The End

You can hear that, can't you?  Honestly, if that's Wilson - I don't...It's really not amusing, I will have to make that very clear to him, I'm sure he wouldn't do it if he knew how it upsets me.  Sometimes he has a such an adolescent sense of humor.  Oh my, it's getting louder.  It's very silly of me, I know, to be afraid.  Not that I'm really afraid...My nerves have been a bit on edge lately - I'm sure it's from spending too much time with that gossipy Britt Genesse.  How she insinuated herself into my life, I don't know.  I think I'm just too kind-heart -

Oh, it's a horrible sound!  Please, could you contact someone for me?  Our phone doesn't seem to work - There's a terrible storm outside...That must be what it is, a cat trying to get in at the window.  We don't believe in those cell phones, they're so plebian.  Honestly, I don't believe that most of the people you see with them are actually talking to anyone, they just want to impress you.  I wouldn't mind having one now though, I have to confess.

Please, could you send someone here?  Oh, I hear someone now - is that the door?  I can't

We're sorry.  That story won't be continued. 

Traffic

Maybe it's the time of day, that in-between time when it's still light, but the color is fading...At any rate, my eyes aren't what they used to be.  Not that I have any trouble driving, I'm an excellent driver and have the unblemished record to prove it.  But honestly, sometimes they do play tricks.  

Yesterday as I was driving home from work I was slowing down near the intersection of Main and Great Road.   I happened to glance in the rear view mirror, I think I often do that at stoplights...I couldn't really make out the face of the person in the car behind me.  Well, I could and I couldn't.  The thing is, there were reflections on the windshield, and of course I don't keep my rear window as clean as I should.  I swear, though, for a moment what I saw was a grey, elongated face, or at least what used to be a face:  There were dark holes where the eyes should have been, and the mouth was another dark hole, rounded and open...Honestly, I did quite a double take.  But then I could see that the person at the wheel was wearing  a hood, you know, one of those "hoodie" things, I think they call them.  And maybe dark glasses.  It did give me a start, though.  And I was so distracted that I missed my turn and ended up getting a little lost - which was very hard to explain to Ben when I got home - How could I have gotten lost so close to home?

Visitor

I don't live in Megg's Field neighborhood, of course.  I wouldn't - It's...you know, the houses are fairly new.  It's essentially a subdivision and the houses lack character.  You might say the same for the people who DO live there, as well.  Oh, that's rather catty of me and that's not like me at all; it must be the influence of Britt Genesse making me say such a thing.  

Britt is a nice enough young lady but she does like to gossip.  Sometimes I have to interrupt her and get her on another topic, to keep her from going on about her neighbors.   Just last week she was going on about Edith Bergland, she's the one in that faded blue house on the corner, you know the one - I heard they're in over their heads with their mortgage, what a pity - and the house is so ordinary looking.  Why do people over-reach like that?  Although I don't suppose buying any house in Megg's Field would qualify as over-reaching...But for that type, well - !  I really think some people should be satisfied with renting.  Not all of us can be as fortunate as Wilson and myself.

Anyway, Britt told me a rather odd story, although I don't imagine there's really anything to it:  Edith came home the other day, very tired from her job at some store, I don't know what she does, probably a clerk or something equally meaningless.  She hardly has the appearance of someone who does anything remotely interesting!  It was what I think of as "l'heure bleu".  That's French, it means "blue hour".  You know, that time of day after the sun goes down but before it's dark.  And she was tired, of course, from her day of drudgery.   Well, she was standing outside her house looking around idly and happened to glance up at one of the windows, I think Britt said it was a master bedroom window, not that that makes any difference.  And she saw her husband Ben moving about inside.  Innocent enough.  Except that just a second later, he greeted her from the far side of his truck, where he'd just gotten out and was letting his dog out of the passenger side.

Edith said that she and Ben went inside and had dinner.  She looked up at the window once more as they headed inside, but no one was there.

Well, Britt seemed to think Edith was rather rattled by her little "hallucination".  That's what happens when you lead a boring little life and come home to a boring little house, I suppose.