Walnut Grove House

by Alexie Aaron

  “Love will do that,” Carl said.

  Faye looked at the two men as they inspected the pipes and wires and took notes. She sensed the workmen who hid in the ceiling and the walls. She saw their pathetic hands pawing at the air trying to touch the healthy contractors. It would take a while for them to draw power in order to do any harm. Faye would watch, and when needed, she would intervene. Until then, she listened to the unique type of gossip men with grown children made. They were not unlike their female counterparts in sensitivity. Although, the subject matter had tools and sports sprinkled in.

  Chapter Four

  Pete ran his hand along the limestone wall and shook his head. “Why would Atwater want to make this his media room? It has never had anything resembling an outlet on any of these beautiful walls.”

  Gary looked at the plans. “Help me roll up the carpet. Maybe we can fish them through and bring up the wiring from the floor. Put in standing plugs, and have Cid either recess them into the trim or build cute little boxes so they seem planned.”

  They were in what would have been the afternoon sitting room. It faced west in order to take advantage of the lessening light before it dipped behind hillside, above the town, across the lake.

  “Kiki’s written,” Pete started, looking at the file, “‘It is the only room that gets adequate cell reception with the exception of the bedroom above it. There are plans for a satellite dish to be brought onto the estate but not until after the next election.’ Whatever that means,” Pete finished.

  “The congressman doesn’t know which company will pad his pockets,” Gary said.

  “Shush, he could be listening in. I need this job,” Pete said.

  “Then help me roll up this carpet. I’d rather fix a few floorboards than deal with polished limestone.”

  Both men carefully moved the small amount of furniture still in the room into the hall. They then started to roll the carpet. As expected, the floor was made of oak. A quarter of the way into the room, a design made of cherry started to show. It was inset perfectly with the oak. Halfway across, the men stopped rolling. Pete started to feel flushed, and Gary’s heart was beating hard. Both men attributed their feelings from being out of shape and bent over what they were told was a beer gut.

  Gary got off his knees and began to look at the floor. “If I was going to go to the trouble of creating this floor, why would I keep it covered up?”

  “Because it’s a summoning circle,” Cid said from the doorway.

  Jesse walked in and bent and examined the floor. “It could have been brought from Europe. Quite a few of the wood panels over the bedroom fireplaces came from Spain and Morocco.”

  “Why?” Pete asked.

  “It was in vogue at the time this house was built to buy and loot Europe’s abandoned villas of their contents, which included stairways and wallcoverings. It’s not much stretch of the imagination to include a few floors and reassemble them here,” Cid said.

  “Houses like these were built to show off wealth more than for creature comforts,” Jesse maintained.

  “That’s why there are no effing electrical outlets,” Pete said. “They must have only used this room when the light was right.”

  “Or brought in candles,” Gary said. “There are a few wax burns in this ring.”

  “That’s from the summoning,” Cid said.

  “The wax is black,” Gary said, standing up and walking out of the circle. “Cid, can you tell what they were summoning?”

  “No. I could take a picture of it and send it to our researcher, but I’m not supposed to be playing Scooby-Doo.”

  “I need to know what I’m dealing with so I can run wires to outlets,” Pete said, walking over and closing the door and locking it. “Let’s unwrap this baby before the boss shows up.”

  The men worked quickly, and Cid and Jesse took pictures, moving and stills, of the floor. They put the carpet down, and Pete unlocked the door.

  Cid heard the clip of Kiki’s work boots approaching and improvised, “I would suggest maybe building a decorative molding with a hollowed out back with places for the outlets.”

  Kiki walked in. “I don’t need four of you in here.”

  “I was consulting with Cid over the possibility of cutting into this beautiful floor. He had another idea,” Pete covered. “Are you sure you can’t talk the owner out of making this a media room? What about the library? It faces west and there is some cell reception.”

  “Not enough. Besides, this is what he wants. It’s up to us to make it happen. Lunch will be served from eleven to one, gentlemen. First come, first served,” Kiki said and walked out the door.

  Cid smiled at their collective sigh that echoed off the limestone walls. He held his hand up until he heard Kiki leave the building. “It’s safe to speak now.”

  “Please do what you can,” Pete said. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on in this building, but I’d rather be putting in urinals in roadside stops than spending any more time here than I have to.”

  “Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?” Jesse asked. “We’re the thirteenth crew. What could possibly go wrong?”

  ~

  Cid sorted through and labeled the wood in the workroom. He restacked and weighted certain pieces of wood with cinderblocks to keep them from warping. Kiki walked in. “Clark, I want you to go on the food run with Sally. Take my truck, and stop first at Best Buy and pick up the refrigerator I purchased,” Kiki said, handing him the receipt.

  “Sure,” he said.

  “I’m going to give it to What the Fuck for his birthday when we’re finished with it here. His wife says his beer fridge is on its last legs.”

  “That’s nice of you,” Cid said, pocketing the paper. “I’ll tell Jesse.”

  “Already done. Sally will be at the truck…” Kiki looked at her watch… “now.”

  Cid trotted over to his trailer and picked up his wallet and jacket. He ran back, and Sally was leaning against the truck holding on to the keys. “She won’t let me drive her truck. I drove 10x10s in the Army and she doesn’t trust me with her truck.”

  “Maybe because it’s not armored?”

  Sally was caught off guard and laughed. “I understand we’re getting a refrigerator?”

  “That’s what I hear.”

  “It must have been my lecture on the types of bacteria I could identify without a microscope in the meat drawer of the existing icebox.”

  “I like that you say icebox.”

  Sally blushed. “I guess whatever term you grow up with, you use.”

  “Yes. My mother called ours the side by side. It was confusing when I was at my BFFs house and they didn’t have a side by side refrigerator. Ted’s sisters teased me about it.”

  “Mama Lee had a side by side by the time I came through her house, but she was raised with an icebox, so it was the icebox.”

  Cid plugged the address of the Best Buy into the navigation system of Kiki’s truck and backed out. “Would I be overly nosy if I asked how you ended up under Carl’s mother’s roof?”

  “Yes, but since I’m going to grill you about your past, I’m not going to complain.”

  “Thank you for giving me fair warning.”

  “My mother and father died in a traffic accident when I was thirteen. I was in school at the time. My mother Gamila’s family didn’t even show up for the funeral. They said it was too far to come. They live in Oslo, Norway. My mother fled Norway when she was offered a modeling contract when she was fifteen. My father Charlie Wright met her when he was playing blues guitar for a touring band. They wedded under the stars. I don’t think there was a marriage certificate involved. Charlie brought my mom home to the United States, and they traveled the blues circuit until I was born. My father took one look at me and said I looked like Sally Brown from the Peanuts cartoon.”

  “I like the name Sally,” Cid said. “If you take after your namesake, you’re protectively fierce.
”

  “I like to think so. I have Dad’s curly hair, lips and build. I have my mother’s coloring and nose. Both of my parents had blue eyes. Dad wasn’t exactly sure or didn’t want to explain why he had blue eyes, only that my mother liked them and that was that. My parents died in a car crash when we were on our way through Charleston. The socials found me holed up in a motel room. They wanted to put me in a white foster home, but the case worker thought better of the idea and placed me with Mama Lee. I was very lucky. I learned to be a strong woman, self-reliant, and I have a very protective foster brother. No one in the town messed with me.”

  “How did you end up in the Army?”

  “It seemed like a good fit. After high school, I had held down a secretarial job for a few years where I met Eric. We were going to get married. His parents didn’t know about my heritage until they had supper at my tiny apartment. I proudly showed them my photo albums. Evidently that evening, they sat down with Eric and discussed the possibility of his children taking after my father in coloring. I don’t think they were racists, just not the right people. Mama Lee said that you have to look at the parents of the person you’re going to marry because, odds were, the future spouse was going to take after one of them.”

  “If that’s true, then I’m going to be overprotective, stubborn, and slow to make decisions. I’m not sure I like that.”

  “It could be worse.”

  “You said you went into the Army, but you had a secretarial job…” Cid led.

  “I had to leave my job because things were just too awkward, and my employer didn’t know that I was mixed race until Eric’s father had a polite word with my boss. So, I joined the Army. It got me a few years down the road, put a few bucks into savings, and paid for junior college and then cooking school. Mama Lee connected me with a few folks who needed temporary cooks. I still hadn’t gotten a full-time job when Carl called me about this place. I couldn’t pass up the pay, ghosts or no ghosts. Your turn.”

  “I grew up nearly blind and fat. I saved my whole life to have surgery done on my eyes. The labor of my profession burned the baby fat off. I worked with Jesse when the houses were selling like hotcakes. I learned on the job from several good carpenters and used to study at night to learn better ways of finishing wood. When the housing slump hit Kansas, I moved in with Ted and lived with him until I could afford to start building my own place. He married. His partner and I are good friends. The Martins insist I use their big kitchen and cook as much as possible.”

  “Did you go to school to learn to cook?” Sally asked.

  “No. I took a course here and there. I learn just about everything from books and trial and error,” Cid laughed.

  “What’s the laugh for?”

  “I was thinking about a big error. I didn’t properly set my first foray into canning tomatoes and peaches and… kaboom! How did you learn?”

  “Mama Lee and then the military. I can cook for hundreds at a time. The challenge I have here is to cook for a smaller group.”

  “They aren’t picky eaters. They eat a lot. Wayne will get a bellyache if he eats cream-based dishes. I suspect he’s lactose intolerant, but he says he’s not.”

  “Good to know,” Sally said. “So, do you have siblings?”

  “Just a sister who hates me.”

  “Why?”

  “I was the kid everyone made fun of in school. She was the cool cheerleader. She wasn’t kind. I’m lucky I met Ted when I did because it turned my world around and answered so many questions.”

  “Was he your first?” Sally asked.

  “My first what?” Cid asked, pulling into the lot of the Best Buy.

  “Friend,” Sally said quickly, knowing there wasn’t time for a more personal question.

  ~

  “I’m looking at my chart, and it says I’m with Cid on this project. How did I end up with you?” Jesse asked.

  “I sent Cid on an errand with Sally.”

  “Are you matchmaking?” Jesse asked.

  “No,” Kiki said. “I just needed a responsible foodie with muscles who can move a refrigerator into my truck and then wheel a cart safely around Whole Foods. How far did you get?” Kiki asked as they entered the house.

  “The central building, with the exception of the cellar, is complete. I thought, since the plumbers and electricians were going to tear the place up anyway, I would complete the aboveground assessment with the two wings first. I hope you’re in shape because we’re going up a lot of stairs.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Kiki said. “I’m fit and eager to get this project started and over with.”

  “Why did you take it in the first place?”

  “It was a favor for Calvin Franks. We renovated High Court for him. And I need the money.”

  “Did moving to Chicago break the bank?”

  “No, I’m thinking of buying a block of apartments that were carved out of a row of luxury homes and renovating them into large upscale apartments with greenspaces. There was a lot of damage when they were cutting them up into one and two-bedroom flats, but the places have good bones. The neighborhood is up and coming, and because of the new regulations, there still is a view of the lake from the upper floors. Normally, you have to purchase airspace, but the buildings between my block and the lake are historic. If I secure this bonus, I’ll have the money to employ a few of you full time.”

  “Just as I was thinking of moving to Big Bear Lake, how convenient.”

  “Why?” Kiki asked.

  “Mia Martin is selling her peninsula house. It’s in a beautiful quiet spot on the lake. It has a large garage, and the property is secured by the lake on three sides and iron fencing on the other. I’ve spent some time in the town when we were building Woodlands. I can see me settling down there.”

  “You settle down?”

  “It could happen.”

  “I thought you’d be building your own place.”

  “Maybe later. Right now, I’m more into banking money and having a place to return home to that is also secure when I have to be on the road.”

  “Cid being there wouldn’t be a factor, would it?”

  “Yes, it would be nice to be near friends. The Martins are good people, and I have met a few others through them who I wouldn’t mind associating with. I can see why Cid would rather give up on love than move away.”

  “Has he ever poured concrete in that driveway?” Kiki asked. “Last time we were out there, he was parking in the PEEPs lot.”

  “Cid won’t start a project until he has the funds to pay for the whole thing outright. Plus, he’s got that unnatural umbilical cord that’s connected to Ted Martin.”

  “Do you think Cid’s bisexual?” Kiki asked.

  “No. He just has a best friend who he likes being around. I think the feeling is mutual, and Ted’s wife is fine with it. If they were brothers, no one would bat an eye. Cid lives in his own house and enjoys the company of the whole family, including the ghost.”

  “Ah, Murphy, aka Mr. Wonderful.”

  “I wonder if our Faye isn’t a little sweet on the farmer?” Jesse mused.

  “I don’t think so. I’m not sure which way our Faye swings,” Kiki admitted.

  Faye sat on the old steamer trunk while Carl and Wayne scoped the main drain. She insisted that, since they would be confined to a definite area for a while, they salt themselves in. Wayne didn’t hesitate.

  She watched the ghostly critters crawling around the place. She was puzzled why these dead men would continue to hang around a cellar of all places. Faye slid off the truck and approached one of the solitary men who seemed disgusted by the activity of the crawlers. “Did you die here?”

  “Do you think I would have journeyed here on a whim? Tell my mam that I’m going to skip Heaven and go and spend eternity in the cellar of an arsehole?”

  “You make a valid point. I’m here because I’ve been hired to watch over these living contractors.”
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  “You’ve got a job ahead of you then. Me and Blue Daniel have a bet going on who’s going to join us in our hell.”

  “Blue Daniel?”

  “You’ll meet him soon enough. The air was sucked out of him so he’s blue, hence the moniker Blue Daniel.”

  “You’re a poet, sir. I’m Faye, and you are?”

  “Jon, no haitch, O’Connor.”

  “How did you die?”

  Jon opened up his shirt and there was a hole in his chest. “I was sleeping, and someone ripped my heart out.”

  Faye paled.

  “Sorry to disturb a sensitive creature as yourself, but you asked.”

  Faye waved away the apology.

  “Although, it does disprove somethin’.”

  “What is that?” Faye asked.

  “Me mam told me that my soul resided in my heart. No heart, yet here I am, a soul stuck in the cellar of a feckin’ rich man’s house.”

  “I can’t promise anything, but if I could get you out of here…”

  “I would be grateful.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Faye said. “It will have to be a secret because the owner doesn’t want us messing around with the likes of you.”

  “I bet he doesn’t. His great-grandfather was a fecker, his granduncle a gobeen, and he looks like he’s falling into his footsteps. If I believed in such things, I’d say they were all the same man.”

  Faye stored the words, not sure what a fecker or a gobeen was. She would ask Cid to look them up for her when he returned from his excursion with Sally.

  ~

  Sally looked over into Cid’s cart. “Why the basil plant when you can get the leaves?”

  “Just trying to dress up the trailer. Plus, when you use up the leaves, they are gone. If you’re smart, you can pinch off enough and still have the plant producing more.”

  “Do you have the room in there?”

  “I’ll make room.”

  “Why are you guys… um… nevermind,” Sally said, thinking she already knew the answer.