Page 9 of Ghost
Working out the sleepingarrangements took a bit of being forceful on Mason’s part.He insisted that Paul and Mitch take the king-sized bed while he slept on the sofa.He was used to it, and since he was the smallest of the three men, it made perfect sense to him.
They’d eaten fried chicken and shrimp for dinner.While Mitch and Paul drank half a case of beer, Mason thought it best if he abstain and just have Coke.While his stomach seemed okay, he was still feeling a bit dizzy now and again.
It was funny watching the two of them and listening to all the jobs they’d done, adding in some of his own stories of the renovation and handyman work that he’d done while living in Atlanta.It amazed them all what some homeowners asked for, and they laughed till they cried over some of the stuff they’d done.
The next morning, they all worked hard and made great progress.While Mason kept both feet firmly planted on the ground, working on all the electrical outlets and light switches, Paul and Mitch finished removing all the old light fixtures and the outdated wiring from the attic and second floor.
They broke for lunch and had sandwiches from Kroger’s grocery store’s deli section, sitting on the front steps of the house enjoying the summer day.There was a breeze blowing that brought the smell of the ocean and a scent of jasmine.I’m going to enjoy having those smells around me.So much better than in Atlanta where all you could smell was car exhaust.
Mason looked down the street.The old oak trees with Spanish moss dangling from the limbs, fluttering in the slight ocean breeze, made him smile.The street was littered with red crepe myrtle petals.Mason imagined that Mother Nature had just blown him a kiss.He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face and the smell.
“We gotta hit the beach,” Mitch said with his mouth full.“Need to get some rays.”
Paul nodded his head.“Yeah, man.Gotta do that.”
“How about if we get all the old wiring pulled out today, we take tomorrow off and go over to Tybee Island?”Mason suggested before downing the rest of his Coke.“I could do with some sun myself.I think if I have another day of not doing much, I’ll be over having dizzy spells.”
“You won’t go wearing no Speedo, will ya?”Mitch asked, his eyes squinted.“I don’t know if I could handle seeing all your stuff.”
Mason threw his head back and laughed.“No, I’ll spare y’all that,” he said.“Just cutoffs for me.”
“Good.”Mitch stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth.
“I’ll second that,” Paul said, nodding.
“Well, if we’re going to take tomorrow off, I suggest we get a move on.”
The rest of the day was busy.They had a goal and they all moved towards it.Mason continued to remove all the old electrical stuff, leaving the kitchen till last, since they were going to remove the entire thing back to the studs.He made his way down to the lowest level, the only part of the house that didn’t seem to have too much renovation needed.
Mason sat on the floor to take out the plugs when he saw a flash of movement to his right.He turned his head too fast and felt the room keep turning, but he saw...something.It was like an old, sepia tone photograph, but moving, although only for a split second.
“I’m losing my mind,” he mumbled to himself.
He worked his way down the exterior wall that faced the street and then turned the corner and continued working on the exterior wall on the side of the house.Mason finished up the main room and then moved on to the next one, which had been converted into a tiny bedroom.
“I’ll be knocking this wall out,” he said to himself, seeing that it was cheaply and poorly done.He noticed that there were no outlets or any wiring to remove from that part of the exterior wall, which seemed odd to him.He shrugged and thought nothing else of it.
By the time that he’d finished all the outlets and light switches it was almost the end of the day.He heard Paul and Mitch coming down the stairs.
“Hey, everything upstairs is done,” Mitch said as he and Paul stood in the first room.“How many overheads are down here?”
“Only six,” Mason answered.“I’ve got all the other stuff done.That’s the last of it.”
“Cool,” Paul said.“It won’t be nothin’ to just pull the wires as long as there are no problems.”
“Yeah, but some of that old knob-and-tube stuff will be a problem,” Mitch sighed.
“Naw, we’ll leave all that and just make sure it’s all disconnected.As far as I can tell, it was only in the attic, anyway,” Mason said.
“That will make my life easier,” Mitch said.“I didn’t relish having to spend a lot of time in that attic in the middle of summer.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t either,” Mason quickly agreed.“As long as none of it is connected, I don’t see why we can’t just leave it alone.Cut out what we need to and call it done.”
“What about down here?”Paul asked.“See any issues?”
Mason looked around the downstairs.“Um...I don’t think so.”He pointed to the wall that he knew he wanted to take out.“I’m going to demo out these two walls there and prob’ly another one towards the back.It’s obvious they were added later, and not done well.It will also open up this whole space.It will then just be one big room.”
Mitch looked around.“You know, if we concentrate on this downstairs area, we can make it into an apartment like what you’re in now, only much bigger.It has the same footprint as the rest of the house.That way you can move in once the city approves the electrical and not have to pay rent over there.Hey, maybe even use it as a rental to bring in some money when you got more of the upstairs done!”
