On the Verge (Sisters Series Book 3)

by Karen Lenfestey

  She giggled and rushed after him.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  After Nathan and Chip left for the hardware store the next morning, Val reached into her musty closet. She put on casual clothes--jeans and a tie-dye T-shirt--so she could work on the house. When she turned around, she noticed a light shining from one of the vacant bedrooms. Had Chip left it on? She could’ve sworn it was off a minute ago. She extinguished it and walked away. Homer ran past her into the empty room. Thud! She shook her head. He was chasing that invisible cat again.

  The light behind her came on. Something seemed to lodge in her throat. She swallowed and returned to the back bedroom. She searched the four walls with its peeling, pinstriped wallpaper.

  The delicate, sweet scent of baby powder tickled her nose. She inhaled deeply. This must have been a nursery at one time.

  Sighing, she flipped off the light and went into the hall. A second later, she saw the silhouette of her shadow cast in front of her. Whipping around, she saw the room lit up again.

  Her heart thumped in her throat. Was the house trying to communicate with her? She made her way back into the smallest of the six bedrooms.

  A chill washed over her. She’d read about stuff like this happening when a spirit lingered with unfinished business. But what? “Who are you?” No answer.

  Some papers stuck out of the abandoned bureau’s top drawer. She went over and pulled at the wooden handles. Bills dated within the last five years and newspaper clippings in varying degrees of brown were shoved haphazardly in the drawer. She picked her way through them, searching for clues. Toward the bottom she suspected the papers belonged to the original owners and not the most recent ones. A sepia picture of an infant with its eyes closed caught her attention. Rose Elizabeth was scrawled in pencil at the bottom. Rose wore a long christening gown and her arms were straight by her sides. Something wasn’t quite right. The baby wasn’t sleeping.

  Val looked up as if speaking to someone. “Did you lose a child?” The lights flickered. A sharp pain sliced through her heart. She knew the cruelty of a too-quick life and death cycle. “I’m sorry.”

  The room went dark. And stayed that way. Spooked, she called her friend to see if she would come over.

  Joely arrived twenty minutes later. First came the grand tour. Val loved listening to Joely behind her, oohing and aahing over the marble fireplace and carved pillars.

  After they’d toured the entire first floor, Joely followed her up the stairs. “I can’t believe you get to live here.”

  “I should probably ask you to pinch me, but I don’t want to.” Val laughed. She loved the opportunity to share her home with her friend.

  She gestured toward the scratched floors and the carpet roll still resting in the hall. “Looks like you’ve been busy. How’s Nathan feeling?”

  “Pretty good.”

  They moved into the master bedroom with the four-poster bed. Joely walked to one of the arched windows and placed her hand on the pane. “There’s so much light.”

  “That’s because there are fifty windows in this house.”

  Joely gasped. “You’re so lucky. Show me the other bedrooms.”

  They walked into the room with the flickering lights. Sweet talcum powder wafted into Val’s nostrils.

  “What’s that scent?” Joely asked.

  “You smell it, too?” Val grinned. She’d hoped Joely would be sensitive to what this house had to say. She went to the bureau and pulled out the morbid photograph of the infant. “I think this was her room.”

  Joely lightly grasped the picture’s yellowed corner. “Poor thing.”

  “This is the room I told you about. I think the woman who gave birth to this baby is still here.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe she has some unfinished business.”

  “What do you know about her?” Joely asked.

  Val went to the closet and pulled out the Chain of Title papers the real estate agent had given them. “All I have is this, but it’s pretty legalistic. Lot #42 on this parcel of land with an apple orchard on it was sold to so-in-so in 1920.”

  Joely took it and flipped through the many pages. “Wow.”

  “The only interesting part is that the original owners almost divorced. That must’ve been quite a scandal back in the twenties.”

  “Does it say why?”

  Val shook her head. “Not really. It just tells how they would’ve divided up their property--furniture, glassware, a typewriter--all sort of everyday items. But for some reason, the couple reconciled.”

  The lights extinguished. Val and Joely looked up at the chandelier then stared at each other with their mouths ajar.

  Val moved to the switch and flipped it down, then back on. “See what I mean?”

  Joely put the papers on the bureau. “Maybe the woman wants to communicate with you.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know.” Joely returned to the closet doors and gazed at the papers and trash. “If you sort through this stuff, you might find something helpful. Does this house have a safe? If these people were rich, it seems like they’d have a safe hidden somewhere.”

  The lights flickered as if in agreement. “We have the original blueprints. Do you think the safe might be shown on them?”

  Val went into one of the other bedroom closets and pulled out the rolled blueprints. She flattened them out on the desk and searched. Finally, they noticed one of the drawn walls seemed unusually thick. They ran to the master bedroom and lifted a landscape painting off the wall. There it was. Just like in the movies.

  Val gasped. “We don’t know the combination, though.” After twirling the dial several times and trying the latch, she gave up. She called a locksmith and even though Nathan would probably balk, she paid extra for him to come right away.

  Once open, the mostly empty safe smelled of pipe smoke. It contained no money or jewels. Just a diary. Val shivered with excitement.

  As she lifted the dusty leather binding, a photograph slipped out. It was a black and white portrait of a woman in a wedding gown sitting on a staircase. Val’s staircase.

  She looked at Joely, her heart beating with excitement. “I think I know what she’s trying to tell us. You should get married here, in this house.”

  Joely’s expression was hard to read. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would the spirit care about me?”

  Val shrugged and glanced at the photo again. “Maybe I’m wrong. But I still think it’s a good idea. You want something small and intimate. We could hold the ceremony in the living room.”

  Joely’s brown eyes opened wide. “Are you serious?”

  She nodded.

  Ever so slowly a smile spread across Joely’s lips. “That would be wonderful.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Joely couldn’t wait. From her car she called Jake, but he wasn’t home. She tracked him down at his office and when he was as excited as she was, she dialed her sister. “Kate, good news!”

  “You’ve decided to break up with Jake?”

  Joely rolled her eyes. “I didn’t have to. He said he’s a lapsed Catholic for a reason. He doesn’t want to get married in the church after all.”

  “What about your future mother-in-law?”

  Joely looked out the car window at the historical neighborhood--grand homes surrounded by mature trees. She’d like to live in a small cottage herself, but this place would be perfect to host a wedding. “I don’t think Mrs. Mahoney will ever like me, so I need to stop worrying about it. The question is, do I need to still worry about you as my matron of honor?”

  “I’ll be there. I couldn’t skip my only sister’s wedding. You have to understand, I was sleep-deprived and super cranky when we spoke.” She paused. “I just don’t want you to do whatever Jake tells you to. I want you to do what’s best for you and Anna.”

  A cleansing breath. “That’s exactly what I intend to do.”

  # # #

  Saturday morning Val woke up next
to Nathan in the antique four-poster bed that came with their new master bedroom. She looked over and saw that he was awake. He seemed happier now that he had something productive to do in-between therapy appointments. They’d hired movers to do all of the heavy lifting, but Nathan had done the tedious, time-consuming work of wrapping the dishes in newspaper and sorting through Val’s old House Beautiful magazines. “Thanks for packing up all of my stuff.”

  “No problem. I’m glad to do it.”

  She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. The kiss lingered.

  He looked toward the door. “Is Chip awake?”

  She kissed down his neck to his chest. “He’s probably watching cartoons downstairs.” Pausing, she made her way to the door and confirmed that it was locked. She tiptoed back to her husband and started all over again.

  When their lovemaking was over, she laid back and tried to catch her breath. The honeymoon may have been postponed, but the delay only seemed to increase their passion.

  “You’re amazing,” he said.

  Nodding, she felt her eyes moisten. “I’m so happy you’re okay.” To think she’d almost lost him scared her to death.

  He stroked her hair. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  A chill skimmed her naked body. She pulled the cotton sheets up to her chest, but it didn’t seem to help. “Do you feel a draft?”

  “No. I’m pretty hot actually.”

  She saw the sweat glistening on his forehead. “I feel like a window’s open or something.” She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her hands against her goose bumps.

  “It’s an old house. Probably the windows need to be sealed.”

  Go out for breakfast. The thought entered her mind like a whisper. “Hey, let’s go get some donuts.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Whatever. I just thought it’d be nice.” Go! She searched the room for something, she wasn’t sure what. Was the spirit speaking to her? “Did you hear that?”

  Nathan propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her. “Hear what?”

  Embarrassed, she shook her head. “Never mind.” Get out! Val’s heart raced. The spirit sounded angry. “I really want donuts right now.”

  Her husband and son obliged her. While the three of them sat at the nearby bakery, it started to rain. On the way home, she quizzed Chip on this week’s spelling words. He refused to try and when he did, it seemed like he was purposely messing up.

  Once home, Val told Chip to get the book he was supposed to read for school. She went into her bedroom to change her damp socks. She couldn’t believe what she saw in the middle of her bed.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The ceiling had fallen in. Literally. Hunks of plaster filled the center of their bed.

  Val looked up to see the jagged hole in the ceiling. “Nathan!” She didn’t know how to fix things. Her duplex might have been ho-hum, but it was new enough that nothing major had ever gone wrong.

  Nathan came into their bedroom. “Shit.”

  “Good thing we went out to breakfast. Otherwise, we would’ve been hit.” She wondered about that voice she’d heard. She’d thought it was a mean spirit that wanted them out, but now she thought it might be a protective spirit. Her eyes scanned the room, but she didn’t feel it nearby.

  “I’ll get the phone book and see if anyone can come and re-plaster the ceiling today.”

  “Is that going to fix it, though? I wonder how old the roof is. Did the building inspector say anything about it needing a new roof?”

  Nathan shook his head. “I don’t remember.”

  Val stared at him. “How can you not remember something major like the place needing a new roof?”

  He scowled. “I told you I don’t remember!” On his way out of the room, he slammed his fist against the doorframe.

  She jumped as bits of gray powder fell from the ceiling. Her heart rate quickened. She stared at the now empty doorway. Where did that come from? Nathan had never lost his temper in front of her.

  She heard Chip bounding up the stairs before he came into her room. “What’s--” He didn’t finish his question because he froze when he saw the mess on the bed.

  Out of instinct, she walked over and hugged her son. “No big deal. You have to expect that some things will wear out when you have an older home. Nathan’s calling someone to fix it, though.”

  Chip walked closer and picked up a piece of plaster. “Cool!”

  She laughed in spite of herself. Kids sure have a different way of looking at the world. “Let’s go inspect the rest of the house for signs of water damage.”

  Their walk revealed cracks and bubbles in several different locations. When they were finished, they made their way downstairs. Nathan informed her that no one even answered their phone.

  She shook her head. “It is the weekend. Can you call on Monday?”

  Nathan closed the yellow pages with a thump. “Will do.”

  ###

  Monday evening Val entered the house through the back door. Ironic that she loved the carved wood of the front door, but never used it since their garage sat behind the house. The rear door brought her to the basement stairs, where the servants used to stay, and to the large kitchen with outdated appliances. She admired the black and white checkerboard floor which didn’t really fit with the rest of the house. It reminded her of her grandmother’s.

  On childhood visits, she and her grandmother would sit at the kitchen table drinking Dr Pepper out of glass bottles, her grandmother’s calico cat rubbing against her legs. Sometimes they’d take their pop into the living room and watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie on TV. Her own mother didn’t allow her to consume pop or anything with sugar. Sugar was the devil, apparently. Sugar and TV and boys and art. . . .

  Val shook away the memories and continued through the house. Once in the hallway, she spied Nathan sitting on the floor with one knee propped up and a butter knife in his hand.

  He looked at her and grinned. “Look what I found today. Underneath all of the dirt on these tiles are little designs.”

  The foyer’s tile had a jagged “before” and “after” line. Before, large and small brown squares formed a diagonal pattern. Now, curlicues and uniquely Mexican designs accented the small, orange squares. She crouched down to inspect what had been revealed beneath the layers of grime. “Wow! What made you think to do this?”

  Shrugging, he scraped a little more with his butter knife. “I don’t know. I just had a feeling.”

  She knew what he meant. “Do you believe in. . . .” Ghosts? She bit her tongue. Her own mother had laughed when she’d revealed her belief. Laughed, and taken her to see the minister for some one-on-one preaching. Since then she didn’t like to share.

  “What?” he asked. “Do I believe in what?”

  “Never mind.” Her fingertips grazed a tile that looked like an Aztec god. “See? This is what’s so great about a house like this. Unexpected discoveries.” She stood and started to go put away her coat when she turned back. “Did you call someone to fix the ceiling?”

  Nathan paused from his scraping. “No. I forgot.”

  She looked at her watch. Six-thirty. No one would be around now. “How could you forget?”

  “I started cleaning these tiles early this morning. Then the delivery guys came with our new furniture. I wasn’t sure what you wanted done with the old couches, so I paid the guys extra to move them into the basement. Since then I’ve been working here all day.” He gestured toward the floor.

  She was anxious to see the cranberry couch and love seat they’d bought off of the display floor, but she didn’t like the idea of sleeping on them. “I can see that. But the roof caving in is kind of a priority here. If you weren’t going to do it, I could’ve called from work. I didn’t, though, because I thought you were going to.”

  His grasp on the handle of the knife tightened. “Hey, I said I was sorry.”

  “No you didn’t.”

  His eyebrows lowered and
his jaw flinched. “Are you going to turn into a nag now that we’re married?”

  “I’m not nagging. I just need to know if I can count on you to do what you say.”

  “Screw you!” He hurled the knife upward. The blade bounced off the stucco wall and struck Val between her breasts.

  “Ow!” Pressing her chest, she darted into the kitchen. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She grabbed her car keys and headed for the back door.

  But Chip was home. She couldn’t leave him.

  Her hand rubbed the spot where she’d been hit. She dropped her keys. Bracing herself against the countertop, she watched her arm tremble. She struggled to catch her breath. As if she were drowning.

  What the hell just happened? Was this the beginning? Would she someday regret not packing her bags and walking out at this minute?

  She shook her head. No, this was crazy. This wasn’t like Nathan. It was the head injury. The doctor said it could mess with Nathan’s emotions.

  Breathe. Just breathe.

  A presence filled the doorframe. She looked up to see Nathan standing there. Fear spiked another adrenaline release. But she did not flee. Didn’t do anything, but wait.

  The floor creaked as he took a step toward her. His expression had changed. He looked remorseful, his eyebrows back in their slanted, two sides of a mountain position. It made him appear so innocent.

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he reached out his palms, pleading. “I’m sorry, Val. I don’t know why I did that.”

  She crossed her arms. “Don’t ever throw anything again. You hear me? If you do, I. . . .” The words barricaded her throat.

  His face turned red. “I won’t. I promise.” Closer he came. He reached his arms around her stiff body and hugged her. Within seconds, he collapsed into tears. “Sorry. . . I’m sorry. I love you so much. . . I’m sorry.”

  Her shoulders relaxed. In the eight months they’d been dating, she’d never seen him cry. He must really feel bad. He hadn’t tried to hit her with the knife. It ricocheted.

  Nevertheless, she wouldn’t hug him back.