WHO THE HECK IS GEORGE

WHO THE HECK IS GEORGE?

George Who?

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“Hey, the house was sold! From what I was able to find out, the new owner is a single mother. Two young sons, pre-teens.”

“How’d you find out?”

“Heard Tom talking to Lionel. Seems the former owners got too creeped out and decided to leave.”

“Does the new owner know?”

“Doubt it. I can imagine anyone buying a house where we come and go at will.”

“Okay, so now what? Who gets to reside there with her?”

“Been thinking about that, Harry. If you want my opinion …”

“If I didn’t want your opinion,” Harry interrupted.

“Harry, you need to stop that and let people like us finish a sentence.”

“Sorry, Patrick. Okay, I’m listening.”

“Since we don’t know anything about her or her sons, we should go in. Find out what she’s like before the others try to take over and spook her,” Patrick replied.

“Uh, Patrick, hate to break the news to you but WE are the spooks. Remember?”

“Funny Harry. You’re a joke-a-minute. Bill and Sue were freaked out any time we did anything. That’s why they sold so quickly. Let’s just see what this new family is like before others try to take over.”

“Good idea, Patrick. So, if it’ll be just us, who’ll be the bad ghost and who’ll be the good ghost?”

“Haha! Not so fast, my spirited friends” They turned to see Jackson, standing, uh, floating nearby.

Patrick almost audibly gasped. “Jackson, what’re you doing here? You know we screen every house before some of us move in.”

Jackson sneered, “I decided to move in anyway, so here I am! I’ve already checked out the house and I want the basement. You two can fight over the rest of the house.”

Patrick and Harry looked at each other and the looks they shared read loud and clear. “How on earth do they get rid of this malevolent troublemaker?”

Jackson easily read their minds and indignantly replied. “YOU DON’T!” With that, he vanished but his presence could be felt throughout the house.

“Well, Harry, if we can’t banish him, we can confine him. We’ll put a protective ward at any opening that might allow him access to the living quarters.”

Harry replied, “That’s all well and good but what happens if she needs to go down to the basement?”

“Then one of us, my dear friend, will go with her.”

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Two weeks later, Liz and her boys opened the door to their new home and welcomed the people who were delivering her furniture.

“Mom, who gets which room?” Brian, the older boy asked.

“The room nearest the door is the smallest bedroom so, since there’s only me, I’ll take that one. The other two bedrooms are identical in size and slightly larger, so I’ll let you and Trevor decide. My question is, where will the dog sleep?”

Trevor volunteered an answer. “Mom, I think she’s already decided for us.” He pointed to the hallway between the two bedrooms. Girl had already dragged her blanket to the hallway, laid it between the doors, lay down and fell asleep.

“Guess you’re right. She’s watch over both of you at the same time.”

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“So, Harry, she seems like a nice person; it’s a shame to frighten her so what should we do?”

A very loud thump echoed from the basement throughout the house.

“We won’t need to scare her. She’s got Jackson for that. We’ll just have a bit of fun with her,” Harry replied.

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“Hey Boys!” Liz called out, “What was that noise? Who dropped what and what broke?”

“Mom, we didn’t drop anything. We thought you did.”

Liz replied, “Ok, it might be the furnace. In a house this old, some furnaces need repair or replacement. Since I’ll be going downstairs, either of you need clothes washed?”

Brian answered first. “I don’t have much, Mom but between the three of us, with packing, moving, and unpacking, I’m sure we have enough for one load. Want me to carry it downstairs for you?”

“That’s okay, Bri. That load shouldn’t be that heavy, and since it might be as small as you say, it’ll give me a chance to check out the condition of the washer. I want to make sure there are no leaks.”

With that, Liz gathered the dirty laundry and walked towards the door that led downstairs. As she reached out to grab the doorknob, she felt the icy chill from the metal of the knob.

What the heck? She thought. It was the middle of the summer, and the basement should be that cold. She fought the chill and opened the door to a blast of icy wind.

Damn, I bet there’s a broken window somewhere.

She started her descent down the steps and one side of her body felt as though it had been locked in a meat freezer. She looked at the concrete wall on that side and saw the steam of her breath.

Fighting off the odd feeling, she quicky put the laundry in the washer, set the dial and walked back up the stairs. When she reached the top, she noticed Girl sitting there, shaking as if something terrified her.

Liz patted Girl’s head and reassured her everything was fine, even though she didn’t quite believe it.

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“Harry,” Patrick said, “he’s already started to frighten her. He didn’t even wait for her to get settled in. What are we going to do?”

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Liz decided to make some coffee, hoping it would settle her nerves. With the coffee pot brewing, she took from the pantry the necessary ingredients to make her favorite walnut and cranberry scones. She knew as soon as she’d put them in the oven, her sons would come running from their rooms. She thought, I don’t know who likes the scones more, the boys or me? She smiled thinking how such a normal task would make the new house seem more like home.

She set the ingredients on the counter and went to check on her sons. They were suddenly very quiet. Both bedroom doors were open. She was grateful that she could hold a conversation with both of them at the same time.

“Hey, guys, you’re awfully quiet. What’s going on?”

“Mom,” Brian began, “I know this will sound weird but every time I open that window at the back of my room, it closes by itself. The other window is fine; it’s just that one.” He pointed to the window at the south end of the house.

Treavor said, “Mine, too. Mom. I know I only have the one window, but it won’t stay open.”

“Huh,” Liz said, “Let me check. Maybe something is jammed in the glide.”

As soon as he opened the window, it slowly closed.

In frustration, she loudly said, “Aw come on! You stupid old house. Stop playing games. If we want a damn window open, we want the window open! You know, fresh air and all that kind of healthy stuff?”

Slowly, both windows slid open.

Liz jumped back in fear. She knew something wasn’t right.

She looked at her sons and saw the frightened look on their faces.

“I’ll check both windows again as soon as I get some tools unpacked, but right now, I need to check on the laundry. At least, now, for whatever reason, we can open the windows. While I’m in the basement, I’ll find the window screens and bring them up.”

As she approached the basement door, Girl stood at attention, the hair on her back stood rigid, and she growled. She was a good dog and hardly ever growled. The hair on Liz’s arms felt frosty. She reached for the doorknob, which felt warm to the touch.

Okay, that’s a good sign, she thought as she grabbed it and opened the door.

Not even halfway down the steps, an icy blast of air hit her so hard, it almost caused her to fall backwards.

She grabbed the handrail, stood rigid and took on a fighting stance. Not loud enough for her sons to hear, but in a defiant tone of voice, she said, “Look, I don’t know who you are or why you’re here and I don’t care. But we’re here, too, so you had better learn to live with us since we obviously have to live with you. Find a way to tell me your name. If I don’t hear your name in the next two days, I’m calling you George. Don’t like it? Move out!”

She stomped down the rest of the stairs and without further incident, placed the clean clothes in the dryer, then, again, in defiance, stomped her way upstairs to the kitchen.

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Harry looked at Patrick. “Wow, she’s got him pegged! Gutsy girl, our Liz.”

Patrick replied, I think we’re really going to enjoy living here with her and the boys but who the heck is George?”