Meredith steeled herself and headed toward the house. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, c’mon.”
“Do you really think we should? I mean, shouldn’t we wait until Miss Randall or Miss Bradley is here? It’s their house, after all.”
“Meredith, c’mon. They gave us permission to look around, and it’ll be great for our project. I know you’re scared, but they said that no one will be here and...”
“What?”
“Well, after meeting them, I kind of wanted to see where they lived. I want to see what their life was like in their old painted lady. You know?”
Meredith took comfort in that because she, too, was curious about the two older women and their house. “Okay, let’s go before I change my mind, but let’s not break anything this time, okay?” She attempted a smile and pointed to the banister lying on the front lawn.
“Go ahead. Rub that in.” Dani smiled back.
They turned toward the front door and looked through the windows flanking it. Meredith heard Dani exhale loudly. Meredith smiled. Dani was nervous, too.
Dani said, “Looks clear. No ghosts.”
Meredith smacked her playfully on the arm. “Just unlock it.”
Dani unlocked the heavy wooden door and pushed it. The door swung open wide into the front foyer. The slow squeak of the hinges made Meredith cringe. The eerie sound was something from a horror movie.
They crossed over the threshold in silence. Once inside, Meredith closed the massive door making sure it latched tightly against the cold. Inside the house, a warm, homey feeling enveloped her. The house had been loved. She was sure of it. She looked to the left. “Hey, look at this room. This must have been the sitting room where Miss Randall and Miss Bradley entertained their guests.”
“Esther and Millie.”
“I can’t call them that. It seems, I don’t know, disrespectful somehow.”
“They insisted we call them that when we were leaving just now.”
“I know, but—wow, look at this fireplace.” The decorative stone and wooden mantle were in such good condition they looked brand new. “I bet they had wonderful evenings sitting in here by the fire.”
“Yeah, Esther knitting and Millie...hmm, what would Millie be doing?”
“Smoking her pipe,” Meredith said confidently.
“Smoking her pipe? Where’d you come up with that?”
“I don’t know, really.” Meredith ran her fingers along the fine wood of the mantle. “I just kind of pictured her with a pipe. Weird, I know. None of the old ladies I know smoke pipes.”
Meredith noticed the thermostat on the wall. “Hey Miss Randall said we could turn up the heat.”
“Esther.”
“Okay, fine. Esther said we could turn up the heat, right?”
“Go for it.”
Meredith turned the dial. “How high should I set it?”
“Uh, I don’t know. Sixty-eight maybe?”
“That sounds good. Anything’s better than the fifty degrees it’s set on now.”
Meredith turned back toward the wide staircase that wound its way to the second floor. “So, Esther has a sister named Bernice, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“So, Millie isn’t Esther’s sister?”
“No, they’re definitely not sisters.” Dani walked to the other side of the sitting room and stood next to the window that overlooked the auto parts store.
Meredith realized her error. “Oh, right. If Millie was Esther’s sister, then Gregory would be Millie’s grandnephew, too, but Millie denied being related to him. Esther and Millie seemed so close, you know? Like sisters. Maybe they’re two old spinsters living together because they never found husbands.”
Dani laughed loudly, and Meredith shot her a glance. “Why are you laughing at me?”
Dani pulled herself together and said, “I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing near you.” She poked Meredith lightly on the arm and shouted, “Tag. You’re it.” She bolted past Meredith and up the stairs to the second floor.
“Hey, don’t leave me alone down here.” Meredith chased after her fleeing friend. “Wait.”
Meredith was winded when she got to the top of the stairs. She found Dani in one of the smaller bedrooms, the one that overlooked Fiesta Loca, the Mexican restaurant next door.
Dani seemed wistful when she said, “I wonder what they used to see out this window. You know, like, cow pastures or meadows?”
Meredith stood next to her at the window. She blocked the brightly colored restaurant from her mind’s eye and said, “I bet there were big open meadows where Esther played with her big sister Bernice. Their mother would call them in for supper, but they wouldn’t want to come in yet, so they’d hide in the tall grass and stay really, really quiet. After a while they could tell by their mother’s tone that they were going to get in trouble if they didn’t come in. Then, but only then, would they leave the field and go in.”
Meredith felt Dani looking at her. She turned her head slightly to return the look. “What?”
“That was nice. You made that sound so...real.”
Meredith smiled. “You know what?”
“What?”
“If I lived here, in the old painted lady, this would be my studio. The light is fantastic right now. I’d be up here all day painting and you’d be downstairs making supper and call up to tell me it was ready.”
“Why am I the one making supper?”
“Because I’m up here painting.”
“But I’ll be out coaching lacrosse somewhere and won’t be home, woman.”
“You’d stay away all day? And leave me alone?” Meredith flashed a hurt look.
Dani’s expression changed from playful to serious. “Never.”
Meredith caught Dani’s serious expression and felt her cheeks color. They had just decided to become friends and Meredith couldn’t understand why she’d imagined Dani in the house with her. She must be lonelier than she realized. Flustered, she turned away and moved into the hallway toward the biggest of the three bedrooms on the second floor. “Hey Dani,” she called, “which bedroom was Esther’s? Which one was Millie’s?”
Dani joined Meredith in the largest bedroom, the one with the balcony overlooking Center Street. “This one.”
“This one what?”
“...was Esther’s. Yeah, this would have been Esther’s room.”
“And Millie’s was my art studio.”
“Yeah, okay.” Dani grinned.
Meredith moved to the French doors leading out to the second-floor balcony. She looked out to Center Street. “You know what, Dani?”
“What?”
“I want to paint their portraits.”
“Esther and Millie?”
“Yeah. I think their portraits should hang in the entryway downstairs. I mean, they want to call this the Randall-Bradley House, right? They’ll need something permanent in the front hall to remind everyone who created the Randall-Bradley House for Women.”
“That’s awesome. You’d really do that?” Dani moved closer to Meredith near the closed doors.
“Yeah, it’ll be my community service project.”
Dani’s smile went straight to Meredith’s heart.
“Meredith, that’s awesome. Wait, I just said that, but it’s true. I wanted the senior class to get involved in the community, somehow, but what you want to do is above and beyond. I mean, I just wanted our classmates to go down and read to some of the seniors at the center.”
Meredith wasn’t sure, but it almost looked as if tough Dani Lassiter had tears in her eyes. Meredith said quietly, “What I’m going to do is small, really small, compared to what Esther and Millie plan for this house.”
Dani turned to face her. “I know. A house for, how did they phrase it, women in need?”
“Yeah, I think so. You know, I feel so out of touch. I didn’t realize Whickett had women who were abused and needed a place to run to with their kids.”
“I know. Honestly, I’ve never thought about it, either. That shows you what a cocoon we live in, you know? Esther said there are lots of women who need help. I think it’s so cool they’re donating the house and property. Did Esther say she was still going to own it?”
Meredith shrugged her shoulders. “She said something about creating a trust, or something like that, so the house and land will become the property of some corporation they create. Hey, does Millie own the house, too?”
This time Dani shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what legal rights Millie has in the house, but Esther talked as if it was both of theirs.”
Meredith’s thoughts turned serious. “You and I are so lucky we have two parents who love each other and us.”
Dani seemed to understand Meredith’s train of thought. “Yeah, I can’t imagine a family having to run off in the middle of the night.” She swallowed hard. “All because the mother was getting beaten up. That makes me sick.” Her shoulders drooped.
“I know. Me, too. But Esther said abuse is more common than people think. It’s nice to know there’ll be a place like this, the old painted lady, where those women and kids can come to get back on their feet.”
Dani looked out the windows of the French doors leading to the balcony. Remember how Esther said she wants to help them find jobs and get counseling and stuff? That’s so cool.” Dani nodded. “I’m so glad we met them.”
“Yeah, they’re two modern old ladies, you know? They moved out to make room for people who need help.” Meredith looked around and then looked back at Dani. “How big is this place anyway?”
“I think there’s a third floor. We can check it out later, but first...” Dani turned the deadbolt to the French doors and opened one. She extended her arm toward the balcony in an after you gesture. “Join me?”
Meredith nodded graciously and walked past Dani onto the wooden landing. A gust of icy wind hit her, and she pulled her coat tighter. “Oh, this is so neat. I wish I had a balcony off my bedroom.” She imagined a world without the neon and noise of the present age. Two plastic resin chairs and a small table sat on the balcony, sure signs of a modern era, but Meredith didn’t care. She pulled a chair out for Dani who stepped onto the balcony behind her and said, “Miss Lassiter, will you join me for tea?”
“Well, I would be delighted, Miss Bedford.” Dani took the offered chair and looked expectantly at Meredith.
Meredith sat in the other plastic chair. She did her best to ignore the surprisingly cold plastic and pretended to pour hot tea into a pretend china teacup. She held out the teacup and saucer. Her fine companion, Miss Danielle Anne Lassiter from Whickett, New York, graciously accepted the tea. She then poured her own cup and said, “Thank you so much for joining me on this fine afternoon. The fields should be ready for planting, soon. Don’t you think, Miss Lassiter?” She held her pinky out to the side and took an elegant imaginary sip.
“Uh, yeah sure. Uh, I mean, why yes, Miss Bedford. What a wonderful spring we’re having here in the country without cars or streetlights or Mexican restaurants.” Dani giggled and Meredith couldn’t help herself. She started to giggle, too. After all, it was, maybe, thirty degrees as they sat in cold plastic chairs talking as if the spring planting was imminent.
Meredith pretended to spill her tea on the table. “Oops. How clumsy of me.” She grabbed at her pretend napkin and reached down to wipe up the spill at the same time Dani did. Their hands touched startling Meredith back into the present. She looked up at her friend. Dani’s serious expression made Meredith uneasy, but she wasn’t sure why. She realized their hands still touched and jerked hers away.
Dani cleared her throat and broke into a smile. “Um, Miss Bedford? Think we can take this party inside? My tea is frozen.” She looked into her imaginary cup.
Meredith smiled and got back in character. “Why absolutely, Miss Lassiter. Please, lead the way.”
Dani led them back into the bedroom, and Meredith locked the balcony doors securely behind her. Something had happened on the balcony, and the mood between them had shifted. Meredith couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her today. Their hands had touched. So what? A shared moment between friends shouldn’t make her uneasy. Meredith figured she was just out of practice when it came to friendship. It was, after all, only a few scant hours since she had decided to let her guard down around Dani.
They made their way toward the staircase to go up to the third floor, but froze in their tracks. The distinctive groan of the front door opening shattered the serenity of the house.
Meredith grabbed Dani’s arm through her letterman’s jacket. “Dani!” she whispered.
“I hear it.” Dani leaned over the railing toward the front door, but Meredith knew she wouldn’t be able to see anything since the staircase reversed direction after a small landing in the middle and blocked any view of the front foyer and door.
Dani whispered, “I can’t see anything.”
“What do we do? What do we do?” Meredith squeezed Dani’s arm tighter.
“I don’t know. Maybe we left the door open and the wind got hold of it.”
Meredith wanted to believe that, but she was the one who had closed the door. She had heard it click shut. She was sure of it. She hadn’t turned the deadbolt, though. Maybe it was those guys she’d seen at the auto parts store the other night. Or, she prayed, maybe some kids were playing around.
Dani whispered, “Wait here. I’ll go check it out.”
Meredith didn’t want to be separated from Dani, but decided she didn’t want to go downstairs either, so she murmured, “Okay. I’ll look out the windows and see if I can spot anyone.”
“Okay.” Dani squeezed Meredith’s forearm as if to reassure her everything would be just fine. Meredith reluctantly let go of Dani’s arm and headed back toward the master bedroom.
Meredith thought,
Mikey’s right. This is a scary house.
Meredith crept to the windows in the bedroom. She looked out the French doors to the front of the house. The sun had already gone down, but she could still make things out in the dim shadows. Several cars were stopped in the traffic in front of the house, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. She looked at the driveway. The gate was still wide open with Dani’s truck on guard. Meredith checked the property from the windows on the second floor and found nothing strange except for the fact that she couldn’t hear Dani. A cold shiver ran through her. She rushed to the top of the stairs and hesitated.
“Dani?” she whispered, but realized that unless Dani had been standing beside her she wouldn’t have heard. She was just about to call out to Dani a little louder when the front door slammed shut making her jump. She slunk back toward the wall and swallowed around the stone in her throat. She looked from left to right, but didn’t know which way to run. She heard the slow creak of a footstep on the bottom stair and was propelled into action. She slowly backed her way into the master bedroom. She had nothing to defend herself with, no fireplace poker or anything remotely useful. She could open the balcony doors and grab one of the plastic chairs, but it was way too late for that. Besides, the noise would give her away. Wait. Her camera. In the darkening late afternoon, she could set the flash to blind whoever was messing with them. If that didn’t work she would hurl the camera at him and fly down the stairs, find Dani, and get out of the house.