by John Gray
“There’s another good thing about you living here,” Gavin observed.
“What’s that?” she replied.
“My buddy’s place where I sleep when I visit is two towns over, like ten minutes away.”
Chase squeezed his hand and smiled, then her eyes flew open.
They both saw the gorgeous Tudor-style home at the same instant. Chase grabbed her own face and blurted out, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
If Chase could have dreamed up a house to live in, this was it. The dark red stones were covered in ivy, crawling up toward a half dozen windows, all different shapes and sizes without shutters or drapes that Chase could see. So much light must come into this place, she thought.
A large stone chimney jutted out on the left front of the home, and at the center was that antique-looking wooden door the strange key would work on. Just above that door, on the second floor, there was a single wood and gray stone spire that reached up for the clouds. Perfectly kept hedges dotted the house as well, not seeming to be in any sort of order. Tucked between the hedges were perennials planted by Vida and Sebastian over the many years they called this castle home. They were dormant now, but in the summer, the flowers would explode with color, perfectly timed so when one plant stopped blooming, the one next to it would start.
Gavin parked at the head of the circular driveway, not far from the front, and Scooter jumped down immediately after Chase opened her truck door. Her pup was good off-leash, so Chase trusted him to stay close, especially in this strange new place.
Chase tried to hand Gavin the large, bulky key, but he bowed his head in deference and said, “Oh, no. The lady of the house should be the first to try it.”
As Chase pushed the key into the lock, she felt a bit like Cinderella, wondering if the shoe would fit. Either way, she smiled at Gavin, knowing she already had her prince charming.
“Here goes,” she said with confidence. A hard turn to the right brought a loud CLICK, and with that Chase gave the door a gentle push, and open it most certainly did.
The Winthrop estate was a little over 5,000 square feet, with four bedrooms and a large bathroom upstairs, a kitchen, dining room, family room, bathroom, den, and library making up the lower level.
As they stepped inside, Gavin turned to Chase and said with a smile, “Did you ever play the game Clue as a kid? This house reminds me of that.”
Chase shot playfully back, “So you’re saying it was Mrs. Winthrop, in the billiard room with a candlestick?”
They were both laughing at the thought of it.
As they explored the halls and could hear Scooter’s nails clicking and clacking along the hardwood floors, a knock, knock, knock could be heard from the backdoor off the kitchen, and Scooter’s bark guided them to a man in his sixties, holding some kind of garden tool, standing just outside. The man was in brown Carhartt pants with a matching shirt, heavy steel-toed work boots that appeared to have about ten years of coffee stains on them, and wearing an odd-looking, faded red baseball cap with a decal of a mouse holding a hockey stick on the front.
“Can we help you?,” Gavin asked firmly.
The man looked past Gavin directly at Chase and said, “You the lucky lady with the twenty-seven bucks and brass?”
Chase, a bit confused, replied, “I’m the one who bid on the sketch, but, um …” She looked at Gavin and then back at the man who was still on the other side of the screen door. “Brass? I don’t know what that means.”
The man replied, “Brass, guts, stones, ya know. There are other words for it, but you’re a lady, so I won’t say ’em.”
The old timer grinned, now making himself less scary, adding, “What I mean, miss, is you’re the one who stood up to those rich snots and took the house from them?”
Gavin chuckled now. “Oh, yes, sir, she’s the one.”
The man in soiled work clothes then broke into a broader smile revealing a missing tooth on the upper right side of his mouth, adding with a hint of admiration, “Good for you!”
He then opened the door himself, stepped inside, and said, “I’m Nick. Nick Hargrave. The caretaker of this place. I don’t live here or nothing, but I come by a couple times a week to take care of the lawn, hedges, driveway, roof, chimney, and to patch up anything that might need patchin’.”
Chase extended her hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Hargrave.”
“Nick, please. Every time I hear ‘Mister’ in front of my name, I expect to turn around and see my dad standing behind me. So, call me Nick,” he replied.
Gavin nodded. “You got it, Nick. Hey, anything we need to know about this house?”
Nick smiled again and said, “Nope, it’s a great old place, you’ll love it.” He then paused a moment as if he were trying to remember something, and added, “There are some rules, though.”
“Rules?” Chase asked, with curiosity in her voice.
“Yep, it’s all in the letter.” Nick responded.
Gavin and Chase both looked at each other, and before they could ask What letter? Nick added, “Oh, you probably haven’t been in the library yet. It’s down that-a-ways.”
He was pointing his finger to better direct them down a hallway, and Gavin couldn’t help noticing the poor man’s digit was as crooked as a country road.
“How many times have you broken that thing?” Gavin asked, pointing at the man’s hand.
He smiled with that errant tooth again. “Oh, two or three. Maybe ten.” With that the old caretaker let out a cackle that caused both Gavin and Chase to laugh along with him.
Chase then caught herself and asked, “Wait, you mentioned a letter? What letter?”
Nick looked at Gavin now and said sarcastically, “She’s not following along so good, is she?”
He then looked at Chase, deliberately speaking extra slow, “In the library, by the west window, is an antique hutch. On that hutch sits a letter with your name on it.”
Chase nodded and said back to him, “Got it. Thank you, Mr., I mean, Nick.”
As Nick opened the door to leave, Gavin said, “Whoa, hold up. You aren’t going anywhere until you explain that hat. What’s with the mouse playing hockey on the front of it?”
Nick took the hat off, held it closer so both Chase and Gavin could see it better, and said, “He’s not a mouse, he’s a rat. A river rat.”
Both stood with their mouths open, not sure how to respond, when Nick explained, “Albany, ya know, upstate where they have cows, they used to have a hockey team called the Albany River Rats. The team stunk most of the time, but they had great merchandise. Isn’t this hat cool?”
Chase smiled. “Oh yeah, can’t say I’ve ever seen a rat playing hockey before.”
Gavin then joked, “Soccer maybe—I hear rats like soccer.”
Nick chuckled, “You two are funny. I’m gonna like working for ya.”
With that, Nick put his hat back on and let the screen door slam behind him. As he walked off into the back yard, Nick called back, “Don’t forget your letter, Chase. Gotta learn the rules.”
Chase looked at Gavin, and without saying a word they both started racing through the kitchen and down the hall, and quickly they found the library.
It was a large room with built-in bookcases that stretched twelve feet into the air. Chase looked up at all those books, some appearing very old, and wondered how Sebastian and Vida even got them down, seeing they were so high.
There was an old fashioned rolltop desk on one side of the room, and a small, black leather sofa on the opposite end. A thick, expensive-looking, burgundy-colored rug lay beneath their feet, and a chandelier with what had to be a hundred tiny glass crystals hung from the ceiling in the center of the room, throwing light in all directions.
As her eyes drank in the warmth of it all. Gavin said, “Chase …”
He was standing by the hutch that Nick the caretaker had mentioned, and just as advertised, there sat a white business-sized envelope with the name C H A S E printed in
bold black lettering across the front.
Gavin handed it to Chase, and she opened it immediately. As she fumbled with the flap her mind was thinking, Rules … What does that even mean? She’d know soon enough.
It was a short one-page typed letter that Chase read out loud:
To whom it may concern: If you are reading this letter, thank you for buying the portrait of my wife. It is my favorite piece of art. Isn’t Vida beautiful? At this moment your mind must be swimming with confusion, but let me assure you this is real; this is now your house. Congratulations, I’m sure you’ll love it. I told my friend and groundskeeper Nick to tell you there are rules that go with living here, but that’s not really true. They are more like “suggestions,” and there are three of them. Ready?
Number one, when you walk out the front door, you’ll notice a large maple tree to the left of the house. Please don’t dig anywhere around that tree.
Number two, if you look up in the library you are standing in right now, you’ll notice a set of three large windows, each with nine panes of glass and all of them facing the west. Please don’t wash the center pane on the center window. Ever. Just leave it be.
And number three, each week a florist will deliver seven yellow roses to the house. Not a dozen, exactly seven. Directly behind the house, about a hundred or so feet back, you’ll see a rock wall runs along the property line. Each night before you go to bed, please take one yellow rose and leave it on that rock wall. It’s important to me, so please don’t forget.
I know what you must be thinking: these are very odd things this dead man is asking me to do. I understand, and believe me I’d think the same thing were I you. All I can say is I have given you this beautiful home and asked nothing in return. Well, nothing but these three simple requests you just read. I hope you can honor an old man’s wishes.
Thank you and God Bless, Sebastian Winthrop.
Oh, and P.S., you have to jiggle the handle on the bathroom toilet upstairs or it will run all night.
Chase held the letter in her hand and looked at Gavin. Neither said a word, their minds too busy running with possibilities of what this was all about. They both looked at the window right in front of them and the pane of glass they were instructed to never wash. It looked exactly like the others around it. Windows, trees, roses on rock walls; none of it made sense. Chase placed the letter back in the envelope and left it on the hutch where she had found it. Gavin pulled her in close for a long, loving hug, and said, “New adventure, eh?”
Chase felt Gavin’s arms loosen, but she wouldn’t dare let him break their embrace, pulling Gavin’s strong chest closer to her own, burying her beautiful face into his shoulder, and responding, “It seems so.”
The happy couple was so taken with the house, library, and strange letter, neither one noticed that Scooter wasn’t with them at that moment. He was on the opposite side of the mansion in a small room off the den, barking at a shelf filled with board games. It was a very insistent, distinctive bark that Chase had heard before, late at night in a church far away. Neither she nor Gavin knew it yet, but it appeared the magic and mystery of Manchester had followed her after all.
CHAPTER 14
Charlie
It never occurred to Chase to stop at a grocery store on the way to Briarcliff Manor, so she was pleasantly surprised when she woke her first morning in her new home to a refrigerator and cupboards filled with groceries. Gavin had just arrived, saw all the food, glanced at Chase, and wondered aloud, “Nick the handyman?”
Chase looked at what had to be two hundred dollars’ worth of food and said, “That’s pretty handy if you ask me.”
After splitting a small cinnamon raisin bagel smothered in butter, the two of them took their hot coffees outside to see the rest of the property. Pear trees lined the long driveway that led to the house from the main road. On one side of the front yard was the large maple tree that Sebastian Winthrop mentioned in his letter, the one they were told not to dig around. One thick strong branch extended out, separate from the others, supporting two brown ropes that dropped down and attached to a simple wooden swing.
“Can we fit two on that thing?” Chase asked Gavin with a smile. He just winked and said, “It would be fun to try.” Three oversized gray stone steps led up to that amazing front door. The windows to the sides and above were all different shapes and sizes, each seeming to tell a different story. On the opposite side of the yard, away from the maple tree, there was a pretty arrangement of boxwood hedges, each a foot tall. They formed a perfect circle, with a large stone bird bath standing at the center. Gavin had never seen a bird bath so large or heavy looking; an entire bird family could bathe together.
The two of them walked around the back of the home, and sure enough, there, off in the distance, was the rock wall on which they were instructed to place a yellow rose each night before turning in. The left side of the large back yard was lined with heavy woods, and to the right was a stately-looking, dark brown wooden fence that bordered the neighbor’s land. It served more as a decoration than a deterrent, because anyone could duck under the slats if they wanted.
As the two of them turned, looking back at the house, wondering if this was all some kind of dream, a loud “Hello” echoed out from the neighbor’s property. It was a woman about Chase’s age with a rope in her hand, leading a beautiful snow-white horse along the fence line with a little girl sitting quietly in the saddle. She was a gorgeous child, with dark skin and dark eyes, her hair braided back perfectly in neat rows, and tiny pink bows in the back helping to keep it all in place.
Gavin and Chase turned immediately and started walking toward the woman and child on the horse as Chase replied, “Well, hello right back.”
The woman, wearing a denim shirt to match her jeans and mud-covered boots, stopped the horse and reached up her hand to help the little girl jump down.
The child immediately cast her eyes away from Chase and Gavin as the woman said, “Welcome. I’m Mary, and this is Charlie.”
Mary then turned to the little girl and began waving her right hand to get the child’s attention. Once the girl looked up, engaging her eyes, Mary began moving her hands in sign language. Charlie watched carefully, clearly following along, then answered back by moving her own tiny hands. Mary then shook her head no and turned back to Chase and Gavin, “I’m sorry; she’s being especially shy today.”
Gavin smiled at Charlie, but she looked away again as if she were afraid. Chase then approached slowly and got down on one knee, resting her hands on the wooden fence, peeking through to say, “Hi Charlie, I’m Chase.”
Mary translated for Charlie, pausing a moment, seeming uncertain of something. She looked back at the two of them and said, “There isn’t really a sign for the name Chase so I can spell it or just do the sign for someone being chased. But that might confuse her.” Mary then pointed at Chase and spelled the name with her fingers C H A S E. The child again gave no reaction to any of it.
Before Chase could speak again to her new neighbors, Charlie pulled at Mary’s sleeve to get her attention and asked through sign language, “Can I go back to the barn?” Mary nodded yes and handed the brown leather reins to the silent little girl.
Before she could go, Chase waved her own hand to get Charlie’s attention and said, “Wait, you can’t leave until I know the name of your horse.”
Charlie could read lips very well and looked up at Mary and signed, “You can tell her if you want.”
Mary smiled then looked back at Chase and said, “Her horse’s name is Hermione, like in Harry Potter.”
Chase continued talking to Charlie, now saying, “Oh, I LOVED those books. Which one was your favorite?”
As kind as Chase was being, Charlie looked away and Mary signed to her, “It’s okay, sweetie, you can go.”
As the adorable child slowly led the horse back to the barn behind her home, Mary said to both Chase and Gavin, “Thank you for trying.”
Chase gave Mary a concerned look and
said, “Is she okay?”
Mary took on a serious tone and said, “Before we get to that, can I ask, are you the woman we heard bought Sebastian’s home for thirty bucks?”
Gavin giggled as he replied, “It was actually twenty-seven.”
Chase then spoke, “Yes, I’m sorry, I’m Chase Harrington. I did buy the sketch of Vida Winthrop at the auction and surprise, surprise, now I own a mansion. Crazy, right?”
Mary shook her head in approval and said, “Hey, why not. Good for you. I’m Mary Beal. I work for the Cartwrights. That’s their daughter, Charlie.”
Gavin interjected again, “And what do you do for them?”
Mary engaged Gavin’s eyes, only now realizing how striking this man was in his white t-shirt and faded jeans. “I’m, um, well. I’m a tutor for Charlie and an interpreter. And if we’re being honest, probably her only friend. I look after her, you might say.”
Chase then said, “I’m sorry I asked if she was okay, that was presumptuous of me.”
Mary appreciated Chase’s manners and kindness, responding, “It’s quite all right, Chase. And to answer your question honestly, no, not really. She’s um …” Mary stopped herself there, uncertain if she should be sharing private matters with a stranger, nice as she may seem.
Chase gave Gavin a look he knew all too well. It was one that said, Can you give me a minute alone, sweetie? So he immediately looked at his watch and said, “I should go make that call. Nice to meet you, Mary.”
As Gavin left, Mary said quietly to Chase, “Husband?”
Chase thought to herself, Someday, which made her blush a bit and smile, and then simply replied, “Boyfriend.” Then after a pause she added, “Best friend.”
Mary leaned her arms on the fence and said, “Those are the best kinds, the ones you keep.”
Once Gavin was out of sight, Chase continued, “You were saying about Charlie …”
Mary looked away, a sadness falling over her face, then replied, “You can see she’s deaf and painfully shy. Her parents had her in public school, but the class sizes were too large, and she got lost in the mix there.”
