Windemere Court

 My son was four , and I was unemployed. Faced with the needs of a wonderful child I had to come up with a way to survive. I got on my bicycle with baby carrier and hit the bike path on Mission Beach with a hand full of flyers that my friend had printed out for me.I began getting calls imediatly.Most were vacation rentals,but a few were homes.Before you knew it I had mustard up enough work to support us.
 Work was rolling in fairly steady when I got the phone call."Hello, Margret.My name is Sal Sanders."The man on the phone paused."My mother recently died."
  "I am sorry to hear that Mr.Sanders."I felt I should say that.
 "Oh , yes, thank you. I called because I was mailed one of your flyers by the neighbor due to the fact that I need someone to clean her cottage."The man sounded solomn as he went on."She had a lovely cottage on Windemere court with a glorious view of the shore.I have inherrited the cottage, but as I live in South Africa at present I am not able to go tend to the place.I will need it cleaned of course. I would also like for you to pack her things , and put them in storage. Leave one set of cups,plates, silverwear,and so on, and so on."
 "Ok sir.I usually charge twenty dollars an hour , or fifty for three."He sounded so sure that I had taken the job that I felt I had no choice.Normally I only clean , but I have been known to cook meals, or wash the dog. No work was below me.
 "The address is 314 Windemere Ct. Her neighbor has the key for you.Just knock on the door of the deco cottage on the side closest to the beach.The sooner the better."Then he gave me his address in South Africa so I could bill him.
 The next day I got Jesse ready and headed to the dead womans cottage.I lived on Venice Ct.All the courts on Mission Beach are in alphabetical order sprouting from one main RD..Windemere court was only two courts away.
 I got Jesse out of his bike seat and left my bike on the walkway as I aproached the  door of the deco cottage beside the dead womans cottage.There was a blue knee high fence that I could easily step over surrounding the front yard which was merely a strip of  processed grass.Tulips struggled to survive  at the edge of a cracked concrete walkway that stopped at the foot of two stairs up to a plank board porch.The door was white with a three payne window.I could see a plump silver haired woman on a cane waddeling from the kitchen through the livingroom to answer the doorbell.She answered the door with a pleasant smile.
 "Come in , come in.I have been waiting for you."She gestured that I follow her into the living room , Jesse ran in and announced he was thirsty..
 "I don't think I am who you are waiting for.I am just here to pick up the key to the house next door.Mr. Sanders hired me to clean it."Jesse pulled at my hair and patted my cheeks.
 "Yes, Sal , he plans to turn Laverne's cottage into a vacation rental.I think he will find the master mind won't go for that.He will never allow all those strangers to know his buisiness.Foolish Sal."The neighbor lady shook her head mildly as she giggled."He should know better." Turning her attention to Jesse she said"Yes he once was a boy like you cutie pie."She motioned me to sit on a muave rocker recliner that looked out the front bay window..I could tell it was her favorite seat because it was embedded with the print of her plump rear end.She hobbled off on her wooden cane and returned from the kitchen with a pot of hot tea , two little tea cups and a cup of chochlate milk, just like she had been waiting for us.I gave Jesse the milk as she poured the tea.I took the cup and graciously sipped it.
 Jesse stood silently in front of a mahogony cabinet countaining porcielin figurines . We had a couple of knick-knacks hanging around the apartment , but nothing as extravagant and abundent as the contents of that cabinet.All of her furniture was muave and mahogany which was visually rich against the stained wood floor. I politely listened to the neighbor lady who I am sure introduced herself , but I can't remember her name.
 "Leverne loved that cottage as dearly as she loved her children,and that is why she could never move.Sal used to beg her to move over yonder to Africa,but she would have no part of it.She stayed because of the boy.She just couldn't leave him."
 "I see. I am sure she was a lovely lady, but I really must get to work. I have alot of houses today."I had finished my tea,and even though I wasn't sure what the old lady was talking about I was sure it didn't concern me.I scurried Jesse towards the door as I told her goodbye.
 "I hope we get a chance to talk again.I got so much I need to tell you."
 "Goodbye."Jesse told her as he waived his farewell.
 "What a sweet child."said the neighbor lady as I hurried him out the door. I really did have alot to do.
 I opened the door to 314 Windemere Ct.It was a heavy wood door in the center of a lemon yellow panneled cottage.On the inside it was simply cute.Green and white checkered curtains covered the windows in the miniature kitchen.Beige suade cushions softened the wicker based furniture.All the tables were glass squares and rectangles that rested on top of  sturdy wicker bases.Even the kitchen table was wicker based.The bedrooms were tiny, Two spaces only big enough for the bed.The bathroom was also super small.You could literally sit on the toilet while you brushed your teeth.
 Then there was the garage.It was the biggest room in the house,Big enough for two cars, but there were none in it.The garage was bare except for a plaque that hung on the wall that read 314 Windemere Ct., and a washer and dryer stackable set.As I stood in the garage Jesse found me and started pulling on my leg saying,"Mama lets go now.I don't like it here."
 "Whats not to like Jess?It's just another house."I bent down and rubbed his head.
 "No mommy it's a scary house!"He was breathing hard and pulling frantically on my leg,
 "Okay baby we will go.Calm down."
 Jesse was sobbing as I locked the door and put him in his bike seat.It is quite normal for a four year old to whine for no reason,but this wasn't like that.He was guinuinely upset by the house.As we rode away on my bike I noticed the neighbor lady sitting in her chair by the window watching us.
 A few days later Jesse and I returned to Windemere Ct, to begin cleaning the house and packing Leverne's things.Jesse began protesting as soon as we reached the court. I had to have the mommy has a job to do, and we can't eat if we don't make money talk with him. He finally gave in and went inside the cottage.At first it was dark till I opened the curtains.I went right to work scrubbing tubs and sinks and counters.Jesse was watching TV,  then I heard him in the garage, He was singing and talking away to an imaginary friend, or something.Every now and then I would hear him fussing with the pretend being.He would hollar then laugh. I stepped out into the garage to start a load of bed sheets.
 "Who you talking to?"I asked jesse.
 "Brain."He said in an eirily calm voice.
 "Is Brain from San Diego?"I try to encourage his imagination."Or is he a vacationer from Arizona.
 "He's not a zoney.This is his house. He says I can stay and play. But he wants you to stop snooping through everything."He was so intelligable.He could communicate like any normal four year old, but every syllable was completely clear.
 "Well you tell Brain that I am going to clean out the cobwebs.Even the cobbwebs behind your ears,"I pretended to pull webs from his ears as he giggled and scrunched his shoulders.Then a panic rushed over me as the whole garage shook like a thunder storm had formed directly on the other side of the alluminum garage door.I grabbed Jesse and pulled him through the door to the house as it slammed open and shut again and again.High pitched screaches deafened my ears.I could see Jesse shouting hysterically but I could not hear his voice.I could only hear the screatches till they abruptly stopped. Then Jesse's shouting took over.
 "Take me home! Please Mama take me home!Brains doesn' t want us here!"
  I craddled him in my arms as I rushed from the house, and biked quickly home. When I returned the next day to finsh cleaning and packing Leverne's things I brought my car and parked in the garage leaving the garage door open.I went most of the day  without incident.Though , I avoided the garage completely.
 While packing Leverne's belongings I felt sad. Pictures of her and her husband with two boys hung throughout the livingroom. One boy was older than the other. I assumed one of the children was Sal Sanders. But who was the other boy? I packed her clothes and her dishes. I kept her cleaning supplies, and her perfumes.I packed her jewelry, and her bible.Under the bed I found a weathered wooden box.I held it in my hands and rubbed the rough surface. It was the same grade of wood as the plaque in the garage. It was obvious they were made by the same person. I open the box to see a mirror on the inside of the lid. Standing behind me in the mirror was a dark haired teenage boy with big chestnut eyes glaring into the box. I dropped the box, but when I looked behind me nobody was there. My mind playing tricks on me. I opened the box again to find a tiny glass jar with a lock of dark hair, and baby teeth. under them was a stack of letters and mothers day cards that she had recieved over the years.These were her treasures. I packed all of the things Leverne left behind into my car and took them to storage. 
 A week goes by before I hear from Sal Sanders.
 "I have vacation renters starting this week.I have booked the cottage for most of the summer.You will need to clean between renters.I have schedualed every check out and check in on Saturday.There is a French couple there this week with a couple of kids. They say the Dryer isn't working. I was wondering if you could go over there and look at it?"
 "I don't really know anything about fixing appliances."
 "Just look at it to make them feel better then tell them they have to use the laundrymat until you can get a repair man out."
 The  French family were eating when I arrived. I had to bring Jesse with me this time. He didn't seem as 0possed to the visit this time. He actually seemed happy to be going to visit his imaginary friend.
  "We were in the garage when the dryer began banging loudly and shaking wild."The French father said.
 "Maybe it was off balance. That happens sometimes when you wash bulky clothes."I had this problem before.
 "No you don't understand.We were not doing any clothes."
 I started the dryer.It worked fine.I unplugged it and plugged it in again.It still worked fine.Jesse wondered around the garage like he was seeking something while the french boy around six years old watched him inquisutively.
 "It sounds Okay now."I said. Both Of the parents nodded in agreement.
 Just then Jesse said."Hi Brain,I was lookin for you."He smiled gingerly at the wooden Windemere plaque.
 The boy looked frightened as he ranted to his mother in french.He seemed to be talking about Jesse.
 I asked what was wrong and the French man told me. Their son was scared of a teenage boy who lived in the garage and called himself Barron. He believed that Jesse knew the same teenager as Brain.
 "We were going to stay here two weeks,but we are going to a hotel next week because our son is so convinced someone is in the garage."The French mother said.
 "Get out of here Barron Brain!" We all shouted trying to humor the children.This made Jesse cry"Leave Brain alone", and the french boy scremed,"You are making him angry!"Both children were bawling when Jesse and I left.
 I cleaned the cottage almost every Saturday. Quite often I would see the shadow of the dark haired young man.I believed it was just an illusion.Jesse always played in the garage.He was so content chatting with Brain that I really didn't think much of it.I found the wooden box with the mirror on the lid under the bed when I was cleaning one day. I could have sworn I put that in storage. I didn't open it. I just left it there under the bed. Summer came and went with the changing vacationers. Alot of renters were partying collage kids, or retired couples. Only a handful of kids were at the cottage that summer, but a couple of them had names for the guy in the garage. One called him Branded.  When Summer ended I recieved a call from Sal Sanders.
 "It has been a profitable summer and I have you to thank for the vacation rentals success.I have sent you a bonus in the mail. I have one more thing I need your help with. I will be building a triplex this winter in place of the cottage. The laws in mission beach require I leave one room standing and add on to it. I have decided to leave the garage and demolition the rest of the cottage. I would like for you to move all of the furniture to the garage."He said.
 "Mr.Sanders do you know there is something quite unusual about the cottage."I contemplated what to say.
 "What on Earth do you mean?"
 "My son believes ther is a teenage boy who lives in the garage."
 "Well you must put a stop to that.We can't have homeless kids living in the garage"He replied as if this were normal.
 "Not a living person.A ghost ,or a vision"
 "I am sure your child has a vivid imagination Margret, but what does this have to do with the cottage."
 "I know but he is not the only child.A few of the vacationing children seen him ,too."I was hoping this might validate my story."They call him Brain or Barron or Branded."
 "Is this some kind of joke."His voice became angry as he scolded me."It isn't funny.Do you think a family trajedy is funny.How dare you lady."He hung up on me.
 "Oh dear I need to call and apologize."I really hated to loose clients.Even if I didn't need their buisiness.
 "Why you need to say sorry Mommy?''Jesse was busy playing.
 "I upset someone, and I don't know what I said."
 "I do that to you all the time Mommy."He often said the cutest things.This time it was more than cute, it was clever.
 I called mr.Sanders back and after a few attempts to reach him he answered.
 "I am truly sorry for whatever I said. I am sure it is nothing.
The children do have wild imaginations. Iwas just reading more into it than I should. Please forgive me."
 "Yes wild imaginations."He said . "I still need you to move the furniture into the garage. Just bill me when you like. This will be the last time I"ll need you this season, but I will need you to handle the triplex next summer. It should be ready by then.
 Jesse and I went to the cottage. He no longer protested the visits. He walked right through the house to the garage,and began talking away. I needed help to move all the furniture, so I hired the friend who had made me the flyers to help me with the beds and the glass tables.
 Deanna was one of those truly spiritual types.She practiced Yoga , and chanted. She paid more attention to what Jesse was saying than I did. I am a little ashamed to admit that even though I realized something strange was happening, I never paid much attention to what Jesse was talking about. Most of what I did hear was nonsense.
 "You need to get Jesse away from that entity Margret. I think it is dangerous."Deanna said.
 "Entity.What do you mean?"
 "Do you hear what it is telling Jesse?"
 "No.Do you hear it?"
 "Just listen to Jesse and you can figure out the other half of the conversation to a certain degree. The spirit is showing him how to commit suicide."
 "Yes mommy you have to tie the rope around your neck like this." Jesse deminstrated with an imaginary rope."Then you throw the end over the rafters." He pointed to the storage rafters in the top of the garage.I didn't let him finish what he was saying before I grabbed him up and ran out to the front porch.
 Deanna and I decided it would be best if she took Jesse to my place until I finished packing in the small stuff.Deanna left and I returned to the garage with the knowledge that I was not alone. I finished the work.When I was on my way out the door I heard a crash in the garage. I found the plague had fallen off of the wall and it laid right beside the wooden box.The box had been knocked over and the contents was scattered across the ground.I gathered the cards, letters, hair,and teeth. That is when I heard him.Not his voice. I heard his soul. He told me to send the Plaque and the box to Sal.
 I did as he asked.
 I recieved my last check from Mr.Sanders with a kind note that said thank you so much for the beautiful memories, I read every letter. I laughed and cried.
 I went to the bank to cash the check.The teller looked puzzled at the check.This woman cashed all my cleaning checks.
 "Thats right you clean the cottage on Windemere.The one being torn down."She said.
 "Yes."
 "Did you ever notice anything unusual about that place?"
 "Why?"
"My husband has been hired to work on the construction crew.'
 Have they already demolished the house?"I hadn't been by to see it.
 "All but the garage.My husband says that every night they leave their tools and equipment in the garage and every morning they are missing tools. At first they thought they were being robbed, but then they started finding the tools.Tools fell from the rafters on peoples heads. Anyways they are way behind schedual because of all the set backs. My husband thinks it's a ghost.
 I was still thinking about what the bank teller said as I cooked dinner.
 Jesse looked at me and said."You know Brain." I shook my head yes. "Brains not a bad guy. He just wants everyone to leave his house alone. He just wants to stay with his Mama."An uneasy feeling drowned me.I felt so bad for him.It must be horrible watching his house be torn down.
 "What else did Brandon tell you?"I asked.
 "He said I should love my Mommy forever.He thinks your a good Mommy.Like his Mommy.Don't be scared.He whispered the end.
 I ran into the neighbor lady at the coffee shop one day.I bought her a cup of coffee , and asked her to tell me more about Leverne. I listened to her as she talked about her dear friend.All the amazing stories don't pertain to this story.What does have to do with this story was the story of her son,Brandon. He lived with Leverne in the cottage when he decided to grow pot in the garage.He was so successful that he began selling pot.Leverne believed him when he told her he was growing tomatoes for an agriculture project,or maybe she didn't. He was a good boy except for the pot. He loved his mother, and even gave her money from the pot to pay her bills. The police raided the cottage,and took both of them to jail. Leverne was so humilliated. Her face was on the cover of the local paper with the headline. Mother and son pot ring raided. They were both released on bail that Sal posted. Sal was in collage at the time. He was very hard on Brandon for pulling their mother into this mess. Leverne was not easy on Brandon either. Brandon got so depressed that he hung himself in the garage. Leverne found him hanging from the rafters. The pain drove a wedge between Sal and Leverne. The neighbor lady didn't know Leverne any longer. She became distant and secluded.
 "She used to talk to herself as she did her laundry in the garage. I only heard her voice, but it was as if she were talking to someone. I belived it was her way of coping.The only way she could keep herself from commiting suicide. At times you would think she was happy when you would hear her doing laundry. I used to think how much I hated doing the wash.  My grandchildren could hear them both though. I am getting old, and I have terminal cancer. Now days I can hear them both talking. They laugh and cry as they reminice about life."
 I never seen her again.I never seen the Windemere cottage again. I have no idea if the triplex was ever built. I often wonder if the garage is still there, and if Brain is still haunting it. I hope his brother left him at least the garage.
 I have thought up a novel in my head built around the Windemere house.I know that my brief encounter  with Brain just scratches the surface of his excistance.Jesse is ten now and still remembers Brain. He says he could swear Brain was a real guy, and he thinks I am crazy for thinking he was a ghost.
 We live in Michigan now. We bought a house where the last owner shot himself on the front porch. I believe this house might be haunted , but thats another story.