Jan. 29th, 2021 05:41 pm
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murielleJL SURVIVOR 2020 Individual Challenge 4: Uncomfortably Numb
“You know,” she muttered, “if you just sprinkle some baking soda everywhere, leave it overnight and then vacuum it up the next day you’ll get rid of that ‘thousand feet’ stink.”
And she opened her eyes.
The room was sideways and the overwhelming stench was coming from right under her nose. She hauled herself up and off the carpet and surveyed the room right side up. Nothing had changed. It was the same dreary overly-flowery motel room. She reached up to rub some feeling back to her cheek only to encounter the scratch of the crumpled up paper she still clutched in her hand. She straightened it out and began to read.
It was a deed to the land surrounding her aunt’s property. She had always wondered why no one bought that land and built on it like Bev had. It seemed a no-brainer. Now she knew.
It was her aunt’s land.
It was her land.
It was too much to take in, especially if the numbers were right because it looked like about half the lakeside property belonged to her. All these years and no one had ever built on Bev’s end of the lake. Now she knew why.
If I was a drinking woman I’d need a stiff one right about now, she thought.
~~~
Early on her first day clearing out the garage she’d found a radio, plugged it in, and had been listening to it while she ever since. It had been difficult to find a station that wasn’t playing non-stop seasonal music but she finally found an FM station that played classical music twenty-four-seven, right now a Rachmaninoff piano concerto was blaring forth, and it was just what she needed to finish going through the last few bags. There was nothing special in them, but there were a few items that could be donated to charity: a toaster, an apple-red plastic jug, and five matching glasses, some old cookie tins, all empty, an assortment of baking dishes, and a huge straw sombrero. The rest was dumpster bound.
After clearing the garage she dug around in the storage cupboards that lined the walls on either side of the back entrance. She found a broom, a stack of plastic bins and lids, some tools, three folding tables, some patio chairs, a matching table and umbrella to stand in it, and a of bunch tools and yard-stuff.
The broom was put to immediate use.
She lined the tables up against the far wall, placed the plastic bins under them and set one of the patio chairs beside the nearest table, and sat in it. From the pocket of her coveralls she pulled a little notepad and the pencil she’d clipped to it and began to make her plans for the rest of the day. Anne loved lists. She loved making them, checking things off them as she accomplished them, and even reading other people’s lists. She had learned this from Bev.
~~~
It had taken her longer to get things done in the morning than she’d planned. And even though she’d been at the bank as soon as it opened she still had to wait thirty minutes to see the manager. She shuddered to think how long she would have had to wait if she hadn’t made an appointment. She rented two deposit boxes, deposited her findings and the deed and other pertinent papers she’d received from the lawyer. When she left at eleven, she was satisfied she’d done what needed to be done, at least until her lawyer returned.
At the hardware store. Herb greeted her with a big smile and helped her find things on her list, just as he had before, taking it out of her hands and making all kinds of kind suggestions as they gathered things to take to the register.
“Oh! This is a good idea,” he said as he hauled a large cooler out from a low shelf. You might also want a little one ring burner, or a microwave, you know, in case you want to heat up a TV dinner or two."
“I picked up a microwave at Walmart.”
“I thought we discussed Walmart last time you were here?”
“We did,” she laughed, “but it was on sale and I was in there anyway, so…”
“Okay. I’ll let it go, this time. How’s it going out there at Bev’s place, anyhow?”
“It’s going. I expect to be actually in the house later today. I’ve been working in the garage and it’s just about cleared out. I’ve got one full dumpster and the other one is about half-way full. Think I might need to call Dump City and see if they can pick up today, and give me at least one empty.”
Herb, looked at her, “you deal with Benjamin or the old man?”
“Initially Benjamin, then the …other man, the next morning.”
Herb handed her back her list and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.
“Hey, Benny! It’s Herb! Yeah, yeah. Got a lovely lady here who’s doing a bit of business with you. Name of Anne. Yup. Yup. That’s her. Look she needs a pick-up and replacement today. A-sap. That’s right. Soon as you can. What you charging her? Aw, be nice. It’s a huge job she’s doing and she’s gonna keep you in beer for the rest of the year if you treat her right. Yeah, the old Sommer’s place. That’s right. Tomorrow’s the holiday, Ben. Not today.”
He turned to her, “How many dumpsters you want, hon?”
“I think two more will see me through till business on the 27th.”
“Give her two more. No, replace the one you’re gonna haul and then add an extra. Okay, one more. “Herb rolled his eyes at her. “That’s my man!”
“Thank you!” Anne said.
“Never deal with the dad. Stan’s okay, but he’ll rob you blind if you’re not watching. Benny corrected the mistake his dad made. Now, let’s get you rung up and on your way. What you doing, tomorrow?”
“Working.”
“But what you going to do about dinner?”
“Oh, I bought one of those big Hungry Man Turkey dinners, hence the microwave.”
“Don’t be silly! You come eat with me and my Mini.”
“No really, it’s fine. I’m sure you…”
“No, I won’t take no for an answer. You come eat with us. Can’t have you all by yourself, that’d be criminal.”
“Should I bring…”
“Nope. We’re all set. Just bring yourself, around five-thirty? Big old red-brick on the corner of Wagner and 5th, you can’t miss us.”
~~~
The list was finished. She surveyed the garage, decided to set up the patio table with two of the chairs away from the long folding ones against the wall. That was going to be her rest-station. The other area was for sorting. She spent a few minutes moving stuff that she’d been setting aside for donating under the end table, a few things she thought she might be able to sell on eBay, or Etsy in a couple of bins under the other two tables. She was organized. She was pleased.
Time to get back at it.
~~~
The kitchen was for later; she didn’t even look in there or inhale until she was in the laundry room. In fact, all she was going to do for the next hour or so was clear the laundry room and half bath of boxes and bags. Once cleared, she’d clean as best she could and then she would start to sort through everything in the garage.
A familiar Beethoven symphony filled the air as she started to haul the bags out to her sorting area. It didn’t take as long as she thought it would. Only about an hour and a half was spent in actually removing stuff from the two rooms.
She dumped a large pile of clothes she’d taken out of the closet by the back door on the nearest table and began to sort through them, checking pockets and labels. Auntie Bev had very good taste, but she was careless. In a gorgeous sheepskin car-coat pocket she found three hundred dollars in tens and twenties. In a bright purple slicker, there was two hundred in fives and tens. Of course, they were all outdated bills and would have to be exchanged. And hanging from the lapel of a jean jacket she found the most beautiful old sterling brooch. All of the clothes needed to be cleaned. So she started two more piles, one for laundry, and one for dry cleaning.
Back in the laundry room, she opened the dryer door to find tons of clothes had been shoved inside. They weren’t in there to be dried because there were delicates and pantyhose and all kinds of things packed into the little space. She carried it all out to the garage and went through everything carefully. A few more bills here and there, a few coins, and in an old beat-up sweater pocket she found a gold charm bracelet. She remembered it. Her aunt used to let her wear it as a treat if she’d been especially helpful. There was a charm for every place Auntie Bev had ever been. A tiny Eiffel Tower from when she went to Paris, a little Matador with a huge cape from Spain, each a memory in gold. Anne had loved to listen to her talk about each charm and where she found it. There was always a wonderful story attached to each one.
She tucked it with all the other treasures in her pocket, the one that zipped. It was getting dark. Time to go.
~~~
Back at the house at seven-thirty on the 25th, she cleaned the bathroom and laundry room area but without running water it was a challenge. She did her best with spray bottles and scrub brushes and some old towels she’d found in one of the bags.
She spent some time making more lists in her little book and then began to tackle the kitchen. Again, she just hauled everything into the garage and was about a quarter of the way through when the announcer on the radio interrupted the music to give the mid-day news.
With some regret, she locked up and headed back to the motel to get ready for dinner with Herb and Mini. She was touched by the invitation, but she was working at a good pace and hated to stop. Still, it would be lovely to get to know them. If she was going to make this her home she’d need some friends, and if Mini was anything like her husband Anne knew she would like her, a lot.
You’ll do, she thought giving herself one more appraising glance in the mirror and adjusted the gold charm bracelet on her wrist.
~~~
The house was just as Herb had described, she had no trouble finding it and as she walked up the path to the warm glow of the red-brick two-story she was glad she hadn’t listened to him and had stopped at the liquor store and picked up a nice Chardonnay.
He must have been watching for her because he opened the door before she knocked.
“Anne! Come in!” He was wearing a bright button-down shirt with a bowtie and a lovely knitted waistcoat. “Come in, come in! Let me take your coat! Ah, what have we here? Chardonnay! Lovely!” Then looking over his shoulder he bellowed, “Mini come and meet our guest!”
Anne put on her brightest smile in anticipation, but when she saw Mini her jaw dropped.
To be continued…
“You know,” she muttered, “if you just sprinkle some baking soda everywhere, leave it overnight and then vacuum it up the next day you’ll get rid of that ‘thousand feet’ stink.”
And she opened her eyes.
The room was sideways and the overwhelming stench was coming from right under her nose. She hauled herself up and off the carpet and surveyed the room right side up. Nothing had changed. It was the same dreary overly-flowery motel room. She reached up to rub some feeling back to her cheek only to encounter the scratch of the crumpled up paper she still clutched in her hand. She straightened it out and began to read.
It was a deed to the land surrounding her aunt’s property. She had always wondered why no one bought that land and built on it like Bev had. It seemed a no-brainer. Now she knew.
It was her aunt’s land.
It was her land.
It was too much to take in, especially if the numbers were right because it looked like about half the lakeside property belonged to her. All these years and no one had ever built on Bev’s end of the lake. Now she knew why.
If I was a drinking woman I’d need a stiff one right about now, she thought.
~~~
Early on her first day clearing out the garage she’d found a radio, plugged it in, and had been listening to it while she ever since. It had been difficult to find a station that wasn’t playing non-stop seasonal music but she finally found an FM station that played classical music twenty-four-seven, right now a Rachmaninoff piano concerto was blaring forth, and it was just what she needed to finish going through the last few bags. There was nothing special in them, but there were a few items that could be donated to charity: a toaster, an apple-red plastic jug, and five matching glasses, some old cookie tins, all empty, an assortment of baking dishes, and a huge straw sombrero. The rest was dumpster bound.
After clearing the garage she dug around in the storage cupboards that lined the walls on either side of the back entrance. She found a broom, a stack of plastic bins and lids, some tools, three folding tables, some patio chairs, a matching table and umbrella to stand in it, and a of bunch tools and yard-stuff.
The broom was put to immediate use.
She lined the tables up against the far wall, placed the plastic bins under them and set one of the patio chairs beside the nearest table, and sat in it. From the pocket of her coveralls she pulled a little notepad and the pencil she’d clipped to it and began to make her plans for the rest of the day. Anne loved lists. She loved making them, checking things off them as she accomplished them, and even reading other people’s lists. She had learned this from Bev.
~~~
It had taken her longer to get things done in the morning than she’d planned. And even though she’d been at the bank as soon as it opened she still had to wait thirty minutes to see the manager. She shuddered to think how long she would have had to wait if she hadn’t made an appointment. She rented two deposit boxes, deposited her findings and the deed and other pertinent papers she’d received from the lawyer. When she left at eleven, she was satisfied she’d done what needed to be done, at least until her lawyer returned.
At the hardware store. Herb greeted her with a big smile and helped her find things on her list, just as he had before, taking it out of her hands and making all kinds of kind suggestions as they gathered things to take to the register.
“Oh! This is a good idea,” he said as he hauled a large cooler out from a low shelf. You might also want a little one ring burner, or a microwave, you know, in case you want to heat up a TV dinner or two."
“I picked up a microwave at Walmart.”
“I thought we discussed Walmart last time you were here?”
“We did,” she laughed, “but it was on sale and I was in there anyway, so…”
“Okay. I’ll let it go, this time. How’s it going out there at Bev’s place, anyhow?”
“It’s going. I expect to be actually in the house later today. I’ve been working in the garage and it’s just about cleared out. I’ve got one full dumpster and the other one is about half-way full. Think I might need to call Dump City and see if they can pick up today, and give me at least one empty.”
Herb, looked at her, “you deal with Benjamin or the old man?”
“Initially Benjamin, then the …other man, the next morning.”
Herb handed her back her list and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.
“Hey, Benny! It’s Herb! Yeah, yeah. Got a lovely lady here who’s doing a bit of business with you. Name of Anne. Yup. Yup. That’s her. Look she needs a pick-up and replacement today. A-sap. That’s right. Soon as you can. What you charging her? Aw, be nice. It’s a huge job she’s doing and she’s gonna keep you in beer for the rest of the year if you treat her right. Yeah, the old Sommer’s place. That’s right. Tomorrow’s the holiday, Ben. Not today.”
He turned to her, “How many dumpsters you want, hon?”
“I think two more will see me through till business on the 27th.”
“Give her two more. No, replace the one you’re gonna haul and then add an extra. Okay, one more. “Herb rolled his eyes at her. “That’s my man!”
“Thank you!” Anne said.
“Never deal with the dad. Stan’s okay, but he’ll rob you blind if you’re not watching. Benny corrected the mistake his dad made. Now, let’s get you rung up and on your way. What you doing, tomorrow?”
“Working.”
“But what you going to do about dinner?”
“Oh, I bought one of those big Hungry Man Turkey dinners, hence the microwave.”
“Don’t be silly! You come eat with me and my Mini.”
“No really, it’s fine. I’m sure you…”
“No, I won’t take no for an answer. You come eat with us. Can’t have you all by yourself, that’d be criminal.”
“Should I bring…”
“Nope. We’re all set. Just bring yourself, around five-thirty? Big old red-brick on the corner of Wagner and 5th, you can’t miss us.”
~~~
The list was finished. She surveyed the garage, decided to set up the patio table with two of the chairs away from the long folding ones against the wall. That was going to be her rest-station. The other area was for sorting. She spent a few minutes moving stuff that she’d been setting aside for donating under the end table, a few things she thought she might be able to sell on eBay, or Etsy in a couple of bins under the other two tables. She was organized. She was pleased.
Time to get back at it.
~~~
The kitchen was for later; she didn’t even look in there or inhale until she was in the laundry room. In fact, all she was going to do for the next hour or so was clear the laundry room and half bath of boxes and bags. Once cleared, she’d clean as best she could and then she would start to sort through everything in the garage.
A familiar Beethoven symphony filled the air as she started to haul the bags out to her sorting area. It didn’t take as long as she thought it would. Only about an hour and a half was spent in actually removing stuff from the two rooms.
She dumped a large pile of clothes she’d taken out of the closet by the back door on the nearest table and began to sort through them, checking pockets and labels. Auntie Bev had very good taste, but she was careless. In a gorgeous sheepskin car-coat pocket she found three hundred dollars in tens and twenties. In a bright purple slicker, there was two hundred in fives and tens. Of course, they were all outdated bills and would have to be exchanged. And hanging from the lapel of a jean jacket she found the most beautiful old sterling brooch. All of the clothes needed to be cleaned. So she started two more piles, one for laundry, and one for dry cleaning.
Back in the laundry room, she opened the dryer door to find tons of clothes had been shoved inside. They weren’t in there to be dried because there were delicates and pantyhose and all kinds of things packed into the little space. She carried it all out to the garage and went through everything carefully. A few more bills here and there, a few coins, and in an old beat-up sweater pocket she found a gold charm bracelet. She remembered it. Her aunt used to let her wear it as a treat if she’d been especially helpful. There was a charm for every place Auntie Bev had ever been. A tiny Eiffel Tower from when she went to Paris, a little Matador with a huge cape from Spain, each a memory in gold. Anne had loved to listen to her talk about each charm and where she found it. There was always a wonderful story attached to each one.
She tucked it with all the other treasures in her pocket, the one that zipped. It was getting dark. Time to go.
~~~
Back at the house at seven-thirty on the 25th, she cleaned the bathroom and laundry room area but without running water it was a challenge. She did her best with spray bottles and scrub brushes and some old towels she’d found in one of the bags.
She spent some time making more lists in her little book and then began to tackle the kitchen. Again, she just hauled everything into the garage and was about a quarter of the way through when the announcer on the radio interrupted the music to give the mid-day news.
With some regret, she locked up and headed back to the motel to get ready for dinner with Herb and Mini. She was touched by the invitation, but she was working at a good pace and hated to stop. Still, it would be lovely to get to know them. If she was going to make this her home she’d need some friends, and if Mini was anything like her husband Anne knew she would like her, a lot.
You’ll do, she thought giving herself one more appraising glance in the mirror and adjusted the gold charm bracelet on her wrist.
~~~
The house was just as Herb had described, she had no trouble finding it and as she walked up the path to the warm glow of the red-brick two-story she was glad she hadn’t listened to him and had stopped at the liquor store and picked up a nice Chardonnay.
He must have been watching for her because he opened the door before she knocked.
“Anne! Come in!” He was wearing a bright button-down shirt with a bowtie and a lovely knitted waistcoat. “Come in, come in! Let me take your coat! Ah, what have we here? Chardonnay! Lovely!” Then looking over his shoulder he bellowed, “Mini come and meet our guest!”
Anne put on her brightest smile in anticipation, but when she saw Mini her jaw dropped.
To be continued…