Monday October 22, 2012
The Nest- Driveway
Indianapolis, Indiana
4:10 PM Local Time
The Nest looked different.
It wasn’t the first time that thought had occurred to Daniel Pollaski during the month of October, and he doubted it would be the last- at least until he could figure out exactly what made the Thompson famly dwelling seem so... odd.
As he pulled into the driveway, he looked up at the house again, biting his lip as he looked up at the two-story suburban dwelling. Try as he might, he was vexed. What was it about the damn house that seemed so different? So... lifeless?
Well, it was a fairly gloomy day, Pollaski thought, looking up at the overcast skies that left in no doubt that summer had come to an end long ago in the crossroads of America. But, no.. the house had seemed odd and depressing even on sunny days. So what was it?
Shrugging, Pollaski flung open his car door, and climbed out of his Saturn, stretching slightly as he stood upright. Scratching his rear in a most undignified manner, the thirty year old manager began trudging up the driveway towards the house.
He paused as he heard a loud banging sound, and something white and fluttery caught his eye. He glanced to his left at the neighbor’s house- it was a windsock, painted to look like a smiling ghost, fluttering in the light breeze. He glanced back at the Thompson house.
At least now he knew what was so weird about the place.
Although many houses decorated for holidays, Terrence and Wendy (well, mainly Terrence) tended to go a bit overboard. Terrence considered the Holidays a failure if the Pike Creek Subdivision didn’t get buzzed at least once by an airplane trying to land at the house. It had gotten to the point that Terrence had bought a snowmaking machine for Christmas.
Halloween should be no different, but the house was barren of decor, save for a small wreath of dried flowers on the front door, and a couple pots of flowers (now dead thanks to the first frost) on the porch. Where normally there would have been orange lights on the house was only painted trim, and instead of several rows of tombstone with macabre puns for names etched into them, only sat browning grass.
Curious, Pollaski thought, as he took it in. Then again, it had been a busy month for the Thompsons, what with Wendy’s concussion, their ani.”niversary, and the last couple of races of the ARCA Season. Maybe they just hadn’t had time.
The banging sounded again, echoing through the houses of the neighborhood. Pollaski bit his lower lip, again pausing. The sounds seemed to be coming from the Thompson’s backyard. The obese manager gave a small shrug. Might as well investigate.
Pollaski walked around the side of the house, slipping through a gate in the fence. To his surprise,the backyard more resembled a construction zone. Bits of plywood and two-by-fours littered the lawn, and several tools- some powered- lay about. Pollaski’s eyes followed one bright orange extention cord across the lawn to a tree, then up the trunk through the branches and inside the treehouse that sat nestled across several of the more sturdy limbs. Beneath the treehouse stood Theresa, who was looking up as more pounding echoed across the neighborhood.
“Hey, Theresa!” Pollaski greeted the brown haired six-year old. “That your dad up there.”
Theresa nodded. “Dad’s making the treehouse better. And hiding from Mom.”
Pollaski snorted. “Really? Why’s he hiding from your mom?”
“Because Mom’s gone street-rat psycho.” Theresa replied with a shrug.
“Theresa!” Terrence’s voice came booming down from the treehouse. “What have I told you about saying that?”
Theresa bit her lip, and looked down at the ground. “Sorry.”
“Your mother is not a street rat,” Terrence reprimanded her, then smiled apologetically down at Pollaski. “I have no idea where she ever got that kind of talk from.”
There were two suspects in Pollaski’s mind, and he knew he was innocent- at least in this case as he smirked up at his best friend and former client.
Terrence shrugged. “I said that about her boss once. Not the evil ginger one... the other one. Not Cody either... the chick.”
“Amanda Saint?”
“That’s the one! She was crazy. And stupid.” se
“That she was,” Pollaski agreed. “So why are you hiding from Wendy?”
“I’m NOT hiding from her.” Terrence protested, shooting his daughter a warning look. “She told me I should get some work done outside, and voila, I’m getting some work done outside!”
“But I thought she wanted you to clean the leaves out of the gutters,” Theresa reminded him, earning another nasty glare.
“Hey, this is similar,” Terrence insisted with a wink to his daughter. “Besides, what would you rather I do? Clean the icky leaves out of the icky gutters, or get cable TV in your treehouse?”
“You’re putting Cable TV in the treehouse?” Pollaski asked.
“And Wi-Fi!” Theresa agreed excitedly. “Then Dad and I can sit up there and watch TV instead of dealing with the weird people who don’t like electricity.”
“Oh, yeah, Wendy’s Aunt’s coming,” Pollaski muttered, then looked up. “I can’t believe you’re getting electricity and cable television in a treehouse. Are you going to get a space heater too, for the winter?”
“Of course not, don’t be ridiculous.” Terrence snapped.
“The big dumb man from the city wouldn’t let him,” Theresa added with a giggle. “And he made him pay a bunch of money for not having a permit!”
Terrence glared down at his daughter. “I think you and I are going to have a talk about not telling everyone things about your parents.”
“You have to have a permit to build a treehouse?” Pollaski asked, puzzled.
“Apparently,” Terrence growled. “Although it would have been nice had my neighbors told me, INSTEAD OF SNITCHING ON ME TO THE CITY BUILDING INSPECTOR!”
There was no doubt which of the Thompson’s neighbors had turned him in, as Terrence’s voice was clearly directed to the house directly behind them. Theresa giggled, having obviously heard her father’s tirade against the nosy neighbors before.
“Terrence, for the love of God, please don’t yell at the neighbors,” a female voice said in exasperation. All three of the backyard’s occupants turned to regard the newcomer, who was certainly less amused than her counterparts.
“What are you even doing up there?” Wendy Briese demanded, her hands on her hips as she stared up at the treehouse.
“Making some improvements to Theresa’s treehouse.” Terrence responded happily, holding up the hammer in his hand as if that explained it all.
“With coaxial cable?” Wendy asked, holding up a roll of the thick black wiring. “What, you’re going to watch television in a tree fort, Terrence?”
“I thought it’d be a good idea with Margaret coming. Then you and her and the rest of the Amish can do the seventeenth century thing, and I can watch the Colts up here!
“So that’s your plan? You’re just going to hide in a tree for a month to avoid my relatives?” Wendy asked, the expression on her face indicating that she was not anywhere near impressed with her husband’s ingenuity. “Terrence, I thought you were going to do something PRODUCTIVE... like cleaning out the gutters, or winterizing the sprinkler system, or...”
“How is this not productive?” Terrence countered. “Theresa’s going to be the most popular girl in school once everyone figures out that she has a treehouse with an HD TV, and a minifridge stocked with Sunny Delight.”
“A minifridge?” Pollaski asked, clearly impressed.
“Not nearly as much of a fire hazard as a space heater!” Terrence replied, grinning.
Wendy still wasn’t impressed. “You mean once she stops being grounded and is allowed to have any friends over again,” she saidu, glancing down at her daughter. Her emerald eyes glances over to Pollaski, as if she’d only now just noticed him. “What are you doing here?”
Even the often irritating Pollaski figured out that Wendy wasn’t much in a mood for games. Quickly he reached into the breast pocket of his T-shirt, pulling out a USB flash drive and presenting it to her. “Some footage of Kitty Stryfe’s last few matches for scouting. I annotated some things to look out for.”
“Thanks,” Wendy replied, looking down at the flash drive for a second, and then pocketing it. She sighed. “Going to be a busy week, that’s for sure. Then again, when have we NOT had a busy week lately?” she added with a small smile, although she couldn’t quite resist another dig at her husband. “All the more reason we should be using our time WISELY.”
“Seriously, this is totally awesome. If there was a Nobel Prize for treehouse architecture, I would win it. Unanimously.” Terrence retorted.
But Wendy was no longer paying any attention, and instead was looking at her daughter. “Come on, Theresa. I want you to help me clean the kitchen. Aunt Margaret is arriving in just over a week, and we are going to get this house clean!”
That was hardly how the little girl had been planning on spending her afternoon, and her expression clearly indicated that. Evidently, Wendy wasn’t impressed with her daughter’s attitude, and she fixated her with a glare. “I’m serious, Theresa. Get in the house.”
As soon as she turned back around to look up at the tree house, Theresa started to trudge away, turning around and mouthing a “told you” towards Pollaski, wheeling about-face just before Wendy shot a second glance in her direction, avoiding further annoying her mother. Wendy turned back to look up at her husband. She looked about to say something, but instead merely sighed, shook her head, and followed her daughter back into the house.
“Wow. She’s a bit on edge, isn’t she?” Pollaski said after both mother and daughter had entered the house, and shut the door.
“Tell me about it,” Terrence sighed, rolling his eyes. “Between this upcoming Femme For All, and her Aunt coming to visit, she’s edgier than hell. She wouldn’t even let me put up Halloween decorations, because she’s afraid it’s going to offend the Amish.”
“So *that’s* why you haven’t decorated. But it’s *your* house,” Pollaski replied. “If they don’t want to be offended by our modern living, they should stay the hell back in Pennsylvania.”
“I know, dude.” Terrence sighed. “But you know how she gets, and it’s not worth arguing with her.”
“That’s why you’re turning the treehouse into some weird outdoor den?” Pollaski asked, grinning.
Terrence grinned back. “Well, I have to have SOMEWHERE to escape, right?” he asked. “Otherwise, this is going to be a VERY long month.”
“Aye,” agreed Pollaski, looking back at the house. “A very long month.”
“Just you make sure she doesn’t lose to Kitty,” Terrence said, and sighed. “I think if that happens, it’s going to be even longer.”
Pollaski bit his lip, and gave his best reassuring smile. “I’ll do my best.” He said.
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