Chapter Four

It was the following morning before the rain let up enough to give hope toward seeing the sun again. Alison spent the day before hiding in the parlor and in her room to avoid running into Nick. It was dinnertime before Wilma informed her that Nick retired to his room for the day and she didn’t expect to see him for the rest of the evening. Alison asked if that was something that Nick did often. She was surprised to learn that it was, in fact, something he did once a month.

Alison giggled as she shoved a heaping spoonful of lamb stew into her mouth in an uncouth manner. “Maybe he’s a vampire,” she said in a hushed tone.

“Vampires walk at night and sleep all day,” Wilma chuckled. “Besides, he makes a pig of himself at mealtimes.  Vampires live on blood, not steak and potatoes.”

“Okay, so, scratch the vampire theory,” Alison said with a smirk.

Wilma looked at Alison with a loving, satisfied smile. “No vampire.”

“What other creatures go into hiding from people?” Alison asked as she continued to stuff her mouth.

“If you don’t pay attention to how much food you’re shoveling in that gob of yours, you’ll end up choking to death,” Wilma scolded.

With pinkened cheeks, Alison set her spoon down, chewed the food in her mouth, and swallowed hard.

“Sorry,” she said.

She may have spoken harshly, but, in truth, Wilma was delighted to see how much Alison enjoyed her cooking. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I often asked dad if we could hire you to be our cook,” Alison admitted. “Of course, the aunts wouldn’t hear of it.”

“I didn’t come here as a cook,” Wilma said.  “I came here as a housekeeper.  The cook died just weeks before your great aunts did.  You’ll have to replace her soon.  It’s too much work for me.”

“Wasn’t it your food that we ate whenever we visited?” Alison asked with wonder. “I don’t remember a cook.  I thought you did it all.”

“There was a cook, but you never saw her. You were kept away from most of the help.  Your father’s orders. It’s a wonder he let me around you,” Wilma said.  “I feel guilty getting the credit for Janice’s meals.”

“This stew is delicious,” Alison said.

“I have a few recipes up my sleeve,” Wilma smiled.

“Where can I find a cook?” Alison asked. “Not that I want one, but I don’t want you overworked. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather I found a housekeeper and you do the cooking?”

“Call the agency,” Wilma said as she began clearing the dishes from the table.  “You need a good cook. Not one who can just get by. You’ll be expected to keep with tradition, which means you’ll be entertaining and such.”

“Entertaining?” Alison gasped.

“The historical society meets here every three months for lunch.  The date’s coming up soon,” Wilma said.

“My great aunts are dead,” Alison said with angst. “Surely I can’t be expected to act in their stead.”

Wilma filled the sink with soapy water. “The estate is listed with the historical registry. To get the tax breaks and other perks that go with that listing, you need to maintain a presence.  Lunch for some stuffy ole’ fuddy duddies four times a year seems like a small price to pay.”

“Don’t we have a dishwasher?” Alison asked.

Wilma shrugged as she started washing the dishes. “Your predecessors didn’t believe in them.”

“Well, I do,” Alison said boldly.  “I’m buying one tomorrow.”

A smile spread across Wilma’s face and she nodded. 

Although she knew it looked obvious, Alison couldn’t help asking Wilma about Nick. “Does Nick cook for himself or does he eat in here?”

“He’s here most days.  He has a nice kitchen in the guest house,” she said thoughtfully. “I’m assuming he fixes himself food now and then.”

“How long does he disappear for?” Alison continued.

“He takes good care of the place, as you can see,” Wilma said firmly.  “I don’t question when he feels the need to disappear for a day or two.”

“He takes days off in a row?” Alison said as if it was an unheard-of-act.

Wilma tossed her head back and laughed full-bellied. “We all take days off in a row.  You take weekends off, don’t you?”  When all Alison did was quietly blush, Wilma continued, “Which reminds me. I’m off tomorrow. I won’t be back until late the following night.  Yep, two days off.”

Alison scowled.  She didn’t like the idea of being left alone so soon in the house. “So, both you and Nick will be off at the same time?” Alison almost screeched.  The panic in her voice was clear. “It’s not even the weekend.”

Wilma stopped washing the dishes and looked at Alison long and hard. “Does this place frighten you that much?”

“I’ve never liked it here,” she replied. “It always feels like there’s someone watching me.”

“The walls have eyes, eh?” the old housekeeper chuckled.

“I’m glad you find it so funny,” Alison snapped.

Wilma sighed, “I have a doctor’s appointment that I can’t break. Then, I need to check on my sister, Betty. She recently went through a serious surgery and lives alone. I’m sorry chi… Alison, but I must take my days off.  If I had my way, I’d be with Betty full time until she was back on her feet.”

“I’ll survive,” Alison sighed.  “I just wish it wasn’t right after I got here.  I would have liked a few days to get used to the place.”  After a moment of silence, she added, “If you want to take more days off to be with your sister, I guess it will be okay.  I can handle things here for a while.”

“Let’s see how Betty’s doing before we make plans like that.”  Wilma studied Alison’s forlorn face.  She wished she was at liberty to tell all to the poor child so that she could ease her fears, but her instructions were clear.  She was to keep silent and let things evolve as they may. She took a deep breath, “Why don’t we spend the rest of the night going over what I think this place needs to get it up to speed. Then, you can spend tomorrow shopping all day.  Fort Oglethorpe should have most of what you need, but Chattanooga is only a few miles over the border. You could even grab dinner there, so that, when you get home, all you’ll want to do is take a shower and go to bed.”

Alison agreed that Wilma’s plan was a good one.  They spent the remainder of the evening going through her great aunts’ desk to discover what stores the estate had accounts with. Alison was still not completely settled in with the estate’s affairs or its bank account.  She had a meeting scheduled with the estate lawyer the following week, but, until then, she had to rely upon her own meager savings or the estates credit to acquire whatever was needed.

She was happy to discover that several stores in the nearby city of Fort Oglethorpe carried accounts for the estate. Since organization was a necessity to Alison -almost to the point of her being obsessive about it- she ended the night by following Wilma around the house with her tablet in hand and creating a list of what needed to be purchased in the column of the respective store.