything about them?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t, but if it’s in town, I’m sure it’s a fine place. Well, I’d better get out of your hair.”

  John and Kara walked him to the door and said goodbye. Once the door closed, Kara spun around. “Want an omelet?”

  “That sounds good,” John replied. “Got cheese, onion, and peppers?”

  She scowled. “We really need to go to the store.” She set the eggs on the kitchen counter and they returned to the table. “He was nice.”

  “Yeah,” John said, tipping back his water. He gestured to his empty plate. “It’s really good.”

  “Yeah, I slaved away all day. Speaking of which, do you know where the grocery store is?”

  “I guess it would’ve been smart if we had looked into things like that before we moved. Did you know there are no gas stations in Grace Township?”

  “Then where do people get gas? They don’t have their own oil refinery, do they?” she joked.

  He pulled his cellphone from the pocket of his cargo shorts and tapped on its screen. “I looked up the nearest gas station this morning. It’s in Harper. It’s close. Don’t worry, they have more than one gas station. And…” He slid his finger across the screen. “They have a grocery store. Yeah, looks like they have fast-food restaurants, car dealerships. You know, civilization like we’re used to.”

  “How far?”

  “Not far, like eight miles.” The phone pinged then and he read the text. “Crap.”

  “What?”

  He replied to her as he texted back, “I’ve got to do some work tonight. Drummond’s coming in tomorrow. He’s going to want to see the project list and all the deadlines.”

  “Drummond?”

  “The CEO.”

  She asked, disappointed, “You’re going back to work tomorrow?”

  “No, I shouldn’t have to, but it does mean we should get all the unpacking done before Monday. This project’s starting soon and he’s gonna want us to get started right away.”

  “Lovely.”

  * * *

  Kara clicked off the TV and turned off the light in the great room. The house was quiet; the kids had been in bed for over an hour. She popped her head in the office, telling John she was going to bed.

  “I’m ready. I’m done for the night,” he said, turning off the computer. “If they don’t like what I have, they can wait ‘til Monday.”

  “You don’t have to go in tomorrow?” They left the foyer light on and headed to the master bedroom.

  “No, I just emailed the project list.” He pulled off his shirt and crawled into bed. “Still happy?”

  “Mm-hmm,” she murmured, changing into her nightshirt in the dark room.

  “Okay, just checking,” he said, a smile in his voice.

  “Are you still happy here?” she asked, sliding under the bed covers.

  “Oh, yeah. I love it out here.”

  She smiled and laid a hand on his chest. “It is pretty nice.” She moved in to kiss him just as Lilah screamed from upstairs. Kara moaned, rolling away and collapsing exaggeratedly on her side of the bed.

  “Great,” John sighed. When he felt Kara getting up, he said, “Let her cry. She needs to learn to get over it on her own.”

  “It’s not like letting a baby cry.”

  “Why not? Maybe it is,” he countered.

  “She’s scared.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t go to her every night.”

  “She’s going to wake up Jack.” Kara left the room and hurried up the staircase, whispering Lilah’s name when she got to her bedroom.

  Lilah was sitting, her outline highlighted by the nightlight plugged into the wall. Kara eased her back down, saying her name again, “Lilah.”

  Lilah closed her mouth, cutting off her next scream, realizing it was her mother beside her. She sniffled.

  Kara went to wipe Lilah’s cheeks, but there were no tears. Her hand hesitated, cutting through the nightlight’s beam, before lowering Lilah with her so they were now lying down. “You’re alright. It was a bad dream, just a dream.”

  “A bad dream,” Lilah whimpered, pushing against her mother so they were practically one.

  Kara chewed her lip a moment before asking, no matter how much she didn’t want to ask, “Do you want to tell me about it?” You’re such a scaredy cat, she scolded herself. How can a child’s dream scare you?

  Lilah shook her head, Kara’s sudden sensation of relief making her also feel cowardly. “Don’t leave, Mommy.”

  “Okay.” Kara kissed the top of Lilah’s head and stayed on her side. She didn’t pull her arm back from under Lilah until the girl was asleep, nor did she shift away and get up until she had been steadily breathing for a while.

  Kara watched her from the doorway for a moment, glad Lilah’s face had relaxed and looked peaceful. But Kara frowned. How would they get her to overcome this phase? And what a strange phase it was. Kara didn’t remember having gone through this as a child; Jack hadn’t. Was is stress from moving that caused them? Could it be stress from the move? The dreams had started around the time they started discussing moving. Maybe once they were settled and Lilah started pre-K, the nightmares would go away. If they didn’t…Well, then Kara supposed she’d have to consult a pediatrician.

  Kara sighed, leaving the room, and stopped at the open bonus room at the top of the stairs. It was currently a pre-construction zone; the door hadn’t been hung yet, its entryway opened to a room of unfinished walls, wooden beams, and plywood flooring. Unlike the curved dormer windows in Jack and Lilah
’s bedrooms facing the front yard, the bonus room had a row of four plain windows lining the eastern side of the house, facing the Foremans’ property. From the squat hallway, she saw the hint of lighting coming from the neighbors’ porch. As Kara walked toward the light, her bare foot stepped down on something small and hard, making her stumble.

  She cursed. She bent to retrieve the tiny ball from the floor, holding it up in the weak lighting the Foremans’ house provided. It was heavy and weighted, most likely a marble from one of Jack’s games. She closed her fist around it and moved toward the windows, noticing John had stacked cardboard boxes against the lower half of the row of them. They were boxes of miscellanea: holiday decorations, photo albums, wedding memorabilia, winter clothes…

  They’d probably stay untouched for years, save the box with decorations. She toed the largest box. It sagged under the weight of the smaller ones sitting on it. She cursed again, recognizing the artificial Christmas tree inside. They hadn’t packed it away properly.

  She removed the smaller boxes, setting them on the floor, and pulled back the cardboard flaps on the last one she lowered. Right on top was the baby monitor and receiver they had used when Lilah was an infant. She let the marble roll out of her hand into the box, and pulled out the parent unit. She twisted the dial and the green light turned on. Having a eureka moment, she wondered if it might be useful for their current nightmare issue.

  She inspected the freed Christmas tree, checking branches. Satisfied there didn’t appear to be any damage, she closed the box and dragged it to the far side of the room. She restacked the other boxes and pushed them back against the windows.

  Quietly, she padded out of the unfinished room and returned to Lilah’s bedroom. She set the monitor on the dresser and turned it on. She turned to look at Lilah. The child’s face was still content and her breathing even.

  Kara returned to her bedroom, setting the parental unit on her nightstand, clicking it on.

  John asked, his voice heavy, fighting sleep, “What’s that?”

  Sliding into bed, Kara said, “It’s just for the time being. If Lilah wakes up, I want to make sure we hear her.”

  “Ahh.” He pulled the covers up over his shoulder. “I haven’t seen that for a while.”

  “I’ll feel better knowing how often she wakes up.”

  Chapter Four

  Saturday was mild. Windows were open, the kitchen curtains fluttering in the breeze. Kara had spent a good portion of the morning in the kitchen, leafing through paperwork, while half-listening to the kids’ voices filtering in from the backyard. Lilah sat on a quilt, stretched out over the grass, playing with her dolls, while Jack kicked around an oversized ball.

  After a while, Kara went out to the deck. She leaned on the railing, watching Jack before settling on Lilah. For a girl who was yanked from sleep every night, she seemed to function quite normally during the day. However small it may be, it was a small win, at least to Kara. Kara’s eyes moved to the trees; the way the sunlight filtered through them made a pretty picture. She spotted the red of a cardinal and watched it before it flew away. She looked over her shoulder and flinched, catching movement. Something hobbled behind the tree-line. She narrowed her eyes just as the bobbing figure emerged, making her stand straight. It took her a moment to recognize Marvin.

  “Hi there!” he called, waving.

  Lilah and Jack flinched.

  Kara forced a smile. “Hello!”

  “Thought I might see how the new neighbors were faring,” he said, approaching the deck.

  Kara collected herself and replied, “We’re doing good. Still getting settled.”

  “Yup, that’ll take some doin’. How’re you kids doin’?”

  Jack hesitated before saying, “Fine.” He wrapped his arms around the ball. Lilah walked her doll around on the quilt, her eyes fixed on Marvin.

  Marvin said to Kara, “Nice to see a family finally moved in.” He chuckled. “We were beginning to think the place was cursed or something.”

  “Cursed?” Kara asked.

  “This land’s been vacant all these years. The man who built it cleared all the trees. We’re standing in the woods!”

  “Oh. Did you know the man who built the house?”

  “Not that I can say. I seen guys out here a few times building, but never came over. So, I can’t say I knew them at all. Guess I didn’t pay much attention. But I’m real happy you all moved in.”

  She looked up at the back of her house. Even as a joke, telling someone their house was cursed was an odd thing to say. She glanced at the yellow house peeking through the trees. “Tell Diane I said hello.”

  He followed her gaze and started to say something when Kara made a sound. Her eyes followed a hawk circling above the trees. Predators snatching prey came to mind and she said, “Diane told me about your dog…about the vulture…taking him.”

  Marvin’s lips twitched, noticing the hawk too. “Diane told you that?”

  Kara nodded.

  He scratched the back of his neck, glanced at the kids who had resumed playing, and lowered his voice so only she could hear. “Between you and me, it was no turkey vulture that killed Blacky.”

  “Oh?”

  “He was in the woods alright, but no bird killed him. Vultures don’t attack living creatures. They’re looking for fresh animal carcasses. Newly dead.”

  The hawk was drifting away. “Was it another animal?”

  He shook his head slowly.

  “Well, how do you know?”

  He grunted, then said, “Animals generally can’t tie things to trees, especially knots around necks.”

  Kara narrowed her eyes, then covered her mouth when she comprehended. “Somebody killed your dog?”

  “Yep. Diane didn’t see the dog until I let him loose. She walked up on me as soon as he dropped to the ground. Sad thing.”

  “That’s terrible.” There was unexplainable cruelty in the world, and for it to have happened in Kara’s backyard was unsettling. She didn’t ask where exactly Blacky had been found; she didn’t want to know. “Do you know who did it?”

  “Nope, probably some teenage prank. It was a long time ago.” He brightened, saying reassuringly, “Seter Lane’s really quiet. We don’t get any trouble. Like I said, a very long time ago.”

  “Oh,” she replied, the word trailing from her parted lips as she eyed the trees on the north side of the yard.

  Marvin looked over her shoulder to the backdoor. “There’s John. How do?”

  Kara turned around to see John closing the door behind him.

  “I’m doing good. How about yourself?”

  “All’s good here. I thought I’d drop by to be neighborly. You folks still settling in?”

  “Yeah. Well, everything’s unpacked pretty much. Now we have renovations to tackle. I was just taking a look at the skylight in the master bathroom. Looks like we might have a leak. I thought I might be able to pry some of the caulking down, thinking it just needs a fresh coat. You happen to know anything about skylights?”

  “Nope, but I could take a look.”

  “Any help would be awesome.”

  “Got a honey-do, eh?”

  Kara laughed. “I’ll help where I can, but I think some of these jobs are going to have to be done by a professional.”

  John said, “We have a load of projects. Two rooms are down to the studs, we need new lighting, and possibly need to repair that skylight.”

  Marvin whistled. “That’s a shame you bought this beautiful home and got left holding the bag.”

  John wasn’t familiar with the etymology, but murmured his agreement. “Well, that’s what you get with a bank-owned property, I guess.”

  “I s’pose so.”

  “I’m not really handy with tools. I’m a computer guy, spend most of my time on my butt.” John laughed.

  “Well, I’m glad to help out where I can. I’m always working on some project or another.”

  “That’d be great.”


  “For the bigger projects, you can probably find somebody in town.”

  “Do you have any recommendations? Someone who can do a good job for a good price?”

  “Low price doesn’t mean fair price. Not always.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. But, I’m not rich, you know.”

  Marvin’s cool blue eyes met John’s. “No? This big house and you’re not well-off?” He clucked. “Now John, you’re not house-poor, are you?” The wispy, white hair curling over his forehead hid deep wrinkles Kara knew were there. For a moment, she envisioned what he had looked like many years ago as a young man with dark hair and smooth skin.

  “We get by,” John finally said.

  Marvin slapped him on the back, chortling. “Good answer, good answer.”

  Kara worked a smile on her face. She looked at the kids, seeing they were still playing, then turned back, noticing a track of crumbled dirt and stray pebbles on the floor. They led from the stairs to Marvin. His work boots were caked in dried mud. She asked, “Do you work outside often?”

  “Always,” Marvin replied. He tapped one boot against the other, but no dirt fell. “I’m retired officially, but I’m always getting into some project. Speaking of which…” He said to John, “I’d better get going. You let me know when you want to work on that skylight.”

  “Will do.”

  Marvin winked at Kara and called goodbye to the kids. The Tamesons watched him move, quite spritely, across the yard and through the woods toward his house.

  Chapter Five

  Kara sat at the only available table in Garden Café. There were four circular tables, positioned in the center of the room, with the back and side walls bordered by booths. Up front was the counter, and behind its wall was the hidden kitchen. Two busy teens took orders from the counter and a middle-aged man manned the cash register. It was just after noon and the lunch rush was in full swing.

  From her purse, she fished out her phone and opened an odd jobs app. It was to pass the time while she waited for her order to be ready, but she wanted to check the entry she had posted earlier that morning.

  Handyman Wanted: