Greenbriar Manor

Parties and Perils

The sunrise brought with it a strange red sky. 

A call was made to several places that morning as Fran made her rounds on the property. The first was to Mack's doctor telling him of the strange sleepwalking that had begun at summer's end. The second was to a person she had not spoken to in 15 years. Her cousin Sallie (who as an adult had started going by her middle name "Ruth") who had gone on to become a Psychiatrist in Philidelphia. She picked up the phone on the first ring.  The conversation went much this way: 

R: "Hi Frannie. How are things?"

F: *heavy breathing Not good at all Ruth. She has come back and she wants Mack. (she looked around the room warily as she said it just above a whisper) 

R: Who has come back? What about Mack?

F: "The woman from the bathroom in Vera's house."  "The one we saw that day. Bridgette. I saw her last night in the foyer playing piano with Mack." "She knows about the teacup. This place it sees things. It is like Vera's house without all the plastic. There are things collecting here and strange things I just equated with the antique feel of this Manor but now I am not so sure. There is a boy here that I cannot quite explain. The boys have taken quite a shine to him. People come and go alot. It just doesn't seem like we are safe here.How did I ever find my way back to this place? How is she here? She never came home that anyone said. What do they want with my son? This house is full of photos of long gone people and antique furniture. Maybe I am overthinking it all. Maybe it is just the storms out here. You know how they scare me so. Mack's friend go a horse recently and he has been needing something to occupy his time. Maybe taking up something like music could be good for him. But she looked so angry. So possessive of my baby. What is your opinion? Can you help me Ruth?"

R: "Were you awakened to go look at the piano? Are you sure you did not dream this? How long has he been sleepwalking? Maybe the stress of his dad leaving and your busy job has begun taking it's toll on you.  Maybe you and Mack should take a vacation and come here for a few days and have a change of scenery.Grief is a strange thing Frannie. It can sneak up on you. Even though Vera was not our favorite aunt her death was sad and so was all we saw in that old house. You need to work through this and you need family. Family in the flesh not in some old drafty house that two rich people wanted to save. The bones are good but maybe your soul is too close to those spirits there metaphorically of course." "Stress can cause phantom smells, sights and intense dreams. My prescription is for you and Mack to take a week off and come see me and Mable and get away from that place. Surely there is someone who can take your place for a few days." 

F:"Actually, Ruth there isn't even a backup maid or manager. I'm it and I was handpicked by the lady of the house. However, I have never had a week off ever in the two years I have been here. Maybe she will let me if I tell her it is a family emergency. Then I will come see you. I hope maybe you can help Mack not miss his dad so much.  Maybe find another hobbies like something Mabel enjoys. I will let you know what I find out. Light a candle for us. We need the help."

R: "Will do Frannie. You and Mack take care now. See you soon."

When Ruth hung up the phone she felt something on her fingers. Oily and sweet. Maybe she had gotten syrup on her hands from the waffle she ate for breakfast. She went to the bathroom to wash her hands. As the warm water created fog on the mirror she thought she saw something in her living room. A faint swirl of smoke came into view. Black curls and a perfect bow. Then eyes full of rage. The figure manifested before her eyes and formed into a young girl. She put her index finger to her lips and made a low Shhh...noise. Was this what her cousin saw in that bathroom all those years ago? She smelled the almond scented soap in her nostrils and something like wet, red earth. The figure disappeared as soon as she turned the water off.  But every hair on her neck and arms was standing on end. She remembered that they had sworn never to go back. Vera was gone. Bridgette was a figment of her imagination. She could not be real. She had spent the last 15 years trying to help people who had lived through traumatic experiences find solace. Help people deal with grief in a positive way. Not like Vera or Franni who had loved the first man who looked at her and sadly for her that man had been away longer than they had been together. Mack deserved a father and she deserved not to be haunted by tea cups and old attics of family secrets. She would help them again like she had that day when she threw that tiny trinket out of the speeding car away from the old dark house. 

As Ruth exited her bathroom she felt her toe stumble over something small and cold. Probably one of Mabel's toys. She had also been going through some of her mother's old sewing thimbles. She looked down and noticed that the object had a tiny painted rosebud on one side. When she picked it up and turned it over she could see it was not a thimble at all but a tiny sugar bowl. Maybe Mabel had gotten it from one of her school playmates. She paused to think about how beautiful it was and old looking. She turned it over in her fingers. On the bottom was a small filigre B in classical style lettering. She screamed and flung it across the room. Mabel came out of her room at the sound of the tiny bowl crashing on the floor. Shards littering the tiny space between the baseboard and the kitchen door. Mabel looked stricken. She tried to gather up every shard as Ruth watched her.  She took the hand broom and gathered it all up into a paper bag. "It's okay Mabel mommy made an accident. I will clean it up" Mabel looked at her and in a voice above a whisper said, "My new friend  will be mad I broke the sugar bowl and missed her party."  "Now I've got to give her one of my set to replace it." " You can't have tea without all the parts."   "It will be okay mommy. I can fix the mess. You didn't know about the party because it's a surprise." She kissed her mom on the cheek; wiped a tear from her face.  She went back to bed. 

Maybe Ruth was overreacting like she had just warned Frannie. She knew that Mabel had a friend who lived upstairs named Brittney and that sometimes they swapped toys. Maybe the memories that the Manor uncovered were getting to her too. She thought about the strange feeling she had that day right before she picked up the phone and after like something was coming--something exciting and maybe a little scary. Like a party. Like a surprise. Maybe the visit would be good for them too. She would call Brittney's mother and explain about the sugar bowl and make amends. Mothers always try to take good care of fragile little girls. 

Even Vera had kept everything just so in her house trying to preserve things as she best knew them. Loss needs healing and broken things can mend with time. 

Mabel had waited until her mom went back to bed to place the blue and white sugar bowl in the hall linen closet. Her friend would be happy it was safe. The other one had been hers a very long time. But Mabel would be her friend and help her. Mommy had no idea that Brittney and her mother Amy had moved to Nova Scotia in April  for the summer and that they had rented to a new set of tenants. A new girl that lived upstairs was all alone with a much older lady that smelled like strong perfume,  coughed on slim cigarettes and always wore fur. That you could not sit on any of the furniture because of all the plastic and there was a strange picture that reminded her of her mother in the girl's bedroom. But she was glad that Brittney had left her another friend. Next week her cousin Mack would be there and they would have lots of fun together. He would teach her how to play piano and she would show him how to take tea like a gentleman. It would be one great big surprise!