Sharing Space with a Ghoul

Irie inclined his head. "Yes. I am fine here. Thank you for your concern. Did you... find the keys? I left them. Downstairs. Yes." He shifted awkwardly. Small talk was not his strong suit. Saying that was like saying fish had a difficult time walking. "The streets are cleaned once a month. Trash and recycling on Thursdays. There is a list of recycles on the refrigerator." He hesitated. "I think."

He looked down and resisted the urge to shuffle his feet. He really should learn how to talk to people. He used to be good at talking, though not really communicating. Now he had to actually talk to this person he was sharing a house with. Or he could hide upstairs and lock the door. Oh, that was a good idea! After the cheese and wine.
 
“Yeah I found the keys. Thanks for the info.” Lulu could almost feel the awkwardness seeping out through the small slit of the doorway. It was starting to get infectious and she was getting the distinct impression he really didn’t want her here.

“Alright, I’ll get going then. You hold the fort here and I’ll get our food and stuff.” She turned and walked back down the stairs, a little less bounce in her step than usual. Back on the ground floor, she glance up the stairs one more time, then moved through the house, closing all the windows and even pulling the blinds back over the lovely front window. Maybe her not changing too much all at once would make Irie feel a little better about having her around.

Collecting her car keys and stuffing her wallet into her pocket, she stepped back outside and quietly closed the door behind her. She paused on the porch, letting the sunshine warm her face and her spirits, before jumping down to the driveway and climbing into her truck. Phone tucked into its holder and the navigation system online, she backed out of the drive and trundled down the street towards the nearest grocery store.
 
Irie moved the blinds to peer out from his second-floor sanctuary to watch the new girl leave. This was going to be strange. Very strange. And yet... there was something odd about her. More than just the fact that she was the first true life he had had in here in ages, something about her felt... different. He could not put his finger on it. She wasn't like anyone who had lived here before - and there had been quite a few people through here in the past twenty or so years. He twitched the blinds closed as he faded back into the blackness.

~~~

The store was a homey little place. They had nearly everything you could possibly want, but only a small quantity of each item. The manager was a jolly old man who played Santa Claus every year, and he was happy to order more of whatever might strike your fancy. Provided you pay up-front. Jolly was not business naive. Only a few people were in at this time of day. A couple of teenage boys who were living up to the stereotype that gave teens everywhere a bad name, two or three mothers with children too young for school, and a couple of retirees of which the gentlemen were perusing the hardware section. Quiet and peaceful (other than whatever aisle the young teens happen to be on at the moment).

A grandmotherly type was peering at her list as she walked with her cart, and she walked right into Lulu on accident. "Oh dearie me! Oh my, I am so terribly sorry!" she gushed earnestly as she reached out with trembling, wrinkled hands to help. "Did I hurt you, dearie? I am so sorry!"
 
Lulu could have kissed her phone when it managed to direct her right to the place she wanted without giving up on her. Having been at around 70% battery the chance of it dying again was very slim, but she was very grateful nonetheless. From outside the store looked almost too small to deliver all that google proclaimed, but on entering Lulu found that there truly was almost everything a household could want stocked here, although in lesser quantities than one might be used to from a large chain brand. She decided to have a look around to get a feel for the place before lugging around a large shopping cart. In passing she gave the group of teens a cheeky wink and a salute, smiled at the women and waved or stuck her tongue out at their kids and nodded to the elderly gentlemen who seemed to be entertaining themselves separately while their wives shopped.

On her way back out to get a cart, she turned the corner of one of the aisles just as someone else was coming out of it, resulting in her crashing headlong into the cart they were pushing in front of them. More out of surprise than pain, a loud “Ow!” escaped her as she was knocked off balance and had to grab onto a shelf to prevent herself from toppling right into the cart. She was about to utter a few choice swearwords when she saw who was standing at the other end of the cart and promptly clamped her mouth shut, hotfixed the direction her brain had started going in and said instead,

“Oh goodness I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you alright?” Realising she and the old were talking over each other in their worry, she had to laugh. “I’m fine, really, please don’t worry, it’s not your fault. I might have ended up as a part of your shopping but I get the feeling even that wouldn’t have been a too terrible fate.”
 
The old woman smiled, the tension easing from her bony shoulders as she realized the girl was not hurt. "Dear me, no! I do not think I would have complained at all," she chuckled softly. She paused and studied Lulu, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I know everyone in town, but I cannot say I recognize you, dear. Are you new here?" She smiled, greying-blue eyes glinting hopefully, but hopeful of what? Probably just a friendly talk.
 
Lulu looked into the eyes that had not lost either their sharpness or their lustre, despite the age lines crinkling the skin around them and couldn’t help but smile back. The old lady seemed so very genuine in her concern and the relief that she was unhurt and the general grandmotherly vibe around her made Lulu feel that she couldn’t have made a better first acquaintance. She knew this kind of person, who for whatever reason led slightly restricted lives. They were always so eager to hear of new things of any sort. She supposed a new arrival in a small town would be quite the attraction to such people and she was more than happy to oblige.

“Yes I am. My name is Luella Whitacker, but most people just call me Lulu. I just moved here today. Well, I moved, can’t say the same about my stuff yet, but that should hopefully be arriving tomorrow. Anyway my new house mate doesn’t have much food in the house right now so I volunteered to go get things and get to know the area a bit better.” She was quite proud of the circumscription of the whole situation back in the little red farmhouse and hoped it would satisfy the old womans first surge of curiosity. She got the impression that she was more than just a little nosey and meddeling if given the chance.
 
"Oh, how wonderful!" the old woman smiled, clapping her hands. "It is absolutely wonderful to meet you, Luella Whitacker! My name is Susan Pines, and I in a little blue house at the top of the hill, just short of the twin pine trees growing in a V shape." She named a house two houses away from where Luella lived now.

The old lady paused, thinking a moment. "Please, who is your roommate? I had not heard of anyone moving in, and my children usually tell me things like that." She gave a sheepish smile. "I had twelve children, forty-two grandchildren, and fourteen great-grand children. Many of them still live here in town, though many more have gone to seek their fortunes. They write to me a lot."
 
“Just Lulu please, everyone calls me that so I don’t always realise its me when people say Luella. The name is far too sophisticated for me anyway.” Lulu tilted her head in thought at the description of the house, “I think I might have passed that house on the way here. I’m not sure though, I was rather focussed on my GPS to tell the truth.” She grinned sheepishly. Had a cop been out on the streets and seen her, she probably would have been pulled over, she had been staring at the screen almost constantly in fear that it might die on her again.

She was a little stunned to hear Susans child count. “Gee, and I thought my family back home was large. You and your family must make up about half the population of this town. It must be lovely to get so many letters, not a lot of people make the time and effort to sit down and actually write one anymore. I always thought it was a pity, letters are such a wonderful thing to find in the mail, more special than an email somehow. My housemate is called Irie-“ She paused frowning a little, “Irie - something starting with s? - no with c? - Well that’s not at all embarrassing. I’ve already forgotten his name….” She trailed off, brow furrowing further as she tried to remember. “Damn! I’ll have to look it up.” She mumbled the last bit more to herself than Susan.
 
The old woman smiled, clearly pleased with Lulu's praise of her children and her acknowledgement of letter-writing. She shook her head sagely at the admission to staring at her phone. Children these days and their phones! She paused, though, frowning a little at the name. "Irie? Such an unusual name. Irie... there used to be an Irie, I recall, but not near here. Ah, wait, are you now residing in that lovely little red house? How marvolous! Then we must have two newcomers as that house has been sitting vacant for, oh, I would say maybe six months? The owners have a landscaping company come to take care of things, though the company shut down not long ago, and it appears no one has come to replace them. Let's see, the Johnsons lived there with two children, and before them were the Haggerds, and then the Landons, and the Goodman's... There have been so many people coming and going in that house over the past twenty years or so! No one stays long. They claim it is haunted or cursed by the old witch who used to live there." Susan Pines laughed merrily. "Such nonsense! But it is much older than its appearance would lead you to believe."
 
“It’s certainly red, although I don’t know if it’s the one you mean. I was under the impression that Irie had been there for a while before applying for a roommate, so maybe we’re talking of different houses. And I wouldn’t be surprised that not many people know the guy, he seems to be a bit shy of going outside.” Lulu didn’t want to start spreading stories about her housemate to the first person she met, especially not someone like Susan, who despite being friendly enough seemed to be a bit of a gossip, so she tried to nudge the conversation in a slightly different direction.

“A haunted house does sound exiting. Why did people think the old owner was a witch?”
 
"Oh, you know how the old stories start," Susan chuckled, waving a hand. "Once a woman of a certain age starts to look a bit haggard, owns more than one cat, and tends to keep to herself, all sorts of stories start to fly! Although," and here she lowered her voice and leaned in with a twinkle in her eye, "when I was younger, I would walk past the house, and I would swear to you that sometimes some very strange things seemed to be happening! Odd glowing lights, noises you could just hear, things moving about that shouldn't be moving. Of course," she straightened again, "it could all be perfectly logical. After all, any ordinary life can look strange to an outsider!"

Mrs. Pines checked the thin gold watch on her skinny arm. "Oh, is that the time? Dearie me! Please excuse me, dear, but I really must be going. I hope to see you again, and drop by any time you like! I am sorry, my mind is not what it used to be. What was your name again?"
 
Lulu had to laugh at the description. The crazy cat lady was a trope she knew quite well, having had a similar specimen in the neighbourhood during her childhood. She was about to share this when the old lady looked at her watch. As she did so, Lulu realised that they had been standing around in the store chatting for quite a while now.

“Of course, please don’t let me keep you. My name is Luella, I don’t blame you for forgetting, it’s not the easiest to remember. It was wonderful to meet you Mrs. Pines and I will certainly take you up on that offer at some point. Good day to you.”
 
"Good day, dear, and welcome to our lovely little town!" Mrs. Pines said before trundling away with her cart. The teens from earlier were horsing around in the main aisle, but they pulled up short when they saw Mrs. Pines. She gave them a stern look then smiled and went on her way.
 
Lulu had to smile, seeing the old woman treated with respect even by the rowdy teens. It seemed she had made a new friend, and one who had a certain amount of influence in this town by the looks of things. She ducked back outside to grab a cart and wandered through the aisles, piling anything she thought might be needed into the cart. It was quite a lot. Almost all food basics had been missing from the kitchen, the cleaning supplies in the cupboard had been running low and the downstairs bathroom had no toilet paper. She was sure Irie would have had some if she asked, but didn’t want to bother him for something so small.

She also took extra time picking out the cheese and the wine for Irie from the small selection of both the store offered. She wasn’t much of a wine drinker, so the various descriptions on the bottles didn’t help much, but she did her best. The cheese was easier, she picked up a variety, including some milder ones for herself. As she was choosing them, a scene from the movie ratatouille floated into her mind, of the little chef rat sitting on the restaurant steps, enjoying cheese and exploring the taste combinations with a various fruit. She had always liked the way the movie had done that, with the music and colourful sparks representing each flavour. Backtracking, she grabbed a bundle of grapes and a box of strawberries to go with the cheese before pushing her fully laden cart to the register.
 
The blank-eyed cashier rang up her purchases without comment other than the usual robotic greetings. Then he came to the wine and paused to look at it and her suspiciously. "Do you have an ID?" he asked as if he suspected her of some sort of terrorism. He, himself, did not look any older than Lulu, but the way he eyes her said he was well on his way to perfecting the "curmudgeonly old man in a rocking chair yelling at people to get off his lawn," look.

The young mother behind Lulu took note of the situation, and it wasn't long until the newcomer to the town was the center of attention. It was like a soap opera and everyone was expecting her to be this episode's troubled youngster in need of turning around. Or Jesus, or a smacked bottom, or a dramatic arrest, depending on the soap opera.
 
The sullen return to Lulus chipper greeting didn’t faze her much. Being a cashier was hardly very interesting or fulfilling job and certainly not one she would ever want to do, so she couldn’t really blame the guy. It also didn’t surprize her that he took one look at the bottles and immediately asked to see her ID. She was often told she looked much younger than she was and by now she wasn’t sure she could still take it as a compliment. She was 27 for crying out loud, shouldn’t she look at least a little mature by now? Still, he was only doing his job and she couldn’t really fault him for that, even if his tone and attitude weren’t exactly the nicest.

She was about to pull her wallet out of her pocket when the lady in line behind her, who was probably no older than she was, cut in rather more loudly than was necessary. Lulu couldn’t even get a word in to explain the situation as the woman let loose a torrent of scoldings more fit for a preteen interspersed with what might have been pitying remarks about how such a sweet looking girl could have stooped so low. It could also have been death-threats and Lulu wouldn’t even have noticed, as she had stopped listening after the first five words.

What she did notice however, was that in no time at all, what seemed to be the rest of the patrons in the store had congregated around them, adding their own comments, advice or whatever else. Lulu wished Susan Pines was still in the vicinity. She had a feeling the old woman would have whipped the whole shop into shape if need be. It seemed she would have to be her own guardian angel. Clearing her throat quietly in preparation, she hoped she didn’t wake the toddler in the stroller the first woman was pushing almost onto Lulus feet. It was quite the miracle that the child was still asleep.

She raised her voice in a tone accustomed to cutting through the cacophany of industrial machines. “Excuse me! Not that it concerns any of you, but I have my ID here and it quite clearly states that I am more than old enough to purchase whatever I like.” She pushed her ID under the cashiers uninterested nose. Hopefully he would get the hint and finish her transaction; somehow she didn’t feel like hanging around much longer.

“Please don’t accuse someone of something based solely on assumptions.”
 
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The cashier grudging finished ringing her up and put the bottles in their appropriate paper bags. The observers of the little store drama were muttering amongst themselves seeming eerily like theater patrons judging the actions of the thespians. Some were nodding, others were frowning and shaking their heads, but most were just watching with mild curiosity.

The cashier named her total. "Can I interest you in signing up for our rewards program?" he asked in a toneless voice. Behind Lulu, the other shoppers were starting to grumble about the wait.
 
“Uh, not today, thanks. Maybe another time.”

Lulu held her card against the machine, glad to hear it beep in confirmation. That really would have been the icing on the cake if her card got rejected now. Stuffing both cards back into their slots in her wallet, she started heaving the many bags back into her trolley to get them to her car. The mean little part of her brain wanted to tell the people that if they wanted things to go quicker, they shouldn’t make such a spectacle and maybe help her, but she held her tongue, not wanting to make more enemies than she likely already had.

It took quite a few “Excuse me, coming through please.” Before she managed to push her cart through the throng of people and out the door to the parking lot. She had the feeling that some people were still watching her, maybe even following her outside to get a better view, but resisted the urge to turn around and check.
 
No one had followed her out, though there were more than a few curious glances her way. New faces were unusual enough to warrant a second look, though not strange enough for suspicion. They let her go about her way, everyone else now intent on going their own way.
 
Lulu trundled her way home, still a little bemused at the turn of events at the grocery store. Remembering Susan Pines’ description of her house, she kept an eye out for the forked tree and was pretty sure she spotted it and the cosy looking blue house behind it. Peerhaps she would go check if it was the right house at some point in the near future.

Pulling into the driveway of the red house she would now call her own, she had to notice the difference to the blue one down the street. While the Pines home looked warm and inviting, with lace curtains peeking out of the windows and lovely flowerboxes in front, this one, while still in good condition, had an air of loneliness and isolation, probably due to the shuteyed look the blackout blinds covering all the windows gave it. Lulu decided that that would have to change, no matter what Irie said about it.

Turning off her car, she hopped out and started to unpack the countless bags of groceries. As she put the first bags on the counter in the kitchen she called in a general upwards direction. “I’m back! I’ll put your stuff in the fridge if you don’t want it right now.” Before ducking back outside to get the next load of bags.
 
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