THE HOUSE part 3................

Lisa stood by the car,, her head bobbling in and out the window as she excitedly talked to Dave and Melody…
“Now I know that you think that the price is a little high,, but it is on 6 acres…And just between you and me,, I think the bank wants to get rid of it and would be willing to come down on the price and I know that I can talk the Mayor into giving you a tax abatement plan”…”Now you think about it,, and get back to me real soon,, OK?”...”Talk to you later Melody”… ”bye”…”byebye”…
Dave pulled away from the curb and made a sharp u-turn in the street then pulled into the gas station next to Lisa’s Realty office…The old gas pumps were the type that were standard in the 1950’s,, they had round heads with just one hose and rotating dials,, it took a minute for Dave to realize that all it took was for him to lift up the trigger on the handle to start the gas pump…He had hoped that he could use is debit card,, but realized he would have to go inside,, where the old man was…The final total on the machine read $8:50 after he had filled his gas tank…An argument with the old man about the true price was something he hoped he could avoid…

Dave stepped through the doorway into the darkened little gas station,, fluorescent lights cast a dim glow over the room with aisles formed by shelves of automotive products…
Dave could hear the sound of claws clicking on the wooden floor coming quickly towards him…The dog came racing towards Dave on its three good legs then stopped two feet in front of him…Barking and growling,, its teeth gleamed in the dim light…Dave backed up towards the door,, with the dog slowly following as if ready to jump towards Dave’s neck…
The old man came from around the corner of the last row of shelves and just stood there watching the scene,, he pulled a knife from his back pocket and cut a hunk of chewin’ tobacco then placed the tobacco in his mouth…
“Hey mister”…”You want to do something with your dog?”…
“What’s the matter son,, you afraid of dogs?”…
‘Splult’ went a glob of tobacco juice onto the floor…
“Hey,, I just want to pay for my gas”…said Dave as he backed out of the door…”I can pay you later if you want”…
“KING,, shut up”…yelled the old man…
King became quite and laid on the floor,, his eyes were reflective red spheres in the darkness,, he continued to intently watch every movement that Dave made,, just waiting for one mistake…

Dave cautiously made his way back into the gas station,, keeping as wide a distance between himself and King as he could…The dog never moved…The old man stood behind the counter waiting…As Dave’s eyes became accustomed to the darkened room he could see the old man clearer…He was dressed in an old blue work shirt with the name Sam snitched into the front,,
the shirt looked as if he had been wearing it for weeks…Oil and grease stains marked the entire front,, his denim jeans were no better,, a chain ran from one of the front belt hoops to a large wallet in his back pocket…The old man’s face was weather beaten and as dark as tanned leather,, deep scowl lines crossed his face…The only hair Dave could see was black sideburns trailing down from the top of his ears to the bottom of his jaw line…He was missing the last two fingers on his left hand…The old man’s pale blue eyes stared out at Dave from under a Lando style cap that had the ear flaps buttoned at the top…The cap was marked with sweat lines and several oil smeared fingerprints were on the tattered brim…
“Hi uhh Sam,, it says $8:50 on the gas pump,, how much do I owe you?”…
‘Splult’,, “The names Jericho”…
“Sorry your shirt says Sam”,, I thought---“
“Found it”…“If it says $8:50,, then that’s what you owe me”…
“Your sure?...I filled my tank up”…
“Don’t hear so well,, do yea?”…
Not wishing to argue with the old man Dave handed him a ten dollar bill and waited for his change…The old man stuffed the money into his pocket and stood there… ‘Splult’…
Dave waited a few moments,, then left,, carefully avoiding King…
“What took you so long?”…asked Melody…
“Nothing”…Dave replied as the tires spun,, throwing gravel
into the air…
“Dave!”…
“Don’t ever go in there,, that guy is creepy”…

Sunday morning Dave sat at their small dining room table having coffee while reading the Sunday paper,, it had been a long Saturday so he allowed himself to sleep in until 9:30…
Melody had already been up for a couple of hours,, she was sitting at the computer doing research on the town of Grove City…
“You know---“
“Damn it Dave,, you scared the hell out of me”…
“Sorry hun,, you know what that cat of yours did?”…
“What has she been into now?”…
“I was sitting there reading the paper,, when all of a sudden
she jumped up on the table and starts clawing at my paper”…
“I guess she doesn’t like being ignored”…
“I wonder if she’d like to have my foot up her ass”…
“Ha ha,, you know Cleo is a good cat,, most of the time”…
“It’s a hairball…what have you been doing?”…
“I’ve been looking up information on Grove City”…
“Oh boy”…“I think I’ll go back to bed”…
“Now Dave you know we need to talk about this”…
“I have a headache already,, let’s talk about it this afternoon,, OK?”…

The chimes of the small Windsor clock were just finishing their musical serenade as Melody sneaked up on her sleeping husband…
“Wake up,, wake up,, it’s 2 o’clock”…insisted Melody
as she sat down on the couch where Dave had been peacefully sleeping…
“What?”…”Oh no,, not that again”…said Dave half hung over from his dream state…
“Now you know that I’m going to bug you until we discuss this”…Melody said cheerfully…
“Yeah,, I know”…”let me get something to drink”…
Dave returned from the refrigerator with a cold beer for
himself and one for Melody,, then sat next to her on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table…Melody was armed with an arm load of papers she had printed off of the internet about the town of Grove City…
“OK hit me”…Dave grinned…
“Well,, I couldn’t find out much about Grove city”…”Except the usual stuff,, like when it was incorporated,, the population,, how big it is”…”And all the information was kind of old,, everything seemed to be from the 1980’s”…
“Don’t you think that’s strange?”…
“Well---“
“But I did find out about the college,, and they do offer
adult-ed classes,, but only during the school year”…
“Maybe---“
“So I did some research on old houses,, and you know what?”
“Ahh,,---“
“I actually found an old listing for that house,, isn’t that amazing?”…
“Well---“
“It was built in1882 by a Mr. Carlton Cranston,, nobody knows why he built it there,, but he was thought to have been an eccentric inventor who was obsessed with electricity,, you know that house was one of the first ones in the state to have electric lights,, apparently he designed everything himself and had a huge generator built in the basement”…”It didn’t say what happened to him,, rumors where that he was doing time travel experiments and some kind of monster came thru a door that he had created”…”Sounds like the movie we saw last month”…
”Isn’t that hilarious?”…”Ignorant townsfolk with their rumors”…
“Yea well---“
“And his wife,, Kay,, lived there until 1904,, then she disappeared too”…”It’s so funny reading those old documents and how superstitious everybody was”…
“You know”…Dave kept talking not wanting to be
interrupted again…”You would make a good attorney,,
you don’t let the opposing consul get a word in edgewise”…
“OK smarty,, your turn”…
“They’re asking too much money,, and there are just to many repairs that have to be done,, the plumbing needs replaced,, and the electrical,, you didn’t see the heating system,, I bet it doesn’t even work”…”I can’t do it,, all I know how to do is change the oil in the car,, even then I take it to Quicky-Lube”…
“$425,000 is not too much for a house near Pittsburgh,, especially when it’s on 6 wooded acres”…”I’ll bet they would come down in price,, it has been empty for 6 years”…
“Why don’t you give Lisa a call and give them a lower price”…
“OK,, if it will make you happy I’ll call her tomorrow”…
“You could call her today,, I think the Realty office is her home”…
”No kidding”…
Dave returned to Melody sitting on the couch after having a ten minute phone conversation with Lisa,, he picked up his beer and drank it down in one swallow…
“Well?”…Melody asked excitedly…
“I offered her $145,000,, and she didn’t hang up,, she said
she would talk to the bank and the Mayor then call me at work tomorrow…Dave said with a glazed confused look on his face…

Dave returned home Monday evening from work with an exhausted look on his face,, kicking off his shoes and plopping himself down on the couch…Melody smiling sweetly greeted him with a cold beer …
“Well?”… “Don’t make me wait,, did Lisa call?”…
“Yea,, she called”…”She’s going to send us the paperwork,,
as soon as it’s done”...Dave looked as if a cab had dragged him down Center St…In his mind he could see all the hard work and expenses that laid before him,, his future he thought would be a never ending battle with repairs,, repairs,, repairs…
Melody squealed with delight and gave her husband a kiss…
“Lets go out and celebrate”…said Melody with a joyous giggle…

Two months later Dave stood on the porch of his new home,, waving goodbye to the truck driver of the moving company…Dave wandered into the front yard and looked back at the house…Certainly was big he thought…The hole in the roof had been repaired as had the broken front window,, part of the deal he had made in order to buy the place…Just temporary fixes he knew,, but it was a start…Melody was inside busily unpacking boxes and putting things where she best thought they should go,, the house had been thoroughly cleaned by a professional cleaning crew before the papers were signed,, another of the requirements that Dave had insisted apon…The rest was up to them…Dave took a big breath,, stuffed his hands into his pockets and slowly walked up to the house,, shaking his head…

Dave went down into the basement to see how the heating contractors were doing with the new furnace and water heater…The basement was empty except for a few boxes and Melody’s potters wheel and kiln…
“These old trunk lines aren’t going to last long you know”…said Ed as he greeted Dave…
“Yeah,, I know…it’s on my list”…”Just make sure we have some heat and hot water”…
His ‘list’,, not enough paper in the world to write his list on,, Dave thought to himself…

Dave had his headed poked into the refrigerator looking for a beer when Melody snuck up behind him and gave him a big hug,, she was delighted with their new home…A home of their own,, something that she had always dreamed of…
“I’m glad your so happy”…Dave said as he rubbed the bump on his head…”We’re going to be slaves to this house for the next 30 years”…
“I don’t care,, it’s a beautiful house,, all it needs is some fresh paint”…”And the inspector said that the structure was as solid as the day it was built”…

The next couple of weeks went by without a blink…Dave’s time was split between working as head manager in the New Castle office and meeting or calling repairmen to do work on the house…He was always having to make a quick drive home from work to meet with a contractor…Ten hour work days soon stretched into 12 hour work days…No time for much of anything besides work and the repairs…
On Saturdays he always made a point to be home around noon,, Sundays he tried to sleep in and relax but the chores never waited…Melody occupied her time with getting the yards back into shape or making special lunches and lemonade for the workmen…At night she would go down to the basement and work on her potters wheel after Dave had fallen asleep on the couch…
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To be continued