The Storm
Maybe
A few minutes later Gerard heard the sound of the shower running upstairs. He sat, lost in thought, for several minutes recalling what Lucy had said before she ran out of the kitchen. Sadness filled his heart to realize such a vibrant, beautiful woman felt that way. Had it been her husband’s death that had broken her heart and made her want to give up on life?
A sound at the back door pulled him from his thoughts. Rex stood, nose pressed against the screen, watching him.
“Hey Rex.” He smiled at the Lab. “Suppose you want to come in.” He stood then went to the door but saw the dog’s paws were muddy. “Okay, but we need to wipe your feet.” He pushed open the door to allow the dog to enter then commanded him to sit. Rex was a well trained dog and immediately did as he was told. Gerard grabbed some paper towels and wiped the mud off him. “There” he said a few minutes later. “Okay, Rex, you’re good to go.” The dog licked his hand then wandered further into the house.
By the time Lucy returned to the kitchen he had the weather radio turned on and had lit more candles. Gerard saw she had changed into shorts and a fresh tank top. He smiled over at her pretending nothing between them had changed. “Uh, I let Rex in, hope that’s okay but I wiped his feet first.”
Lucy who was still smarting from the conversation was glad he didn’t bring up the subject again. “Sure, Rex lives here but thanks for wiping the mud off the mutt. He seems to always find the muddiest path before coming in.”
Gerard laughed, “Yeah. Oh and I’ve been listening to the radio. You were right the storm does have hail and some areas are getting golf ball size. But as far as I can tell” He paused, “We’re in Woodson country, right?” When she nodded he continued, “Not us.”
“That’s good.” Lucy nodded, “Uh, the shower is all yours”
“Cool, I don’t like smelling worse than Rex.” He teased.
Lucy felt the earlier tension in her body slightly relax. “Hate to tell you but you smell worse than a wet dog.”
Gerard threw back his head and laughed, “Yeah, for sure. I’ll just go grab a quick shower.”
“I put another box of clothes in your room.” She said turning away from him.
“Thanks.” He started to leave the kitchen but stopped, “Lucy, I really mean that. Thanks for letting me borrow your husband’s clothes.”
A fresh stab of pain went through her heart. Just going into the attic where she’d stored the boxes was painful. She took a deep breath than tried to sound normal. “No problem. I’ll make us some dinner while you’re showering.”
By the time he reentered the kitchen she had just placed hot dogs on the cook stove. “Not gourmet because I really need to get to the grocery store.”
Gerard inhaled the smell of the hot dogs. “Man, I’m so hungry I’m sure they will taste like a five course meal to me.”
Lucy smiled, “Hard work makes you extra hungry.”
“And sore.” He reached up to massage his shoulder. “Damn, I feel like an old man.”
She’d been afraid of that. “You did a lot of heavy lifting today.”
“Yeah well so did you.”
“But I’m used to it.” She smiled, “And I’m betting a writer doesn’t lift too many heavy boards in one day or pound in hundreds of nails.”
He pushed away the guilt he immediately felt reminding himself that he was a writer she just didn’t know any more about him. “That’s true.” He walked back towards the kitchen table. “Anything I can do to help?” He saw she already had plates and all the necessary condiments out.
“Nope just take a seat. These will be done in a minute.”
Gerard glanced over at the cook stove then laughed, “Let me guess, one of those dogs is for Rex.”
“He likes hot dogs.” Lucy laughed, “And watermelon, and corn and…well there ain’t much Rex won’t eat.”
By this time Rex had wondered back into the kitchen. He walked over to where Gerard was seated and sat at his feet. “Hey, Rex, where you been?”
“He went with you upstairs.”
“He did? I didn’t see him.”
Lucy rolled the hot dogs then answered, “He came back in the kitchen but when he saw you were gone he went searching for you. I heard him going up the steps.”
Gerard reached down to stoke the dogs head, “Keeping an eye on me, fellow?”
“He just likes you.” Lucy said softly.
Gerard wondered why she sounded sad. “Well that’s good cause I like him.”
Rex wagged his tail as if he understood the conversation.
“Here we go.” Lucy said bringing the plate to the table. “You can give Rex his.”
Gerard looked at the plate. “Uh, just on the floor?”
Lucy sat down while laughing, “Gerard, that dog will never hit the floor. He’s gonna gobble it up.”
As she predicted as soon as Gerard handed the hot dog to Rex the dog practically swallowed it in one gulp.
“Down Rex.” Lucy said to the dog who was hoping for another treat.
Gerard was surprised the dog followed her commands so well. As be began fixing his hot dog adding relish and mustard he said, “Rex is well trained.”
Lucy looked down lovingly at the dog. “Yeah, he’s a good boy.”
The dog’s tail began thumping happily on the floor.
“So what’s out plan for tomorrow?” Gerard asked wanting to keep the casual conversation going.
Lucy chewed her first bite of hot dog before answering. “First thing tomorrow we get the truck running then take it into Iola and get the windshield replaced.”
“Don’t think there’s any other damage?” He asked remembering the huge tree branch that had smashed threw the windshield.
“Hope not but I don’t think so. We’ll just have to deal with getting the glass out of the seat. Don’t want your tush getting cut.”
He was happy she seemed to be shaking off her sadness. “That’s true. So we gonna get some supplies while we’re in town?”
Unfortunately she was frowning again. “You’ve really helped me a great deal and I thank you but…”
He spoke up quickly, “I really hope this isn’t the part of the conversation where you try to convince me again I should stay in town.”
Lucy sighed, “They have a nice motel with air conditioning and phones.”
“I can do without both.”
She stared at him.
He took a bite of his hog dog knowing she was staring but ignoring that.
“Gerard really, I just don’t get it. Why the hell would you want to stay here?”
“Cause I like the hostess and host.” He grinned down at Rex. “Besides I promised to help you with the clean up and there is still a lot to do. So stop trying to get rid of me.”
“I’m not trying to get rid of you.”
He looked her straight in the eye, “Uh yeah, you are. I’m just not sure why.”
She picked up a potato chip off her plate but made no move to eat it. “I just think it would be better for you to move on.”
“Better for me or for you?” He asked softly watching her eyes.
Lucy threw the chip back down. “Why would it be better for me? For now I’ve got free help.”
He knew he had to chose his words carefully or risk upsetting her. “That’s right you do. You’ve got someone here who’s more than willing to help out. All he asks in return is a bed and some food.”
“Both of which you could get in town.”
“But I’d miss Rex.” Suddenly a thought occurred to him. “You’re not worried about what people will think about me staying here are you?”
“Oh good Lord, no.” Lucy rolled her eyes, “Like who would even know? And even if they did I wouldn’t give a shit what anyone else thought.”
Her answer was a relief. “Good. You know I was thinking even after the clean up I’d like to stay awhile. I told you I wanted to get away from everything and write. Well this seems like the prefect place. Of course I’ll pay you some kind of rent for letting me stay.”
Her eyes grew wide. “What?”
“Well yeah.” He nodded not admitting the idea had just come to him. “It’s so peaceful here with no distractions. I can get a lot of writing done.”
“You want to rent out a room here and write?”
He nodded, “Yeah”
Lucy was shocked, part of her knew the money would come in handy but another voice in her head was reminding her how he’d already disrupted her life.
Gerard was watching the emotions play across her face. “It seems like the prefect idea, don’t you think?”
In truth she didn’t know what to think.
“I promise to be a good boarder.” He went on feeling he needed to sway her to his thinking. “I’ll clean up after myself, you won’t even know I’m here most of the time.”
She highly doubted that. She could sense his presence before she even laid eyes on him. “I don’t know.”
“Just think about it.” Gerard said feeling it best not to push the issue any further right now.
“What exactly do you write?” Lucy asked.
While he hated to lie he knew it was necessary. “I’ve done magazine articles mostly until now. But I’ve decided to try my hand at my first novel.”
She seemed to accept this lie. “Oh, so what genre?”
He blinked, shit he hadn’t thought this completely through. Deciding he needed to answer quickly he said, “I’m leaning towards horror.”
This caused her to laugh, “Really?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh nothing.” She picked up the chip again. “I just didn’t peg you as a horror writer.”
He didn’t really either but the lie had to stand. “I’ve had some ideas in my head for a while.”
Lucy grinned, “Maybe you could write in a dark storm cellar. That seemed to give you the creeps.”
He loved to see she was softening up to his idea. “Are you implying I was scared of your storm cellar?’
“I’m not implying it.” She laughed, “You looked scared shitless when we made it out but I will admit the tornado probably had a lot to do with it.”
“Yeah almost getting sucked up by a tornado didn’t help.” A chill ran down his spine.
Lucy thought a minute, “So I’m guessing you had a lap top?”
Again he had to lie. “Yeah, in my duffle bag.”
“So what are you going to write on?”
He knew he had enough cash with him to buy another but didn’t want to use up all the money too quickly. “Figured I’d go old school, you know, paper and pen?”
For the first time since returning to the kitchen she looked really happy. “Well old school seems to fit in here.”
He nodded, “Yep, sure does. So what do you say?”
Unfortunately her smile faded, “Well see.” She finally answered.
Gerard was just glad she hadn’t given him a definite no.
_____________________________________________________________________
After dinner they moved to the living room and lit several candles. Gerard took a seat on the sofa his eyes glazing around the room.
“Still freaked there’s no TV?” Lucy laughed taking a seat in a small chair near him.
“Maybe a little.” He smiled, “But it wouldn’t make any difference anyway since we’ve got no electricity.”
“I told you, it’s pretty boring around here.”
He was afraid she was going to push for him to change his mind about wanting to stay. “Hey, I really don’t watch that much TV anyway.” He said settling back against the cushions trying to ease the pain in his back and shoulders. The work he’d done today was definitely taking its toll on his body. “So you promised I could see the book with your photos.”
“Oh, yeah.” She got up to cross to a wooden bookshelf. “Here ya go.” She handed him a large hardback then retook her seat. “I did all the photos for Neosho Falls.”
Gerard sat the book on the coffee table where two candles had been lit so he had more light. Quickly he scanned the index to find the chapter featuring Lucy’s photos. A chill ran down his spine when he saw the first photo, it was a large building covered in vines, the first building he’d seen when he pulled into town. “Wow, that was the high school?”
“Yep.”
He pulled one of the candles even closer while his eyes scanned the other photos. He could see why her photos had been chosen, the angles she used, gave the subject matter an eerie feel. “You didn’t stage any of these shots?” As soon as the words left his mouth he worried she’d be upset. He looked over at her to gauge her reaction.
The question didn’t bother Lucy in fact it pleased her. “No, what you see in those photos was exactly how it looked the day I took the pictures.”
“How it looked?”
Lucy sighed, “Those were taken when I first moved here. Unfortunately over the past few years with all the interest people seem to have about ghosts now there have been quite a few visitors. If they came and were respectful I wouldn’t have a problem but a lot of people come and disrespect the place.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, some come just to see the town but others either vandalize or take souvenirs.”
“Shit” He shook his head now understand what she’d said. “That’s not right. Can’t it be stopped?”
“By who? No one really seems to care.”
He was looking into her eyes, “You do.”
She hated it seemed he could easily read her emotions. “Yeah, well that’s because I’m weird.”
“I don’t think so. Looking at these photos you can see that the subject matter means more to you than just abandoned buildings.” He glanced down at one of the photo’s she taken of the interior of the school. “These photos are eerie but they evoke a deeper feeling.” He paused, “I look at the photo and immediately feel something more. I’m trying to imagine a different time, a time when kids filled these empty halls.”
Lucy was touched by his words. “When I walk through the halls I feel the same thing. I swear when I do at times I can stand still and almost hear the footstep of those that passed there before me, I can hear their laughter, feel their emotions.”
Gerard tilted his head, “Do you still go there often?”
She shrugged, “Haven’t been in the school for a few months. I sorta try to avoid it now. The last time I was there I walked in on a group of people doing some sort of ghost hunt.”
He could hear a hint of anger in her voice. “Well there are a lot of ghost hunting shows on TV right now.”
She nodded, “Yeah, I’ve heard.”
“And it bothered you?”
“No one died there.” Lucy answered trying to explain her feelings. “Neosho Falls was once a thriving town but the flood of 1951 pretty much signaled the end for it. People moved away, they just picked up and left.”
He let his eyes return to the book, “I really like this one of the town hall.” He pulled the candle even closer to the book, “Shit, that’s a piano.”
“Yes, what’s left of the piano is still up on the stage but as you can see you can’t walk across the floor anymore.”
He nodded, “So how’s you get the photo?”
She laughed, “Well it wasn’t easy.”
“It’s an incredible shot.”
“I’m glad you can’t easily reach what’s left of the piano. If you could I’m sure most of it would be gone now.”
“People taking souvenirs?”
She nodded.
He looked closely at another photo of the old bank. “And the vault is really still there?”
“Yep, but as you can see by the wide open door and it’s empty.”
“This is awesome.” He looked up, “I want to see all of this firsthand. Will you give me a tour?”
She shrugged, “You can go down there tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to go by myself. I want you to show me all of this. I want you to show me exactly where you stood to take these photos.” He could see she looked uncomfortable with the idea. “You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to.” Lucy answered slowly, “It’s just I have a lot of work I need to get done around here.”
He nodded, “Yes, we do have a lot of work to do. But I was thinking maybe in a couple of days we could go see this.”
“Maybe.”
For now he accepted that answer knowing in her mind she believed he’d be gone in a few days. In his mind he knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere until he found out why he’d been brought here.
Lucy watched as he went back to pouring over the photos but saw he kept absently rubbing his shoulder. He was hurting, that was obvious. While he continued to thumb through the book she took a candle and headed upstairs after telling him she’d be back in a minute.
When she returned he was still looking at the book. He heard her reenter the room. “Man, I love these photos.” When he glanced up he saw her moving towards him.
“Shirt off.”
“What?”
Lucy sighed, “Take your shirt off, Gerard. I have something that will help your aching muscles.”
He noticed the bottle in her hand but his pride made him respond, “Hey, I’m okay.”
“Your muscles hurt, this will help.”
The pain was getting worse, “I’m a little sore.” He finally admitted while unbuttoning his shirt then slipping it slowly off his body trying not to flinch from the pain. He fully expected her to hand him the bottle but she sat down next to him.
“Turn.”
He moved slowly so his back was to her. When he felt her hands, now wet with whatever was in the bottle, slowly begin to massage his shoulders, he sighed, “Shit, that feels good.”
She continued to massage his shoulders but remained silent.
Gerard closed his eyes feeling the pain and stiffness slowly dissolving.
Lucy worked on his shoulders for several minutes then moved to massage his upper back.
“That shit is really helping but damn it smells.”
His comment caused Lucy to laugh, “Uh… well I’m not gonna tell you what it is.”
“Oh come on, tell me.”
“It’s horse liniment.”
His eyes popped open. “Are you serious?”
She giggled, “Yes, I’m actually using horse liniment on you. You have to admit it works doesn’t it?”
“I’d heard people use it.” He said not wanting her to think he didn’t realize that fact. “But I’ve never seen or used it myself.”
All too soon her hands left his body. “There” She said standing back up. “By morning you should feel much better.”
He was trying to ignore the feelings her hands had caused his body, yeah the stiffness in his shoulders had diminished but her nearness, the massage, had felt good in other ways.
“Well I’m gonna head up to bed now.” She said picking up one of the candles. “Make sure you blow out all the candles okay?”
“You’re going to bed already?”
“I get up very early,” She explained. The truth was this was much earlier than she usual retired but she too was fighting her feelings, it had been so long since she’d touched a man’s body.
“Yeah, okay.” He said wondering why she again looked uncomfortable. “I’m not gonna stay up much longer either.”
She nodded, “See you in the morning.”
His voice stopped her in the doorway. “Sweet dreams, Lucy.”
Her eyes looked haunted when she turned, “I don’t dream.”
“Everyone dreams.”
“No” She whispered, “My dreams are gone, buried.”
He watched her retreating form sure he’d seen tears in her eyes. The woman might think she’d used all the tears in her eyes but now he knew better. He pulled on his shirt then leaned back against the sofa cushions. Again his mind retuned to the question that had been plaguing him since he’d arrived. Why was he here? What answers could he find? But now there was another question burning in his heart and mind, was there some way he could help this woman who’d given up on life?
“Why do I care?” He whispered causing Rex to lift his head and look at Gerard.
He smiled at the dog. “Don’t worry boy. I’m not gonna give up trying to help her.” In his heart he somehow knew she held the key to the answers he was looking for. “Maybe she and I are meant to help each other.” He said softly.
A sound at the back door pulled him from his thoughts. Rex stood, nose pressed against the screen, watching him.
“Hey Rex.” He smiled at the Lab. “Suppose you want to come in.” He stood then went to the door but saw the dog’s paws were muddy. “Okay, but we need to wipe your feet.” He pushed open the door to allow the dog to enter then commanded him to sit. Rex was a well trained dog and immediately did as he was told. Gerard grabbed some paper towels and wiped the mud off him. “There” he said a few minutes later. “Okay, Rex, you’re good to go.” The dog licked his hand then wandered further into the house.
By the time Lucy returned to the kitchen he had the weather radio turned on and had lit more candles. Gerard saw she had changed into shorts and a fresh tank top. He smiled over at her pretending nothing between them had changed. “Uh, I let Rex in, hope that’s okay but I wiped his feet first.”
Lucy who was still smarting from the conversation was glad he didn’t bring up the subject again. “Sure, Rex lives here but thanks for wiping the mud off the mutt. He seems to always find the muddiest path before coming in.”
Gerard laughed, “Yeah. Oh and I’ve been listening to the radio. You were right the storm does have hail and some areas are getting golf ball size. But as far as I can tell” He paused, “We’re in Woodson country, right?” When she nodded he continued, “Not us.”
“That’s good.” Lucy nodded, “Uh, the shower is all yours”
“Cool, I don’t like smelling worse than Rex.” He teased.
Lucy felt the earlier tension in her body slightly relax. “Hate to tell you but you smell worse than a wet dog.”
Gerard threw back his head and laughed, “Yeah, for sure. I’ll just go grab a quick shower.”
“I put another box of clothes in your room.” She said turning away from him.
“Thanks.” He started to leave the kitchen but stopped, “Lucy, I really mean that. Thanks for letting me borrow your husband’s clothes.”
A fresh stab of pain went through her heart. Just going into the attic where she’d stored the boxes was painful. She took a deep breath than tried to sound normal. “No problem. I’ll make us some dinner while you’re showering.”
By the time he reentered the kitchen she had just placed hot dogs on the cook stove. “Not gourmet because I really need to get to the grocery store.”
Gerard inhaled the smell of the hot dogs. “Man, I’m so hungry I’m sure they will taste like a five course meal to me.”
Lucy smiled, “Hard work makes you extra hungry.”
“And sore.” He reached up to massage his shoulder. “Damn, I feel like an old man.”
She’d been afraid of that. “You did a lot of heavy lifting today.”
“Yeah well so did you.”
“But I’m used to it.” She smiled, “And I’m betting a writer doesn’t lift too many heavy boards in one day or pound in hundreds of nails.”
He pushed away the guilt he immediately felt reminding himself that he was a writer she just didn’t know any more about him. “That’s true.” He walked back towards the kitchen table. “Anything I can do to help?” He saw she already had plates and all the necessary condiments out.
“Nope just take a seat. These will be done in a minute.”
Gerard glanced over at the cook stove then laughed, “Let me guess, one of those dogs is for Rex.”
“He likes hot dogs.” Lucy laughed, “And watermelon, and corn and…well there ain’t much Rex won’t eat.”
By this time Rex had wondered back into the kitchen. He walked over to where Gerard was seated and sat at his feet. “Hey, Rex, where you been?”
“He went with you upstairs.”
“He did? I didn’t see him.”
Lucy rolled the hot dogs then answered, “He came back in the kitchen but when he saw you were gone he went searching for you. I heard him going up the steps.”
Gerard reached down to stoke the dogs head, “Keeping an eye on me, fellow?”
“He just likes you.” Lucy said softly.
Gerard wondered why she sounded sad. “Well that’s good cause I like him.”
Rex wagged his tail as if he understood the conversation.
“Here we go.” Lucy said bringing the plate to the table. “You can give Rex his.”
Gerard looked at the plate. “Uh, just on the floor?”
Lucy sat down while laughing, “Gerard, that dog will never hit the floor. He’s gonna gobble it up.”
As she predicted as soon as Gerard handed the hot dog to Rex the dog practically swallowed it in one gulp.
“Down Rex.” Lucy said to the dog who was hoping for another treat.
Gerard was surprised the dog followed her commands so well. As be began fixing his hot dog adding relish and mustard he said, “Rex is well trained.”
Lucy looked down lovingly at the dog. “Yeah, he’s a good boy.”
The dog’s tail began thumping happily on the floor.
“So what’s out plan for tomorrow?” Gerard asked wanting to keep the casual conversation going.
Lucy chewed her first bite of hot dog before answering. “First thing tomorrow we get the truck running then take it into Iola and get the windshield replaced.”
“Don’t think there’s any other damage?” He asked remembering the huge tree branch that had smashed threw the windshield.
“Hope not but I don’t think so. We’ll just have to deal with getting the glass out of the seat. Don’t want your tush getting cut.”
He was happy she seemed to be shaking off her sadness. “That’s true. So we gonna get some supplies while we’re in town?”
Unfortunately she was frowning again. “You’ve really helped me a great deal and I thank you but…”
He spoke up quickly, “I really hope this isn’t the part of the conversation where you try to convince me again I should stay in town.”
Lucy sighed, “They have a nice motel with air conditioning and phones.”
“I can do without both.”
She stared at him.
He took a bite of his hog dog knowing she was staring but ignoring that.
“Gerard really, I just don’t get it. Why the hell would you want to stay here?”
“Cause I like the hostess and host.” He grinned down at Rex. “Besides I promised to help you with the clean up and there is still a lot to do. So stop trying to get rid of me.”
“I’m not trying to get rid of you.”
He looked her straight in the eye, “Uh yeah, you are. I’m just not sure why.”
She picked up a potato chip off her plate but made no move to eat it. “I just think it would be better for you to move on.”
“Better for me or for you?” He asked softly watching her eyes.
Lucy threw the chip back down. “Why would it be better for me? For now I’ve got free help.”
He knew he had to chose his words carefully or risk upsetting her. “That’s right you do. You’ve got someone here who’s more than willing to help out. All he asks in return is a bed and some food.”
“Both of which you could get in town.”
“But I’d miss Rex.” Suddenly a thought occurred to him. “You’re not worried about what people will think about me staying here are you?”
“Oh good Lord, no.” Lucy rolled her eyes, “Like who would even know? And even if they did I wouldn’t give a shit what anyone else thought.”
Her answer was a relief. “Good. You know I was thinking even after the clean up I’d like to stay awhile. I told you I wanted to get away from everything and write. Well this seems like the prefect place. Of course I’ll pay you some kind of rent for letting me stay.”
Her eyes grew wide. “What?”
“Well yeah.” He nodded not admitting the idea had just come to him. “It’s so peaceful here with no distractions. I can get a lot of writing done.”
“You want to rent out a room here and write?”
He nodded, “Yeah”
Lucy was shocked, part of her knew the money would come in handy but another voice in her head was reminding her how he’d already disrupted her life.
Gerard was watching the emotions play across her face. “It seems like the prefect idea, don’t you think?”
In truth she didn’t know what to think.
“I promise to be a good boarder.” He went on feeling he needed to sway her to his thinking. “I’ll clean up after myself, you won’t even know I’m here most of the time.”
She highly doubted that. She could sense his presence before she even laid eyes on him. “I don’t know.”
“Just think about it.” Gerard said feeling it best not to push the issue any further right now.
“What exactly do you write?” Lucy asked.
While he hated to lie he knew it was necessary. “I’ve done magazine articles mostly until now. But I’ve decided to try my hand at my first novel.”
She seemed to accept this lie. “Oh, so what genre?”
He blinked, shit he hadn’t thought this completely through. Deciding he needed to answer quickly he said, “I’m leaning towards horror.”
This caused her to laugh, “Really?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh nothing.” She picked up the chip again. “I just didn’t peg you as a horror writer.”
He didn’t really either but the lie had to stand. “I’ve had some ideas in my head for a while.”
Lucy grinned, “Maybe you could write in a dark storm cellar. That seemed to give you the creeps.”
He loved to see she was softening up to his idea. “Are you implying I was scared of your storm cellar?’
“I’m not implying it.” She laughed, “You looked scared shitless when we made it out but I will admit the tornado probably had a lot to do with it.”
“Yeah almost getting sucked up by a tornado didn’t help.” A chill ran down his spine.
Lucy thought a minute, “So I’m guessing you had a lap top?”
Again he had to lie. “Yeah, in my duffle bag.”
“So what are you going to write on?”
He knew he had enough cash with him to buy another but didn’t want to use up all the money too quickly. “Figured I’d go old school, you know, paper and pen?”
For the first time since returning to the kitchen she looked really happy. “Well old school seems to fit in here.”
He nodded, “Yep, sure does. So what do you say?”
Unfortunately her smile faded, “Well see.” She finally answered.
Gerard was just glad she hadn’t given him a definite no.
_____________________________________________________________________
After dinner they moved to the living room and lit several candles. Gerard took a seat on the sofa his eyes glazing around the room.
“Still freaked there’s no TV?” Lucy laughed taking a seat in a small chair near him.
“Maybe a little.” He smiled, “But it wouldn’t make any difference anyway since we’ve got no electricity.”
“I told you, it’s pretty boring around here.”
He was afraid she was going to push for him to change his mind about wanting to stay. “Hey, I really don’t watch that much TV anyway.” He said settling back against the cushions trying to ease the pain in his back and shoulders. The work he’d done today was definitely taking its toll on his body. “So you promised I could see the book with your photos.”
“Oh, yeah.” She got up to cross to a wooden bookshelf. “Here ya go.” She handed him a large hardback then retook her seat. “I did all the photos for Neosho Falls.”
Gerard sat the book on the coffee table where two candles had been lit so he had more light. Quickly he scanned the index to find the chapter featuring Lucy’s photos. A chill ran down his spine when he saw the first photo, it was a large building covered in vines, the first building he’d seen when he pulled into town. “Wow, that was the high school?”
“Yep.”
He pulled one of the candles even closer while his eyes scanned the other photos. He could see why her photos had been chosen, the angles she used, gave the subject matter an eerie feel. “You didn’t stage any of these shots?” As soon as the words left his mouth he worried she’d be upset. He looked over at her to gauge her reaction.
The question didn’t bother Lucy in fact it pleased her. “No, what you see in those photos was exactly how it looked the day I took the pictures.”
“How it looked?”
Lucy sighed, “Those were taken when I first moved here. Unfortunately over the past few years with all the interest people seem to have about ghosts now there have been quite a few visitors. If they came and were respectful I wouldn’t have a problem but a lot of people come and disrespect the place.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, some come just to see the town but others either vandalize or take souvenirs.”
“Shit” He shook his head now understand what she’d said. “That’s not right. Can’t it be stopped?”
“By who? No one really seems to care.”
He was looking into her eyes, “You do.”
She hated it seemed he could easily read her emotions. “Yeah, well that’s because I’m weird.”
“I don’t think so. Looking at these photos you can see that the subject matter means more to you than just abandoned buildings.” He glanced down at one of the photo’s she taken of the interior of the school. “These photos are eerie but they evoke a deeper feeling.” He paused, “I look at the photo and immediately feel something more. I’m trying to imagine a different time, a time when kids filled these empty halls.”
Lucy was touched by his words. “When I walk through the halls I feel the same thing. I swear when I do at times I can stand still and almost hear the footstep of those that passed there before me, I can hear their laughter, feel their emotions.”
Gerard tilted his head, “Do you still go there often?”
She shrugged, “Haven’t been in the school for a few months. I sorta try to avoid it now. The last time I was there I walked in on a group of people doing some sort of ghost hunt.”
He could hear a hint of anger in her voice. “Well there are a lot of ghost hunting shows on TV right now.”
She nodded, “Yeah, I’ve heard.”
“And it bothered you?”
“No one died there.” Lucy answered trying to explain her feelings. “Neosho Falls was once a thriving town but the flood of 1951 pretty much signaled the end for it. People moved away, they just picked up and left.”
He let his eyes return to the book, “I really like this one of the town hall.” He pulled the candle even closer to the book, “Shit, that’s a piano.”
“Yes, what’s left of the piano is still up on the stage but as you can see you can’t walk across the floor anymore.”
He nodded, “So how’s you get the photo?”
She laughed, “Well it wasn’t easy.”
“It’s an incredible shot.”
“I’m glad you can’t easily reach what’s left of the piano. If you could I’m sure most of it would be gone now.”
“People taking souvenirs?”
She nodded.
He looked closely at another photo of the old bank. “And the vault is really still there?”
“Yep, but as you can see by the wide open door and it’s empty.”
“This is awesome.” He looked up, “I want to see all of this firsthand. Will you give me a tour?”
She shrugged, “You can go down there tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to go by myself. I want you to show me all of this. I want you to show me exactly where you stood to take these photos.” He could see she looked uncomfortable with the idea. “You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to.” Lucy answered slowly, “It’s just I have a lot of work I need to get done around here.”
He nodded, “Yes, we do have a lot of work to do. But I was thinking maybe in a couple of days we could go see this.”
“Maybe.”
For now he accepted that answer knowing in her mind she believed he’d be gone in a few days. In his mind he knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere until he found out why he’d been brought here.
Lucy watched as he went back to pouring over the photos but saw he kept absently rubbing his shoulder. He was hurting, that was obvious. While he continued to thumb through the book she took a candle and headed upstairs after telling him she’d be back in a minute.
When she returned he was still looking at the book. He heard her reenter the room. “Man, I love these photos.” When he glanced up he saw her moving towards him.
“Shirt off.”
“What?”
Lucy sighed, “Take your shirt off, Gerard. I have something that will help your aching muscles.”
He noticed the bottle in her hand but his pride made him respond, “Hey, I’m okay.”
“Your muscles hurt, this will help.”
The pain was getting worse, “I’m a little sore.” He finally admitted while unbuttoning his shirt then slipping it slowly off his body trying not to flinch from the pain. He fully expected her to hand him the bottle but she sat down next to him.
“Turn.”
He moved slowly so his back was to her. When he felt her hands, now wet with whatever was in the bottle, slowly begin to massage his shoulders, he sighed, “Shit, that feels good.”
She continued to massage his shoulders but remained silent.
Gerard closed his eyes feeling the pain and stiffness slowly dissolving.
Lucy worked on his shoulders for several minutes then moved to massage his upper back.
“That shit is really helping but damn it smells.”
His comment caused Lucy to laugh, “Uh… well I’m not gonna tell you what it is.”
“Oh come on, tell me.”
“It’s horse liniment.”
His eyes popped open. “Are you serious?”
She giggled, “Yes, I’m actually using horse liniment on you. You have to admit it works doesn’t it?”
“I’d heard people use it.” He said not wanting her to think he didn’t realize that fact. “But I’ve never seen or used it myself.”
All too soon her hands left his body. “There” She said standing back up. “By morning you should feel much better.”
He was trying to ignore the feelings her hands had caused his body, yeah the stiffness in his shoulders had diminished but her nearness, the massage, had felt good in other ways.
“Well I’m gonna head up to bed now.” She said picking up one of the candles. “Make sure you blow out all the candles okay?”
“You’re going to bed already?”
“I get up very early,” She explained. The truth was this was much earlier than she usual retired but she too was fighting her feelings, it had been so long since she’d touched a man’s body.
“Yeah, okay.” He said wondering why she again looked uncomfortable. “I’m not gonna stay up much longer either.”
She nodded, “See you in the morning.”
His voice stopped her in the doorway. “Sweet dreams, Lucy.”
Her eyes looked haunted when she turned, “I don’t dream.”
“Everyone dreams.”
“No” She whispered, “My dreams are gone, buried.”
He watched her retreating form sure he’d seen tears in her eyes. The woman might think she’d used all the tears in her eyes but now he knew better. He pulled on his shirt then leaned back against the sofa cushions. Again his mind retuned to the question that had been plaguing him since he’d arrived. Why was he here? What answers could he find? But now there was another question burning in his heart and mind, was there some way he could help this woman who’d given up on life?
“Why do I care?” He whispered causing Rex to lift his head and look at Gerard.
He smiled at the dog. “Don’t worry boy. I’m not gonna give up trying to help her.” In his heart he somehow knew she held the key to the answers he was looking for. “Maybe she and I are meant to help each other.” He said softly.
I absolutely loved this story! You are a very gifted writer & I
hope to find & read your other stories. I also look forward to reading Gerard’s book. Thank you!
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