The Yellow Dress Blues

Farleigh grows more appealing, and attractive to Brenda as the two try to sort out the relationships between the living, and the dead.

The Turners "turned out" to be "just fine" and Brenda liked them better after they had promised not to take down any more trees. They were average people with a keen interest in "her" little town.  She looked at the sketch of their future home, said that it was attractive and offered to show them the Blundon house. They said that they were "pressed for time" and had to stop at the University of Maryland before heading home, but perhaps they would be coming back to the area sometime after Thanksgiving.

Mrs. Turner said that her grandson, Lyle, would love to see the historical house since he was studying to become an architect. After a brief mention about the new tenant that would moving into the house next to the "historical" house, Brenda said goodbye to the couple and headed back to her own world.  Her getting away to be with Farleigh would eclipse any "creepy" concerns she may have had about the Turners. 

Farleigh arrived two hours later and carried Brenda's overnight bag to his  warm car. He was dressed in 1920 clothing that had belonged to Frederick. His hair looked strange, and "slicked down." The laced up sporting shoes had a fringed tongue flap, and the overcoat smelled like mothballs. He didn't say much as they drove to Beltsville taking only the back roads. Brenda steeled herself for "just about anything" like she had many times before.  

When they arrived, the house was dark, and Farleigh moved from room to room turning on the "right" lights "in case Edwina showed up."  He asked Brenda to carry her satchel to his old room at the top of the stairs while he "rustled through the refrigerator." After visiting the bathroom, she went back downstairs and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. Farleigh wrapped an afghan shawl around her, and got busy making a fire. After the fire "settled down" from a slight roar, he brought in a plate full of peanut butter, and marmalade sandwiches, followed by two glasses of heated tap water. 

During the meal, he chatted about his hallucinations the same way he'd describe making a sandwich. Brenda told him that she thought he was having lucid dreams, and that such images appear "just before one falls asleep" as well. He mentioned a few audio distortions "coming up recently." When the refrigerator hummed, he said that he could hear talking, and music sometimes. Brenda said that he should "absolutely" visit Doctor Sullivan without any fear of being declared "crazy." She assured him that he had an "extraordinary" brain.

After a hasty glass of wine, he recounted his nightmare. He was sleeping in his old room, and heard Edwina and Frederick making love during the dream. He couldn't stand it any longer, and went into their room to challenge Frederick. He and Edwina, who were lying on the bed, turned into monster faces, and Frederick screamed "get out of here, boy!" Farleigh awoke from the nightmare in his own bed, turned on the light, then went "back" to their room. No one was there. It had been a bad dream. Farleigh asked Brenda to "help him out" with a sexual fantasy in order to "chase away the demons within." Brenda agreed to his wish, and after the fire died down a bit, he led her upstairs.

He walked her to the closet, and asked her to wear Edwina's yellow summer flower dress along with a pair of low heeled "slip on" shoes, and "nothing else." He helped her through every step, and then guided her into the bathroom so that he could brush her hair. Farleigh asked her about the mannequins Frederick, and Edwina. Brenda said that they were fine, and that she was planning to buy "hundreds more" to fill the entire house. Farleigh was not shocked at all, and continued to brush her hair until it was as flat as his own.  Brenda tried not to laugh. Farleigh was far too serious.

For the next half hour they made love in every room, including the basement, and attic, despite the freezing conditions. Farleigh assured her that it was "all building up to a nice climax" sometime before the "day" ended, but for a moment Brenda felt like she was being rented for the night. The yellow dress was very pretty, and it fit her well, but she wondered what was actually going on inside Farleigh's "extraordinary brain." Was he pretending to be with Edwina ? 

The two lovers bonded during the dream reenactment. Farleigh asked her to go through the entire thing, and after they'd rolled around on the main bed, Brenda felt that Edwina was watching her without any jealousy whatsoever from the doorway. She didn't tell Farleigh. He was probably having a "mind wrestle"  of his own with Frederick. Brenda wanted to convince Farleigh that Edwina and Frederick would never do anything to harm, or frighten him. She had learned such from her mother, Fiona, and the Blundon's. Farleigh's "brain disorder" waited in the wings to convince him otherwise.

November 23 2014  C J Marks

Author's Note

I had fun living through this chapter.