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A Stand-Alone Christmas Novel from a Popular Series!
Steven’s brother and his family have come to visit for the holidays. Looking for a relaxing and quiet location to enjoy the scenic beauty of Puget Sound, Steven chooses Point No Point, the oldest lighthouse in the region. Here, the lighthouse keeper’s quarters have been remodeled into a vacation rental, and it seems to be the perfect location.
Perfect, if your idea of quiet is loud thumpings coming from the abandoned museum next door. Perfect, if your idea of relaxing is a slow, creeping infection emanating from the shipwrecks just off the shore.
In this stand-alone novel, Steven and his father Roy find their picturesque Christmas holiday turning into a family nightmare as they unravel the haunted secrets from the deadly shores of Point No Point.
A Christmas Haunting at Point No Point is the eleventh novel in The River series, but no prior knowledge of the series is required to enjoy it.
Excerpt:
Steven
removed the key from the lockbox and slid it into the knob on the
door. The door swung open into the dark room, creaking lightly.
“Here
we are,” he said, reaching inside and finding a light switch. The
room illuminated; it was big and spacious, with comfortable
furniture. He released a sigh of relief. You
book rooms based on pictures on the internet, but you never really
know until you see the place in person, he
thought. This place seems OK. Nice, even.
“A
fireplace!” his niece, Emily, said upon entering behind him. She
dropped her backpack on the sofa and walked to the large hearth. “Is
it gas?”
“Looks
like wood,” replied her father, Bernie. He was carrying two
suitcases, which he hauled through the room and into the next.
Steven
walked up to Emily and put his arm around her. “We’ll set up the
tree in that corner,” he said, pointing to a spot not far from the
fireplace. “We’ll have this place done up right in no time.”
“It
gets dark here too early!” came a woman’s voice, the next to
enter the house. Marlene, Emily’s mother, came to stand next to her
daughter, looking at the large empty fireplace. “It’s cold!”
she observed, rubbing her hands together.
“We’ll
have to get this fireplace going,” Steven replied. “I expect
there’ll be wood outside.”
“I’ll
help!” Emily offered.
“How
about we get everything in from the car first?” Roy said, carrying
two large boxes that he placed on the floor. “You’ll have to
locate that tree stand, Steven, if we’re going to bring in the
tree.”
“Help
me find it,” Steven asked Emily, and they opened the boxes, which
were filled with Christmas decorations.
Marlene
wandered out of the room, exploring the rest of the house. Bernie and
Roy disappeared outside, going for more boxes and suitcases.
“Is
this it?” Emily asked, tugging the metal holder from under boxes of
ornaments. “I’ve never had a real tree before.”
“Never?”
Steven asked, taking the holder from her and spinning open the screws
that would secure the tree in place.
“We
always have fake,” Emily said. “Dad says it’s environmentally
irresponsible to have a real one.”
Roy
and Bernie entered with the tree, netted together into a long pole.
They positioned the tree over the stand while Steven secured the
screws underneath. Once it was in place, Roy removed a pocketknife
and began cutting at the netting. The branches of the tree descended
into a proper shape.
“Smells
so good!” Emily said as she watched her grandfather and uncle work.
“Normally
we’d shave off the bottom,” Roy said. “But I left my saw at
home. Only needs to last the week, anyway.”
“There,”
Steven said, lifting himself from the ground. They stood back and
admired the tree.
“Not
bad,” Roy said, “for the last of the lot.”
“I
think it’s great that you went to all this trouble,” Emily said.
“Planning a tree way out here and all. Very nice of you!”
“Can’t
have Christmas without a tree,” Steven said. “See if you can find
the lights, Emily. I’m going to find some wood for the fireplace.”
Emily
turned to the boxes, and Steven walked outside, looking for the
woodpile. He found a covered stack around the south side of the
building, and selected several small logs that looked dry. Lying on
the top of the stack was an ax, and he used it to chop up a couple of
the logs into kindling.
Above
him, the beam of light from the lighthouse next door swung over his
head, circling every few seconds. He stopped and looked out over the
water. It was now almost fully dark, with low clouds reflecting the
last of the light. The smell of salt water filled his nose; he took
in a deep breath, enjoying the quiet and serenity.
The
day had gone well. Dreading the airport on Christmas Eve, he was
surprised that retrieving his brother’s family had gone so
smoothly. It hadn’t hurt that almost everyone there seemed in a
good mood. As he and Roy waited for them at the baggage claim, there
were happy reunions all around him, and it was infectious. It made
the entire day seem better.
It
had been years since he’d seen Bernard. Long ago his brother moved
to San Antonio and hadn’t been back. When on a recent phone call
Steven reminisced about past holidays and casually threw out an
invitation, he hadn’t really expected Bernie to take him up on it.
He knew that his brother and Marlene, his wife, weren’t getting
along, and that at times they struggled with how to raise their
seventeen-year-old daughter, Emily. Bernie surprised him by agreeing
to come and spend the entire week between Christmas and New Year’s.
He
chopped at the wood, recalling when the idea occurred to him to find
a place they could rent for the holiday rather than spend the time at
his house in Seattle. A friend had sent him a packet of brochures
from a trip to Florida. One of the brochures was of a lighthouse, and
it made him wonder about local lighthouses. Discovering that you
could rent the old light keeper’s quarters at Point No Point, the
oldest lighthouse on Puget Sound, had set him on the path of securing
it for the upcoming family visit. He also recalled Roy’s opinion of
the idea when he suggested it.
“An
old lighthouse? Why would we want to do that?”
“It’s
not the lighthouse itself,” Steven replied. “It’s the old light
keeper’s quarters. They don’t use people to man the thing
anymore, it’s all automated. The state renovated the quarters as a
rental. It’s a duplex; the other half is a museum.”
“I
don’t know,” Roy replied. “Stuck in a house with you and Bernie
and his wife for a week?”
“And
Emily.”
“For
a whole week?” Roy repeated. “What if I get sick of you? If we
stayed in town, they could all stay at your place, and I can come and
go from mine. Wouldn’t that be nicer?”
He’d
anticipated this from his father. Last Christmas at home had been
unbearable. He’d lost his son, Jason, just months before, and the
agony of that event was very fresh and raw. A lot of his misery had
sunk into the walls of the place during that holiday. Now that Bernie
was coming for the first visit in many years, he didn’t want to
stay at home with the memories. He wanted someplace fresh, something
that would give him a fresh crack at a happy Christmas.
“We’ll
set up a tree there, and decorate the place a little,” Steven said.
“It’ll be a really unique Pacific Northwest Christmas for them.
Pricey, but I don’t care.”
“How
much is it?” Roy asked.
“You
don’t want to know,” Steven replied. “You’ll just bitch about
it the whole time. Consider it my Christmas present.”
“Where
is it?”
“Point
No Point,” Steven replied. “On the peninsula.”
“Oh,
way out there?” Roy whined.
“I
know it sounds like I’m asking, but I’ve already reserved it with
a non-refundable deposit.”
“I
was hoping for a new coffee maker for Christmas,” Roy replied.
“Well,
if you’re good, maybe Santa will bring you one.”
He
smiled at the memory and picked up the kindling, stacking it on top
of several logs, then carried it all inside. He found Roy assisting
Emily with strands of lights.
“Where’s
Bernie?” Steven asked as he dropped the wood next to the hearth.
“They’re
still upstairs,” Roy replied.
“Probably
fighting,” Emily said, under her breath.
“Can’t
fight, it’s Christmas,” Steven replied. “Not allowed.”
“They
can fight over anything, trust me,” Emily said, plugging in the
lights. “Last week they fought over the size of the holes in a
pepper shaker.”
The
tree blazed up with hundreds of tiny white lights.
“Perfect!”
Roy said, admiring their work. “Now for the ornaments.”
Steven
knelt at the fireplace and built the fire. Within a few minutes it
crackled to life, and he began to place more of the kindling on it,
allowing it to grow.
Emily
handed a box of ornaments to Roy and opened one for herself. “These
are so old fashioned!” she said, pulling an old glass ornament from
its holder and letting it hang from her fingers. “I love them!”
“Those
were your grandmother’s,” Roy replied. “She must have bought
them in the sixties.”
“They
are so much cooler than the plastic ones!” Emily said, beginning to
hang the ornaments on the tree.
“I
wish we had some Christmas music,” Steven said, adding another log
to the fire.
“I
don’t,” Roy replied. “Every goddamn store I go into, blaring
the same old Christmas songs over and over, ever since Halloween. I’m
sick of it already.”
“Don’t
pay attention to him,” Steven said to Emily, knowing she didn’t
have much experience with Roy. “He doesn’t mean half the things
he says.”
“The
hell I don’t!” Roy barked as he hung a delicate angel ornament on
a branch.
Soon
the fire was roaring, and Bernie and Marlene showed up, admiring the
tree.
“That
feels so much better!” Marlene said, clutching a blanket she’d
taken from her bedroom.
“Not
used to the chill in the air up here?” Roy asked.
“No,
I’m completely acclimatized to Texas,” she said.
“It’s
never warm enough for her, even in Texas,” Emily said. “It can be
a hundred degrees and she’s freezing.”
Steven
walked to the front door.
“Where
you headed?” Bernie asked.
“Going
to get another armful of wood,” Steven replied. “Don’t want to
have to keep going in and out all night. I’d rather just stock up.”
“I’ll
help,” he said, rising from his chair.
They
walked together through the cold night air, mist coming from their
mouths. Above them the beam from the lighthouse slowly cut through
the air, like a hand on a giant clock, keeping time.
“Beautiful
out here,” Bernie said as he followed Steven around the house to
where the wood was stacked.
“You
like the place?” Steven asked, not sure if the accommodations were
going over well with his relatives.
“Oh
yeah, it’s stunning,” Bernie replied. “Never stayed in a place
like this before. And for Christmas, too. This was a great find.”
“Thanks,”
Steven replied. “I figure it’ll give us plenty of time to relax,
and lots of opportunity to explore in the daylight.”
“Do
we have to do anything?” Bernie asked, looking up at the
lighthouse. “To keep it running?”
“Nope,”
Steven replied. “It’s all automated. Runs itself. If something
goes wrong, it notifies the right people on its own, and they send
someone to deal with it. We’re just guests enjoying the view.”
They
reached the woodpile, and Bernie held out his arms for Steven to
load.
“This
wood seems dry enough,” Steven said, inspecting each log as he
stacked them into Bernie’s arms. “You and Marlene OK?”
“Did
you hear us?” Bernie asked.
“Hear
you? When, in the house?”
“Yeah,
when we were upstairs? Could you hear us?”
“No,”
Steven replied.
“Good,”
Bernie said. “We try not to fight in front of others. I know it
makes people uncomfortable. Sometimes it just comes out, though, you
know?”
“Yeah,
I know,” Steven said, remembering some epic fights he’d had with
his ex. “Things still tough between you two?”
“I
don’t know if they’re going to get better,” Bernie replied.
“Sometimes I get the feeling she’s just waiting for Emily to go
to college or move out.”
“That
bad?”
“Sometimes,”
Bernie replied, his arms beginning to sag a little. “She can be
very vindictive. And irrational.”
Steven
knew his brother had a mean streak as well, but he knew better than
to get in the middle of their troubles. “It’s tough sometimes,”
he replied.
“I
was hoping coming out here would give us some time to reconnect a
little,” Bernie said. “See if things are repairable.”
“Sounds
worse than I thought,” Steven asked. “You sound like you’re
about to break up.”
“We’ve
grown apart,” Bernie replied. “Sometimes I listen to her talking,
and I swear to god I don’t know her anymore; I can’t even believe
what’s coming out of her mouth. She’s not the person I married,
that’s for sure.”
“People
change,” Steven said, placing another couple of logs in Bernie’s
hands.
“If
they change enough, are you entitled to move on?” Bernie asked.
“Sounds
like you’re ready to throw in the towel.”
“No,
that’s not what I’m saying. It’s just that, you get married,
you have certain expectations. What if those expectations don’t
work out? A person isn’t expected to go day after day, living with
someone they hate most of the time, are they? They’re entitled to
some happiness in life, aren’t they? I mean, look at you.”
Steven
didn’t reply, not sure if Bernie was referring to the loss of Jason
or the divorce with his ex-wife, Sheryl.
Bernie
read the confusion on Steven’s face and realized Steven might not
have taken what he meant the right way. “I didn’t…” Bernie
said, catching himself. “I meant Sheryl. You must have some idea
what I’m going through here.”
“I
don’t know, has Marlene slept with half the men of San Antonio?”
Steven asked, regretting the question almost immediately after asking
it.
“Hmpff,”
Bernie replied, sounding very Roy-like. “I’ve wondered. She’s
certainly not sleeping with me.”
“My
situation with Sheryl was different,” Steven said. “When there’s
cheating involved, it’s hard to repair anything. It was for me, at
least.”
“Maybe
we’ll be able to get through to each other while we’re here. I
hope so. We’ll just have to see how it goes.”
“And
Emily?” Steven asked. “She’s obviously picked up on the
fighting.”
“She
knows the situation. She’s already told each of us that if we split
up, she’s OK with it. She just wants us both to be happy, and she
knows we’re not right now.”
“Good
luck,” Steven replied, picking up his pile and staring back. “I
hope you can make it work out.”
“Thanks,”
Bernie replied, following him.
◊
Steven
leaned back in his chair, feeling toasty warm both inside and out.
Out, due to the roaring fire in front of him, and in, due to the hot
buttered rum that had just been placed into his hand by Marlene, who
walked with her own to the other end of the sofa and sat next to her
daughter.
Roy
was already sipping at his, looking as though he was moments from
sleep. All of the lights were off in the room except for the fire and
the Christmas tree, and the combination of the booze and the warmth
was relaxing everyone.
A
tiny trickle of Christmas music played from the speakers on Bernie’s
cell phone, which was sitting on a side table next to the sofa, where
he sat on the other side of his daughter. Emily was inspecting the
watch she’d just unwrapped; a gift from Steven. He’d marked it
“From Steven and Roy” even though his father hadn’t played much
of a role in selecting and wrapping the gifts they’d just
exchanged. She seemed delighted with the watch, and was trying to
make it communicate with her phone.
“A
wonderful Christmas Eve!” Marlene said, sipping at her own rum.
“This was an excellent idea, Steven. Thank you for setting it all
up!”
“My
pleasure,” Steven replied, noticing that Bernie was beginning to
nod off, too. “It’s been a long day for you folks, I imagine.
What time did you get up this morning?”
“Five,”
Marlene replied. “It’s true, I’m beat.”
“Once
I finish this, I think I’m done for the night,” Roy replied. “It
sure is good, Marlene. I don’t know how you make them, but it’s
perfect.”
“Thanks,”
she replied, smiling. Steven knew that Marlene had never really
gotten along with her in-laws, but when he considered that most of
the trouble might have been between Marlene and his mother, who was
now deceased, he realized he’d never really spent much time around
her. God knows my mother was a challenge for
Sheryl, he thought. She
was probably just as much of a challenge for Marlene.
The
gift exchange and unwrapping of presents had gone so well that he
decided to drop any concerns about family troubles. It was Christmas
Eve, and everything seemed right; the setting outside was stunning,
the tree had worked out and was cheerful and homey, and the hot
buttered rum was, as Roy said, perfect. Even the tinny music coming
from the phone seemed charming. No reason to
spoil it with memories of my mother, he
thought.
Bernie’s
chin hit his chest, and he spilled a little of his drink. “I guess
that’s my cue,” he said. “Goodnight everyone. See you in the
morning.”
“Goodnight,
Daddy,” Emily said. Bernie stood up and left the room. Over the
crackling of the fire they could hear his footsteps on the stairs as
he climbed to the second story.
“So
is it another rental next door?” Marlene asked.
“No,
it’s a museum,” Steven replied.
“Museum?”
Emily echoed, without looking up from her watch.
“This
lighthouse is the oldest one on Puget Sound,” Steven replied. “From
what I read online, the museum is a collection of lighthouse stuff
from over the years.”
“It’ll
be interesting to check it out,” Marlene said, taking another sip
of her rum, “if they’re open at all during the holiday.”
“Wouldn’t
surprise me if they’re closed while we’re here,” Roy replied.
“We’ll have to check their door and see if they posted any
hours.”
Steven
felt himself nodding off, too, and rose to poke at the fire; it was
starting to taper off, and he felt confident letting it peter out on
its own. “I’m turning in as well,” he said, setting down the
drink. “You got everything you need, Marlene? Emily?”
“Once
I found that trove of blankets in the hallway, I’m fine!” Marlene
said. “I’m sure I’ll be right along behind you.”
Emily
had placed earbuds in, and didn’t respond.
“She’s
fine too,” Marlene said, answering for her. “We’ll see you in
the morning, Steven.”
He
turned and walked down the hallway that led past the kitchen and to
the stairwell, located at the back of the house. After ascending, the
light from under the closed bedroom door on the left told him Bernie
was still up. He passed by Emily’s and Roy’s rooms until reached
the last one on the right, where he found his backpack and suitcase,
sitting unopened on the bed. The room was cold, and he could see
baseboard heaters lining the floor, but he didn’t feel like
searching for the controls. He preferred to sleep in a cool room,
anyway. He pulled his suitcase and backpack from the bed, slipped off
his clothes, and slipped into the cold sheets, waiting for his body
warmth to radiate and make things more comfortable. I
should get up and brush my teeth, he thought,
but then decided he liked the taste of the hot buttered rum still in
his mouth, and decided to let his eyes close.
◊
“Morning,”
Bernie muttered from the kitchen table. It didn’t appear that
anyone else was up.
Steven
tried to look out the kitchen window, but was met with fog. The
water’s edge, not more than a hundred feet away, had been
completely swallowed up by it.
“Looks
like we’re socked in,” he said.
“No
snow for Christmas,” Bernie said. “But plenty of grey clouds and
fog!”
“Welcome
to the Pacific Northwest,” Steven replied, turning to look for
coffee and finding a full pot in the maker.
“It’s
a nice change,” Bernie said. “In San Antonio it would be another
sunny day. I’ve had so many sunny Christmases I’ve lost count.
This is kinda nice.”
“You
been up long?” Steven asked, sitting at the table.
“For
a while, yes.”
“Hard
to sleep?”
“I
think there must be people next door,” he replied. “I kept
hearing noises.”
“From
the museum?”
“I
guess. It didn’t sound like it was coming from outside.”
“What
kind of noises?”
“Well,
what woke me up was a thump. It was so loud I sat right up in bed.
Then I thought I could hear something muffled and faint, so I pressed
my ear against the wall. It sounded like crying.”
“Crying?”
“I
told Marlene about it, she made some crack about the place being
haunted. I was probably just hearing things. I was pretty exhausted.”
Steven
smiled back. Not that long ago he would have, indeed, thought the
idea of the place being haunted a crazy notion. The last couple of
years with his father, however, had amply demonstrated to him just
how very real hauntings could be. Prior to that time, he’d been a
complete skeptic, and would have responded to Marlene’s comment the
same way Bernie had. These days, he was far more likely to take it
seriously.
Marlene
stumbled into the kitchen and walked to the window just as Steven had
done. “Looks like we’re socked in,” she muttered.
Steven
caught Bernie rolling his eyes.
“Coffee’s
in the machine,” Steven said. “Thank you for making it, Bernie.”
“Why,
I think that’s the first time I’ve been thanked for making coffee
in ten years!” he said. “You’re welcome.”
“That,”
Marlene said to Steven, “is a dig at me, if you didn’t catch it.”
“Merry
Christmas, both of you,” Steven replied, hoping they would remain
civil to each other at least until he was out of the room.
Marlene
sat at the table with her coffee. Steven wondered if they’d been
verbally poking at each other the entire trip; if this was now the
norm in their relationship, and last night had been a brief oasis.
Either way it made him feel uncomfortable, and he thought about
getting up to start the fire.
Then
he remembered the fights he and Sheryl had publicly conducted around
family and friends, and how much he hated it when one of them left a
room or distanced themselves as a result. At the time, it reminded
him of how badly he was behaving, but it also made him feel loss of
support, as though people he counted on were abandoning him.
Completely irrational for me to expect them to
stick around while Sheryl and I fought, he
thought now, while deciding to stay in the kitchen with Bernie and
Marlene. It was going to be a short vacation, and he hadn’t seen
them in many years. If this was how it was going to be, he’d endure
it.
“You
slept OK?” Steven asked Marlene.
“Yeah,
I think so,” she replied.
“Bernie
was woken up in the middle of the night,” Steven replied. “A loud
thump from next door.”
“Didn’t
hear a thing,” Marlene said. “I must have slept through it. I was
tired.”
“I
don’t know how,” Bernie replied. “It was loud. Woke me right
up.” He raised a hand to scratch at his neck.
“You
wake up at every little thing,” Marlene said.
Steven
was grateful that Roy entered the kitchen. He bypassed the window and
went straight for the coffee.
“It
was a loud thump,” Bernie said. “Not some little noise.”
“What
thump?” Roy asked.
“Bernie
heard noises coming from the museum last night,” Steven answered.
“Ooo,”
Marlene said. “Ghosts. The place is so old, it must be haunted.”
“Did
you hear anything?” Steven asked Roy.
“Nothing,”
he replied. “Slept like a dead man. Which is a surprise, given that
the bed wasn’t my own.”
“I
guess you’re the only one who heard anything,” Marlene said to
her husband. “Maybe you dreamt it.”
“We
can ask Emily when she’s up,” Steven said.
“That’ll
be noon,” Bernie replied.
Emily
walked into the kitchen.
“Good
morning,” Steven said to her. She moaned something in reply, filled
a cup of coffee and walked out, heading to the living room.
“She’s
not a morning person,” Marlene said.
Steven
rose from the table. “I think I’ll get the fire going in the
other room. It’s Christmas morning; we need a good fire to counter
all that fog.”
“Fog?”
Roy asked, looking through the window. “Oh, wow — look at that.
We’re socked in.”
Steven
walked into the living room. Emily was sitting on the sofa with her
legs pulled up under, sipping at her coffee. He built the fire and
poked at it until it was churning right along, then he plugged in the
lights on the Christmas tree.
“There,”
he said, picking his mug up from the hearth and sitting in the same
chair he’d used last night when they’d unwrapped presents.
“That’s better.”
He
looked at her. She was zoned out, staring into the fire.
“You
sleep OK?” he asked.
She
looked up at him. “Are you kidding?”
Steven
was a little taken back by her tone. Marlene
said she wasn’t a morning person, he
thought. Boy was she right.
“You didn’t?” he asked.
“You
didn’t hear it?” Emily said, still staring into the flames.
“Hear
what?”
“The
loud clang? I figured it woke you all up.”
“Didn’t
hear it. A clang?”
“Ringing
through the wall.”
“Oh,
from the museum?” he asked.
“I
guess,” she replied.
“No,
didn’t hear a thing,” Steven said. “Your father was woken up,
too, but he said he heard a thump. Did you hear that?”
“No,”
Emily replied. “Just the clang. It was so
loud…I can’t believe you didn’t hear it.”
“Nope.”
“And
it went on and on, like six or seven times,” she replied. “I just
held my pillow over my ears until it stopped. I hope it’s not going
to ring like that every night.”
“We’ll
have to see if we can figure out what you heard,” Steven said. “I
doubt the museum will be open today, since it’s Christmas. Maybe we
can peek in their windows.”
The
watch on her arm beeped, and she turned her wrist to look at it. Then
she smiled. “It just gave me a sleep report!” she said, and
pulled her phone from pants pocket.
“A
sleep report?”
“It
does so many cool things!” she said, swiping on her phone. “It
monitors your sleep. Look!”
She
passed her phone to him, and he took it, looking at the graph. There
was a huge spike in the graph, and at the bottom he saw the tick
marks, metering the time of each reading.
“Hmm,”
he said. “The spike must have been when you woke up to that sound.
Looks like it was just before midnight.”
“You
really didn’t hear it?” she asked, taking her phone back.
“No,”
Steven answered. “I was asleep before then, but I didn’t wake up
all night long.”
“Lucky
you,” she replied, swiping through her phone.
“I
invited someone for dinner today,” Steven said. “I hope you don’t
mind.”
“Who?”
“His
name is Terrell. He lives in Port Angeles, about an hour from here.
Doesn’t have any family nearby, so I thought I’d include him in
our dinner, if you don’t mind.”
Emily
didn’t look up. “Sure,” she said. “It’s Christmas, right?”
“Exactly,”
Steven replied, rising to get a coffee refill. “He’s in his early
twenties, I think. Single.”
Emily
looked up. “Oh?”
“A
smart, handsome kid.”
“Oh,”
she replied, returning her gaze to her phone. He could tell he’d
piqued her interest. “What time?”
“Well,
dinner probably won’t be until five or six,” he replied. “But I
invited him over earlier, to visit.”
“Well,
it is Christmas,” Emily repeated a little anxiously.
“Indeed
it is,” he replied, and left the room for the refill.
◊
Terrell
arrived around two, and they all chatted while sitting in front of
the Christmas tree. Steven and Roy had talked with Terrell in
advance, concocting a story about meeting Terrell when the two of
them took his ghost tour in Port Angeles. It was close to true;
Terrell did run a ghost tour in Port Angeles, but Steven and Roy had
become friends with Terrell under entirely different circumstances.
Terrell,
for his part, seemed grateful to have been included.
“Christmases
haven’t been much in my family,” he said when Marlene asked him
about his history. She pressed a hot buttered rum into his hands,
then yanked it back.
“You
are legal, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yes,
I’m over 21,” he replied.
She
handed him the mug once again. “Well, it’s Christmas, so even if
you were close, we’d let you have one!”
“How
about me?” Emily asked.
“No!”
Bernie replied quickly. “You’re not close.”
Steven
caught Emily looking at Terrell for a reaction, and the two shared a
quiet exchange that said, “Adults…boring!”
After
a half hour of chatting, Marlene said she wanted to take a walk along
the shoreline, now that much of the fog had lifted.
“I’ll
join you,” Bernie said, and the two of them left the living room,
heading upstairs.
“Actually,
that sounds like fun,” Terrell said. “You want to go, Emily?”
She
smiled a little. “Not if it means walking with my parents.”
“Oh?”
Terrell asked, standing.
“I’ll
tell you why later,” she said, rising as well. They donned coats
and were out the door before Bernie and Marlene returned from
upstairs.
When
Marlene descended, she was thickly bundled. Roy began to chuckle.
“Don’t
laugh at me!” she said to Roy. “I’m a Texan, I’m not used to
this webbed-toed weather!”
“How
many layers have you got on?” Roy asked.
“Two
undershirts and this sweater,” she said, pulling her coat from the
rack and slipping it on.
“Most
of your heat escapes through your head,” Roy said. “You need a
hat.”
“I’m
not mussing up my hair!” she said. “No hat.”
Roy
snickered again, and Bernie arrived, asking if she was ready to head
out.
“Where’s
Emily?” he asked.
“She
and Terrell are already out walking,” Steven replied. Bernie seemed
concerned at Steven’s answer.
“You’ve
got nothing to worry about, I assure you,” Roy said.
“Forgive
me if I’d rather make that call myself,” Bernie replied.
Steven
was surprised at the exchange. Roy had mentioned in the past that
there was some kind of history between himself and Bernie that had
played a role in his brother’s move to San Antonio years ago.
Perhaps this was a sign of that rift, whatever it was.
“I
can vouch for Terrell,” Steven said. “Emily’s fine.”
Bernie
looked at him, and Steven could see the lines of suspicion on his
face, carved there by whatever caused his distrust of Roy. Slowly his
face relaxed as he came to accept Steven’s assurances. He reached
up to scratch at his neck.
“They’ll
be fine, Bernard,” Marlene said. “Now come on, let’s go for a
walk and try not to bump into them.”
“I’d
rather we kept an eye on them,” Bernie replied.
“And
I’m sure she’d be horrified if we do, so we won’t,” Marlene
said, opening the door and walking outside.
Bernie
followed her.
Steven
turned to Roy. “What happened between you and Bernie? Why’d he
say that?”
Roy
scowled. “None of your business,” he said, leaving Steven alone
with the Christmas tree and the fire.
◊
Later
that day, Steven prepared a full turkey dinner. Bernie and Marlene
popped into the kitchen to ask if he needed or wanted any help, and
he told them to leave him alone so he could work. Eventually Roy took
up residence at the kitchen table, drinking coffee while he watched
Steven.
“Did
Bernie and Marlene go back out?” Steven asked.
“They
did,” Roy replied.
“And
Emily and Terrell?”
“Haven’t
come back yet. I’m glad you talked me into inviting him. At first I
wasn’t very keen on the idea, but it worked out OK.”
“He
and Emily have been out there a long time,” Steven observed,
checking the oven.
“It’s
gonna drive Bernie crazy,” Roy replied, slightly pleased at the
idea.
“It
would probably do him well to be a little less the overprotective
father and focus more on what’s wrong with him and Marlene.”
“That’s
rich coming from you!”
“I’m
not meddling,” Steven said. “I just know he’s hoping the two of
them can work out a few issues while they’re here.”
“Humpf,”
Roy emoted skeptically, sipping more coffee. “So Marlene thinks the
place is haunted, huh?”
“I
think she meant it as a joke,” Steven replied. “Emily heard
things, too.”
“Oh?”
“She
seemed surprised we didn’t hear the loud clang she heard,” Steven
said. “Said it repeated several times.”
“Huh,”
Roy said. “I didn’t hear anything last night, did you?”
“No,”
Steven replied. “But then, their bedrooms share a wall with the
museum. Ours don’t.”
“Have
you checked it out?” Roy asked.
“What,
in the River?” Steven replied, referring to his “gift,” the
ability to use his mind to enter the river of unseen things swirling
constantly around them, hidden from normal view. Both Steven and his
father possessed this ability, and often used it to explore their
surroundings, seeing things from its unique perspective. “No,
haven’t had time.”
Roy
closed his eyes, and Steven knew his father had dropped into the
River. He couldn’t stop to join him; he had too many tasks bubbling
away in pots on the stovetop. After several moments Roy opened his
eyes.
“It’s
small,” Roy said. “Not much of a museum. But there was one odd
thing.”
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