"That child doesn't wanna spend a good minute apart from you when she's here. It's crazy, you know?"
Michael only smiled.
"Nana! Mom and I are going for a walk!" Rosie exclaimed while darting past Wade's old room. Sara had been putting away the folded clothes.
"So, you're really going there? Aren't you?" Sara appeared at the bedroom door, moments later. She was looking at Mira intently.
A tad confused, Michael glanced at them both.
"I told you I was, Mom. You thought I was kidding?"
"Going where?" Michael had to know.
"Mira's going over to the Ferguson house," Sara filled him in.
"What on earth for?" Michael sat up, grimacing from the slight pain he suddenly felt in his back. "Don't people live there now— a politician and his family?"
"Dad, I'm only going to be neighborly and introduce myself," Mira said.
"And you're taking Rosie with you." Sara's voice held a tinge of disdain.
"Why not? We could both do with the walk and Rosie loves meeting people," Mira returned.
"I still don't think you should intrude. Don't you agree, Michael?"
Michael attempted to lie down again. "She says she's just going to hail. I don't see any harm in that," he replied.
"See, Mom. There's no harm in that." Mira smiled as her mother turned away from the door.
As Mira led the way toward the end of the street, Rosie skipped happily along. She was wearing a pink skirt that stopped just above the knees and a matching blouse. Those beloved candy curls of hers bounced up and down and around her face, glistening in the sun.
"May I have a mango?" she asked as they approached the edge of the Ferguson property.
Mira stared up at the tall mango tree just ahead whose branches were stretched long and wide. The tree was stacked with fruit and as much as she wanted to please her daughter, Mira knew she was no climber. How she wished right then that Wade was there—the designated climber.
She scanned the ground that was visited by a variety of multi-colored leaves and dry limbs of all sizes which had dropped from the various trees. She was hoping to find something long enough to reach the mangos. Then several feet over to her left, she found the perfect branch. Though it had withered to a noticeable degree, Mira deemed it strong enough to propel a mango from its stem. Stretching up onto her toes, the edge of the branch barely touched the mangos, but with one hard swing forward in union with a slight leap, one of them fell helplessly to the ground and Rosie hurried over to pick it up.
"Mom, you've got it! Thanks!"
Mira dropped the branch. "You're welcome, honey."
She looked over to the edge of the asphalt driveway that led to the house she had deliberately avoided over the years. The house still could not be seen from the road and as Mira moved in that direction, it was apparent that the Benjamins had not altered much of the yard. It looked pretty much the way it did all those years ago except for the long, curvy driveway which led up to the house. The house! It was magnificent! Mira held Rosie's hand as they walked the property.
"Mom, why are we here?" Rosie asked.
"We’re just going to pay some nice people a visit," Mira replied, utterly entranced by the huge makeover the house had undertaken—which once had broken windows on every side, peeling paint all over and missing doors. It had been delightfully transformed into a rose-colored, colonial-style edifice with tall, white columns in front, clean, beautiful windows and decorative window frames. Mira was convinced that the Ferguson house was now as charmingly captivating as it probably was when Cornelius and his wife, Marlena, lived there over a century before.
"This house is so pretty, Mom," Rosie commented.
"It sure is, honey."
It took a few minutes for them to get to the front porch that was neatly covered with large, white and beige interlocking marble tiles. Mira felt fairly strange standing in front of the darkly-stained double doors that weren't there at her last visit.
"Aren't you going to knock?" Rosie looked up at her mother who was still holding her hand, but staring quietly ahead.
"Ah…yes. I'll ring the door-bell." Mira reached over and pressed the small button next to the door.
They soon heard the pitter-patter of feet.
"I'll get it!" a little voice cried.
"Oh, no you won't!" A man's voice quickly followed.
The door flashed open and standing on the opposite side was a medium-framed colored man with very low hair and a neatly-trimmed moustache. His face was smooth and clear, and he looked 'rich' — in Mira's estimation. Behind him was a slender lady, a few inches taller than he was, who had a narrow, sunken face and shoulder-length, black hair. Standing next to the man was a young boy, probably around five years old, clutching a brown teddy bear. He was wearing a white onesie that had seen some spills a few inches under the boy's chin.
"May I help you?" the man asked Mira quite nobly after making brief eye-contact with Rosie.
"Hi, my name is Mira Cullen and this is my daughter, Rosie." She paused for a moment, which was met with utter silence. "Um, I live…I used to live just down the street there. My parents are actually still there—the Cullens…"
Silence again and a penetrating stare emerged from the gentleman.
"I heard that someone had moved here and we just decided to come and introduce ourselves, and welcome you to the neighborhood."
"Well, isn't that something," the man glanced back at the woman with a wide smile. "This nice, young lady and her daughter came to welcome us to the neighborhood. Isn't that something?"
At the moment, the woman's face was void of expression.
"Where did you say you live, young lady?" he asked Mira, a smile still splattering his face.
Unsure of what to make of his glee, Mira responded: "I didn't say, but I live in California. I grew up in this neighborhood."
"Oh, I see," the man replied. "Well, my hat's off to you and your little daughter because you two are the first to even bother coming this way in the six months we've been here. Would you like to come in for a minute?" He gestured with his hand.
Mira looked at Rosie, then back at him. "Sure, why not?" she replied.
"Mira…you said is your name?"
"Yes, sir."
"Mira, this is my wife, Andrea and our son, Alex. My name is Theo and our last name is Benjamin. Kindly have a seat."
"Nice to meet you all," Mira said.
She and Rosie were led over to the large living room that she remembered from before. The interior of the house was even more grandeur and exquisite than the exterior. Emerald-green marble tiles stretched magnanimously across the vast floor and tall angelic figurines graced two corners of the living room, each near a window. A rectangular, glass table, sitting elegantly on a large-sized, oriental area-rug graced the center of the room and darkly-stained wood that framed the couch and sofas were intricately designed and fit for royalty.
Rosie sat quietly next to her mother as they both felt rather out of place. The Benjamins all sat on the long, white couch on the opposite side of the table.
"May I offer you something to drink?" Andrea Benjamin asked them in a very soft voice.
"I'm fine; thank you," Mira replied. She looked at Rosie. "Sweetheart, would you like something?"
"Yes, Ma'am." She swung her tiny feet slightly as the little boy gazed at her from his mother's side.
"I have punch. Do you like punch?" The woman stood up.
"Yes, ma'am," Rosie answered shyly.
"Mama, I want punch too," the boy inserted.
"Come in the kitchen for yours, baby. Would you like to come too, Rosie?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," went Rosie again, getting up off the chair and following them.
"So, you say you grew up around here," Theo said to Mira, his legs now crossed and he was leaning back slightly.
"Yes I did. At eighteen, I moved away for college."
"That's nice. Which college did you attend?"
"Bensuren in L.A. They had a good Pre-med program."
"So, you studied medicine. That's very impressive. Should I be calling you Doctor Cullen?"
Mira was a little embarrassed. "Actually, I didn't finish. I kind of got pregnant and put my studies on hold."
Theo leaned forward. "Your daughter… how old is she?"
"She's six and a half," Mira answered.
"Why haven't you gone back in six and a half years? How long does it take you to bounce back in the game after a little falling out?"
"Pardon me?" Mira knew exactly what he meant.
"Why haven't you gone back to college?"
"I'm working on that, sir." She was smiling.
"Why are you smiling? Did I say something… funny?"
"No sir, not at all," Mira quickly returned. "You just remind me of my father, that's all. He had pretty much the same line of questioning for me yesterday."
"Wise man. Listen here, young lady. If you don't already know, I'm a state senator. I graduated from Trunket University with honors. I said that to say this… If I could have gotten to and through university with all the odds that were against me as a young, black man, you certainly can surpass whatever challenges you face and finish your education."
"Yes, sir," Mira replied humbly. She knew he was right—just as she knew her father was.
Just then, Andrea and the kids re-entered the room. The trace of red punch encircled Rosie and Alex's lips.
"I didn't want them to bring the punch in here, so I let them drink it in the dining room." Andrea said as she took a seat next to her husband again.
"Mama, can I show Rosie my toys upstairs?" Alex asked.
Andrea was obviously unsure and looked Mira's way for approval.
Mira turned to Rosie. "If the Benjamins don't mind, you can go."
"Why, of course we don't mind!" Andrea stated. The children started taking off toward the long, winding staircase. "You kids just be careful going up the stairs," Andrea warned.
"You all have done a beautiful job with this house," Mira noted, looking at the staircase that she vividly recalled barely getting to the top of years earlier, but sprinting down like lightning after spotting Karlen in the master closet.
The Benjamins had clearly done an overhaul to the staircase and replaced the rusty, tattered rail with a shiny, black, decorative one.
"Thank you," Theo replied. "The renovations, as you probably can imagine, were massively expensive considering the fact that the house was already very old and uninhabited for many years."
"Might I presume by your compliment that you were here before—inside I mean?" Andrea posed.
Mira looked away for a second to retrieve the correct response, then her eyes met Andrea's again. "Yes. My brother and I explored this property when we were kids."
"Really?" Theo's eyes widened. "You weren't scared?"
"Pardon me?" Mira was feeling like she was being thrown a curve ball.
"Didn't you hear the rumors about this place?" Theo returned.
"Um…at one point we did, but it wasn't until after we had already stopped by."
Mira noticed a seemingly hopeful beam in Andrea's eyes just then. She wasn't sure why, but the woman's entire facial expression suddenly relaxed.
Theo was laughing. "Folks around these parts make mountains out of molehills. They stretch the truth and concoct urban legends and folk tales that are nowhere near reality." He shifted a bit in his seat and glanced at his wife. "I can't tell you the number of folks who thought we were absolutely out of our minds for even thinking of purchasing this place. Every one of them tried to talk us out of it, but…" he looked around proudly at the place, "…the price was right and the house had potential. There was no way I was going to allow some hocus pocus made-up tale of this being a haunted house cause me to pass up on that offer."
Andrea was silent, but Mira could tell by her demeanor that something wasn't right.
"Am I right, honey?" Theo asked Andrea.
"Yes, dear," was her stoic reply.
Mira then glanced at her watch. "Oh, we must be going now. My parents are taking Rosie to the theme park today."
That's so nice," Andrea remarked. "How long are you and your daughter here for?"
"Two weeks," Mira replied.
"Okay. Well, hopefully, we'll see you and Rosie again before you leave," Theo said.
"I'm sure you will. Thanks so much for the hospitality."
"No, no… you're the hospitable one. Like I said earlier, you and your daughter are the first to even bother coming around. It was indeed a pleasure meeting you both." Theo smiled.
They all stood up and Mira walked over to the foot of the staircase and called out to Rosie. She came down moments later.
"Mom, can I stay for a while longer?" she asked with that pleading look again. Alex was standing next to her—also hopeful.
"Rosie, you know you're going out with Pops and Nana today."
"Just a little while longer, Mom? Alex and I were having so much fun. He lets me play with all his toys!"
"You can always bring her back another time, Mira," Andrea interjected. "I'm here practically all day, every day and I'll be happy to have little Rosie come by at any time. I know we don't know each other, but I can assure you that she'll be in good hands."
Mira looked at Rosie again whose plea she found difficult to resist. "Would you like to come by tomorrow if that's okay with Mrs. Benjamin?" she asked.
"Tomorrow will be fine with me," Andrea responded.
"Yes, Mom. I would love to," Rosie replied.
"Yay!" Alex beamed from ear to ear.
"Well then…it's settled," Theo chimed in.
The Benjamins walked Mira and Rosie to the door.
"It was really a pleasure meeting you all," Mira said on the front porch.
The Benjamins were standing almost in the exact, same spots as they were when the door first opened.
As Mira turned to leave, Rosie's eyes were diverted directly behind where Andrea stood. Theo glanced back to the area of her gaze, then looked back at Rosie. "We'll see you later, Rosie. You and your mom take care now." He shut the door.
"I was having so much fun with Alex, Mom!" Rosie exclaimed as they headed down the long driveway. "He's a great kid and he has the coolest toys."
"That's really nice to know." Mira smiled.
"Mom, who was that man standing behind Alex's parents just now before we left?"
"A man? I didn't see anyone, sweetheart. Are you sure you saw someone?"
"I guess. He was really tall and looked like Santa Claus."
"Maybe it's a guest of theirs we didn't meet or someone who works for them."
"Perhaps. It's a shame he didn't introduce himself. Isn’t it, Mom?"
"Yes. When we go back tomorrow, we'll probably get to meet him," Mira replied.
* * *
You two have finally found your way back," Sara said as the pair entered through the kitchen door. She was making tea. "So, how did it go? What type of people are they? Are they friendly?" she riddled off.
Mira sat at the counter while Rosie rushed to the back of the house.
"Rosie, dear, your bath water is waiting. We have to leave soon!" Sara cried behind her granddaughter.
"Yes, Nana!"
"The Benjamins seem like really nice people," Mira said as her mother listened intently. They invited us inside and we had a good conversation while Rosie and their son played upstairs for a while."
"Really?"
"You know, I found out that no one other than Rosie and I had ever bothered to welcome them to the neighborhood. I wonder why that is, Mom."
Sara's face was contorted to a slight grimace. "Do you think we avoided them because of…? You can't possibly think…"
"You tell me, Mom. I don't even know how anyone around here could conceive that they're not friendly people if no one has ever met them."
"Mira, the reason no one has bothered to meet them, dear, is because no one
wants to go anywhere near that house. You know the place was haunted," Sara replied.
"Was, Mom. It was haunted. You and I both know that it's not anymore. So even you had no excuse for not being neighborly."
Sara sighed and placed both hands on the counter. "Sweet pea, even though Karlen Key found her way out of that place, it was no telling if anything remained. That's how I always saw it and that's why your father and I never had any reason to re-visit it under any circumstances. You know people in this town are quite superstitious and anything that carried any type of paranormal energy is something they avoid like a plague. I'm pretty sure that no one was avoiding the Benjamins for any other reason than that and you of all people and your brother know that your father and I are not racists."
"I know, Mom. I guess that explains it then. But yeah… they seem like very nice people and come to think of it, they might understand why they haven't had any neighbors show up to the house. Mister Benjamin did mention that everyone thought they were crazy for living there."
"You see?"
"Yeah. By the way, Rosie wants to go over and play with the little boy again, so Mrs. Benjamin agreed that she can come back tomorrow for a while."
Sara was surprised. The expression on her face did not conceal that fact.
"Without you?"
"Yes, without me."
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Sara pressed.
"Yes, why wouldn't it be?"
"I don't know. I just don't like that house." She shook her head. "It's probably my superstitious mind taking over again." She picked up her tea. "Well, we have to get going soon, so I'll go and check on Rosie and we should be out of here in less than an hour."
"Hey…why don't you let me deal with Rosie and you can just finish getting ready?"
"No, that's okay. I've got everything covered." She smiled and walked off.
5
_________________
Mira stood at the kitchen door watching as her dad reversed the car down the driveway. Rosie was waving goodbye to her from the back seat in between both grandparents. Mira waved back, amazed at how her little girl absolutely refused that she join them on their soon-to-be fabulous outing. The unspoken rules were clear: A visit to Mizpah meant 'Pops, Nana and Rosie time' and that was basically the sum of it.
Mira locked the screen door behind her, then went over and flopped onto the couch—something her mother detested seeing them do to the furniture when she and Wade were younger. It was a trait that followed her as an adult and seemingly no amount of verbal chastisement from her mother or frowns that accompanied them swayed her to do any better.