It was pathetic, the island's top speed limit was fifteen-miles-an-hour, which meant Greg never had to step on the accelerator, but instead had to keep his foot on the break the entire drive. Then there were the Aviator sunglasses he inevitably wore, as if he were a fighter pilot.
Of course, part of William's annoyance was brought on by jealousy. When Gayle was pregnant with Katie, she had somehow talked William into buying a Plymouth station wagon. It was actually a Sport Station Wagon, with green and brown paneling. How the word "sport" ever got associated with the thing was beyond him and looking at it, made him cringe. Gayle had chalked it up to hormones and her deep-seated wish to have a dozen children.
"Sure Greg, anytime you want to go for a run, you just let me know. I like to get moving by 0600." William knew this last was a deal breaker for his new neighbor.
"Great!" Greg lied. "How was the move? Probably the shortest distance of your career right?"
How was the move? Ugh! How was any move? William's smile started to slip.
"Good, pretty smooth with Gayle running the show. Despite the shortness of the trip, it was one of the more exhausting ones we've done," he responded. The trick with Greg was to never ask him a question and to never give him more information than was needed. At the same time you couldn't be rude and just give yes or no answers.
"That's exactly what I thought you'd say." Greg gave him a knowing look. "I can picture your day already, unpacking like crazy, moving furniture here and there, and then moving it back again...women." A sad shake of his fat face accompanied the word women. Greg looked like he was just getting warmed up verbally and William groaned inwardly. "Then there are all the pictures and paintings you have to hang and then shopping for the little things. I don't envy you. You're going to be one tired pup tonight. Am I right?"
William was tired right then just listening to him. "You got that right." He thought it was time to turn his brain off and go on autopilot. He would let the words flow over him, but the words that came next out of Greg's mouth didn't flow over him, but rather ran over him.
"That's why you're coming over tonight for dinner. Henny told me yesterday how it was going to be and she said you'd make excuses and not want to impose. But I was told to not let you wriggle off of the hook," Greg said, destroying any chance that William had of looking forward to a good day.
William panicked.
He was about to say he didn't want to impose but Greg had beat him to it. Next, he tried to think of an excuse, but nothing came to mind. Time slipped away and he was on the verge of being rude. "I'll have to talk to Gayle, just in case she has anything planned." He hoped the delaying tactic would work and that his wife could think of something in the mean time.
"Wow! That's exactly what Henny said you'd say." Greg smiled largely. "She also said Gayle was a smart girl and that she would never schedule something the day after a move. So, I will have Henny fix dinner and we'll see the five of you at six sharp! Oh, she said to ask you what you wanted. She's a great cook and can make anything."
He thought that Henny must be a good cook, judging by Greg's waistline. "Steak, that's what I'm in the mood for. I haven't had a good T-bone in ages," William said and thought: 'Well, he asked.'
Greg's smile faltered just a tiny bit. "Sure, steak it is," he agreed but wasn't quite as good-humored as before. "Your littlest daughter doesn't eat steak, does she?" Greg asked hopefully.
Katie was the same at every meal, three bites of whatever was placed in front of her and then a great big serving of talking.
"Oh yeah, she loves it." He or Will would finish anything Katie didn't. "I have to go, Greg. See you tonight." With that, he turned and went into his new home, leaving a near-speechless Greg behind.
The house was still cold and his sweat chilled on him right away. What a day it had been already. He'd gone through the back door into the kitchen and was busy making coffee, when Will came downstairs.
"Hey Dad. Do you know where the thermostat for the AC is? I can't find it anywhere." Will had dressed in two layers of pajamas.
"This house doesn't have central air. I'm calling today to get the boiler looked at," William answered. "In the meantime, I think we should find where we stored those little electric heaters that we bought on the Cape. I think they're in room B-3, according to the 'Captain's' invasion maps."
Will's face went blank for a moment. "Is that the one on the right or the left?" William noticed his son still looked despondent over his break up with Lisa and it was understandable since it had only been a week. He had thought the two had made a fine pair and wondered what had happened, but Will refused to talk about it with him.
"The one on the left, do you need any help?" William asked as his son headed for the basement.
"Not from you, old man," Will said with a grin, the first his father had seen in a long while. "By the way, I have perfected an escape from your Unbreakable Death Grip. When you have recovered from your little jog, I think it is time you meet the new top dog around here."
"Care to wager on it?" William loved to put money on a sure thing. He thought Will was a good six months away from really testing him.
"What's the bet?" Will was always up for a challenge and William had a notion this might perk him up. In fact, he toyed with the idea of throwing the match.
William considered. "Simple: I have to get you in my patented Unbreakable Death Grip within five minutes or you win and, if you can get out of it in five minutes from the time I put it on you, you win." William always needed to be very clear on the rules when betting with his son. Will could twist words like the very devil. "And Talitha is judging, not your mother."
William knew the boy would have preferred to have his mom judge since she was extremely biased toward her son, but the terms were still very favorable to Will. "Ok," he answered quickly. "Loser has to go out on the porch...no, no the middle of the Village Green, at noon tomorrow and yell as loud as they can, I am a little girl! And Talitha can judge that as well."
So much for throwing the match!
Will must be confident in his technique to make such a bet. Maybe it was that five minutes, he had to put him in the death grip. Will may be thinking of just stalling, by using a very large wrestling area and just trying not to engage his dad.
"If we wrestle in the family room, it's a bet," William said and stuck out his hand. Will didn't hesitate a moment and gripped his father's hand, hard. "Now, go get those heaters. I would help, but I got to rest up you know." As his son went into the basement, the 'Boiler Monster' strobe light image flashed into his head and the smile on his face faltered. "No more of that crap," he muttered.
Talitha came down the backstairs at that moment. She topped her brother by dressing in three layers of pajamas to his two, and wore a tired-looking scowl on her face.
"Do you know how to turn down the AC?" she asked. "I was up at 2 am trying to find the control box...oh by the way, I think the heater is malfunctioning too."
He shook his head. "We don't have central air and I'll get the boiler fixed today, I promise."
Talitha looked skeptical. "No AC?"
"Nope, just one of those old brick houses that take forever to heat up and then stay broiling until you wish for the cold again," he said. Will came up from the basement a few minutes later lugging three portable heaters in his long arms. He went to help his son, but Will pulled back.
"Don't help me, not with your bad back." As Will spoke a sly smile spread over his face.
William looked puzzled. "I don't have a bad back."
"Not yet," Will said secretively and then headed for the stairs.
William started to get a nervous.
"What's he on about, do you know?" he asked Talitha. She was going from cupboard to cupboard looking for something.
"Oh, he has some new wrestling move he's going to try on you." Talitha turned and looked at him, exasperated. "Do you know where the cereal is?"
"I'm pretty sure in the pantry." He opened a cupboard hims
elf. "Did you see any coffee mugs?" Talitha pointed. "What's the new move?" William asked her when she came back into the kitchen carrying a box of Cheerios.
"He calls it a body lock and he tried it on Brian, and Brian said it really hurt his back."
"A body lock...never heard of it. Does he use his legs or his arms?" This could get interesting if they were both trying to put different moves on at the same time.
"Oh, he uses his legs and they wrap around the waist." Talitha's eyes narrowed. "Should I be telling you this?"
"No! That's cheating, Dad!" Will had just come down the stairs and he was quite outraged.
"It's not cheating, it's called operational intelligence," William explained. "Forewarned is forearmed."
"Well it sounds a lot like cheating to me," Talitha said and William saw then the amazing similarity between her and her mother. Besides the dark brown hair and the warm tan, there was the set of her jaw at the mere notion of wrongdoing.
"Who's cheating and at what?" Gayle strode into the kitchen carrying Katie. He smiled; this time it was Gayle who seemed to be so much like her daughter. They had struck identical poses and both were eyeing William sternly.
"Dad has been prying information...secret information, out of Talitha, about our big wrestling match today!" Will was a little angrier than the situation called for in William's opinion. It was another side effect of the break up, he assumed.
"Well, it isn't exactly a state secret, Willy J, so I think you should calm down," Gayle said. "And I'm afraid there'll be no time for wrestling today. We have a big day of unpacking and getting this ship in order. Now, we have one vote for French toast for breakfast, right Miss Katie?"
"Yes please!" Katie said and then wriggled down from her mom's arms. She slipped over to Talitha's side, cast a wary look to her father, and whispered, "Did it hurt, when Daddy prying-ed the stuff out of you?"
Talitha scooped up her little sister. "You're too cute!" she told her. "Is that why she can get you to make French toast, the day after moving...I mean M-Day? Because she's so stinkin cute?" Talitha asked her mother.
William loved this. He'd seen jealousy between siblings in other families and it always bothered him. His own children fought sometimes, but overall, they loved each other and showed it.
"Yes, I only do special things for my cute children. William, do something about the AC for goodness sakes." Gayle started to open cupboards, one after the other. "Has anyone seen the glass mixing bowls?"
"You just missed them," he replied, "They were way in the back of the last one. And there is no central air conditioning here, but I'm going to give James Andre a call right now. Will and Talitha please set up one heater in here and two in the dining room."
"No air?" Gayle asked, her upper body still deep in the cupboard. After a moment and some clattering, she emerged with her glass bowls. "You tell James, that if he doesn't have someone over here by the time breakfast is done, he'll be dealing with me." Gayle gave him a long look and he knew it was not an idle threat.
"Got the message loud and clear," he said to his wife. "Good news though, you don't have to cook tonight. Greg Harris has been kind enough to invite us over for a steak dinner!" Both Will and Talitha let out moans of anguish and Gayle wrinkled her nose in a combination of disgust and irritation. William understood. "I know, I know. He ambushed me and wouldn't take 'No' for an answer." He turned to his son and daughter. "Why are you two upset? It's a steak dinner, Will." It had been a long time since the Jerns had eaten steak.
Will cast his eyes down and said nothing. Talitha, acting as his advocate as usual, spoke for him, "It's Amy, their daughter. She's been hot after Will since his breakup with Lisa and she won't take 'No' for an answer either. In fact, 'No' may not be part of her extremely limited vocabulary." She gave her mom a significant look and Gayle's eyebrows shot up.
"Oh..." William was at a slight loss. "We'll still be polite, as always... and speaking of being polite. I ran into the Catholic priest right after my run and well, he invited himself to dinner tomorrow night." Gayle gave him a 'We aren't Catholic' kind of look. He smiled at her and then mentioned, "And you're to make spaghetti."
"Really? Did he get that from the Pope?" Gayle had an incredulous look to her. "Was he rude about it?"
"No, not at all. He was just impossible to say no to. He acted like he knew us and was so darn friendly."
Gayle shrugged her shoulders. "Ok, I can make spaghetti, it's cheap."
William was about to tell her about the house blessing part of their conversation but held back because the children were still in the room.
He was just standing there, thinking about the odd morning he'd had when Gayle spoke, "William. You were going to call James?"
4
"Did you make sure the pilot light was on?" asked Lieutenant Commander Andre a few minutes later; the question was stupid and irked William. The pilot light was the first thing any man worth his salt would check, but he held his tongue.
"Yes James. And I feel I should warn you that Gayle is in a wrath and will be heading down to your office—with my blessing—if there isn't a capable man down here to fix it in the next hour."
"William, I can't just send anyone down there. I could get, hold on." He heard James shuffling papers, and then a muffled: "Damn!" Followed by more shuffling. "Is someone going to be there pretty much all day?" James sounded a little nervous.
William instantly understood. The Greek painter had asked the same question after mentioning the house being haunted. Sure the house could be a little freaky, but these were grown men for goodness sakes. He was just about to say so when the black image flicked through his mind.
"I'll be here all day and I will personally babysit whoever you send down. I have unpacking to do anyways." If babysitting was what it took to get the boiler going, then he'd just have to babysit.
The repairman showed up about two hours later. He was tall and extremely slim. He wore blue overalls that he tucked into his boots and on his head was an old green John Deere cap. His name was Seth and he looked to have just walked in from Iowa.
Seth was very nervous and bobbed his head up and down constantly as he talked. William prepared for him by having every light in the basement blazing away. He even stole light bulbs from one of the attic rooms and laid them on top of the boiler, since the ones in there didn't seem to last.
At first, Seth worked without the encumbrance of unnecessary chitchat, which William appreciated. Seth had the boiler stripped down in minutes and then scrounged around in its innards. Soon he began to relax and started to talk, but not to William. He struck up a conversation with the boiler which he dubbed, "You ole bitch."
"What the hell is your problem, you ole bitch?" he asked and William was just getting ready to snap at the guy to watch his tongue when Seth murmured, "Oh, you got a clogged filter valve, you ole bitch? I don't think you do."
This made William hope that the problem had been solved quickly. "Is that easily fixable?"
"Ayeah. But that ain't your problem." The words sounded tinny as they echoed inside the boiler. "What's going on with you, you ole bitch?" he asked the boiler again. William waited for the repairman to elaborate, but Seth kept up his conversation with the boiler instead. "Why are all your nuts so damn rusty all ready, you ole bitch?"
"William!" Gayle called down from the kitchen. "I need a hand up here." She'd been busy unpacking and directing the unpacking of the children.
"Oh, hey!" Seth pulled his long body out of the boiler in a flash. "Oh hey...ah Captain...ah, I might need you to help me here with some stuff, ok?" Back to being nervous, he began to bob his head up and down again.
Ignoring the incorrect rank, William put his hands out wide to reassure him. "I'm not going anywhere until you're done." He then went to the doorway and yelled up to Gayle, "I can't just yet honey, I'm needed down here."
Seth waited to see if William was going to actually stay. He stood there with his head gently nodding and it was only when they
heard Gayle say distantly, "Ok," that he dove back into the boiler. An hour of constant scraping, and adjusting, and numerous utterances of the phrase, "you ole bitch" went by before Seth pulled his head out.
"Ok, I just need to get a bi-metallic strip and she'll be as good as new."
William wanted to tell Seth, the boiler was already new, but asked instead, "Will that take long?"
"Oh, it'll be late this afternoon before I can get it and get back...you'll still be here, right?" The nervousness lay just below the surface of the question.
"Yes, but please hurry."
Seth left quickly and William went to help with the unpacking. It turned into another very long day for the family. There seemed to be an endless supply of boxes to be emptied and furniture to be shifted, first here and then there, and then back again, just as Greg Harris had said. Pictures needed to be hung and dishes shelved.
Other than Katie, the children were a big help and seemed constantly in motion. Katie insisted on finding the box containing the Halloween costumes and spent the entire day skipping about underfoot as Little Red Riding Hood.
It was nearly four when Seth came back.
He worked quickly, but would've been quicker still, if he hadn't checked his watch every other minute. William kept close in order to keep the repairman reassured with his presence. Finally with 5 o'clock nearing, Seth had the boiler put back together and went upstairs to the thermostat to test it. William was fearful that it wouldn't start, but it roared to life after only a moment.
"Hey...ah Captain? Can you bring my tools up?" Seth called from the top of the stairs. William turned from the boiler and was just reaching down for the metal toolbox, when the light flickered once and went out. He froze in place. His eyes went wide trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. Unbelievably, the fear he had felt that morning came back and he felt a trace of panic run through him.
Quickly his ears began consciously sifting through all of the noises around him, his mind registering each and tagging them as friendly or unknown. The voices from upstairs seemed now very far away and there was a muffled quality to their sound. His eyes shifted to the boiler room door... it was no longer open. It had been open a moment before, he had been looking at it when Seth had called down, but now it was shut tight and he had the horrible notion that if he tried the knob, it wouldn't turn. The panic became more urgent as a terrible feeling began to creep over him—there was something in the room.
The Trilogy of the Void: The Complete Boxed Set Page 10