IN THE SUN
Chapter 35: Two
It was bedtime then. We parted ways, split sleeping arrangements. The guest bedrooms were all along the first floor, kept tightly together around the kitchen and main entry. The first hallway at the end of the main entry, the one that shot out to the left, had four bedrooms, and Nick and I got the last one. It was a smaller hallway than what the rest of the house was used to, and we were lucky to have our own bathroom connected to our room. I stood in the hot shower that night, not knowing what to think of the day's events. I'd dealt with haunted people before, but never houses, and I had no idea what to expect.
I immediately brushed my teeth when I got out. Ugh, no more pizza breath, I thought, relieved. I dried off and, drawing the towel around me, stepped into the bedroom to look through my bag for some pajamas. To my surprise, the bedroom was empty.
"Nick?"
Fishing an old, over-sized t-shirt from my bag, I pulled it on and poked my head into the cold hallway. "Nick!"
"Here I am."
"Jesus!" I jumped, and Nick chuckled. My eyes had no time to adjust to the darkened hall; he'd been walking for our room and I'd barely seen him. "Where were you?" I opened the door to let him in.
"Just getting my bag, darling; I'm sorry if I scared you," he smiled at me, leaning in for a kiss.
"Oh....." I sighed, putting a hand to my heart. "It's fine." I began to laugh. "This house is making me jump at even the slightest thing."
"Even if it weren't haunted, I think the architecture itself would be enough to induce nightmares."
"Indeed," I chuckled, following Nick into the bathroom, which was still warm from my shower, and Nick left his suitcase there. I leaned against the counter, wiping away some of the fog that had collected on the mirror, and it was then I felt Nick's strong hands on my hips, making me gasp. He kissed my ear, my neck. "Are you tired yet?" he murmured.
I giggled, leaning against him as he kissed me again. "I have the sneaking suspicion this is a trick question."
"Now, what in the world gave you that idea, hmm?" He spun me around, and I had just enough time to see that devious little grin return before he kissed me fully on the lips.
My second wind had just kicked in, and sleep did not find us for some time.
"Hey, have you seen this, baby?" I pointed to the camouflaged door in the kitchen that had been left ajar, revealing the walk-in closet filled with wine bottles. I pulled out my camera and snapped a picture. I'd brought it with me because I just loved to document everything.
"My goodness," Nick smiled. "You really have made a discovery." He stepped inside, gazing around for a moment before shuddering. "It's freezing."
"Come on." I grabbed his hand. "I'm getting something to drink-- something other than champagne."
I managed to whip together some coffee then, and we wandered around the bottom floor, exploring the old, strange house. But it wasn't long before we found Emery, arguing with the phone in one of the front hallways. He slammed down the receiver into the cradle. "Argh!"
"Any luck?" Nick asked.
"No. The lines are down." Emery collapsed into one of the chairs, and Nick sat next to him. "My mother's probably going crazy, and it's not a very long trip for her, even at the best times."
"I'm sorry about that."
"Yeah, well..... I'm thinking about getting out of here before she can show up. I'm getting very tired of her.... showing up." Emery made a face. "Rimbauer gets on my nerves. Joyce, too, actually. 'If you look to your left, you will see the ghosts of April Rimbauer and Douglas Posey! Don't worry, they're completely harmless!'" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You know what? Under that phony, tour-guide shtick, she's as crazy as the Red Queen. Off with their heads, huh?"
"Yeah," I couldn't help but chuckle. "Joyce is..... her own breed of strange, I'll give you that much."
"And that creepy kid with that creepy doll....." "Oh, Em, come on....." I shook my head, and Nick made a face of disapproval.
"What? She's creepy!"
Nick sat and stared at him silently; Emery glanced at him and then at me. "W-what, does he do this often?" He turned back to Nick. "Is this your shrink routine?"
"Just let it off your chest," Nick patted his arm.
"Huh." Emery sighed. "Dead cell, huh? You wanna know something? Last night I woke up in bed with a dead actress next to me!"
"Deanna Petrie!"
"Yeah. It didn't last long, but it was a very.... physical manifestation. I'm getting tired of Rose Red's little tricks. If my mom doesn't hear from me, she's gonna go nuclear."
"Well." I sighed. "I don't know about you, but I'm starved. I'm back to the kitchen to see what I can do about breakfast. How about you boys?"
"I'll join you," Nick smiled.
Emery shook his head. "I can't think about food right now. I think I'm gonna..... shoot some pool in the other room maybe. Cool off."
"Suit yourself," I smiled. "Be safe."
We arrived back in the kitchen to find the door to the solarium cracked, and I could hear a voice, humming. Peering out, I saw Annie sitting on the stone path, her dolls in her lap, surrounded by dominoes. I smiled.
"Good morning, Annie," Nick smiled warmly at her, and although she smiled back, she covered her face with her hands shyly and didn't say a word. "Alright then."
I began to scour the fridge for something to work with. "Bacon, eggs..... we got everything, baby." I smiled.
"Well, then, let's get this going."
I put the eggs on and started some bacon, as well, and Nick hoisted himself up on the tile counter-top; we chatted for awhile as I cooked.
"I finally told Phil that if he wanted to do that one, we'd have to add another Aerosmith song to the set, as well. I just feel like we need to stick to our roots sometimes, you know?"
"Liza....."
I glanced up from the cooking to look at Nick, who'd fallen silent the last few moments and finally spoken again with my name. He was hyper focused on something, staring off into the wall. It seemed he was listening for something.
"What's up, babe? Is everything--"
"Sssshh," he quieted me calmly.
"You hear something," I whispered.
"Turn off the stove," he nodded, and I complied immediately.
"What is it?"
"Shh, shh!"
I stood silently then, letting him hear. He came to stand directly in front of me, listening hard. "There's someone else in this room with us."
The words sent chills through me. "Oh, my God..... You mean, like-- like Ellen?"
"No, no," he waved the idea away, focusing. "What I mean is, I can hear your mind's wavelengths like I can hear hers. A-and his, too. Which means they're in this room with us, and they're amongst us living." "Wha.... well, Annie--"
"No, I'm not talking about Annie. They....." Nick placed his hands on my stomach, and that's when it came to him. He fell to his knees in front of me then. "Oh, Liza."
"Nick?! What is it?"
My husband looked up at me, and he was beaming. "They're here," he whispered, and put his hands back on my stomach.
The proverbial Mack truck slammed into me then, knocking the air straight from my lungs. "Oh, God, honey, am I......?" I shook, my hands flying to my mouth.
Nick nodded. I can't describe to you the feeling I was hit with. It was amazing, exquisite, terrifying and beautiful. I was going to be a mother, and Nick was going to be a father. I started to cry as Nick wound his arms around my waist and leaned his ear against my belly, listening to our little girl and her brother, the tiniest of things, growing inside of me.