Title: The Door
Author: Mary
Rating: G
Summary: Life at Gull Cottage -- From the point of view of the front door ...
Disclaimer: The characters from 'The Ghost and Mrs. Muir ' belong to 20th Century Fox and David Gerber productions. No infringement is intended, no profit made, and they will be returned unharmed from whence they came. My story is for enjoyment only.
My thank-you's go out to Kathy for all her editing skills and advice, and to Susan, who let me borrow an incident in one of her lovely stories, and to Josephine Leslie, the author of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir novel, for a couple of moments that made their way in as well. You'll recognize them when you see them!
All other characters, plots, storylines and development of GAMM characters belong to the author and may not be used or changed without express written permission.
This story is in response to Kathy's challenge of a couple of months ago – tell a GAMM story from the POV of an inanimate object in Gull Cottage. I chose:
The Door
01/16/1861 – "Get that door in the wagon and get it moving! Gregg is in a hurry to get the place finished!"
I exist. An hour ago I was a large piece of planking wood. I am smaller now – cut, planed and smoothed with rough paper and oil. I wonder what the fates have in store for me? Will fortune be kind?
01/17/1861 – That man, Emerson Peavey, called me a 'door.' I understand I should be honored, for I am now a 'front door,' – a covering for an entrance to a house; a dwelling place for these human creatures that 'made' me. And not just any house apparently, but for a hero of the town. A sea captain, and a very important person.
03/19/1861 – There have been many people in and out today, all coming to look at the Captain's house and marvel and all the 'modern conveniences' in it. What are modern conveniences?
06/01/1866 – Is this all my existence is to be? I hang here – year after year. Same view – changing only as the seasons change from one to another. Open and close, endlessly. The Captain who had this dwelling built is not here often, but away at sea most of the time. I see no one but his housekeeper and an occasional town's person. They 'painted' me last week. My outside facing the yard is 'blue' now – a color like the sky before a storm. The housekeeper has bustling about today – maybe something interesting is going to happen.
06/10/1866 – I heard the housekeeper tell a worker today that the Captain has 'retired.' He will not be going away again. She also said that there is talk that he may 'marry.' I do not know what that word means. I wish there were more visitors here. I might be able to find out something. 'Tis still a lonely life I lead here.
08/30/1867 – The Captain held another 'party' here tonight. He has many friends and people who admire and respect him but I never see these people except at events such as this. There were lights hung in and through the trees. They looked quite lovely and there were also men who made 'music.' Servants came in and out of my doorway constantly bearing food and drink. The party lasted until quite late, and the Captain was here the entire evening, talking with his guests and dancing with all the 'females' that attended the function. They all seemed to be pleased to be doing so, but the Captain had a strange, distant look on his face. I saw him enter the house and come back out during the evening several times – Almost as if he was looking for something or someone he could not find.
10/20/1869 – The Captain has a pattern to his days, and I think I have been accustomed to them all. He likes to walk. Almost always down toward the beach, which he considers 'his.' He goes with his 'dog' – a large furry creature that scratches me when he wants in or out.
11/13/1869 – Something is very wrong tonight. I can feel it. There is a gale coming in from the southwest, but that's not it. The Captain is home and the housekeeper has left for the evening. Perhaps a worse storm is going to break loose. Whatever it is, I do not like it. I wish I knew why I feel so strange!
11/14/1869 – The Captain is 'dead.' I do not understand. The housekeeper arrived this morning, as is her usual custom, and left a short time later, coming back with a wagon and three men; one carrying a small black bag. Some time later they came out of the house and stood on the porch. The housekeeper was very upset and mentioned the word 'suicide.' Is that the same as dead? I wish people would talk where I could see them. Maybe I could learn more.
11/15/1869 – They took the Captain away yesterday and changed my lock, and the housekeeper was here again. She has been cleaning, and has placed drapes on the furniture I can see from the foyer. She has left now – She stroked me and there was water coming from her eyes. She patted me and then turned and left in her carriage.
11/16/1869 – I knew there had to be some kind of mistake. The Captain is back! There is something different about him however. He does not open me anymore. He walks through me. I do not understand, but I do not care. It has been very lonely here, and I am glad that he is all right.
07/15/1870 – Someone else came today. They opened me with a key, and looked around the house. Of course I could not see them explore the entire place. Suddenly they came running back through my doorway and jumped in their carriage and left. I heard the Captain laugh, but he did not sound happy. He sounded angry. I hope our visitor will be back, but somehow I do not think he will.
06/01/1901 – I am so lonely! It has been decades since anyone has been here. Occasionally people with a key come in and make feeble attempts to clean. Sometimes the Captain lets them stay for a few days and 'tidy the house,' as that housekeeper used to say, but sooner or later they run away. He comes outside and sits on the porch and I hear him walking up on the balcony above me and he takes walks down by the beach, but he never says anything. I do not understand how he can live with so much loneliness. I hardly know how to bear it.
09/01/1928 – There were workmen here today. They had a key and let themselves in. I heard one tell the other that they wanted to get the 'wiring' and 'telephone line' installed as soon as possible and leave this 'creepy place.' Then they said something about a 'ghost.' What is a ghost? There is no one here except the Captain and me.
12/01/1941 – There is a woman staying here now, and I am not quite so lonely. She told the man who brought her here that she is a second cousin twice removed by marriage of the Captain, and she must stay here at the cottage, regardless of anything strange that may happen. I suppose she has heard about the Captain, who still lives here too. Her 'husband' is in the 'Army.' I do not know what that means, but she seems worried.
12/08/1941 – The woman, Lydia, has been very upset today. She was out on the porch for a while this morning and I saw water coming from her eyes, as the housekeeper had when she left here so long ago. Then something unusual happened. The Captain walked through me and talked to her. He offered her a cloth from his pocket and told her not to 'cry.' Cry? Is this what humans call it when the water comes? The Captain said she could stay in his house and he won't bother her. She listens to a 'radio' all day long. It talks to her and I listen when it talks too.
08/09/1946 – Lydia left today. Her husband is no longer in the Army and she told the Captain that she would be going to Philadelphia. She gave him her radio and told him "Thank-you for taking care of me and keeping me company," and "Not to worry" about her, and "I love you." What does 'love' mean?"
09/02/1966 – I am still alone. No one has lived here since Lydia left – at least not for very long. Other people have come, saying they are relatives of the Captain, but the Captain doesn't like them and they don't stay. A new one came yesterday. He says he is the Captain's great-nephew, and his name is Claymore. Mr. Gregg knows the Captain stays here in the house, and he is afraid of him. He talks to the Captain even when he cannot see him and says something about 'taxes.' When the Captain shows up to talk to him, Mr. Gregg goes to sleep. The Captain yelled at him yesterday for 'fainting.' Is that the same as going to sleep on the floor?
09/10/1968 – Claymore Gregg was here again tonight. He came up to the house and the Captain opened me for him, but Claymore didn't run away. He said, "I've leased the house." The Captain was very angry and made it thunder, and then Claymore Gregg said that it was the "only way he could meet the taxes," and if he didn't the "house would be torn down." The Captain pushed a chest down the stairs, then Claymore said that the house was going to be lived in by a widow and her housekeeper and two small children. I wonder what children are? Then Mr. Gregg fainted. He fell against me! I was afraid at first I had been damaged, but I was all right – The Captain threw water on him and he woke up. Then the Captain opened me and Mr. Gregg left in a hurry, but Mr. Gregg didn't say that he would tell the woman not to come. The Captain is not happy, but I am interested!
09/21/1968 – The woman and her family arrived this morning. Just as Mr. Gregg said, there was a woman and two children and a housekeeper. There is also a dog, but he looks nothing like Captain Gregg's dog! The woman, Mrs. Muir, looked at the house (and me!) and called it a "dear, gentle, lovely little house." I like her! Mr. Gregg arrived shortly after the woman and her family and tried to get them to leave, but she would not listen and came inside the house. By the end of the day, the house looked wonderful! They all worked very hard cleaning, and the children, Candy and Jonathan, even managed to take time to say hello to the lions. They have been lonely too, but they have had each other to talk to.
Late tonight, the Captain showed himself to the woman. He showed himself to the little boy earlier today, when he was on the stairway, but I don't think his sister or mother believed that he had really seen the Captain, but woman knows better now. She was angry! She wanted the Captain to leave and he wouldn't, so she packed up everything in her 'car,' and left. I was sad, and then surprised – the Captain was unhappy too! He walked straight through me and followed her car and made it come back. They all came back inside and then she went upstairs after he carried up her suitcases, so I couldn't hear anything else they said, but I guess she has decided to stay.
09/27/1968 – There is so much happening here now! The children play games in the yard and Mrs. Muir said next spring she wants to start a flower garden. The children go to 'school,' during the days. I didn't know what school meant, but finally the boy, Jonathan, said that he wanted to stay home and learn "how to do things" from the Captain, so I guess a school is where you go to learn. His sister Candy laughed at him again. She doesn't think the Captain is really here. I wonder why the Captain won't show himself to the little girl? Today the housekeeper gave me a good oiling on the inside and said that a Mr. Peavey would be by soon to paint my outside. I wonder if it will be the same man who hung me up in the doorway a long time ago?
09/29/1968 – Strangers came to the house last night. It was raining and their car stopped in front of the house and they couldn't make it go again. They ran up to the porch past the lions and the woman wasn't sure that she wanted to come inside, so I opened myself just to show her everything was all right. They came inside so I closed myself again. I think that scared her, but I was only trying to help! Mrs. Muir found them and offered them a place to sleep, but the Captain was not happy they were in his house. He tried to fix their car! First he decided that maybe the car was out of petrol, but when he looked under the front of the car, large amounts of steam came up. Then I heard him say "maybe the problem is a loose wire," and he made sparks! Then he tugged at another wire and the horn in the car started blasting away! Poor Captain Gregg! It was funny to watch him. He looked flustered; and he doesn't look that way very often! He disappeared and Claymore Gregg showed up a while later. I heard music coming from the parlor and then the house was dark and quiet again and everyone went to bed. The couple left the next morning and everyone threw rice at them, including the Captain!
10/25/1968 – We have had a lot of visitors lately! Claymore Gregg came by again a few weeks ago and made some much needed repairs around the house, including the flagstones on the front walk, then there was Mr. Wilkie and his friends, and then Miss. Grover. I am not sure she was really a friend of Mrs. Muir's though. She seemed very stern, and I could hear Mrs. Muir and the Captain argue whenever she had been here. She doesn't come here any more now.
10/28/1968 – What a sad two days this has been! It started the day before yesterday. Mrs. Muir brought a woman home with her. She seemed nice, but Mrs. Muir made her wait outside by the gate while she went inside. I cannot hear through the entire house, so I couldn't find out everything, but the next afternoon, Mrs. Muir stood outside in the yard and told the children that they were going to leave because this woman, Vanessa, wanted the house! The children were very upset and so was I. I'm used to them being here now and didn't want them to leave. Everything turned out all right though. The Captain heard what Mrs. Muir was telling the children about leaving and did something that made the woman decide to leave instead. She left last night and I don't think she will be back.
12/01/1968 – There is always something going on around this place now and I love it! Candy had a 'birthday party' here not too long ago and her uncle Arnold was here too. The children like to talk and Mrs. Muir and Martha in the yard, and the Captain likes to spend time on the porch and on the balcony and watch them play. He still doesn't talk to Candy, but he does talk to Jonathan, so when he does I get to listen and I can find out more that goes on around here now than I ever have before.
I hope I never have to go through anything like I have the last three days though! I don't know how she managed it, but Mrs. Muir had people come to the house and remove the Captain's things! Two men came and took away the Captain's couch and a breakfront, and his chart rack! I heard him say as the men carried it out that it was a gift from an Admiral. He was very upset, but he let the men remove the furniture without scaring them. He must be very fond of Mrs. Muir to allow his things to be taken away like that!
Then, yesterday morning, two more men came back and they chopped down the Captain's Monkey-Puzzle tree! I still don't understand why the Captain didn't scare the men away, but he didn't. Everything was different. Everything felt wrong for the rest of the day, and the evening tooMrs. Muir and Candy wandered around like they wanted to cry and Jonathan looked like he had lost his best friend, and kept coming outside to look at the stump of the tree. Scruffy was quiet and even Martha seemed sad when she came out to get the evening paper, and she doesn't even know about the Captain! The family had dinner, then Claymore came and visited, and shortly after that, Mrs. Muir came outside, got in her car and drove away. She was gone almost a whole day and returned the next evening with a new Monkey-Puzzle Tree! I could FEEL the Captain come back. He and Mrs. Muir talked for a bit in the front yard while she started to plant the tree and then they started talking about whether Gull Cottage was a house or a ship and he left and went to the widow's-walk. I think they are both happy that he is back here again: I know I am!
12/26/1968 – Yesterday was Christmas. It took a lot of listening to figure out what Christmas is for the Muir's and the Captain, but I understand now. What a happy time it was! The children have been on vacation from school, and the only thing Mrs. Muir said would make the day better would be if we weren't having the heat wave we have been having. There has been practically no snow and it has been so warm that she has had to keep watering the grass. The children did hang a wreath on me for the Christmas season, so I felt included in all the merrymaking.
12/29/1968 – Sometimes, even with all I'm missing, I think it's easier to be a door than a human. Mrs. Muir has had a visitor for the last day or so, a Mr. Thompson. She knew him a long time ago before she moved here. He arrived yesterday, and after being here for only a short time, he tried to talk Mrs. Muir into leaving Gull Cottage and coming back to Philadelphia with him. Captain Gregg, however, would have none of it and kept intruding on their conversation on the porch by either turning on Candy's new radio or blasting him with the sprinkler! Mr. Thompson kept trying though, and then he and Mrs. Muir went somewhere for part of the afternoon. The Captain paced on the porch for a while after they left, then I think he must have followed them, because when Mrs. Muir and Mr. Thompson came back later, Mr. Thompson was sick and she was angry with the Captain again. Much later, Mrs. Muir made a late trip to town and she took Mr. Thompson with her. She returned by herself and I did not see her until much later the next morning.
01/06/1969 – Mrs. Muir has had two visitors in the last week. First, Dr. Jim, an old friend of her family visited. Then she went to Philadelphia for two days. When she came back she was acting very strangely. She refused to talk to the Captain! I was right there and she walked right past him saying: "You're not there! You're not there!" I never saw the Captain look so hurt! Late that night, Mrs. Muir came out and paced on the front porch for a while and then took a walk. She came back saying it again: "You're not there!" The next afternoon a man named Dr. McNally showed up. He stayed and had dinner with Mrs. Muir and the family and after dinner they talked out on the porch. The Captain kept talking to her and she kept telling the doctor that she was looking at the Captain, yet seemed to be sorry she was saying it! Dr. McNally wanted to take her for a walk, but the Captain made him tired and he went to bed.
Dr. McNally was up and about early the next morning when Mrs. Muir met him outside. Then he said he DID believe in ghosts! He went inside the house and in less than an hour, Dr. McNally was packed and ready to leave, and once again he was saying: "There are no such things as ghosts." Strange man.
It took me a long time to figure it out, but of course that is what Captain Gregg is – a ghost I mean. He doesn't share the same existence as Mrs. Muir and the children and Martha do. But I think he is much happier now than he was before they came here. He likes having a family. I do too!
01/26/1969 – The parents of Mrs. Muir's late husband arrived two days ago. Martha spent two days before that cleaning the cottage, and gave me an extra rubdown with linseed oil. That was nice! An interesting happened however. Claymore Gregg dropped by yesterday afternoon, but he did not look like himself. He was trying to look like the Captain! Mrs. Muir almost refused to open me for him at first. I think she thought he had gone daft. He left a short time later and Mrs. Muir's parents-in-law left late this morning.
02/05/1969 – We had more visitors last week. Claymore Gregg came by and then he brought back two men who looked around the house and wanted to take pictures like that Mr. Wilkie did a while back. At first the Captain and Mrs. Muir didn't want them to stay, then the Captain did! A man who took pictures came with his equipment, then he ran away and then the two other men came back. They visited for a while and then left later in the evening. I heard the Captain say they won't be back, but they went away happy. I think the Captain has learned how to make people do what he wants them to do without scaring them. Mrs. Muir still does what she wants though! I think the Captain is very fond of her – as fond as I am of all of them!
02/20/1969 – Mrs. Muir has spent a great deal of time away from Gull Cottage lately. She was standing in the yard with the Captain when she told him she was going to go and write for the Schooner Bay Beacon Newspaper. Captain Gregg was very upset about it, but he didn't stop her. He was lonely when she was gone however, and I think he went to the paper and caused trouble. Whatever he did, it made Martha laugh. When they delivered the paper and she started reading it, she laughed and laughed! She kept snorting and read things out loud from the paper – things like "crazy cottage for sale by a fake," and "rotten dresses in appalling colors."
02/27/1969 – Mrs. Muir was away from the house even MORE this last week! The Captain has missed her dreadfully. Finally, a little man she called Mark came to the house the day before yesterday and 'fired' her, and handed her a newspaper. I think the Captain has been interfering again. His face was in the paper, and Mrs. Muir said "Oh, no!" but I think I saw her smile too. Then today Mark came to the house and wanted her to come and work for him again. The Captain made it thunder and Mrs. Muir said she was going to work at home now.
03/09/1969 – Mrs. Muir was 'sick' yesterday and Martha made her go to her room. First a man with a little black bag came to the house. I was frightened because he looked like the man who came here when the Captain died and they took him away. Then the Captain and Jonathan ran in and out of the garden gathering plants and flowers that the Captain said he was going to use to make 'Willow Bark Golden Elixir.' Then Claymore Gregg came by with 'medicine.' He and the Captain argued, but Claymore seemed almost brave – He yelled at the Captain and said something about "not wanting two ghosts running around." Martha came outside and he practically threw the medicine to her and left. Everyone stayed quiet most of the afternoon and today Mrs. Muir seems to be feeling better. She went out on the porch today and stood there for a long time, gazing out at the lawn – as if she was looking for something. When she turned and came back inside I could see that she had been crying. Then she went to her room and stayed there for the rest of the evening.
03/31/1969 – Claymore kept running in and out of here a good deal last week – looking even more agitated than usual. He was upset about a clock that the children had found that Mrs. Muir hung in the foyer. Then the other day, the Captain kept trying to talk to Mrs. Muir about something. He tried several times during the day and kept getting interrupted. Finally, yesterday evening, they came out to the porch and he was just about to read her something when this awful noise started down at the beach. The Captain was furious at being interrupted again and made it storm and lightening something terrible! Mrs. Muir went back inside saying something about closing the windows and then two men showed up at the door – they had been caught in the Captain's storm. They were allowed inside to dry off and then Claymore showed up – one of the men, Tim, sang a song. He played quietly as not to wake the children, but they had sneaked down the stairs and could hear his song anyway, and I could too. Mr. Gregg and the other man left a little later, but Tim stayed and the next morning he played another song, even prettier than the first one. Mrs. Muir sort of wandered around the rest of the day. She looked very happy from what I could see, but late that evening she went out and sat out on the porch again for a long time and then left for a walk – by herself.
08/29/1969 – It has been a long, lonely summer! The children have not been here much. First they went to 'baseball camp,' and then, after that, Mrs. Muir and the children went to Philadelphia to visit Mrs. Muir's parents. Martha stayed here, but she is a quiet sort of a person when she chooses to be, and of course she doesn't know about the Captain, so they don't talk and I don't get to hear anything, Blast it! I was very happy when they returned yesterday, and I could tell that the Captain was overjoyed. I know he has missed them as much as I have.
09/15/1969 – Mrs. Muir has been behaving differently since she returned from Philadelphia. She and the Captain seem to be arguing more. Not big yelling arguments – little ones, like when I hear Candy and Jonathan argue. I think Mrs. Muir calls it bickering. It's almost as if they are testing each other – waiting for each other to make the next move.
A nice thing did happen recently however! The little girl, Candy, knows about the Captain now. The other day when Mrs. Muir went out to garden in the yard, and Jonathan and Martha weren't here, Candy sort of cornered her and asked her about the Captain, and if there really was a ghost, why she didn't get to see him. Mrs. Muir suggested that maybe Captain Gregg was a little afraid of Candy and then the Captain showed up right away and introduced himself. Candy didn't look scared of the Captain at all! Personally I don't think the Captain should have waited so long, but I am glad Candy knows now, and I think Mrs. Muir and the Captain are also. I wonder how long it will be before the Captain introduces himself to Martha?
09/18/1969 – There were lots of people here yesterday! More than I have seen in a long time! Martha and the children called them the PTA. I was sort of surprised because the Captain has been rather anti-social since the children and Mrs. Muir returned from Philadelphia. I heard Candy and Jonathan say that the Captain couldn't scare anyone because he had lost his powers. That would explain why the Captain bumped into me yesterday instead of walking through me! I think the Captain is all right now however. Claymore Gregg came by yesterday afternoon when the PTA ladies were here with a portrait in his hands. Ten minutes later he came flying down the stairs with the portrait broken and hanging over his neck. I felt the Captain open me and Claymore sailed out to his car. I think Mrs. Muir was worried that the Captain was going to do the same thing to the PTA women, but he didn't. He just stood in the foyer and told her they had to be out of the house by five o'clock.
10/08/1969 – There have been male visitors at the cottage lately, and they are here to see Mrs. Muir. The Captain has not been happy about them being here, and he keeps making them sleepy or sick and they leave in a hurry. Mrs. Muir told the Captain to get lost! She must be really mad at him – she corrects Candy and Jonathan when they tell each other that!
10/11/1969 – The most interesting thing happened the other day! Mrs. Muir and the Captain were arguing again while Mrs. Muir was in the front yard and a man who looks just like Captain Gregg showed up! He called himself Sean Callahan and told her he was there to see Gull Cottage and find out about the Captain. He thought he was related to him! The Captain was most upset. The children came home and at first they thought Callahan WAS the Captain! Not for long of course, but Mr. Callahan asked Mrs. Muir out to dinner, and she said yes! The Captain tried to stop her from going with him and then followed her on her 'date' and then chased him away at the end of the evening. I'll give Mr. Callahan credit – He returned the next day in a trailer, determined to meet the Captain! Mrs. Muir had dinner with him in his trailer that night and the next morning he woke up in a dinghy on the front lawn! He decided to leave after that, but he really didn't seem to be horrendously frightened – even if he did tell Mrs. Muir he was!
11/06/1969 – Mrs. Muir and the Captain are still arguing on and off. I wish they'd stop. I may be only a door, but I see a good deal around this house and I know he cares for her very much. I think she cares for him too, but I don't think they know how to tell each other they do sometimes!
The activity around this place never seems to stop. I certainly have no cause to be lonely these days! We had another ghost visit us recently, but he was nothing like the Captain. Then three men were here for a day. Martha called the hooligans and Mrs. Muir called them convicts. Finally, after ignoring her for a while, the Captain helped Mrs. Muir, Martha, Claymore and Mr. Peavey, and the men were taken away by the police. Then a Madame Tibaldi visited here. First she came here so Mrs. Muir could talk to her and write a story about her, and then she came again with Claymore to hold a seance. Claymore was trying to get rid of the Captain. I knew she really didn't make the Captain leave, but I think Mrs. Muir was worried for a while. Maybe they will stop arguing now.
11/04/1969 – Jonathan had a birthday party here today. Such running in and out! There was a lot of noise, and after a few aborted attempts at finding a quiet berth; the Captain retreated to his wheelhouse. Interesting, the fuss these humans make about birthdays! According to my calculations, I am over 110 years old now, and the Captain is older than that!
11/05/1969 – After putting up with all the noise yesterday, the Captain has made up a schedule for Mrs. Muir and the children to follow. I thought for sure Mrs. Muir would never adhere to such a thing, but she said yes!
11/13/1969 – I should have known! Mrs. Muir only agreed to the Captain's schedule because they wanted to surprise him with a birthday party. Making him stick to his own schedule meant that he would leave them alone while they were planning it. Claymore came over to the house – first to beg an invitation to the party, and then for the party too. I think Claymore and Mrs. Muir and the children ended up with the real surprise though. They had a party for the day the Captain died!
11/28/1969 – Mrs. Muir sprayed a visitor with the hose yesterday. He was talking about taking away 'property' to put 'towers' on. The Captain was furious, and then Claymore drove up to the house, telling him to go away too. Can this man do that? Mrs. Muir has left Gull Cottage – she says she is going to put herself in jail. What is jail? Is it nicer than Gull Cottage?
11/29/1969 – Mrs. Muir is back, and the man is NOT taking away the Captain's property. I'm glad. The Captain and Mrs. Muir don't seem to be arguing as much as they have been either. Maybe Mrs. Muir being in jail made them miss each other!
12/26/1969 – Another Christmas here at Gull Cottage. There was plenty of snow this year! Mrs. Muir and Martha and the children all worked hard to shovel the snow that came down on December 23rd. Then when Martha went to town to see a matinee with Mr. Peavey, Mrs. Muir and Candy teamed up against Jonathan and the Captain and they had a snowball fight!
Claymore showed up at the house the day before Christmas with a very small child. I have never seen one so small! Martha called it a 'baby.' I really hadn't thought about it before, since I had never seen one, but humans don't come finished, the way I did. They start out very little and then get bigger. I realized then that Candy and Jonathan have gotten bigger since they have been here too. I suppose one of these days they will be grown up like Mrs. Muir, and then later even more grown up like Martha. It will be interesting to live with them when they are all grown up like their mother is.
Claymore came over on Christmas day carrying a turkey for dinner and a Christmas tree and then came back for dinner Christmas evening. Also a woman came to the house and got the baby. Everyone had a lovely day though and late tonight the Captain and Mrs. Muir went for a long walk, even though it was cold out. They haven't been bickering lately – and I rather hope the trend continues. I like being the entry to a HAPPY house.
01/01/1970 – I simply can't get used to the concept of time sometimes. Strange, in a way, I suppose, considering I have been here for so long already and seen so many changes in the world. There are a lot of changes happening even in the little corner I see! I suppose I am paying more attention to change now because of the children and Mrs. Muir. As one can see by the date, we have just started another decade. 1970. The Captain died just a little over a hundred years ago! I suppose all things die, and sooner or later this house will die too, and when the house dies, I will, but I hope that will be a very long time from now; still, I wonder what the coming years will bring!
02/19/1970 – Such a busy few months we have been having! The children have been active at school, Mrs. Muir has been writing up a storm, and then a Mr. Albertson visited here – he was busy working on a project in the village and wanted Mrs. Muir to help him. I didn't like him much, and the Captain didn't like what he was doing in the village. But the MOST interesting thing is that the Captain SHOWED himself to this man! He hasn't showed himself to anyone new since Candy! Mr. Albertson didn't know who he was really talking to though! I heard he decided to leave shortly after his talk with the Captain. Then a few days later, the children came home from school early saying they had been suspended! It turned out the Captain was arguing with Mrs. Muir about who founded The Schooner Bay Grammar School, and the children got involved in it! Such a fuss! Isn't it more important that the school is there, not who helped it get there? No one remembers everyone who built Gull Cottage either, but I am very glad Gull Cottage is here, because that means the Captain and the Muir's are here and Martha is here and I am here and we are a family!
02/21/1970 – I think someone heard me. No sooner did I say that we were a family then we almost lost Martha! I heard Candy and Jonathan talking about it. Martha's sister called and said that she had to go to Florida and take care of her mother because her sister, had to go to Alaska. Mrs. Muir and the children decided to plan a surprise goodbye party for Martha – sort of like the one for the Captain, and Martha was very unhappy because she thought no one cared she was leaving. Anyway, the Captain finally showed himself to Martha and told her not to be sad because her family at Gull Cottage loved her! (I would have told her that if I could!) I didn't get to see the Captain appear to Martha – that happened in Martha's room – but I heard about it right before Martha left for Florida, but just for a visit. The Captain managed to fix things so Martha could stay here. I'm so happy! Now everyone here at Gull Cottage knows about the Captain!
03/14/1970 – What an interesting time we have been having! First, lots of people showed up to talk to Mrs. Muir about being in a 'show' and danced and sang for her, then Mrs. Muir's cousin Harriet visited, which did not thrill the Captain at all because her visit interrupted the work on the Captains Memoirs. Anyway, Harriet kept calling her sister Hazel on the phone in the foyer, so for once I was privy to a few conversations! Harriet decided that Mrs. Muir was hiding a secret 'boyfriend,' as Candy calls them, and after a great deal of running around, Mrs. Muir and the Captain decided that Claymore needed to pretend to be Captain Gregg again, like he did last year when Mrs. Muir's husband's parents visited. The Captain had to 'step in' to Claymore and help though!
Then Mrs. Muir's parents showed up wanting to meet the Captain too, so Claymore had to pretend to be the Captain again! Mrs. Muir's mother tried to plan a wedding for the Captain and her daughter. Wouldn't that have been wonderful if they could have been married? They couldn't, of course, but I do know now that the Captain loves Carolyn Muir and she loves him. The Captain called Mrs. Muir "the woman you love" to Claymore! Then I heard them talking on the lawn tonight after Claymore left, and the Captain told her how much he wished he were alive because he wanted her to have diamonds and emeralds and palaces and she said if he were alive that Gull Cottage would be a palace. I guess that's about as close as they can get for now to declaring their feelings for each other, but who knows what the future will hold?
04/08/1970 – Mrs. Muir and the children got it right this time! Today was the Captain's birthday and the family had a party for him. The children acted like they didn't know anything about the party and talked the Captain into playing with them on the beach, and while the kids and the Captain were gone, Martha and Mrs. Muir decorated the house. Mrs. Muir found a really special gift for the Captain – his chart rack she gave away! They managed to keep it hidden from the Captain and then smuggled it into the house, right through my doorway, while the Captain and the children were gone. Mrs. Muir told Martha as they were hauling it inside to the alcove she found it purely by accident while she was in Keystone. I wish I could have seen his face when he first saw the chart rack, but seeing at him for the next few days was wonderful. He kept smiling and smiling and spent a great deal of time out in the yard playing with the children and going for walks with Mrs. Muir. I love it when everyone in the house is happy!
06/21/1970 – Time and events keep marching right along here. The children have finished school and are making their annual trek to Philadelphia for the summer. Mrs. Muir didn't go anywhere this year however. The Captain didn't say anything, but I could tell he was happy about it. They really didn't have time for it anyway – they have been trying to get the final draft done on Captain Gregg's Memoirs. The weather has been perfect – not too hot or too cold and they do a lot or work outside. Sometimes they work on the widow's-walk and sometimes the balcony outside their room and sometimes they work on the front porch. I love it when they do that, because I get to listen.
09/13/1970 – I don't know how Mrs. Muir did it, but she managed to surprise Martha today! Today was Martha's birthday. I think she tries to keep it a secret because she doesn't like to think about getting older – but she was touched anyway. Mr. Peavey came to the party too, and after all the gifts were opened they came out and sat on the front porch for a while and talked. I think the painter really likes Martha. Before he left he kissed her goodnight.
05/01/1971 – The Captain's Memoirs have finally been published. Mrs. Muir had a small party at the house and people from the village came to celebrate and have Mrs. Muir sign their books. They are all terribly proud that 'their Captain' has been honored. I think it would have been wonderful if the Captain could have signed the books too!
Toward the end of the evening, after everyone had left the Captain and Mrs. Muir came out to the front porch and talked for a while, and The Captain gave Mrs. Muir a special copy of the Memoirs. This copy he DID sign for her. What was really wonderful about it was he signed the book: To my Dear Carolyn, Love, Daniel. Then, right there on the porch, he said "It's time Carolyn, can you – will you – please start calling me Daniel?" She started to cry, and nodded her head. I have learned in the last few years that sometimes tears are for happy things, so her crying didn't alarm me as it might have once. I knew Mrs. Muir was VERY happy!
09/01/1971 – It has been a busy spring and summer here! The Captain's Memoirs are a success, and Gull Cottage has been a non-stop area of activity. The phone rang constantly for the first two months after the book came out, and some of the requests that Martha and Mrs. Muir have had to answer have been terribly amusing! Of course, there are lots of calls from people who are sure that there must really be a living human Captain Gregg because the book was written so well. Also there have been calls from people who want Mrs. Muir to write a book about THEIR deceased relative. Mrs. Muir keeps saying 'no,' but they call anyway!
12/29/1971 – Another Christmas has come and gone. This year was lots of fun – There was only a light dusting of snow which helped add the right Christmas atmosphere, and because the Memoirs have been a success, Mrs. Muir had more money to spend on presents for her children, Martha, and her parents and in-laws. She found the Captain a wonderful present – a pipe, and he gave her a cameo that belonged to his mother. They exchanged presents on the porch Christmas afternoon and then went for a stroll along the beach.
02/14/1974 – Birthdays and holidays sometimes seem like the only way to mark the passing of the seasons and the years here. The days, weeks and months wash together like watercolors. The children are growing older. I'm not even sure I can call them children any more! Candy is thirteen years old now and Jonathan is eleven. That's not even a ripple of time to me, but they consider it to be VERY important!
Have I mentioned that Martha is engaged? Her painter, Ed Peavey finally popped the question! It's very nice actually – Martha has never been married before and wants everything to be 'just so.' She is planning on a June wedding – "Not with as many frills as a young bride might have," she says, but frills, none the less. The Captain teases her about it once in a while and gives her mournful looks, and tells her he can't 'live' without her coffee!
Ed Peavey was over at Gull Cottage last week painting the outside of the place and doing some other maintenance work, including stripping me of all my built-up layers of varnish and paint. Ed asked everyone (except the Captain of course) if they wanted my color changed from slate blue to anything else, and the family seemed shocked, and said no – just re-do the blue color. Was I relieved! Ed just patted me and laughed and said that he really couldn't imagine the door to Gull Cottage being anything but blue, and then said there was plenty of wear left in me yet!
06/25/1974 – Martha and Ed were married at the house this afternoon. The ceremony was held in the parlor, so of course I couldn't see it, but afterwards they walked through the entrance of the house where I was and out onto the lawn where the Captain and Mrs. Muir had set up a small buffet. I was relieved to learn that Martha will still be coming here part-time to keep house for Mrs. Muir. In the last year or so I have heard that Mrs. Muir is trying to learn to be a better cook, but I gather she is at best an unenthusiastic housekeeper. Candy has been taking lessons from Martha though, and Jonathan has too – much to the Captain's dismay!
11/28/1974 – Today was Carolyn Muir's birthday! I don't think I have ever noted that before – she has never made that much of a fuss about it. Martha and Ed came over to celebrate the event. Candy and Jonathan made dinner and the birthday cake and everyone had a nice evening. I heard later what really made the day special for her was her publisher called. Her next book, about the history of sailing ships in New England from 1800 to 1900 is going to be published. She is thrilled and so is the Captain.
03/05/1975 – Candy had her first 'date' tonight. Not a car-just-with-the-boy date. That won't be permitted until she is sixteen, but a nice school-type-dance date. Her escort, a young man named Mark, arrived promptly at seven p.m. this evening and knocked on me while his father waited in the car. I had a perfect vantage point for the first view of Candy as she came down the stairs. She looked beautiful. Her long hair was twisted into a French knot and tendrils of hair fell down the sides of her face. She was dressed all in blue – the color of the Captain's eyes. The Captain stood by; invisibly of course, but he looked as proud of her as Mrs. Muir did. I was too!
06/15/1975 – Jonathan has a part time job at the general store this summer. I heard Mrs. Muir and the Captain talking about it as they came back from their walk this morning. Mrs. Muir worried that Jonathan would be working too hard, but the Captain mentioned that he was only twelve years old when he went to sea, and was worked much harder. Then he laughed at her and said she needed to learn to stop being so mother-hennish. She laughed back at him and swatted him on the arm and stopped frowning, and then they went upstairs to work on the new book.
09/01/1975 – Brad and Emily Williams, Mrs. Muir's parents, have made their way out here for another visit. Everyone has been having a nice time but the Captain. When there are visitors, he can't wander around Gull Cottage freely. Well, I suppose he could, but since he won't show himself to anyone except Candy, Jonathan and Mrs. Muir (and Martha when she is here) it makes life more difficult. I wonder sometimes what will happen when the children get older. Will he show himself to Candy's husband? Jonathan's wife? A strange thing to think about, but really the time for that is a mere whisper away.
07/04/1976 – The Nation's Bicentennial was celebrated today. Two hundred years as a free and independent country! The family spent the evening together (Candy deliberately didn't make a date for the evening) and watched some of the events on television, like the Tall Ships, and the firework displays in Washington DC, that were televised. Then everyone went outside and watched the fireworks that shot up from the Schooner Bay Ballpark. A sad event marked the end of the evening though – Mrs. Muir realized about ten-thirty that Scruffy had not joined the family for their after-fireworks ice cream and cake celebration, and went to look for him. The Captain looked too. They found him together, I heard. He was under Jonathan's bed in what used to be the spare room, and had died – of natural causes. The children were very upset – and Mrs. Muir was too, even though at the ripe old age (for a dog) of sixteen, it was not unexpected. Jonathan and Candy insisted that they 'take care of him' that night, and the Captain quickly dug a grave under the Monkey-Puzzle tree in the front yard. Everyone said a few words at the site, and then Candy and Jonathan left for their own rooms while the Captain finished taking care of things. Mrs. Muir and the Captain sat outside on the porch for a long time after the children went to bed and talked in low voices. Much later she put her head on his shoulder and wept for a while. Then she retired to their room while the Captain locked up the house.
11/09/1976 – Jonathan turned fourteen November fourth and Candy (or Candace, as she now prefers to be called) turned sixteen today. The family celebrated by going into town and meeting Martha and Ed Peavey for a shore dinner special, but they all came back here for coffee and cake. Candy was glowing when she came back. A boy in town, Quentin, asked her on a date for this coming Friday. Could that be the same Quentin who used to come by the house and play beach volleyball with her? I wonder!
12/25/1977 – Christmas! There was a blizzard too – It started around two in the morning on Christmas Eve and didn't let up for over twenty-four hours. Mrs. Muir mentioned that it was lucky that they had done their Christmas dinner shopping early, and the Captain growled that he would break into the general store if he had to, to protect 'his' family. Everyone had a pleasant day.
05/17/1978 – The family, along with Martha and Ed, just returned from Candy's high-school graduation. She graduated 'with honors' I heard, and everyone came back to Gull Cottage for cake and punch and celebrations. I heard Jonathan grousing a little about the evening – he was complaining that since he is not quite fifteen years and nine months yet, he didn't have his learner's permit and couldn't drive the family to the ceremonies. Imagine! Jonathan is almost ready to drive! The Captain attended the ceremony too – Invisibly of course. But couldn't appear for the party until Ed and Martha had left. Personally, I think it would be easier to show himself to Ed, but after so many years, I guess it's better to leave things the way they are!
08/29/1978 – Candy left for college today. She is on full scholarship – She started applying for every scholarship and grant she could find when she started tenth grade, and as long as she maintains a '3.5 GPA,' (?) college is paid for. She stood in my doorway for a long time – even after everything was loaded in the car, and as Mrs. Muir called for her to hurry, She looked around the foyer and stroked me, and then started to cry. Captain Gregg appeared be for her (he had been waiting by the car) and she asked him "Why does everything have to change Captain?" He just smiled at her and said: "Think of time as a river my dear – would you want a river to stop moving and grow shallow and dank and dry up? Your life, all lives, are a river! And you aren't even at the first bend of yours yet!" They left and closed me after that, and I watched them all get in the car and drive away.
11/28/1978 – It was Carolyn Muir's birthday today. As usual she wasn't planning on a big evening, but Jonathan and the Captain organized one anyway! She left for town earlier to buy office supplies and go to the post office, and while she was gone Jonathan and the Captain decorated the house, including a big 'Happy Birthday Mom' sign they hung on me! When she came home and saw the sign and decorations all over the foyer she was very surprised and touched. Jonathan and the Captain had made dinner for her, and about halfway through Candy called (Mrs. Muir still keeps a phone in the foyer) and wished her a happy birthday also.
05/18/1980 – Today was Jonathan's high school graduation. Candy came home from college to attend the ceremonies and brought 'her young man,' as the Captain calls him, with her. The Captain had been planning on attending the ceremonies with the family and being at the get-together at the house afterwards, but when he heard about Candy bringing Stephen to the house he was about to back down. Mrs. Muir told him "not to be ridiculous," and somehow made the Captain show up – When Stephen and Candy arrived at the door, he was simply introduced to Stephen as "Danny, a family friend," and no one thought anything about it! I wonder why he has never thought of doing that before?
08/30/1980 – Two big pieces of news today – One startling, one sad! Jonathan came home from his job at the Inn today and I could see his face was a picture of emotions. Mrs. Muir and the Captain met him in the foyer, as he was running late getting home, and Jonathan blurted out right then and there that he had enlisted in the Navy! Mrs. Muir was startled, but not "totally surprised," as she said, looking at the Captain and then back at her son, but the Captain's face was a study. I know he is terribly proud of him, but, as he said to Mrs. Muir, "There is always an element of risk when you have a son or daughter in the Armed Forces." Though the stubborn man will never admit it, I know he will also miss Jonathan enormously.
The second piece of news is Ed Peavey passed away today. Mrs. Muir took the news over the phone in the foyer – Martha called her right away. It was a surprise for everyone: a stroke. He was only sixty-nine. I heard Jonathan say it could be a 'blessing in disguise' in one way. Jonathan says that as soon as things are settled in the village, Martha ought to come back and live in Gull Cottage with Mrs. Muir and the Captain. She wouldn't be a housekeeper – more of a companion for Mrs. Muir, and would keep down the rumors that still persist after all these years that Gull Cottage is haunted. "Besides," as Jonathan pointed out, "Martha is family and we have to keep an eye on her," to which the Captain and Mrs. Muir heartily concurred. The Captain and Mrs. Muir are going to discuss it with Martha after the funeral and then see what happens.
01/01/1981 – Another Christmas has come and gone. Martha has moved in, and despite the Captain and Mrs. Muir's protests, continues to bustle around the house and tidy and cook meals as she did what seems like ages ago. She won't listen to the Captain or Mrs. Muir about slowing down – She insists that the activity "keeps her young." Jonathan was home on leave and Candy was home from school (no boyfriend with her this time) so it was just family and everyone had a wonderful time.
01/12/1982 – Sad news. Martha has passed away. It was quick: a heart attack. She had been under the weather the last few days and Mrs. Muir insisted on taking her to the doctor. She argued even as she was walking through the doorway of Gull Cottage that "it was nothing," and mentioned that she really needed to get back and put a new coating of linseed oil on me before the storm that was supposed to blow in. Then, suddenly, she was gone. I shall miss her presence around the place!
06/01/1982 – Candy graduated from college today. I saw the Captain and Mrs. Muir drive away yesterday for Philadelphia – They talked in the doorway for some time – the Captain saying that "Candy needs to live her own life now," and how he didn't feel it was proper to attend the ceremonies and "interfere in her life anymore." Carolyn Muir argued right back that the Captain "WAS as much a part of her life as SHE was," and to "stop being stubborn." Finally he agreed to go with her and they left. I understand Candy will be living in Philadelphia. She and a roommate are getting a place together and Candy is going to work at a publishing house.
11/27/1982 – Thanksgiving was two days ago. Candy came home to visit and brought a new young man with her. The Captain decided to be 'Danny' again so he could stay and enjoy the festivities, and check out Candy's 'young man.' This one is very nice, but Candy hasn't said whether or not they are planning anything as serious as marriage. I heard her tell her mother as she was leaving that she told Martha years ago she wasn't 'planning on getting married until later in life, like twenty-one or twenty-two,' and she means it. The Captain mentioned something about 'frustrating, liberated women these days,' but I could tell he is proud of her, and still misses her.
02/05/1983 – Mrs. Muir has a new book coming out. This is her sixth, and it's something of a family joke. It's a collection of New-England ghost stories! The Captain has been urging her to write it, maintaining that "No human knows more about ghosts than you do, my dear." Mrs Muir just laughs at him and says "I'm not sure about that, but I know a lot about one ghost!"
01/06/1984 – Candy was married today here at Gull Cottage. Funny thing, after all this time, and college, and working in Philadelphia, she ended up marrying someone from this town! I had heard through phone conversations that she started her job at a new publishing house last year, and while working there she ran across a young man named Mark Helmore. They remembered each other from when they both attended the same grammar school here. They started seeing each other, and a real love developed between them. A marvelous thing happened right after the ceremony and the minister left – Captain Gregg materialized and showed himself to Mark, saying that since he was a member of the family now that he and Mark ought to be friends. Mark wasn't taken aback a bit being introduced to a ghost, and maintained he remembered the Captain from a dream he had had when he was nine, and wondered why the Captain didn't come earlier for the wedding ceremony! Mark and Candy are going to have a good life together, I'm sure.
04/08/1984 – Today is the Captain's birthday. Carolyn had planned a quiet celebration, but it turned into quite a homecoming! First Candy and Mark showed up bearing a gift (a ship for his collection) then Claymore dropped by. He hasn't visited the cottage in a long time – not since he finally sold Mrs. Muir the house back in 1975. He and the Captain still aren't exactly the best of pals, but he brought a gift for the Captain and looked rather wistful, and of course was delighted to see Candy and Mark, so the Captain let him stay. It was a shock seeing him – He's older, and grayer, but still, he seems to have mellowed a bit, and in a funny way it was nice seeing him again. I have sort of missed seeing the Captain levitate him down the staircase and out my doorway, or watching Claymore faint as he did so many years ago!
07/04/1984 – Independence Day, and Jonathan is home! He was talking to his mother and Captain Gregg on the porch and has mentioned that he wants to go to college right away using his GI Bill. General studies, he says, for now. He is still trying to decide what direction he wants to take career-wise. I think the Captain was surprised that he didn't make the Navy a career, but Jonathan maintained that the Navy wasn't the same place as it was when the Captain was alive, and he was rather disappointed in his four years. He will live here for a while, but I heard Captain Gregg tell Mrs. Muir that he would bet money that Jonathan would be living somewhere on his own before too long!
12/28/1986 – My, the old place has been crowded! Jonathan is here visiting for Christmas (Winter break from college) and Candace and Mark are visiting also. Still no little ones for Mark and Candy! I heard Candy and Mrs. Muir talking about it a little in the foyer as they were packing the car. Candy was maintaining that she wants go make sure her career is on track first and that "even thirty-five is not too late to start a family," and a woman she knows at her publishing house was forty when she had her first child. Mrs. Muir paled a little at that, let me tell you! She murmured something about "Yuppies" (?) and then said, "Fine, but do you really want to have a daughter or son going through puberty at the same time you are starting to go through menopause?" Candy grew quiet at that – I think her mother gave her something to think about! Jonathan on the other hand HAS made a few decisions. I heard him announce to the Captain and Mrs. Muir was that he has decided to become a teacher! Little Jonathan – who would every excuse imaginable NOT to go to school!
05/30/1988 – Jonathan graduated from college today. The party was held here afterwards, and there were lots of relatives that came in for the event. I haven't seen some of them in years – Hazel and Harriet Williams, Ralph and Marjorie Muir, Brad and Emily Williams, and even Mrs. Muir's Uncle Arnold made the trip! Everyone stayed at the Inn, however, except for Candy, Mark and Jonathan, much to the Captain's relief! Jonathan has already accepted a teaching position in Pripet, so he won't be too far away. I hope I will get to see him once in a while!
Oh! Another wonderful thing! Candy and Mark are expecting! Mrs. Muir and the Captain are thrilled. I don't get to see the Captain at a loss for words very often, but Candy and Mark were the first to arrive at the cottage, and since Mark knows about the Captain, he answered when they rapped on me. If ghosts could faint I think he would have! Then Mrs. Muir showed up in the foyer too, and she was so happy, she cried. Candy gave her mother and the Captain a huge grin that reminded me very much of the little girl that used to run in and out of my doorway not so terribly long ago, and said that she is "five months along," which means the baby should be born at the end of September.
10/10/1988 – Katrina Danielle Helmore was christened today. Mother and child are doing well, and the Captain and Mrs. Muir haven't stopped smiling yet. Jonathan came in for the celebration, of course, and he brought a young woman with him. The Captain hasn't met her yet, of course, but I heard Jonathan and the Captain talking on the porch – He has plans to propose around Christmas.
06/22/1989 – Yesterday was Jonathan's wedding day, and once again the house was full of people, celebration and merriment. Jonathan's new wife, Anna, is a lovely girl. She is a teacher also at a different school in Pripet. (She and Jonathan met at an all-school teacher's meeting). If the opinion of a door counts, I think they will be good for each other. As he did with Mark, the Captain showed himself to Anna shortly after the ceremony. I understand (couldn't see it happen, blast it) she took it in stride – turned only a little pale, and then proceeded to treat the Captain as if she had known him for ages. I heard Jonathan whisper to his mother as they were packing up to leave that he had, in his words "Sorta told" Anna that the Captain lived here. Dear Jonathan! I think he was right to say something to his fiancee . . . besides that child could never keep a secret for too long!
05/05/1994 – Mrs. Muir and the Captain were talking yesterday about the birth of Jonathan's new baby and the party they are having next week. Jonathan has three children now, as difficult as that is to believe! The twins, Jessica and Diane are two now. And now their new baby boy! Jonathan insisted on christening him Daniel Bradford, after his grandfather, who died in 1991, "and," as he said, "the only real father I have ever known, Captain Daniel Gregg." Anyway, the Captain observed, with a sigh as he and Mrs. Muir sat in the porch swing watching the last rays of the setting sun hit the beach, that Gull Cottage (which means me also) is one hundred and thirty three years old! Mrs. Muir, to her credit, laughed, and commented that that made the Captain a hundred and sixty-nine and that she was a mere 'babe in arms' of fifty-seven. He grunted at her, kissed her on the nose and they went inside to call Candy and Mark and talk to them and say hello to their grandchildren, Katrina and Alexander.
12/27/1996 – Another Christmas has come and gone here at Gull Cottage. Candy and Mark and their children couldn't make it this year – They both have received promotions, and had to be back at work the day after Christmas, so travel wasn't possible. Jonathan, Anna and the children were here though. It was fun seeing everyone – The twins, Jessica and Diane are four now, and Daniel, the Captain's namesake is three, so they were all running about the place. They are adorable – I didn't get to see Candy and Jonathan at that age, so it's fun watching another generation of Muir's grow up! Jonathan and Anna had to be back for work January second, (both of them still teaching!) but as they were leaving this morning, the phone rang – It was the doctors office calling and looking for Anna – they just confirmed the news with her – she's pregnant! They are both very happy and the baby is due some time next August. It still tickles me when I think about it – little Jonathan – the father of four!
05/13/1997 – Busy times here! Mrs. Muir and the Captain have been getting her latest book ready for the publisher. This new one is another sea-yarn of sorts. It's the story of a woman who goes to sea with her husband and ends up running the ship when her husband dies. There's a lot of adventure in it and as I hear, at the end of the story, the lady sea captain ends up falling in love with the first mate and they set out for sea again! Yesterday Mr. Muir's agent called – not only is the book being published, but they have already contracted for a sequel, with an option for at least one more. The Captain of course vacillates and says "the whole idea of a woman running a ship is totally improbable," and being terribly proud of Mrs. Muir, and once in a while I hear him offering ideas for more chapters!
Anna's baby is due in August and traveling does not agree with her at the moment, and of course school is still in session, so I don't think Jonathan's family will be planning any visits here until after the baby is born. There will be time then, Jonathan says, because Anna will be on maternity leave until the school year starts up again after Christmas vacation in January of 1998.
After Jonathan's last phone call, Mrs. Muir was fussing about how frustrated she was about not being able to see her grandchildren. The Captain mildly pointed out that "thanks to the marvelous invention of the computer, and e-mail," (?) I think he said, "You can exchange letters and notes much easier than in my day," and "You are a writer, so write!" and "What are you so worried about?" Then Mrs. Muir muttered something about "Computers being easier than ball-point pens," smiled at him, and they went outside to sit on the porch for a while.
08/15/1998 – Anna had the baby today! Another boy, seven pounds six ounces. They have named him Joshua James. The Captain is happy – Joshua was his father's name, and James is for Anna's late father.
12/27/1998 – Candy, Mark and their children were here for Christmas this year. I love seeing all the children grow up! It would be better if they could all live here and I can see them every day, but I understand that they can't! Katrina is ten now and Alexander is eight. It seems like only a short while ago that Candy and Jonathan were that age and running in and out my doorway!
04/08/1999 – The third and final book in Mrs. Muir's trilogy about the woman who captain's a sailing ship is being published. Mrs. Muir surprised Captain Gregg with an advance copy for his birthday this year. Its called "Storm-Tossed Seas" and the advance notices indicate it will probably do even better than the other two books in the series have! They will be releasing all three books, "The Lady or the Captain," "Second Sail," and "Storm Tossed Seas," as a deluxe box set some time in October of this year.
11/28/1999 – Well, we just finished Thanksgiving, and today was Mrs. Muir's birthday. Candy, Mark and the grandchildren were here for Thanksgiving last Thursday, but as they had to get back for work and school on Monday, everyone celebrated with Mrs. Muir yesterday. Then today the Captain and Mrs. Muir celebrated her actual sixty-fifth birthday quietly, with a simple dinner the Captain prepared. They sat for a while on the porch after that, the Captain commenting that Mrs. Muir could legally retire now if she wished. But she just laughed and said if she retired she would just be bored all day and drive him crazy. Jonathan called at that point, so they went upstairs to talk to him and the rest of his family.
01/01/2000 – It's a new century. Some people think this really happens next year, but this is the year that "half the population of Schooner Bay is being ridiculous," according to Captain Gregg, because a new millennium is starting and people are worrying about their computers, and whether or not the world will end. I wish I could have laughed with them and soothed Jonathan's girls, Jessica and Diane when they called, fretting to their grandmother! The Captain soothed his grandchildren: "I was there the last time the century turned over, and there is nothing to worry about." They chatted with Jonathan and Anna for a bit, then he and Mrs. Muir rang in the New Year and the new millennium quietly up on the widow's-walk, drinking champagne and watching the fireworks display in town.
02/05/2001 – Bad news – Emily Williams has suffered a mild stroke. Carolyn Muir is going to Philadelphia to handle things for a while. I hope she returns soon!
03/03/2001 – Mrs. Muir should return today! How I have missed her – Captain Gregg has been moaning and wandering around the place like a lost soul.
03/07/2001 – No sooner had Mrs. Muir returned to Gull Cottage than she received news that her mother has had yet another stroke. This one is much more severe. She is not expected to rally again and Mrs. Muir is on her way back to Philadelphia.
03/10/2001 – Emily Williams died early this morning. She held on, I understand, until Mrs. Muir returned to her bedside and then quietly passed away. How I shall miss that wonderful woman's yearly visits! I understand from Mrs. Muir's telephone call that Candy, Jonathan and all the great-grandchildren will be flying in for the funeral the day after tomorrow.
03/25/2001 – Mrs. Muir is home again – finally! She is still quite pensive though and does not seem to have much energy. It will take time, I think, for her to recover from her loss.
04/08/2001 – The Captain's birthday was today. The Captain and Mrs. Muir had a quiet dinner and then took a walk on the beach. I think Mrs. Muir is feeling better.
07/29/2001 – This has not been a good year for Mrs. Muir. She took a phone call in the foyer early this afternoon – Paula, an old college chum, has passed away – cancer, I understand. She will fly to Boston in two days for the funeral. I heard her comment to Captain Gregg that she had reached that point in her life where "all my friends are starting to die off." I really never thought about it before, but she's right. I didn't have to go through this with Captain Gregg – He was twenty years younger than Mrs. Muir when he died, and I didn't even know that he had died then! How sad it would be to see my 'friends,' the lions, the gateposts, the barometer I see every day, fade away – never to return! Funny though, the Captain seems to be aging with Mrs. Muir. He looks only a little older than she is.
09/12/2001 – If a door has a life, I have just been through the worst twenty-four hours of it since I came into existence. Yesterday morning, terrorists hijacked four planes. Two crashed into the twin towers in New York; killing no one knows-yet-how-many people, one was crashed into the Pentagon killing more, and a fourth, that they think was headed for the White House, has crashed into a Pennsylvania field. More lives obliterated. To make matters worse, Candy was supposed to be at meeting with a client AT the World Trade Center at the same time the planes hit. No one could reach Candy on her cell phone for over six horrible hours – all the circuits were jammed. Mark did get through to Mrs. Muir and Captain Gregg immediately and then to Jonathan and his family. The Captain and Mrs. Muir alternately watched the news on television and waited and prayed for an "I'm okay" call from Candy, and Jonathan and his family waited for a phone call from their home in Pripet. Finally, at five p.m., the phone rang at Gull Cottage. It was Candy and she was fine! Her plane developed engine trouble and never made it off the ground in Philadelphia. By then, the planes had hit the towers and the Pentagon, and no one could leave the airport for over four hours, or get a telephone connection. Candy is home and safe now, but words cannot express what I feel for all the people who will never see their husbands, wives, sisters, brothers and children again in this life.
10/31/2001 – Blast! Will this year never end? Mrs. Muir was out puttering in the front flowerbed yesterday morning when the phone rang – Claymore Gregg had suffered a mild heart attack. He is seventy-four, so I guess it's to be expected, but still, it's surprising! I still envision that much younger man who used to come by trying to pull one over on Mrs. Muir – and think of him hopping the stone fence is his hurry to escape the Captain's ire! He is doing better now I understand. I heard Mrs. Muir say that Claymore said: "My heart won't kill me, but this hospital bill will!" He is still just so VERY Claymore!
11/28/2001 – The Captain and Mrs. Muir celebrated her birthday quietly, both agreeing that they are glad this extremely sober year is almost over and they have Christmas with the grandchildren to look forward to. I am anticipating Christmas as well – I understand both Candy and Jonathan and their families will be here!
01/02/2002 – Christmas was lovely. The nation is still recovering from 9-11 but here in Schooner Bay, all was relatively peaceful. Candy and Jonathan and their families stayed at the Inn. An additional nine people in the house is just a bit much for Mrs. Muir these days! Speaking of a bit much, Jonathan and Candy presented Mrs. Muir with a joint gift – the promise of paid housekeeping services twice a week for the next five years! Mrs. Muir tried to protest – saying it was much too much, but Jonathan retorted that with "all the extra time you will have on your hands, we expect at least one more book out of you Mom." Jonathan is a vice-principal now – hard to believe!
09/21/2002 – Mrs. Muir is going to have another book published! This one is a mystery – sort of like the Jessica Fletcher character in Murder She Wrote, from that old show that ended back in the mid-nineties, but it has a 'gimmick' to it, and a funny one at that. Her crime-solving partner is a ghost! In the story, from what she was telling Jonathan on the phone the other day, the ghost is that of the woman's late husband, but from the excerpts she was reading to Jonathan, he sounds a lot like Captain Gregg! It should do well.
12/26/2002 – Christmas was yesterday – Candy and Jonathan couldn't make it this year – and I must say Mrs. Muir sounded a little relieved. She has been a little on the draggy side lately, but just says she has just been working too hard. The Captain has been nagging at her to go in and see a doctor. I hope she's all right!
01/30/2003 – Mrs. Muir did make an appointment for a physical, and according to Doctor Ferguson, who Captain Gregg still calls 'the peep,' Mrs. Muir has an iron deficiency. It is very common in women and is easily treatable, and she also has a very mild heart murmur, which at Mrs. Muir's age (she didn't like the way he put that) is not at a point of being operable yet but is also treatable with medication. Captain Gregg has become a real shark about insisting that she remembers her pills every day, and continues her regular mild exercise program.
10/31/2003 – Life around here has been very quiet. Mrs. Muir's murder mystery, The Body in the Lake, hit the best seller lists! Captain Gregg's Memoirs, and her Trilogy did too, but this one was a surprise – I heard Carolyn tell her editor the other day that she would try for a sequel; as her readers are clamoring for one, but she wasn't sure. "I did this one for fun," she maintains, "I won't make any promises." Personally, I think she will probably give it a go!
04/08/2004 – Jonathan, Anna and the kids flew in for the Captain's birthday today. It was a complete surprise. They hadn't told anyone they were coming and it was good to see them – Jessica and Diane are eleven now, and just beautiful. Daniel, Captain Gregg's namesake is ten, and Josh is six. They arrived at five-thirty, right on top of the dinner hour, bearing pizza and a gift for Captain. I was so lucky! I got to see everything! Jonathan knocked on me and Mrs. Muir answered, followed immediately by Captain Gregg. Jonathan put the pizza down in the hallway and handed Captain Gregg a small package and said, almost sounding like he was seven again, "I can't wait one more minute Captain; Happy birthday and please, open this now!"
The Captain did open it, right there in the hallway – Jonathan has had a book published! And it's about the Captain! It seems that Jonathan started telling his children all the stories Captain Gregg told him about his adventures, and I guess he finally decided to write them down. He worked on it during summer break from school, and by the time he was finished, it was quite a volume! It reads nothing like the Captain's Memoirs that were published so long ago though. It's more of an adventure yarn, and Jonathan's writing style is totally different from Mrs. Muir's.
Not seriously thinking of publishing it, just for fun, Jonathan sent a copy of the manuscript to Candy at her publishing house. Candy happened to be on vacation that week, so it was forwarded to the senior editor who read it, loved it and called Jonathan and said he wanted to publish it. Candy found out about it when she returned from vacation. They've been keeping it a secret since January! Jonathan said he thinks of it as a cross between Indiana Jones and Zorro . . . at sea, of course! He calls it Blood and Swash. The movie rights have already been negotiated if you please, and Jonathan says that his lawyer negotiated a very sweet deal for the hardback, paperback and movie rights that should cover sending all four of his children through college.
09/08/2004 – Blood and Swash is on the best seller lists! Mrs. Muir says Jonathan is being very casual about the whole thing and maintains the whole thing is "just a fluke." Even if he never writes another book, what an accomplishment!
12/31/2004 – Quiet Christmas. Candy, Mark and family were here; Jonathan and his crew celebrated in California. They have been watching Jonathan's book become a movie. I heard an actor by the name of Hugh Jackman has the lead, and actors Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Keira Knightly play his love interests.
04/01/2005 – Mrs. Muir's second mystery, The Body in the Dinghy has been published. She uses the same crime solving team as in The Body in the Lake, with a few new characters added. The advance notices look good. I heard her tell Captain Gregg that if she knew that her mysteries would do this well she would have started writing them ages ago.
09/21/2005 – The movie premier of Blood and Swash was held here in Schooner Bay yesterday evening! How I wish I could have been there for it! Everyone in town, it seems, has been by the house in the last few days congratulating Mrs. Muir on Jonathan's accomplishment. Jonathan and his family are here also, but they are staying at the Inn. The biggest surprise for Mrs. Muir, however was when the director of the picture, Steven Spielberg, and two leads in the picture, Hugh Jackman and Keira Knightly showed up at Gull Cottage yesterday morning and knocked!
They were here for about an hour – Mrs. Muir gave them a brief tour of the cottage, answered a few of their questions and served them tea. Mr. Spielberg commented as the three were leaving "what a wonderful place Gull Cottage would be to film a movie." I heard the Captain say "Over my dead body," and something to the effect of the movie being "The beginning of the end of all peace and privacy." Mrs. Muir just shushed him, which drew a very strange look from Mr. Spielberg, and then they left. Mrs. Muir rested the remainder of the day – I think the event quite wore her out. About six p.m. however, Mrs. Muir and the Captain came outside and stood under the Monkey-Puzzle tree and made a toast – to the thirty-seventh anniversary of Mrs. Muir's moving in to Gull Cottage. They stood there for about ten minutes or so reminiscing, and then went inside and upstairs. Has it really been so long ago?
12/28/2005 – A relaxed Christmas here at Gull Cottage. Jonathan and Anna and family celebrated at their home in Pripet this year "Trying to get back to normal," as Jonathan says, "after our year of excitement and glamour." Blood and Swash, the movie has done very well at the box office, I heard Mrs. Muir say, and it is rumored to be up for several awards next year. Candy and Mark and their children, Katrina and Alexander were here for the holidays however, and left this morning. The children have grown so! Katrina is fifteen now and Alexander is thirteen.
04/08/2006 – Mrs. Muir's third mystery, The Body under the Stairs was released this week, and as usual was followed by plenty of phone calls here at the cottage. Finally Mrs. Muir threw up her hands and turned the answering machine on to take the calls saying: "I bought the blasted thing, I might as well use it!" A comment to which Captain Gregg heartily concurred! They spent his birthday quietly here at the cottage.
05/01/2007 – The thirty-fifth anniversary edition of The Memoirs of Captain Daniel Elias Alexander Gregg was released this week! Mrs. Muir is quite happy. I heard her say that of all the books she has written she is still the most proud of "My first and best," as she puts it. The sales are expected to go well, especially due to the release of Jonathan's book and movie last year. The Captain, however, laughs every time someone mentions the book – deluxe edition though it may be. This one has illustrations – only a few really fine color etchings throughout the book, but the Captain is pictured looking more like a Viking than a New-England sea captain – The illustrator made him a blonde! I see the Captain chuckle every time Mrs. Muir signs a book for a well-wishing visitor.
09/21/2007 – Candy and Jonathan and their respective families paid a surprise visit to Gull Cottage today! Jonathan and Candy remembered that today was the thirty-eighth anniversary of their move to Schooner Bay and Gull Cottage – "A change that affected the rest of our lives," they both said. It's true you know! So much of their lives are still wrapped up in this house, and I have been privileged to see so much of it! Candy met Mark here in Schooner Bay, Jonathan met Anna not that far away – Mrs. Muir's books, Jonathan's book . . . so much! But as Candy said, "The most important thing we have to be thankful for is you, Captain Gregg, for becoming part of our lives, but still letting us live our own." The whole family made a toast after that. Katrina and Alexander, Mark and Candy's children, that aren't such children anymore, Jessica and Diane, Daniel, and Joshua, Jonathan and Anna's crew, and my special dear ones, Carolyn, Daniel, Candace and Jonathan. My family! Who could ask for a better one?
10/05/2007 – Mrs. Muir has passed away and she and the Captain have left Gull Cottage. Forever, I am sure of it. The day had been dark and dank, with a cold drizzle and fog. Mrs. Muir and the Captain had been upstairs most of the day – She came downstairs once to make some soup for lunch, and I saw him come down later and bring back up a pot of tea, some small sandwiches and two cups. Then, about nine this evening, suddenly I felt a change in the atmosphere of the house. I felt this incredible rush of – warmth, I guess you'd call it. It's the only word I could think of. I saw Daniel Gregg, looking suddenly much younger than he has looked in many years, and Carolyn Muir – looking no older than she did the day she moved in here. She was dressed in a long gown I haven't seen her wear since she and Claymore danced in the living room over thirty-five years ago. The walked toward me and I felt myself open. Arm in arm and looking only at each other, they walked outside, past the porch and faded into the mist. They are together for eternity now, forever, as they were always meant to be . . . as they were destined to be. I am so happy for them, but an incredible feeling of emptiness and abandonment is closing in on me already! What is to going to happen? What is to become of this place? Of me?
10/08/2007 – Mrs. Muir's funeral was today in the Episcopal Church in the village, and there was a small reception here afterwards. Candy and Jonathan and their families cleaned up the house and left. The loneliness is already unbearable!
11/22/2007 – Jonathan and his family are back! I'm so happy! I saw Josh run up the stairs and from what Mrs. Muir used to call the spare room I heard him crow "This is MY room!" A few minutes later I could hear Jessica and Diane talking about how they wanted to fix up their "attic paradise." Then I heard Daniel, the Captain's namesake, trying to talk his father into letting him have the Captain's telescope – With Jonathan vehemently protesting that it was HIS telescope now and they could learn to share.
So they are here to stay. I haven't lost them. And how I look forward to seeing them every day! I have no way of knowing what the future holds, but I embrace it's coming. And I wouldn't have missed the last one hundred and forty six years for anything in the world.
End
This story is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Nancy Ellen Casey,
03/05/1931 – 10/05/1995