is in good shape.”
They stepped into a large living room. There were a few pieces of furniture draped with dusty cloths and Heather heard a rustling sound that made her look around for mice.
“Yep,” Daniel said, “mice. Might be other critters too, so watch your step.”
Daniel continued to poke and scrape at the walls and floors while Heather moved on into the next room. Immediately behind the living room was a dining room and small kitchen. The kitchen had a boarded up door that would have opened out into the backyard. Heather would have peeked in the cabinets and drawers, but after the sounds in the living room, she didn’t dare. She decided to let Daniel discover any four-legged stowaways.
A side door opened out into a hall that led down the side of the living room to a flight of stairs. A small doorway in the hall revealed a bathroom that had seen better days.
Daniel called from the kitchen, “Wait for me Heather and don’t go upstairs. Stairs can be tricky and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
Heather stood by the foot of the stairs until Daniel joined her. “Let me go up first okay?” Daniel asked.
“Sure.”
Daniel took a hold of the handrail and gave it a good shake. It rocked a little, but seemed solid. Next Daniel stepped on the bottom step with one foot and then the other foot. Then he stepped up toward the second step and followed the same procedure. Slowly he progressed up the staircase in the same manner. One foot, two feet. On the fifth step, the wood gave a tremendous crack and Daniel quickly stepped back down a step. He looked over his shoulder as if to say, ‘See? Aren’t you glad I went first?’ Heather just smiled and nodded her head. Daniel reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small roll of painter’s tape. He used it to put a large “x” on the fifth step. Then he carefully stepped over the fifth step and continued up the rest of the steps in the same careful manner. The fifth step was the only one that he marked.
When Daniel reached the top of the stairs, he took a moment to make some notes in his notebook and then stepped back down to the sixth step and extended his hand to Heather.
“Okay, you can come on up. Just don’t tread on the marked step, obviously.”
Heather ascended the stairs and took Daniel’s hand for balance as she stretched to bypass the fifth step. Daniel’s hand was lightly calloused, but his grip was gentle as he helped Heather up the rest of the stairs. Heather was surprised when he didn’t immediately drop her hand but turned to her and said, “Lady’s choice. Which room would you like to check out first?”
“Let’s just start there,” Heather said pointing to the first door on the right.
“Okay, but here is the game plan. Same as the stairs, let me go in first to test the integrity of the floor and when I say it’s okay you can join me. No sneaking off down the hall, I have to check the integrity of the flooring there too. Okay?”
“Yep. You’ve proved why you make the big bucks.” Heather laughed.
“As if,” Daniel laughed too. “I probably give away more hours than I ever charge for. One of the hazards when you do something you love for a living.” Smiling, he finally dropped her hand and entered the first room.
Daniel carefully stepped into the room and began pacing around the edges of the room. Then he continued his inspection by walking a slow careful spiral into the center of the floor. After he had paced off the whole room, he looked up at Heather and gestured that she could come in. The room was a small bedroom with a window that would have looked out over the ocean except it too was boarded up. Glass covered the floor along with dust and what looked like mouse droppings. The bed was a small twin with a bare mattress. Heather refused to think about the stains on the mattress, and she was sure that she heard small squeaks coming from deep inside the fabric. Figuring she had seen all she needed to see in this room, she stepped back into the hall and stood just outside the door. Daniel followed the same routine he had in the parts of the house—poke, scrape, mumble, snap photos and take notes. Heather felt like she had become invisible, but at the same time she found herself thinking how cute Daniel was when he was so absorbed in his work.
Daniel looked up from taking notes and grinned at Heather, “Ready for the next room?”
“Sure.” Letting Daniel go first, they moved down the hall to the next door. Daniel gripped the doorknob and gave it a push; he was surprised when the door refused to open.
“Hmmm, swollen I guess.” He pushed again but the door wouldn’t budge. “Well this won’t do. I have to see everything so I can give Sarah a good estimate. Little pigs, little pigs, let me in.” Daniel joked as he turned the knob and threw his shoulder into door to try to force it open. The door still didn’t budge. Rubbing his shoulder Daniel turned to Heather, “We may have to come back with some larger tools.”
Daniel jotted a note and walked across the hall to the next door. As he reached for the door knob there was a small click and both Heather and Daniel swung around as the door on the jammed room swung open. Heather felt a creepy feeling and gooseflesh popped up on her arms. Heather and Daniel shared a look and Heather said, “I guess you should have said the magic word.”
“What open sesame?” Both Daniel and Heather jumped as the door slammed shut again.
“No, the magic word is please.” The doorknob turned and the door opened again.
“Oh come on!” Heather exclaimed.
“I’m sure there’s a logical reason,” Daniel said as he stepped into the room. Heather slowly followed him to the doorway and looked in.
“See, a broken window.”
Heather looked over to see that the window was indeed broken but not boarded over and she felt a strong frigid breeze whipping around the room. She wondered when it had gotten so cold.
Daniel wedged the back of a straight-backed chair under the doorknob and began pacing the room. When Daniel motioned that she could enter the room Heather shook her head, she had decided that she could see everything she needed to from right there in the doorway. Daniel shrugged, dropped into his inspection mode and said nothing else.
This room was another bedroom, but this one was much larger and included a slender door that probably led to a small bathroom. Tattered curtains billowed around a window that framed a spectacular view of the ocean. Daniel met her at the door and said, “Next.”
The next door in the hallway led to a small flight of stairs. “We’ll leave that for last,” Daniel said and moved on to the next door. All in all, the second floor of the cottage had three small bedrooms, one large bedroom with a private bath, and a shared bathroom with a tub and shower.
Daniel approached the door with the flight of stairs and said, “Now this should be special. You remember the drill.” Heather shook her head yes.
Daniel carefully worked his way up the stairs with no mishaps and gestured from Heather to follow him. At the top of the stairs was a small landing and another door.
Daniel opened the door and a huge rush of air breezed by Heather bringing with it the fresh smell of the ocean. All Heather could see through the door was the blue sky. Daniel smiled back at Heather and said, “The widow’s walk.” He stepped out of the door and began his careful pacing. Heather crept up to the doorway and put her head out savoring the fresh air. She looked to the left and saw the lighthouse rising high above her.
Mesmerized she walked over to the edge of the widow’s walk and its beautiful wrought iron railing. To her right was the ocean and god what a view! Way out on the horizon was the ever present fog bank and she thought she could see a large ship sailing just in front of it. She leaned forward straining to see more of the ship when she heard a loud crack and she began to feel herself falling forward. Her arms flailed reaching for something to grab onto but there was nothing.
A hand grabbed her upper arm and yanked her back away from the edge. Breathless, she spun around to thank Daniel only to see him rushing toward her from the other side of the roof. “Heather! What the hell! Are you okay?”
Shaken she rubbed her upper
arm and decided it would be best if she just sat down. She plopped down on the floor right where she stood. She looked at where she had been standing on the edge of the widow’s walk and saw that the railing had broken loose, was hanging over the edge of the cottage and would have fallen to the ground if not for one long bolt holding it to the next section of railing.
Daniel knelt before her and was saying something. Heather had to make an effort to focus on what he was saying. “Heather, are you okay? What the heck were you thinking?”
“I’m sorry, it’s just the view was so beautiful. I wasn’t thinking.”
Daniel put an arm around her and said, “At least you’re okay. Thank goodness, you have such good balance. I heard the railing start to give way but I was too far away to reach you. I thought you were going over but then you caught your balance.”
Heather rubbed her upper arm in confusion but before she could say anything there came a loud bang from somewhere beneath them in the cottage. Both Heather and Daniel jumped.
“Just the wind,” Daniel reassured her as he stood up and moved over to the broken railing. Very carefully, he pulled the loose piece back up onto the widow’s walk and then returned to Heather.
“Look, why don’t you sit right where you are and catch your breath. I’m going to go see what that was and then finish up here. After that, we’ll call it a day.