Romance in a Ghost Town

by Robert P McAuley

  “Well, tell me,” she said with a grin, “what happens when that hole is full of dirt and stuff?”

  It was Bob’s turn to grin. “Believe it or not there was a guy who dug out the filled holes for a price. But for now, follow me.” He went out the door followed by Anne. Once at the rear he pointed at the row of outhouses and quipped, “Pretty hygienic crowd, right?” He opened the door and it fell off its hinges.

  “Ah, Houston,” Anne said as she started to do a small dance in place, “we have a problem.”

  “C’mon, follow me across the street.” She once again followed him and they arrived at the Community Hall where Bob opened the door and led her to the washroom at the rear. “First, always do this,” he said as he took out his LED light and flashed it down the hole. She put her hand out and he passed her the light and left closing the door behind him.

  Ten minutes later Anne walked out as he stood by the SUV. “Would you like some lunch?” he asked.

  “Sure would,” she answered as she wiped her forehead, “and a cold drink.”

  Soon they sat side-by-side on the open tailgate eating sandwiches and sipping cokes.

  “Sorry about having to rough it, Anne. I guess I didn’t think of a woman coming out here and never brought the right supplies.”

  She did her light punch to his shoulder again as she said, “Are you kidding? This is great! If I wanted luxury, I could easily have rented a room at the Clayton Hotel and watched TV from a bubble bath in the air-conditioned bathroom while sipping a glass of wine.” She looked around Main Street and continued as she munched on her egg salad sandwich, “No, Bob. This is exactly what I wanted to see. I thought we’d be going to a ghost town like I did when I was a teen, but this is a place that is so far beyond anything like that…well no, it’s just outstanding.” Her eyes flashed as she took off her dark glasses and wiped them on her sleeve, “So, what’s next?” she asked as she squinted in the bright sunlight.

  He looked at his watch. “I’d like to drive up to the well and leave this stuff there until I have the time to set the solar powered pump up. Then we can see some more of the town. Okay?”

  Her smile and nod said it all.

  Thirty minutes later she helped him take the holding tank off the rack and they placed the panels and machinery alongside it.

  “Boy,” she said as she stood with her hands on her hips, “solar power and all. Bob, you are a man after my own heart…an environmentalist as well as an adventurer.”

  “You consider me an adventurer?” he said as he took off his hat and wiped his forehead with his forearm. “That’s funny because I’ve always sort of played it safe.”

  “Oh yeah?” she quipped. “Leaving the Big Apple where anything you want you just press a button and there it is, and come way out here and buy a town to fix up? You don’t think that you’re an adventurer? Pfffft! You sure are, Bobby Boy, and let me tell you this: there are no adventurers left anymore. Even those so-called men in Bransville. Walk a few blocks in this heat? Never! They hop into their SUVs, throw on the air and drive there, polluting the atmosphere as well as getting fat and lazy.”

  Bob just stared not knowing what to say as she turned and went on in a much less intense fashion. “I’m sorry, Bob. But I haven’t had a good, honest conversation in such a long time that I find you to be very refreshing.”

  “Ah, well, me too. I mean it’s the truth that I never had to worry about a dump being put near my apartment or the heat or, well, or rattlesnakes and horses that bite. I mean, I’ve always liked the western movies but I think they left a lot of the real stuff out.”

  She grinned and threw her arm over his shoulder. “Darn truthful, too, partner. Now, let’s do the rest of the tour.”

  The New Yorker felt flushed as her arm draped over his shoulder momentarily and he stammered, “Ah, well, the tour is more than just a one day tour.”

  “Well,” she said with a shrug, “we still have tomorrow and Monday.”

  With a puzzled look on his face, Bob asked, “But don’t you have to be back at work on Monday?”

  “No, I took the day off. I figured I’d need to sleep in after walking around in the desert but I’d rather see as much of Rattlesnake Haven as I can.” She looked at him questioningly, “That is, if it’s okay with you?”

  He beamed, “It’s more than okay with me. It’s great! Now let’s do some more touring.” They drove back to the house he called ‘home’ and went back inside. “Let me show you the upstairs,” he said taking the lead.

  They entered the bedroom and he watched as Anne looked as though she had lost her breath. “Oh my gosh!” she said looking around. “Look at this wallpaper with the sunflower pattern. Boy, we have nothing on them except today’s technology.” She went to the three-drawer dresser, turned and asked Bob, “Is it alright to open it?”

  He shrugged and said, “Sure, why not?”

  She opened the drawer slowly and saw folded material. She spoke almost in a whisper as she reverently took the material out, “It’s the bedspread. She put it away to save it for the next person.”

  “But why?” asked Bob as Anne refolded it and placed it back in the drawer and opened the next one.

  “That’s what I’m wondering too,” she said as she took out a long nightshirt and lay it on the bed before removing the next item: a pair of long johns. They joined the nightshirt on the bed as she removed a woman’s long sleeping garment and said, “This is what the ladies of the 1890s wore to bed.”

  “Well,” said Bob feeling the cotton material, “it does get cold here at night.”

  Stooping down she pulled out the bottom drawer and stood holding both men’s and women’s undergarments. In the same drawer were socks, shirts, stiff collars, string ties and ribbons of various colors. “What a treasure trove”, she said fingering the fine fabric.

  After placing the clothing back in the bottom drawer she spotted something under the bed and reached for it as Bob quipped, “That’s the night-time potty under there.”

  “No,” she answered pulling out a large, low, leather box tied with straps, “there’s also a trunk.” They got it up on the bed, opened the straps and lifted the lid.

  “Oh,” said Anne as she pressed her hands to her breast, “I can’t believe it,” she added as she gently removed a white dress from the box and held it up. “It’s her wedding dress,” she said in almost a whisper. She placed it gently on the bed and simply looked at it. It was a white, floor length dress with long buttoned sleeves and high-buttoned choker neckwear. It was made of linen and silk with silk covered buttons running from the low cut waist to the high choker neck.

  Anne removed the next item and placed it on top of the dress. It was the woman’s wedding bonnet. It was white and draped with lace. “They used lace,” she said to Bob who stood quietly as he watched a transformation come over the ‘all business reporter’ slash ‘fun loving cowgirl’. She continued, “The bonnet was usually the only part of the wedding outfit that they didn’t use over and over and most women kept it as a memento of their wedding day.”

  “There’s no veil?”

  “No,” she answered, “the lace was used before a veil became popular. I’m surprised that she was able to save the dress as most women had to use it again and again whenever there was a special function to go to.” She stood there looking down at the outfit, her hands clasped in front of her and Bob saw a small tear run down her cheek just before she caught it and turned her head away.

  Not sure what to do, he stammered, “Uh, well, what do you want to do next?”

  She turned and with a big smile said, “Let’s see the rest of your home. Shall we?”

  Bob watched as Anne almost lost it when they entered the baby’s room. “Oh! Look at the wallpaper! Ducks! Bob this was a baby’s room.” She turned and pushed herself against him almost causing him to fall and they grabbed each other.

  “I-I’m sorry, Bob. I just needed a hug, that’s all.” She looked around the room and shook he
r head as she held him tight. “This is so overwhelming. I wonder who they were and if the baby grew up to be an adult?” She went on in a sad tone of voice, “The death rate for children was so high back then…well, please forgive me. I guess it’s the mother coming out in me.”

  Almost overwhelmed by his closest encounter with a woman in many years, Bob felt faint and unsure. “Um, that’s okay. I understand.”

  She looked up and as he saw the wet line where the teardrop had gone down her cheek, said, “I know that you do, Bob. You’re different than the others. You have a love of the old stuff. I can tell.” She let go and he thought he was going to fall. “Shall we move on to the rest of your house?” she asked regaining her composure.

  He simply nodded and closed the bedroom door behind them.

  Back downstairs she walked slowly through the kitchen opening cabinets and drawers. “We must find out why they left all of their possessions behind. It was just not done!”

  Bob glanced out the window and said, “Anne, we should get back to the car and get ready for the night. It gets dark fast out here.”

  “You’re right. I forgot that the night comes quickly in the desert.”

  They left and went back to the SUV. Bob took out the cooking utensils when Anne said, “I imagine you sleep in the SUV?”

  “Yes. I saw that you brought your sleeping bag too.”

  Her eyes lit up as she said, “Bob, I have a great idea.”

  He was setting up the wax burners as he said without looking up, “What’s that?”

  “Your home!” She said with her hands clasped, “That’s what.”

  “My home?” he shook his head and said, “You mean my apartment back in Brooklyn?”

  “No, silly,” she said adding the light tap to his arm, “I mean your home right here in Rattlesnake Haven. That wonderful place we just left. Why don’t we stay there for the night? It’s got everything that we need and it looks as though the last occupants left it in the condition it’s in so the next occupants could move right in. What do you say?”

  Bob looked up at her as she sat on the tailgate swinging her crossed legs. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I never thought of it. I mean I do feel that the SUV offers us a bit more security.”

  “Security? From what?”

  He shrugged once again as his face went into a sheepish grin. “Not sure. I guess there’s really nothing to worry about. Except maybe snakes.”

  “From what I know of snakes they stay away from light during the night. That’s when they go out into the desert and do their hunting.”

  He shivered and said, “Boy, I hate those things.”

  “Why?” she asked looking intently at him, “Do you know that they help us?”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “I kid you not, City Slicker. They are largely responsible for controlling desert rodents. If not for them rats, mice, and rabbits would reproduce in such large numbers that they would spread disease and destroy crops.”

  “Learn something new every day.”

  “So, what do you say?” she asked with excitement in her voice and eyes. “Let’s go there before it gets dark and light some candles.”

  “Fine,” he said reaching into the rear of the SUV and grabbing his Coleman light. “I also have my Coleman.”

  She jumped down from sitting on the tailgate and said, “We can do this in two or three trips.”

  “Tell you what,” he said as he stood, “Together we’ll bring the cooler up and then you start gathering the things we might need for the night and I’ll go to the Community Hall, grab a hammer and nails and go fix the outhouse door. Good?”

  “Great idea,” she agreed, “Sooner or later it’s going to be needed and I can’t see coming way back to the hall in the middle of the night.”

  She got their sleeping bags and other supplies that she felt they’d need for the night and did the relocation in three trips as Bob fixed the outhouse’s door. On her last trip she studied him without his knowing. Anne, he is a nice guy. Not like that TV cartoon you are dating. He doesn’t even realize that he’s a catch and I can tell that he’s awkward around me. Suddenly Bob almost lost his footing and recovering, turned to see if she had seen his stumble. She made sure to not be looking at that moment.

  He walked down the slight incline and into the house, closing the door behind him as she struck a match and lit some candles. “Great timing,” she said.

  He agreed, “Perfect, it is now officially jet black outside.”

  “Wonder if the fireplace works?” Bob asked.

  “It might be clogged up after all of these years,” she answered shaking her head, “Best we don’t try it until we can see if it’s clear of stuff in it tomorrow. Can we burn those wax burners in the house or are they toxic?”

  “We sure can! They use them at parties and wedding halls to keep the food warm. I’ll cook us up some grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. You good with that?”

  She grinned, “Am I good with a man cooking for me? Darn tootin I am.” She stood and went to a cabinet, turned and said as she displayed a bunch of candles, “I saw these this afternoon. I’m going to brighten this place up while you do the chef thing.”

  Twenty minutes later they were eating at the small table in the kitchen by candlelight.

  “Romantic, huh?” she asked with another big grin. “Most people would think that one candle or two at the most would be romantic but being as we don’t want to be joined by a nosey snake for dinner, I thought this would be more applicable.”

  “He grinned and thought as he enjoyed his lobster bisque soup, Hey mom and dad, look at me having dinner with a pretty girl in my own house. Pretty good, huh?

  Finished, Bob scrapped the crumbs into a plastic bag and tied and placed it in the tin sink. “Tomorrow, we heat water and wash a few of the dishes and eat off them,” he said as he looked at her. “How’s that sound?”

  “That sounds great. Bet the last occupants would be happy knowing that we’re using their home as it was meant to be used.”

  They replaced the candles as they got low and spoke about everything from apples to zoology. It was eleven o’clock when Bob asked, “So, I think we should light some new candles and slip into our bed rolls and sort of sleep in the middle of them.”

  “Guess that’s the best thing to do. Although I’m really torn to think that the beds are right up those stairs and there are three rooms.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, but we really need to make sure those rooms aren’t the home of some snakes that are traveling around town right now but will return at sunrise.”

  “I agree. But will you walk me to the outhouse before we turn in?”

  “Sure.” He lit the Coleman and they walked outside and towards the outhouse in a tight circle of light as he held the lantern high above them. Once at the door, Bob opened it and threw the light down the hole. “All clear,” he said handing her the light. “I’ll be standing over there,” he said pointing to a cactus about twenty feet away. He took out his LED and left as Anne entered the small room.

  Minutes later she emerged and came quickly to him saying as she grabbed his arm, “Scary in there.” They started back when she said, “Uh, don’t you need to use the facilities?”

  He grinned and said, “You must forgive me but that cactus needed watering real bad.” He was rewarded with a light tap to his arm and they walked back as the circle of light danced around as they laughed together.

  Once back inside they placed six candles in the fireplace and another six in a half circle around the fireplace. They placed their sleeping bags inside of the half-circle of candles and Bob insisted that she sleep closer to the fireplace and he took the outside. Once again his plans of going over all that had transpired that day were thwarted by his falling asleep immediately.

  He woke with a start as a hand covered his mouth and an insistent tapping on his shoulder with a shushing from Anne. He looked up and by the feeble light of the flickering candles, saw that she wa
s out of her sleeping bag.

  “Shhh,” she whispered, “There’s something outside.”

  Bob’s heart jumped as he wondered where he had put his gun. He unzipped his bag and rolled to the right where his cane was and grabbed both the cane and the holstered gun as he tried to hear any noise from outside. Damn! Did I unload the gun before I went to bed? he thought nervously as he opened the chamber and felt the bullets in place. Jeeze, stupid, you better get some kind of a routine going before too long! He pointed the pistol away from them and they both quietly crawled over to the window that they had left closed and looked out into the night. He was glad to see that the moon was up and bright enough to see a part of the area between the front of his house and the rear of the hardware store where there was a soft scuffing sound.

  “Can you use that thing?” she whispered tilting her head towards the gun.

  He was surprised to feel her fingers holding tightly to his arm. “Heck, it’s a point and shoot weapon. Should be easy.” He tipped his head towards the candles and whispered, “Why don’t you kill those candles. No sense it advertising that we’re home.” She crawled away and in a moment they were part of the jet-black night. The noises were shifting around, sometimes to their left, sometimes to the right and often it seemed that they were right in front of their house.

  After awhile, Anne sat with her back against the wall. “It could be coyotes…I heard that there are still some packs roaming the desert fringes.”

  Bob whispered back as he strained his eyes trying to see in the dark, “Do you think we are on the fringe of the desert? I mean, it is hot here and I thought it was the real desert.”