Page 16 of The Sound Of Us

Eli

I haven’t been able to sleep much since the death of my father, but being here helps fill the time with a different kind of melancholy.

Here, I search for my father when he was a different man. Not even a man. A boy. It’s sobering to imagine how much of life my father had lived before I was born. Here as a child and teenager and then back home, where he created a legacy unmatched for men of his time.

Now, as I walk through each room, I look for signs of life. His life. Aunt Alberta was a sentimental woman who kept everything. I hoped to find memories of my father in the weeks to come while I restore this old house.

The house looks as old as it is. Apart from the lighting that’s now connected to the doorbell, everything else looks like I’d walked into a nineteen-fifties middle-class home. Even the piano and coal stove fit right in.

The house contains four large bedrooms, three bathrooms, two living rooms and a massive kitchen.

It has the potential to host at least twelve guests if I work the space properly. It’s what my father and Alberta had wanted—to have as many people who pass through this small town enjoy their childhood home as much as they had.

A new bed had been delivered along with the piano and coal stove, and installed in the main bedroom.

A quick look outside—it’s still snowing a little. I’m a little tired, so I take a shower, hoping to get some sleep as I crash on the bed with just a pair of sweats.

Four hours later, my grumbling stomach wakes me up. I’ve slept more than two hours after a very long time.

The fridge produces fresh fruit and beer. The note I’d found on the door lies on the counter:

Welcome to River Valley, Mr. Saxon. Please join us for a welcome breakfast on Sunday at the River Valley Public Library. Our dedicated and wonderful mayor will personally escort you. We look forward to meeting you.

I’m not extremely social, but I appreciate their efforts.

I go to switch on the living room lamps since the light from the kitchen is still very dim (I’ll have to get new bulbs) when a flash of light across the property catches my eye.

The snow has calmed down, leaving the outside in a soft blanket of white.

Someone is sitting out there. I can make out the silhouette, but not much else. I leave the lamps off.

Why would anyone be out there in the snow at this hour?

I watch for a while under the safety of the darkened living room and after a while I can make out that he’s reading with the flashlight. Every so often, the light hits his face, illuminating it, and I get a brief glimpse of his features.

The third time he does it, I realize it’s the neighbor I’d passed on my way in. Curly blond hair. Lean, slight frame. Red, red lips and beautiful dimples.

He sits far back on the boulder, his back against the trunk of the tree, hunched over. His dog sits next to him on the boulder.

This town is nothing like I’d imagined. I might even go to this welcome party tomorrow, although I’m almost sure I wouldn’t be given a choice in the matter, anyway. The people here seem a little… enthusiastic.

I stand at the window and suddenly he looks up and right at the house. It’s dark enough, so I’m confident he can’t see anything, but I still take a step back.

I’m not sure what just happened, but there’s a curiosity here that feels… comforting. It’s new but not unwanted.

Leaving the light off, I head to the kitchen and look for the pantry and find it in the corner of the kitchen next to the window. I must make a note to have a blind installed on that window.

I find every kind of non-perishable item of food in the pantry. So well stocked by the housekeeping staff that they didn’t find space for the ones still on the counter. I reach for the remaining tins of canned food and place them on the uppermost shelves.

There’s nothing here I feel like eating. I was told Uber Eats doesn’t come this far out, so cooking for myself is going to be the way for now. I don’t think I’ve cooked a day in my life, but trying new things and all that, right?

Hold on a second. I’m freezing. Oh. No shirt. I switch off the lights and, with a beer in my hand for dinner, I head back to bed.

Chapter 8

Axel

The morning after No-Lube-Fridays always begins with the bang of pots and pans.

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