Farleigh's Sandwiched Nightmare

A dream within a dream proves upsetting, and new neighbors bring fear, and consternation to Oglethorpe street.

The final "Pompous" reenactment was to be held at the Calvert Mansion not far from the Blundon House, but Brenda had no intention of going to see Caitlin "strutting like a Whooping crane" with a cute baby in her arms. The Halloween windows had to be planned, there were more mannequins available with just a phone call, "and a fist full of cash." Sherman the "prop guy" was always threatening to "burn them up, or take them to the dump" and of course, he knew that Brenda would take "any and all" if she had the room, "and a bargain was at hand."

It was a tradition to donate book bags to children who could not afford one, and Brenda always included extras. She gave Helene Shelby money to go shopping for them "this year" since Helene's Art business had slowed down. With the approach of Halloween in a month or so, Helene would be engaged to help "spiff up" the windows.  

Brenda loved the quiet times in her life. She wanted Riverdale Park to become the best place to live. She ignored the rumors about a big highway running past the cute town square. Surely they could put it somewhere else ? And, of course, the trolley would run "forever."

Harriet Wilson phoned to say that the house next door to the Blundon house had just been "snatched up by a pushy young man" who also happened to be the replacement for Pauline Kirby at the Historical Society, and worst of all, he had the State title waiting in the wings. If he accepted that post, he could decide who "historically" got rescued, and who got the "boot" when zoning laws changed. 

Brenda was outraged. She had wanted the house next to her whether it was built by Mr. Blundon or not. Harriet also said that she had met the Turners in the coffee shop, and they would be on their Oglethorpe Street property with the building contractor "later today."

Brenda felt a minor panic attack, and grabbed her father's ashes from the fireplace mantle. For an instant she understood exactly what Mr. Blundon had felt when he saw his son dead on the train tracks. She felt ungrounded, frightened, and helpless. She sat on the couch, and held the urn up close to her heart. How dare the bank not call her about the house ? She would certainly investigate what had gone wrong, and if no reasonable explanation emerged to her satisfaction, she'd be removing her 5 hundred thousand dollars "plus" to another bank.

Fareigh telephoned after lunch and begged her to "come and stay" in Beltsville because he'd had a "crisis of epic proportions during a dream within a dream." "A dream sandwich" Brenda suggested. He said he'd pick her up no matter what the hour, and that "an overnight" would most likely "do the trick."  Things were happening so quickly that Brenda told him she was in the middle of a "crisis" sandwich herself, and that he could pick her up at 7 P.M. or so because she had to do a few things, including the "collaring" of her future neighbors, the Turners of Oglethorpe street.

CJ Marks