Philip Dampier's Blog

Episode 6

The old house stood on a narrow lot right on the corner where a city bus stopped. There was no front entrance, it had been closed off years before and the steps to the porch removed. The porch had been walled up for three feet and then screened to the roof. A sidewalk ran up to it, but where the steps had been, now there were waist high shrubs.

There were two other entrances, one off the back porch which led into the kitchen and the dining room, the other from the kitchen to the backyard. There was a living room, one bath, and two bedrooms. There was an attic with regular stairs coming down into the small bedroom near the dining room and a basement where the gravity fed oil furnace sat. The door to the basement was next to a backyard door on the backside of the kitchen. They were asking ten thousand dollars for the property, and Arvie rented it immediately with the intent to buy once things settled down.

His next step was to call the police to learn about Wanda. He found out she was in a psychiatric ward under heavy sedation. The detective he spoke with assured him she would be transferred to a forensic psychiatric hospital as soon as the judge looked at the case.

He hired local transit people to move his furniture. The house was just what he wanted. It was cozy, near a park and out of the way. He was thankful that Wanda was locked up and for the first time in hours he sat down in his recliner and relaxed.

Jill adapted to her new daycare site, but she didn’t adjust well to the house even though it had a backyard with a swing set already installed. Arvie thought it might not be the house as much as it was the absence of Wanda. The first night she cried and asked to be in his room. He wasn’t sure what to do. He tried to talk to her about the new house and how safe it was for them.

“My room is too far away from you,” she said.

“No honey, there are just two rooms between us. I can hear you, and you can hear me.”

“I hear noises upstairs.”

“We don’t have an upstairs. Oh, you mean the attic.” Arvie was sorry now that he had shown her the huge attic. He thought it might make a great playroom later when he could fix it up.

“The noise you hear is just the wind. How about if Daddy puts the stereo in your room and plays music for you when you go to sleep.”

“I don’t like it here, and I want Mommy.”

“I know you do, Sweetheart, but Mommy is sick and in the hospital. When she’s all well, we can see her again.”

This same discussion occupied every night for the first week they were there. He finally gave in and bought a small bed which he put in the large bedroom with him. This seemed to solve the bed problem but not the Mommy problem. He didn’t know what to do about the Mommy problem.

He wondered would Wanda ever get well? He had been to the forensic hospital twice to talk to a psychiatrist but could get little assurance of anything. Evidently, they were keeping Wanda sedated as she was still very aggressive. For that reason, they wouldn’t let him see her. He had guilt feelings about that, but in a way, it was a relief not to have to confront her.

On Saturday he and Jill went to the park a few blocks down the street. It had lots of swings and other playground equipment as well as shaded picnic areas complete with grills.

“How would you like to have lunch here tomorrow, Jill?”

“That would be fun. Can Mommy come too?”

“I’m afraid not, Sweetheart, Mommy is still in the hospital.”

Sunday, they returned with picnic supplies to enjoy a wonderful afternoon. While they were at the swings, a young woman with a daughter close to Jill’s age came over to them and introduced herself.

“Hi, my name is Martha Smith and this is my daughter Frannie.”

Frannie and Jill became instant friends. A small red dog ran around Martha and Frannie. Soon the girls began to play on the grass area with the dog chasing and jumping on them. Arvie asked about the dog, thinking maybe having one would help Jill not be so lonely.

“Oh, Mr. Jim is a good companion for Frannie and she loves him to death.”

“Mrs. Smith, I want to give you my address. I think our daughters would make great playmates.”

“Yes, they seem to have hit it off well, and it’s Ms. I’m not married at the moment. Why don’t you give me your phone number? We can arrange a play time for the girls.”

“We just moved and I don’t have a phone yet. If you give me your number, I will call you as soon as I get a phone installed.”

“Good. Would you like to meet here next Sunday and have a joint picnic?” Martha asked.

“That would be great. I’m sure Jill will be thrilled. She’s having a little trouble adjusting to the new house.”

Martha Smith kept one eye on Frannie, but the other eye watched Arvie and Jill walk to their car. He was a nice-looking man she thought. She wondered about his wife. He actually hadn’t mentioned her. Of course, she hadn’t mentioned her ex either.

Maybe he wasn’t married. Wouldn’t that be something? He had been pleasant to talk to, and she was feeling lonely. She hadn’t been on a date in quite some time, and she missed male companionship. The time had really flown by while they had been talking. She allowed herself to dream a little.

Five days later Arvie went home early from work. The phone company asked him to meet them at the house so they could install his new phone. The waiting list had been very long, and he didn’t want to miss his turn. It was his plan to rest while he waited on the installer and then pick Jill up and the two of them go get pizza together. That was the latest thing she had learned at daycare. Once a week they had pizza, and it was all she wanted to eat now.

Arvie entered the house and went into the living room. He had picked up a newspaper at the bus stop on his way home and put it in his bag. He just wanted to sit in his new comfortable chair and work the crossword puzzle. He had recently bought a new leather recliner, and he plopped down and looked out the window. He could swivel and see the door to Jill’s bedroom or even further into the edge of the kitchen. He could also see out the side window of the living room. He preferred looking out at the hedge and trees in the front yard, so he pivoted the chair that way. Occasionally a neighbor would walk by after getting off the bus. He planned on trying to meet some of them in the days ahead.

As he gazed out the panes of glass, he realized that something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. The house had an odd smell. It was a pleasant odor that was light and somewhat vague. He knew it was foreign to the house but not his nose. It was just strong enough for him to identify it as an odor. He got up and walked into the kitchen but didn’t see where he had left anything out. He opened the fridge and got out a soda and took it back to his seat in the living room.