Strange Noises

An eerie night, and noises in the house.

T

he wind and rain had begun in earnest when Brenda reached the porch on the Oliver Street side of her house. She turned on a lot of lights, and bumped up the heat. Most of the downstairs doors were closed off, but she always checked each room in the house before she started cooking dinner.

Daniel had tried to get her to buy a gun for protection, but she felt safe in the neighborhood. She wanted to erect an iron fence around the property if the historical association would allow it. There may be height restrictions, but a fence would keep dogs out of the yard, as well as people. She craved lilac bushes, and wisteria to go with the magnificent home. 

After checking the entire house, including the attic and basement, she cooked herself a vegetable pot pie, and brewed a large mug of tea. Apple pie would round off her day. The dining room was a little chilly, but a candle light dinner would fill in the need for romance. Daniel hadn't changed, but Henry needed his full attention. Caitlin was definitely "off," and her astrology chart backed that perception up tenfold. 

She changed moods very quickly according to Daniel, and talked non stop "for hours." She could be sullen, and distant if he didn't have some kind of sex with her. Brenda wondered if Caitlin's habit of touching Henry in an inappropriate way might be a ploy  to gain attention, or subtle punishment for Daniel's not buying her a big house "closer to Brenda's." 

To Brenda's way of thinking, Caitlin was already living "much too close for comfort." It would be nothing short of a horror movie to have Caitlin, Grandma "Mo" and Daniel living within a few houses of her. She could just "see"  Grandma and Caitlin standing at the end of the sidewalk on Oglethorpe Street pushing Henry in a baby buggy dressed like Lord Fauntleroy and yelling "woo hoo, Brenda, we are here for the free tour."  

Adding insult to injury, Caitlin and Maureen would be dressed in Edwardian costumes asking Brenda to pose with them. Caitlin, of course, would be envisioning herself on the Society page with Brenda in the background dressed like a frump.

Brenda heard a soft thump in the attic. Despite the fact that she had checked it out earlier, she felt a little twinge of fear. She took her tea upstairs, switched on the attic light, and climbed the steps slowly. Then she heard the same noise again. She heard someone say "go on girl. it won't hurt you" inside her head. She knew it had to be one of the "Train Gang" telling her that. 

A  fat pigeon walked around on the floor near the rarely used fireplace. He had knocked over a second bundle of sticks. She grabbed a curtain to throw over the confused bird, laughed, and tried to close off the chimney flue, and it wouldn't budge. She'd call for help in the morning, but  first, Mr. Pigeon had to be released outside as quickly as possible, and Brenda needed another look at Henry's astrology chart so she could compare it to Caitlin's.

C J. Marks