THE HOUSE.............

Good evening ladies and gentlemen…
Tonight’s tale is a multi-part story,, concerning
the lives of Dave and Melody Lunder…This
story is not for the squeamish and should only be read
during the day and never when you are alone…
I apologize for any inconvenient you may have while
running through your yard screaming…..

THE HOUSE…………..

“Melody,, I’m home”…yelled Dave Lunder as he
closed the door to the apartment…
“Melody?”…
“I’m in the bedroom”…replied Melody…
Dave put down his briefcase and walked the
few feet into the master bedroom of their two bedroom apartment…An apartment filled with furniture and personal belongings…
The spare bedroom was also crowded,,
with Melody’s potters wheel and small electric kiln…
The spare room was brightly painted pink with images of
animals and faerie creatures hand painted on the walls,, a reminder of what could have been…A small crib,, clothing and stuffed animals were lovingly tucked away in the bedroom closet…It was almost two years ago that Melody had the miscarriage,, she was finally coming to terms with the fact that their baby had died…She was becoming more and more like the woman that Dave had married just five years ago…
“Hey,, sorry I’m late”…”What’re you doing?”…
“Hi hun,, just putting away some laundry”…”How’d work go?”…replied Melody as she stood near the bed,, folding clothes and placing then into various piles…Melody Lunder was four years younger than Dave,, a blonde haired young woman of twenty-three…A woman that men would wink at
as she walked down the street,, she wasn’t a classical beauty,, she was more of a natural beauty and rarely needed to crown her looks with make-up…Her golden shoulder length hair tied into a ponytail,, almost a ritual practice of hers when she was alone in the apartment or working with her potters wheel…
“Have you eaten?”...asked Dave
“No,, I just put the oven on warm since you called”…
“You should have eaten something,, you know what the doctor has said about your eating at regular times,, its almost 7:30 now”…
“Well,, I wanted to eat with you,, I never get to see you anymore since you’ve been working overtime at that damn
office of yours”…”I just need someone to talk too”…
“Now Melody lets not bring that up again,, you know I have to work long hours if I’m to get ahead…now come on lets have some dinner”…
As Melody went into the kitchen to get their dinner from the oven…Dave changed into jeans and his college T-shirt,, it had been a long week of work and overtime…
“Do you remember Bob Synder?”…
“Yeah I think so,, is he the red haired guy from your office?”...
“Well,, kind of”…”He was the office manager for one of our branch offices over in New Castle”…
“Yeah,, what about him?”…
“He resigned last week and took a job with Randolph Mantin downtown”…
“I remember him now,, isn’t he the one that was always trying to show you up in front of your boss?”…
“That’s right,, a little weasel…talked too much if you ask me”…”We went over to his house last year for a Christmas party”…
“Ha, ha,, I hope he got the wine out of his carpet that I spilled”…”His wife was kind of nice”…”What are they going to do about New Castle?”…
“From what I hear they have already asked someone to
take over his position”…Dave said with a slight smile on his face…”I hear they have asked a handsome young man about my age,, who is married to the most beautiful woman in Pittsburgh”…
“That didn’t take them long,, you should of gotten that job”…”You put in more hours then anyone else,, and you did a wonderful job on the Clanton Farms case”…
“So you think I should take it?”…Dave smiled as he waited for his wife’s reaction…
Melody cut up another piece of the roast on her plate,, seeming not to have heard Dave,, then she dropped her
folk onto the plate…
“Dave…you mean you got the job?”…
“I haven’t given them my answer yet,, I said I’d have to talk it over with you first”…
“Oh Dave,, take it”…Melody leaned over the table and hugged her husband then kissed him excitedly…
“I don’t know…it means a promotion,, more money,, and we’d have to move out of this apartment”…Dave said teasing his wife…
“Dave,, you call them up right now and say you’ll take it!”…
“Ha,, ha…I can’t…it’s Friday night and no one will be there
until Monday…Ha,, ha”…
“You rat”…

Dave laid in bed reading some of the depositions he had brought home,, Melody laid beside him reading a true romance novel…After 40 minutes of studying Dave put his papers back into his briefcase,, placing it on the floor beside him,, then tuned towards Melody…Resting his head for a few moments on his hand he then gently closed Melody’s book and moved closer to her,, giving her a gentle kiss on her cheek and slowly kissed her on her lips…Melody didn’t resist as Dave’s left hand cupped her breast…their tongues met and Melody whimpered a little as Dave moved his hand under her T-shirt and began to squeeze her firm breasts,, twirling he nipple between his thumb and forefinger…Dave’s hand moved down Melody’s stomach and towards her slightly parted legs…She stopped his hand from going any lower…
“Its been over two years,, since we lost our child,, and now that I’ve gotten that promotion things will be better and we will be able to afford the things we want…and start a family”…Dave said as he kissed her lips again…
Melody said nothing as she moved closer to him,, letting go of his hand…Dave’s hand continued down to between her legs as they pressed closer and closer…

“Want some breakfast?”…
“Where’s the coffee?”…replied Melody…
“Where it usually is…I was going to let you sleep in”…
“That damn cat started pawing on the top of my head”…
“Ha ha,, she is your cat”…Dave said as he started to
cook some eggs for his breakfast…
“I’ve been thinking about our move to New castle,,
we should look for a house instead of another apartment,, I didn’t tell you that the company is giving me a $10,000 bonus and they are going to pay the moving expenses”…
$10,000 and part of our savings will make a great down payment”…
“Oh Dave that would be wonderful…it’s what we have always dreamed of”…”Get out of my kitchen,, I’ll cook the breakfast,, you make a great cup of coffee but you’re a terrible cook”…

Melody sat at the computer,, scanning thru the real estate ads of New Castle reality companies…Looking for a suitable new home for her and Dave…Dave was over at the dinning table reading more of the depositions of the case he was working on…Now that Dave had received his big promotion she was looking for a place where they could get a fresh start and perhaps start a family…Dave just left the matter of finding a new home to her,, he really wasn’t interested in the
finer details of their new place,, all he knew was that with his new job responsibilities he would still be working a lot of overtime,, at least for the first year or so,, until things got established…

“Dave I’ve been at this for hours,, I can’t seem to find anything that I want in New Castle”…”It’s just the same old
houses,, they all look the same...I want something with character than we can be proud of”…”You know like those old houses on Brutan St”…
“I don’t know how I can help you”…”Have you looked at the surrounding area?”…replied Dave barely looking up from his paperwork…
“Yes,, there’s a couple of houses in Grove City that look about right,, but the ads are kind of old”…
“Why don’t you give them a call and ask them what’s available”…”How far is Grove City from New Castle?”...
“About 15 miles on Route 58…the ad doesn’t give a phone number,, maybe we could drive over there next Saturday and have a look around”…”There’s even a small College there that maybe I can take some classes at”…
“uh huh”…
“Dave!...are you paying attention to anything I’ve said”…
“Sure hun”…”We’ll plan on going over there next Saturday”… “We’ll make a day of it”…”But I think you should get the number of the real estate office to make an appointment”…


Melody was excited to be going over to Gove city,, just 50 miles from Pittsburgh…She had made arrangements with
Lisa Yaleman of the Yaleman realty company to meet there at about 10:00 so Lisa could show Dave and Melody some properties they might like…Dave sat silently while driving down the highway,, his mind already working on what he would have to do in his new position as office manager to
get the New Castle office running as efficiently as it should…
It was a big responsibility that was handed to him,, he just hoped that he was up to it,, he had no real management training but he somehow always seemed to be leading his
team of lawyers on whatever case they were given…

They left just a little early so that they could cruise around the town to see what was there,, even though Grove City was just a short drive from New Castle and Pittsburgh,, none of Dave’s or Melody’s friends could tell them much about the town…It seemed that everybody had heard of it but nobody had ever been there…Route 58 was a two lane blacktop that curved thought what looked to be almost untouched forest,, the trees where in full bloom and added to the picturesque scene that rolled by the cars windows…The road was well maintained and would be an easy drive to New Castle during the winter thought Dave…Things changed slightly as they got nearer and nearer to Grove City,, the trees had more dead limbs in them and the leaves didn’t seem to be as colorful,, the colors all seemed just a little faded…The road abruptly changed near a sign that read Grove City pop. 875… Its face was faded and streaked with brown stains,, bullet holes let the sunshine thru…The road was no longer a well maintained path through the trees,, it had numerous potholes and cracks in it and the sides were sometimes washed out with 3 foot high weeds growing through the gravel edges,, the painted lines were all but gone,, just fragments left on the road…As they passed the city sign Dave noticed an old man and his dog just standing near the tree line,, as if he knew they were coming…

“Dave!!,, look out”…shouted Melody as they rounded a bend in the road…
Dave slammed on the brakes causing the rear end of the car to skid sideways,, the car came to a stop only a few feet from the dog that was crossing the road…It appeared to be the same dog that Dave had seen just minutes before,, its coat
glistened in the sunlight and its rear leg was bent at an odd angle…It looked back at the car,, baring its teeth and then disappeared into the woods…
“Did you see that?”...”I swear that dog came right out in front of us on purpose”...said an enraged Dave...
“It scared me to death,, I didn’t even see it until it was right
in front of us”…Melody replied,, her hands tightly gripped on her seatbelt…
Dave was anxious now to get to the town,, awakened from his daydreaming about work…He was curious about what the town would be like…
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To be continued