REVENGE
A gallon of gas and a lit match. And this house would be history. So I kept thinking as I stood in the living room of the house. The house. I tried to think of it as just “the house.” The house I’d just bought. And—even after paying $190,000—the house I was sorely tempted to burn down.
This house was once a family home. It was built by my grandparents, and later my uncle owned it, until five years ago. That history left a lot of unhappy memories. So I was less than thrilled when Stacy chose this house.
Oh, well. This house was for Stacy to use, and it would work for her needs. That was all that really mattered. I was only writing the checks.
“I keep thinking of how ideal this house is!” Stacy said. “Good layout inside. Great location. It couldn’t be better!”
The doorbell rang. I winced. The sound of the 1950s tubular chimes threatened to pull me back in time. Back to when Uncle Roderick liked to sit in his favorite recliner and tell me that I was a loser.
I went to the door. It was Aunt Di.
“Kurt!” she snarled, as she stormed in. “You are back in town. You are the mysterious buyer of our old family home!”
“It’s not much of a mystery.”
“If I’d known you’d be the buyer, I’d have come over and lit the place on fire! Instead of seeing you get it!”
Funny how her fantasy aligned with mine.
“Who is this woman?” she asked.
“A business partner.”
“A business I wouldn’t approve of. I'm sure.”
I was sure, too. She’d never approved of anything I did. At one time, she said I’d never amount to anything. When I became a multimillionaire, she said I could have done better. Then, I was certain she’d be downright livid when she learned our plans for this house.
“Just try to keep the house nice. Your uncle’s nursing home uses this road when they take residents out. I know he always looks here.”
He’d hate looking at it very soon.
Aunt Di stormed out.
“I see what you mean,” Stacy said. “She is terrible.”
“She always has been. In fact, almost the whole family treated Mom and me like garbage when we had to move back here when Mom lost her job. They never had any compassion for anyone facing hard times. They also never forgot that Mom got pregnant with me and didn’t marry her creep boyfriend. Even though he was abusive.”
“Abusive boyfriend?”
“Yes. I never knew him, but I heard how bad it was. Which is a reason why I was so interested in helping you start this safe house.”
“It’s interesting that this house turned up like it did,” Stacy said. “It feels almost like a cosmic thing. A sort of payback to an uncaring family having their old home turned into a safe house.”
This house was once a family home. It was built by my grandparents, and later my uncle owned it, until five years ago. That history left a lot of unhappy memories. So I was less than thrilled when Stacy chose this house.
Oh, well. This house was for Stacy to use, and it would work for her needs. That was all that really mattered. I was only writing the checks.
“I keep thinking of how ideal this house is!” Stacy said. “Good layout inside. Great location. It couldn’t be better!”
The doorbell rang. I winced. The sound of the 1950s tubular chimes threatened to pull me back in time. Back to when Uncle Roderick liked to sit in his favorite recliner and tell me that I was a loser.
I went to the door. It was Aunt Di.
“Kurt!” she snarled, as she stormed in. “You are back in town. You are the mysterious buyer of our old family home!”
“It’s not much of a mystery.”
“If I’d known you’d be the buyer, I’d have come over and lit the place on fire! Instead of seeing you get it!”
Funny how her fantasy aligned with mine.
“Who is this woman?” she asked.
“A business partner.”
“A business I wouldn’t approve of. I'm sure.”
I was sure, too. She’d never approved of anything I did. At one time, she said I’d never amount to anything. When I became a multimillionaire, she said I could have done better. Then, I was certain she’d be downright livid when she learned our plans for this house.
“Just try to keep the house nice. Your uncle’s nursing home uses this road when they take residents out. I know he always looks here.”
He’d hate looking at it very soon.
Aunt Di stormed out.
“I see what you mean,” Stacy said. “She is terrible.”
“She always has been. In fact, almost the whole family treated Mom and me like garbage when we had to move back here when Mom lost her job. They never had any compassion for anyone facing hard times. They also never forgot that Mom got pregnant with me and didn’t marry her creep boyfriend. Even though he was abusive.”
“Abusive boyfriend?”
“Yes. I never knew him, but I heard how bad it was. Which is a reason why I was so interested in helping you start this safe house.”
“It’s interesting that this house turned up like it did,” Stacy said. “It feels almost like a cosmic thing. A sort of payback to an uncaring family having their old home turned into a safe house.”
