Friday, June 10, 2011
Excerpt #16, from pages 102-105 from STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Okay, so I’ve got to work on this Alvin character in real life and then type it up. Maybe I should brainstorm first. Nah, I’m just gonna write what comes to mind. That seems to work well for me. I’m so glad Eric is getting some good sleep. He’s always running on low when we’re at home, like five hours a night if he’s lucky. Plus I’m getting to catch up on my writing as well, free of incessant interruptions: sticky fingers using my shirt as a napkin, whining about how someone stole someone else’s new toy, or a plethora of other urgent requests (which I do kind of miss in a mom-kind-of-way).
Next I had to gather my thoughts and figure out who this Alvin guy really was. I figured the easiest way to find his sister, if she was still alive, was to go back through the house’s history. If I could find out her last name and her forwarding address, then I could probably locate her as well. If I could discover her identity, then she could fill me in on the details of her brother, Alvin.
I decided to call my Realtor, who might be intrigued by the whole thing. She was so helpful and loved to shoot the breeze. Maybe she could just stop by for lunch. I decided to text her before jumping in the shower.
Hey Jessica. Wanna come by for lunch today? I have a few questions about one of the previous owners of our house. Thought u could help. Thx—dianne
I poured myself some more coffee and within seconds, my phone hummed about an incoming text.
Sure. How about 12:15? I happen to be in ur neck of the woods. C ya then—jessica
So I wrote back and asked if Caesar salad and pitas with hummus sounded okay. She said that it would be marvelous. And it reminded me of how much I enjoyed chatting with her. She was so light-hearted and yet so hardworking at the same time. I was really glad we were going to get a chance to catch up.
I did a few things to organize the downstairs area, took a super speedy shower, brushed my teeth (since I hadn’t even done that yet), and started preparing our lunches. And before I knew it, the doorbell rang and it was Jessica.
“Hello darling. I love your fuschia pink shirt. That jean skirt makes you look so skinny,” I said as we embraced for a quick hug.
“Thank you Dianne. Your red tank is totally cute too. Have you been working out a ton like normal?” she asked walking straight for the coffee pot.”
“Help yourself Jess,” I said, even though the suggestion was totally unnecessary.
“This is good coffee Dianne. Is it Starbucks or fresh & easy?” she questioned.
“It’s Starbucks. I like their new organic blend. It’s pretty good, huh?”
“Yeah, totally good. How can I help with the lunch? Can I chop something or get anything out of the fridge for you?”
“Nope, I’ve got it all out here on the bar,” I said motioning toward the grey and white counter-top on the island in the middle of my newly remodeled kitchen.
“You guys redid your kitchen since I was here last. It looks awesome. Who did you use for the job?” she inquired like a true Realtor would do.
“My stepdad did it. He’s a contractor and things were slow over the holidays so he came out with a small crew and remodeled the kitchen for us. He also did our master bath. You’ll have to walk up and take a peek in a bit. He does great work, but he’s not close by, so he wouldn’t really be the best contact for your clients,” I informed her.
“Well, maybe I’ll have him come by and give me an estimate for my kitchen. It’s needed a facelift for years. We just haven’t had the cash to lay down for a job that big. After we put our pool in and got our new cars, we have been trying to be good with our spending,” she announced honestly.
“I hear ya Jess. We’re trying to keep up with paying for all of the kids’ activities with school, sports, and church. It adds up fast,” I said setting out some red tumblers for iced tea, which we would get to after our freshly filled mugs of coffee.
“So, what’s with the question about the previous owner? I did call the office and JoAnn forwarded me some docs electronically so I could get you some info fast.”
“Wow, that’s incredible. I’m really grateful for that,” I said with a soft smile.
“No problem. Anything for one of my best clients ever,” she said scratching her nose.
“Well, you won’t believe this, but there’s an elderly gentleman named Alvin staying with us up in my attic. You know, the apartment that we discovered when we were doing our final walk-through? I couldn’t believe how much stuff we found up there, do you remember?” I asked refreshing her about the facts.
“Yeah, I do remember. Did you ever go through any of that stuff?”
“No, in the eight years we’ve been here, we basically just left it as it was.”
“So, how’s Alvin related to the picture?”
“Well, I discovered him up there earlier this morning. It was the strangest thing. The kids were at school. He must have been up there for a few days cuz I’ve been hearing big thuds and crazy noises. I told Josh that I thought we had humongous rats climbing around up there, which was totally freaking me out. Anyways, I noticed some broken glass, so I walked up the white rickety wooden stairs and found him lying there on the ground, looking so helpless. He obviously has a drinking problem, but for now, I just see him as this lost soul, searching for someone to help him.”
“Are you kidding Dianne? You actually have a drunken homeless man up in your attic right now and you’re okay with that?” she said acting paranoid.
“Well, he appears to have Alzheimer’s and he is really adorable. I could tell he had busted through the glass just to get into the attic. You’ll see what I mean. He just reminds you of your own dad or grandpa. I saw the glass but what really caught my eye was an opening in the overgrown vines that blocks our view of the door up there. I saw something black and as I got closer, could see that it was some size thirteen black leather shoes on the front doormat. I knew they weren’t Josh’s so I had to go up and see what was going on.”
“You actually walked up there yourself without a clue about who was up there? What if it had been a murderer or a rapist? You could have gotten killed Dianne,” she warned dramatically.
“True, I could have, but I just didn’t feel that worried. I figured I had my cell phone so I could dial 911 pretty fast. I don’t know. I just felt okay about it for some reason. So, I checked and then I opened the doorknob and… just walked in. I saw him lying there looking so helpless and my instincts just kicked in,” I said tearing up.
“You’re crazy Dianne. I can’t believe you’re letting a complete stranger stay up in your external apartment. What if he’s crazy or something? I mean, he could hurt your kids… or you… or Josh. You have to think straight on this,” she advised with a professional edge.
“I am thinking straight Jessica. He’s like seventy-five years old. I don’t exactly feel all that threatened. But anyways, that’s why I called you. I know he returned here because this is where he used to live. His sister is one of the previous owners. You see, it’s not as mysterious and dangerous as you’re making it out to be.”
“Well, that does make a little bit of sense. Let me pull out my laptop and see what JoAnn found. Maybe we could google the sister’s name and contact her for some help here.”
“That sounds great Jessica. I really appreciate that,” I said crunching on a tasty crouton. I love this new fresh & easy Caesar salad kit. It tastes so gourmet and it’s less than three dollars for the whole bag.
“Okay, I found her name. She was two owners ago. Let’s see, she owned the house for most of its history, for like forty something years. Her name is Alice Godwin. So now I need to google some info on her.”
“Great! That’s so helpful. I’m so excited to share this info with Alvin. Can you find a forwarded address for her?”
“Yes, I show one in another state, let’s see. It looks like she moved back to Texas to live with family out there. And oh my goodness, this newspaper article shows a record of her funeral. She died two years ago and it says that she was survived by her only remaining family member, by her brother Alvin Culbertson, who served in the military and in World War II.”
Next I had to gather my thoughts and figure out who this Alvin guy really was. I figured the easiest way to find his sister, if she was still alive, was to go back through the house’s history. If I could find out her last name and her forwarding address, then I could probably locate her as well. If I could discover her identity, then she could fill me in on the details of her brother, Alvin.
I decided to call my Realtor, who might be intrigued by the whole thing. She was so helpful and loved to shoot the breeze. Maybe she could just stop by for lunch. I decided to text her before jumping in the shower.
Hey Jessica. Wanna come by for lunch today? I have a few questions about one of the previous owners of our house. Thought u could help. Thx—dianne
I poured myself some more coffee and within seconds, my phone hummed about an incoming text.
Sure. How about 12:15? I happen to be in ur neck of the woods. C ya then—jessica
So I wrote back and asked if Caesar salad and pitas with hummus sounded okay. She said that it would be marvelous. And it reminded me of how much I enjoyed chatting with her. She was so light-hearted and yet so hardworking at the same time. I was really glad we were going to get a chance to catch up.
I did a few things to organize the downstairs area, took a super speedy shower, brushed my teeth (since I hadn’t even done that yet), and started preparing our lunches. And before I knew it, the doorbell rang and it was Jessica.
“Hello darling. I love your fuschia pink shirt. That jean skirt makes you look so skinny,” I said as we embraced for a quick hug.
“Thank you Dianne. Your red tank is totally cute too. Have you been working out a ton like normal?” she asked walking straight for the coffee pot.”
“Help yourself Jess,” I said, even though the suggestion was totally unnecessary.
“This is good coffee Dianne. Is it Starbucks or fresh & easy?” she questioned.
“It’s Starbucks. I like their new organic blend. It’s pretty good, huh?”
“Yeah, totally good. How can I help with the lunch? Can I chop something or get anything out of the fridge for you?”
“Nope, I’ve got it all out here on the bar,” I said motioning toward the grey and white counter-top on the island in the middle of my newly remodeled kitchen.
“You guys redid your kitchen since I was here last. It looks awesome. Who did you use for the job?” she inquired like a true Realtor would do.
“My stepdad did it. He’s a contractor and things were slow over the holidays so he came out with a small crew and remodeled the kitchen for us. He also did our master bath. You’ll have to walk up and take a peek in a bit. He does great work, but he’s not close by, so he wouldn’t really be the best contact for your clients,” I informed her.
“Well, maybe I’ll have him come by and give me an estimate for my kitchen. It’s needed a facelift for years. We just haven’t had the cash to lay down for a job that big. After we put our pool in and got our new cars, we have been trying to be good with our spending,” she announced honestly.
“I hear ya Jess. We’re trying to keep up with paying for all of the kids’ activities with school, sports, and church. It adds up fast,” I said setting out some red tumblers for iced tea, which we would get to after our freshly filled mugs of coffee.
“So, what’s with the question about the previous owner? I did call the office and JoAnn forwarded me some docs electronically so I could get you some info fast.”
“Wow, that’s incredible. I’m really grateful for that,” I said with a soft smile.
“No problem. Anything for one of my best clients ever,” she said scratching her nose.
“Well, you won’t believe this, but there’s an elderly gentleman named Alvin staying with us up in my attic. You know, the apartment that we discovered when we were doing our final walk-through? I couldn’t believe how much stuff we found up there, do you remember?” I asked refreshing her about the facts.
“Yeah, I do remember. Did you ever go through any of that stuff?”
“No, in the eight years we’ve been here, we basically just left it as it was.”
“So, how’s Alvin related to the picture?”
“Well, I discovered him up there earlier this morning. It was the strangest thing. The kids were at school. He must have been up there for a few days cuz I’ve been hearing big thuds and crazy noises. I told Josh that I thought we had humongous rats climbing around up there, which was totally freaking me out. Anyways, I noticed some broken glass, so I walked up the white rickety wooden stairs and found him lying there on the ground, looking so helpless. He obviously has a drinking problem, but for now, I just see him as this lost soul, searching for someone to help him.”
“Are you kidding Dianne? You actually have a drunken homeless man up in your attic right now and you’re okay with that?” she said acting paranoid.
“Well, he appears to have Alzheimer’s and he is really adorable. I could tell he had busted through the glass just to get into the attic. You’ll see what I mean. He just reminds you of your own dad or grandpa. I saw the glass but what really caught my eye was an opening in the overgrown vines that blocks our view of the door up there. I saw something black and as I got closer, could see that it was some size thirteen black leather shoes on the front doormat. I knew they weren’t Josh’s so I had to go up and see what was going on.”
“You actually walked up there yourself without a clue about who was up there? What if it had been a murderer or a rapist? You could have gotten killed Dianne,” she warned dramatically.
“True, I could have, but I just didn’t feel that worried. I figured I had my cell phone so I could dial 911 pretty fast. I don’t know. I just felt okay about it for some reason. So, I checked and then I opened the doorknob and… just walked in. I saw him lying there looking so helpless and my instincts just kicked in,” I said tearing up.
“You’re crazy Dianne. I can’t believe you’re letting a complete stranger stay up in your external apartment. What if he’s crazy or something? I mean, he could hurt your kids… or you… or Josh. You have to think straight on this,” she advised with a professional edge.
“I am thinking straight Jessica. He’s like seventy-five years old. I don’t exactly feel all that threatened. But anyways, that’s why I called you. I know he returned here because this is where he used to live. His sister is one of the previous owners. You see, it’s not as mysterious and dangerous as you’re making it out to be.”
“Well, that does make a little bit of sense. Let me pull out my laptop and see what JoAnn found. Maybe we could google the sister’s name and contact her for some help here.”
“That sounds great Jessica. I really appreciate that,” I said crunching on a tasty crouton. I love this new fresh & easy Caesar salad kit. It tastes so gourmet and it’s less than three dollars for the whole bag.
“Okay, I found her name. She was two owners ago. Let’s see, she owned the house for most of its history, for like forty something years. Her name is Alice Godwin. So now I need to google some info on her.”
“Great! That’s so helpful. I’m so excited to share this info with Alvin. Can you find a forwarded address for her?”
“Yes, I show one in another state, let’s see. It looks like she moved back to Texas to live with family out there. And oh my goodness, this newspaper article shows a record of her funeral. She died two years ago and it says that she was survived by her only remaining family member, by her brother Alvin Culbertson, who served in the military and in World War II.”
Labels: book excerpt from Stream of Consciousness
