Rosanne Olson was confused. She was also scared. It wasn't like her husband Mike to make any major decisions without talking them over first with her and buying a house most definitely qualified as a major decision. "Why wouldn't you discuss this with me?" she asked Mike, doing her best to keep both hurt and suspicion out of her voice.
"Because it's a great deal and I wanted to snap it up," Mike replied. "Steve and Dee Dee's house is perfect for us, Rosanne. Not too big but bigger than this one and it's got that great view. We can sit and look at the lake while we drink our coffee every morning. You've always wanted to live on the lake, haven't you?"
"Well, yes..."
"So why are you acting like I've bought a condo overlooking a garbage dump instead of a nice house overlooking the lake?"
"It's just that it's a surprise, Mike. Plus the house happens to be haunted."
"That's ridiculous."
"Not according to everyone in town. Mary Austin died in that house and she's haunting it. I don't know if I want to live there."
"Don't be silly, Rosanne! This is a golden opportunity for us."
"It doesn't bother you that a woman was murdered there?"
"It doesn't exactly thrill me but I can handle it. Now come on; be happy about this. I bought that house for you--for us. We aren't getting any younger, Rosanne. This is our chance to live some place we can truly enjoy."
Rosanne still wasn't convinced. It was just that her husband was not an impulsive person and this was such an impulsive move. "When does the sale go through?"
"We're going to close as fast as we can. Steve is anxious to get out of Schuyler Square. I guess small town living wasn't everything he'd thought it would be."
Another thought hit Rosanne. "What about our house?"
"I thought the kids could live here until we decide what we want to do about it. They can pay us rent and we'll use the rent to pay the mortgage on our new house."
Since Mike's mind was clearly made up, Rosanne stopped arguing. It was useless anyway. She only hoped that living in the house where Mary Austin had died wasn't going to scare her to death too...
No comments:
Post a Comment