Love ever after - Chpt 1

　

Chapter 1

 

       "Last chance... sure you don't want to come?" I asked, certain of the answer.

       "Not a snowballs' chance in hell," Brooke said from the couch, crossing her legs. After fourteen years of marriage I could still appreciate those legs.

       Brooke was born a natural redhead but always preferred blond from a bottle. I didn't mind, certain I had married well above my level. She had always been beautiful, popular and the life of every party I had ever been too. Even now she caught the attention of both men and women when she entered a room.

       She flipped the pages of her magazine with an irritated snap.

      "Come on... don't be that way... come with... it's the Wilson house," I coaxed, slipping on my coat.

      "Sit in the dark... all night... in an old, musty, cold, dank house that's still standing only because the termites are holding hands... with a bunch of mental midgets that..."

      "Hey, they're your friends too," I returned. "Besides you used to like sitting in the dark."

      "I've grown. I want more out of life than... than your stupid hobby," she groused, tossing the magazine to the table.

      "My stupid hobby? Weren't you the one that started the club?"

      "It was high school... I can't be held responsible."

      "Come on... don't be a stick in the mud... its been nearly a year since you helped out. The others are starting to talk," I teased.

      "Let them, who cares? I want more, I want dinner, dancing, the theater... the high life... cars, cash, credit cards, travel," she shouted, jumping to her feet.

      "We've talked about this... it's not us. We just don't have that kind of money... wish we did but we don't. And while we're at it, we went out last week and the week before and the week before that," I said with open disappointment.

      "We do. We do have that kind of money. You're just to cheap to enjoy it," she snapped.

      "We don't. It's a 401K and our retirement. You don't want to live in a box when we get older do you?" I grumbled in return.

      "Like the one we live in now?" She quipped, shifting her weight to one side, gesturing to her surroundings.

      I was tired of this argument. She had no concept of saving for the future... all she wanted was instant gratification.

At that moment the door bell rang and I put my irritation on hold, giving her a sour look.

       "Hello, hello, hello... are we ready?" Jenn asked, first to enter the house, clapping her hands with excitement.

       "Almost ready Jenn. Give me a minute," I answered, searching for my house keys.

       "How about you Brooke? You coming? It's the Wilson house," Jenn prompted.

       "Wish I could Jenn, but I have some work to finish for Monday," Brooke lied, turning away.

       "But it's the Wilson house. We've worked for ever to gain access and if anyone knows its truly haunted it's you," Jenn pressed.

       "That was a long time ago and I'm not sure what I saw," she said with a disinterested wave of her hand.

       "Back in high school you drove us all nuts about it for months. We all agreed to join your little club to chase ghost and goblins just to shut you up and now you don't know what you saw?" Ron, Jenn's husband, teased.

       Although he and Jenn had been married a little longer than Brooke and I, there was always a little something between he and my wife.

In the beginning, I thought I saw flirtations at every swing of her hips, every smile he gave when he thought I wasn't looking. More than that... Jenn herself. In that beginning, she watched them more than I did and I learned to watch her instead.

       What had become apparent, as the years slipped by, was her empathic abilities. She could read the emotions, hidden or not, of anyone in our group, as well as the average man on the street, just by being in proximity to them.

       She was far more in tune with Ron and Brooke than I, and slowly, I began to relax, comfortable in her vigil.

      "Is this going to take long?" Paul asked, stepping inside, almost as irritated as me.

      "Oh, don't listen to him. You would think he worked for the railroad or something," Carla, Paul's wife said, pushing her way in past him.       "Brooke? You're not ready?"

      "She's not going... work for Monday," Jenn informed.

      "Well, we can fix that," Carla said, pushing past Paul still standing in the doorway.

       Short in stature... only four foot, eight and a little butter ball of fun, Carla had always been a force to be reckoned with.

       "Scott." She screamed out the front door. "Get your a*s in here."

Scott Blake, the most recent addition to our group and Brooke's boss, slipped through the door to stand in my living room. Dressed in t-shirt and blue jeans, he stood with both hands pushed into his front pockets, his shoulders hunched.

       Brooke had talked him into joining us almost two years before and now spent more time with the group than she did herself.

       "Brooke says she can't come because you gave her home work for Monday," Carla voiced, slapping playfully at his arm.

       "The Perkins' file?" Scott asked, looking to the floor.

       "Yes. I'm almost done... it will be ready for Monday's presentation," Brooke explained dully.

       Scott extended his bottom lip, rocking heel to toe, nodding.

       "You know the meeting is at 9:00 Am... right?" he asked folding his arms.

        "I'll be ready... more than ready. How about you?"

        "Yeah, I guess I am. Just didn't think the meeting was so soon. I was thinking it was next month. Are you sure?" he asked without looking at her, continuing to rock heel to toe.

        "I'm very sure. It's this Monday and I am 100% ready, no excuses and you should be as well," Brooke admonished, shaking a finger at him.

        "Okay. Monday it is," he said giving up.

        "That's it? It's Saturday afternoon... Tell her to come along and she can do it on Sunday," Carla ordered, pointing a demanding finger of her own.

        "Sorry. Brooke's right. There's no excuses," Scott said stiffly, shooting a quick glance in my direction.

        "Fine," I said, still annoyed with the whole thing. Out of habit I looked to Jenn, trying to contain my true feelings.

       "Hey, we only have permission for tonight, so if we're going... let's go," Paul prompted testily.

       "You're always in such a rush. How come you can't be more like Matthew? Do you ever see him in a hurry? No, never. He's always Mr. Mellow, Mr. patient, Mr. in control," Carla said, slapping Paul in the chest with the back of her hand.

      "Well, come on Mr. Mellow, we're late. I want to get the equipment set up before it gets too dark. Ghost don't always run on schedule. I'd like to be ready whether they show up or not," Paul admonished lightly, tapping his watch, giving me a sour look.

       "Everything okay, Jenn?" I asked perplexed by her expression.

       "I'm picking up on some very angry energy," she said softly, her eyes darting about the room.

       "That would be me," Paul suggested. "We've spent some pretty good dough for this outing. I'd like to get a couple of those cameras out of the box sometime before we have to return them," he chided.

       "Pretty good dough? Did we come up with half of that?" Ron asked, slipping an arm around Jenn.

       "We might have," she admitted.

       "Hey, I came up with the down payment," Scott added.

       One by one they made for the car, leaving Brooke and I alone.

       "You should come," I said, trying one last time.

      "Go. Have fun. I'll be fine," she said dully turning her back to me.

 

 

Reviews

[Will Neill]

Tegon I saw you entered chapter three to a contest, so I thought I'd come and read this first. great opening chapter that puts the characters firmly in place with their back ground. I shall go on to the next-nice work.
Will

[Silent Wolf]

I like the way you set up the characters. :) I'd love to read more some time. :)

[Avanthika]

me too excited, what happens next?

[Archia]

I'm really excited to see what they find at this house. I liked the conversation between the people, and how in that way you introduced the different characters and a little bit about them.