Chapter Three
Ashley looked up at me, her face turned ghostly pale. As much as I hated pranks, I was starting to hope she was trying to pull one. I didn't know what else to say but I could see she was frightened.
"Do you sleep walk?" I asked not knowing how else to explain what she was claiming.
"Not that I know of."
"Well, don't worry about it, that's probably what it was." I said, although I've never known anyone to rearrange a room in their sleep. I wondered if she was thinking the same thing. "Well, lets go get something to eat, I'm hungry."
I tried to act like what had just happened was not that big of a deal. And I still had not ruled out that she was trying to pull a fast one.
She looked around for her clothes and went down to her room to change. When she came into the kitchen she didn't say much.
"I'm frying up some chicken. I've been craving Mom's fried chicken for a few weeks now so I figured now's a good time to make it; with you coming to live with me and all." She smiled and asked where to find the plates and glasses. She set the table and poured our drinks, she placed my glass next to me as I stood over the fryer poking at the chicken making sure it was cooked. She hadn't said more than five words since she came down and I was starting to feel really paranoid.
"Are you okay?" I asked
"Yeah, I'm fine." She was unconvincing.
"Don't worry about it Ash, you were just tired. What was the book you were so interested in up there?" I wanted to get her talking. Maybe if we talked about it I could get clues about what really happened. It was driving me mad not knowing what she was thinking. I knew this was mostly my own guilt, wondering if I was somehow responsible for this. But still, I could tell she was very shaken over it.
"Um, it was actually a diary. The lady that owned it was named Isabelle. All I remember was reading her excitement about a new job in America and she was due to arrive at her new employer's house fairly soon. Mr. Du Bois I think she said."
"Mr. Du Bois, that's definitely French. I wonder if Isabelle owned this place?" I asked.
"I don't know. But the dialect was obviously foreign, She said in the beginning that she was going to write her diary in English so she could practice. And she mentioned that she would miss her family and hoped one day to return to France and visit them."
"That's cool. It'll be neat to learn a little about the history of this place. Where did you find the diary, I'm surprised it was still up there."
"I found it in the back of a drawer of one of the chifforobes."
"Neat. Well I figure tonight we can just relax and get some rest. Then tomorrow if you want, we'll set your room up how you want and you can get settled in. That way Sunday we can watch the Raiders game." I laughed. We are both die-hard Raiders fans and thanks to Direct TV I was able to watch the games weekly.
We finished up with dinner and she washed the dishes. I teased her about the many fights we had when we were younger over who would clean the dishes after dinner. We both hated the chore. I told her I was glad she didn't mind, because I still hated it. She laughed. I asked if she wanted to watch a movie but she decided she was going to turn in for the night. Chicks never want to watch Die Hard; even my own sister. I laughed at the thought.
I woke up on the couch and didn't have a clue of the time. That's what I get for taking so long to unpack, there wasn't a clock in the house. My cell phone read 6:48 AM. I hate waking up early on my day off. Sleeping on the couch was pretty normal for me. Since I moved in, I probably slept on the couch more than my bed. Most of Ashley's luggage was still on the floor. I decided to freshen up with a shower before starting breakfast.
As I prepared breakfast I heard Ashley moving her luggage around. I called her to the kitchen to eat before we got started. Afterwards, we rearranged her furniture to her liking. I left her alone to unpack and get situated. I went downstairs to review some paperwork on a case I'm working on. Before I knew it, several hours had passed. When I went to check on her, she wasn't in her room and the bathroom door was open. The attic door was closed so I didn't think she was up there, but there was no where else she could be. I walked up to the attic and before I could see her I heard the familiar song from the day before.
When I saw her she was wearing another dress from the old collection. She was dusting all of the furniture she had rearranged the day before. The bed was made up and the room was neat and tidy. All of the boxes that had not been unpacked were moved against the wall next to the stairs. She had cleaned the entire attic.
"Wow." I said, amazed at her hard work. "You should have told me you were going to do this, I would have helped." She gasped and spun around to look at me. I startled her. "Oh sorry." I said, "didn't mean to scare you."
"Pardon me sir, I no see you." She spoke with a heavy french accent.
I just smirked, she's playing again.
"Can I help you sir, dinner okay, no?" She asked
"Dinner huh? I haven't had dinner." I played along.
"Oh I sorry sir, you not like what I prepare? You like for me to prepare something different?"
"Wow, your accent sounds real." It really did.
"Oh." She paused. "Thank you sir." She looked confused.
She stood with her hands locked together. She didn't move and only looked down towards the floor. I asked her about the room and why she wanted to rearrange. She wouldn't break character.
"I no understand sir." She was visibly agitated. I was feeling sort of irritated.
"What you going to do the rest of the day?" I asked.
"I try to fix water, it no working." She looked back down at the floor after answering my question.
"I see. Well I'm going to start dinner."
"Thank you Mr. Du Bois." She said
I froze in place. For some reason, when I heard the name Mr. Du Bois, Gale popped in my head. Ashley told me that morning that Mr. Du Bois was Isabelle's employer, the lady whose diary she was reading. Isabelle was from France and came to the U.S. to earn a living. For a moment I wondered if Gale had been right and Ashley really was having some sort of supernatural experience. All I could do is wait for it to wear off or run its course, whatever happened in those cases.
I acted like I was leaving, but I just opened and closed the door. I eased back up the stairs. I wanted to know if Ashley was playing a prank on me. She started humming the same song and resumed dusting off the furniture. I watched for about thirty minutes as she worked. After she finished cleaning off the furniture, she stood before the bed and stretched. She laid down like she was exhausted. I left the attic quietly.
I was watching television and reading when Ashley walked in the room. She was back in her own clothes and looked like she had lots on her mind. I asked her if she had finished dusting.
"What?" She looked at me panicked.
"Did you finish cleaning your second room?" I asked again. "You remind me of when we were kids. You're upstairs playing house with your 19th century dresses." I forced a laugh.
"Clay." She said looking very concerned. "Something is wrong. I don't remember again. Did you see me this time?"
I gave in. If she was playing a prank, I was going to let her win. I acted like I didn't see much the day before. I told her I saw her uncovering and rearranging the furniture. Then I told her about our conversation earlier and how authentic her accent sounded. She looked surprised. She didn't recollect any of what I was saying. We ignored the television and just looked at each other.
"Come on, lets go out and get something to eat. I've never been out around here so it'll be something new."
We drove towards Gramercy looking for a place that looked appetising. We came across a small steak and seafood place and decided that was as good as anything else. I like local spots more than I do the chain restaurants. We were seated right away and our waitress was very friendly; I think her name was Josie. In fact, Josie was so friendly that Ashley and I didn't have time to have our own conversation, which was probably for the best since neither of us were in a mood for talking.
"So where you two come from?" We answered all her questions. We told her about our jobs, how long we'd been in south Louisiana and what we thought of the place. Every time she came to the table she had a new question for us. It's a wonder everyone's food wasn't cold when they got it.
"So where did you say you live again."
"Over in Wallace. There's an old mansion out there I bought. Been around since the late 1800s." I boasted. It wasn't a mansion in today's times, but it was back then.
"Oh you braver than I am, there's a lot of haunted houses in those parts." She said as she walked away. Her statement hit me like a punch in the gut. I looked at Ashley and her expression reflected what I was feeling.
"What are you thinking?" I asked
"I think we need to go see Gale."