“I have an idea,” Josslyn signed to Nathan one day. “Let’s introduce ourselves to some of the neighbors in hopes of becoming acquainted with them. We could have Evan come with us to interpret for us.”
“That’s a great idea,” Nathan signed.
“Maybe we can try to get some information from the neighbors and see what they know about the history or the background of the house. Someone has to know something.”
The day was sunny, clear, and ninety-two degrees. A few neighbors, passersbys, and pedestrians strolled to and fro. A car or two cruised by on occasion.
Nathan, Josslyn, and Evan went to one house next door and knocked on the door. After a moment, Nathan knocked again. No answer. Nathan and Josslyn figured no one was home.
“Let’s try the house on the other side of our house,” Josslyn signed.
They turned around and went in the opposite direction. They knocked on the door. A white sheer curtain was pulled aside and a face peeked out, then disappeared. The curtain dropped back in its place. Nathan, Josslyn, and Evan expected the door to open, but it did not. They figured that this neighbor had given them the brush-off and didn’t want to be bothered. So they shrugged and went to the adjacent house and knocked on that door.
The door to that house opened, and they were greeted by a man who looked to be fifty-five years old. He looked at them with a scowl, which left them feeling alienated.
“Yeah?” the man said in a gruff voice.
“Hello,” Nathan signed. “I’m Nathan and this is my wife, Josslyn, and our baby daughter, and our friend, Evan, who is our sign-language interpreter. We’re deaf, and we moved into the new house two doors down.”
“I don’t have time for this crap,” the man said. He went back inside and closed the door.
“Jerk,” Nathan signed.
“Let’s just go on to the next house and go from there,” Josslyn signed.
They went from house to house. Some of the residents either weren’t home or they didn’t want to be pestered by deaf people. Some of them just didn’t have the time, patience, or inclination to be bothered.
“Let’s go across the street and try those houses along that side,” Josslyn signed.
After knocking on the doors of six houses, they stopped at a seventh house and knocked on the door.
A genial, elderly woman with light blonde hair, blue eyes, and clad in a lemon-yellow summer dress opened the door with a benevolent grin. “Yes?” she said.
“Hello,” Evan said while Nathan signed. Evan kept his eyes on Nathan to indicate that Evan was interpreting whatever Nathan signed. “I’m Nathan and this is my wife, Josslyn, and our baby daughter, and our friend, Evan, who is our sign-language interpreter. We’re deaf and we moved in to the new house a few houses down on the other side of the street.”
“Oh, nice to meet you,” the woman said as Evan interpreted. “You mean the new, boxy-style house with all those windows and lots of concrete?”
Nathan and Josslyn nodded.
“Yes,” Evan said as he nodded also.
“That house is spooky,” the woman said. “I wouldn’t set foot in it. I apologize if I seem rude. I’ll admit it’s a nice-looking house, but it’s way too contemporary for me. I like the older Spanish style, sort of like mine. Anyway, would you like to come inside for a bit and have some lemonade or perhaps some nice cold water? It’d be rude of me to let you stand out here, especially in this heat.” She opened the door wider and stepped aside. “Please, come in.” She beckoned them with her arm.
Josslyn pushed the stroller over the threshold as Nathan and Evan followed behind. They nodded their thanks with a smile.
“Thank you,” Evan said.
“Oh, you’re welcome,” the woman said. “It’s no trouble at all. Always a pleasure to have company and meet new people and make new friends. This way, please.” She closed the door and led them through the living room to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out two pitchers, then closed it with a gentle push of her arm and turned to face them.
“Fresh-squeezed lemonade,” she said as she pointed to the pitcher of lemonade. “I just made it earlier this morning and this—” she pointed to another pitcher “—is filtered water, which is better than tap water or so they say.” She pulled out three tall drinking glasses from the cupboard and set them on the counter. “Would you like some ice to go with the lemonade or water?”
“Please,” Evan said, as they all nodded.
“I apologize that I don’t have a sippy cup for the baby,” the woman said. By the way, my name is Norma. I should’ve thought to introduce myself to you at the door. Silly ol’ me.” She chuckled. “Well, anyway, please feel free to help yourself to whichever you want and I’ll see if I can find a small cup for that adorable baby of yours. I also have some lemon bars in the fridge, plus homemade lemon meringue pie, lemon pudding and lemon jello. I love lemon! I bought some lemon crème cookies. Although I prefer homemade, I just didn’t have the recipe to make the lemon sugar cookies and I’m not very computer-literate, so I didn’t bother to go online and search for a recipe and print it. Nah. I’m okay with it, though. Most of my recipes were handed down from my mother and grandmother, and I have several cookbooks from way back when, too.”
She searched another cupboard for a smaller cup and found one. “I’ll just pour some nice cold water for the baby, since I don’t think the sugar and the acid from the lemonade really would be good for the baby, especially at her age.”
Nathan and Josslyn nodded. Nathan poured himself a glass of lemonade, as did Evan, while Josslyn opted for iced water.
Norma handed the small cup of iced water to Josslyn, who put it to Maddie’s mouth. Norma opened the fridge and pulled out a plate of lemon bars. “These are my personal favorite, of course,” she said as she set the plate on the counter.
“Thank you,” Nathan and Josslyn mouthed to Norma as they signed at the same time.
“Thank you,” Evan said.
Each took a lemon bar from the plate and bit into it.
Nathan nodded and rubbed his stomach as if to say, “Mmm, good! Delicious!”
“Oh, good,” Norma said. “There’s more. Just help yourself. As I said, I’m a nut for lemons. I even have lemon-flavored frozen yogurt and all-natural frozen lemon bars, and there’s a lemon tree out back, too. Anyway, here I am, a typical eighty-two-year-old lady, prattling on. Let’s go sit in the living room.”
She led them into the living room and sat in a rocking recliner while Nathan and Josslyn sat on a loveseat with the baby stroller nearby.
Evan sat in an easy chair.
“How do you like the neighborhood so far?” Norma asked.
“It’s very nice here,” Nathan signed.
“I quite agree,” Norma said. “It is very nice here. I’ve lived here for fifty years now. My husband passed away two years ago, bless his heart. But I’m doing well and I’m still in good health, too. That’s important. So, how are you liking the new house so far?”
Nathan and Josslyn’s faces fell as they shook their heads.
“It’s a very beautiful house, but it has some problems,” Nathan signed.
Norma nodded, not the least bit surprised at all. “I’ve heard about that house,” she said with some trepidation, “and some of the stories pertaining to it. What’s been happening in the house since you moved in?”
“Weird things,” Nathan signed. “Strange goings-on.”
“Like what?”
“A big mess in the kitchen, food tacked to the walls, pounding and banging on the doors, and so forth."
“Oh, my! You poor dears. I can’t imagine what that must be like. That would spook me very much, too.”
“What do you know about the house?” Josslyn signed. “Can you tell us anything? Other neighbors won’t talk."
“I can see why. They’re obviously afraid, and I can understand that, what with the house being in close proximity to theirs. Well, I can tell you that there have been some really unusual occurrences going on, like a man getting jabbed in the thumb with a knife while whittling on a piece of wood one day, a woman seeing a dark form standing at the foot of the bed one night, and other people hearing noises and voices and seeing things move around on their own. Other people moved in, only to move out after a few months. The house would be put back on the market, then taken off each time someone moved in. How long before you’ll move out remains to be seen.”
“If it could do that to these people,” Josslyn signed, “what else could it do? No wonder those people left quickly.”
“Well, as Norma just said,” Nathan signed, “they weren’t going to take chances letting this thing hurt them, especially the wife and the baby.”
“I’m fearful enough, too, yet I don’t want to have to move.”
“We’re not going to move. We can’t—and won’t—let this thing beat us. We’re stronger than that.” Nathan turned to Norma. “Thank you for sharing with us what you know.”
“Oh, you’re most welcome, and thank you for coming by to introduce yourselves.” She gave them all a hug and tapped Maddie’s cheeks with her finger. “Aren’t you just the most precious thing?”
“We’d love to have you over for dinner,” Josslyn signed, “but we understand the house is too spooky for you, so we’ll come visit you again soon.”
“Yes, please do,” Norma said with a vigorous nod. “Know that you’re always welcome to stop by any time. If you need anything for whatever reason, please don’t hesitate to come by. I’m usually here most of the time unless I’m at the market or at a doctor’s appointment.”
Nathan put his forefinger and thumb together to form the “okay” hand gesture.
Norma copied the same hand gesture for “okay.” Her grin was refreshing and brightened Nathan and Josslyn’s spirits.