For some reason after returning from Hill House I found that I had begun to do more abstract expressionist paintings. It's like the experience at the house had unlocked the abstract part of my brain that saw more than what was normally visible, and I haven't been able to shut it off since. When we first returned home, I didn't want to do anything let alone work. The only time that picked up a pencil or a paintbrush in those first few weeks was to draw Nell. She inspired me I guess.
At that moment I had been sitting on a bench finishing up my latest piece. Jonathan, the director of the Gallery I preferred, was surprised at the change in technique at first but it had grown on him. As I finished up the last of it I felt a pair of hands come to rest on my shoulders. I had the bench so that it was longitudinal which allowed Nell of the option as sliding in behind me, and that's exactly what she did.
"We have to go," she said resting her chin on my shoulder.
"I'm almost done," I told her resuming what I was doing.
"If you don't get dressed we're going to be more than fashionably late," Nell responded. "There's a difference between making an entrance and making a spectacle."
"Are you sure?" I asked putting the paintbrush down. I then stood up and turned around so that I was facing her. "It's just David, and he can bloody well wait for us," I continued.
"Mary and Todd are going to be there as well," Nell responded.
"What ever happened to them?" I asked. "I thought they were suppose to come right back?" I continued making a face.
"Mary had to get surgery on her eye, and Todd had to stay with her," Nell responded. "I told you this last week."
"Really? When?" I asked. I had no recollection of this, none whatsoever.
"When…we were…you know," Nell started to say, her face reddening with every word. "Never mind." I smiled, only one thing made her stutter like that. We must have been engaged in some sort of erotic recreational activity when she told me.
"Come on," I said letting her off the hook. "We wouldn't want to make a spectacle," I continued heading for the bedroom.
If three days into our stay at Hill House, when we found out what was really going on, someone had told me that six months later I would be having dinner with Dr. David Morrow, I would have laughed in their face and demanded a drug test. I had been so angry with him—not even so much for bringing us to the house under false pretenses so that he could scare us, but for letting it go on for so long when he saw what it was doing to Nell. He had been a big help and a pillar of support those days at the hospital when we were waiting for Nell to regain consciousness, but I still couldn't help but be angry with him. Really angry.
The thing was that even though Nell had been through the most—except for poor Luke—she held no grudge against David. In fact she was grateful to him for bringing her there and giving her the opportunity to save the souls of the children Hugh Crane had stolen. And also, as she so gently reminded me, for bringing us together as well. And she was right, on both counts. Even though he had no way of knowing that his actions would have the results they did, good was achieved through his morally dubious expedition and after that I found it hard to maintain the level of hostility I had once held towards him.
"Well I'm all for do-gooding," I said raising my glass to my lips. "Do-gooding will result won't it?" I asked a moment later. The trip to the house may not have turned out the way the good Doctor expected it too, but if there was one thing in that house it was fear, and he got an up close and personal study of it. Enough of a study of it that he was able to write and publish the paper that had been his goal all along. Hence, the dinner party we were currently at.
"I hope so," he responded twirling his wine around in the glass. "The thought that perhaps the knowledge I gained during…our time at Hill House can help others is one of the only things that makes the knowledge of what happened there, and the part that I played in it tolerable."
"You couldn't have known what was going to happen," Nell pointed out in attempt to alleviate David's distress.
"That's true, but Theo was quite right all those months ago. I had no right to lure you all there under false pretenses. There are limits to what men should be allowed to do in the name of science and I overstepped them."
"What happened out there anyway?" Todd asked.
"The question should be, what didn't happen out there?" I said finishing off what was left in glass and getting another. "Because there's not much to say in response to that."
"Could you try?" Todd asked raising an eyebrow. I smiled at him.
"Spontaneous climate changes, thumping walls…" I started checking off points on a mental list.
"Giant fists made out of brass emerging from walls," Nell added.
"Really?" I asked. "I didn't know about that."
"It was when I ran away," she responded shrugging.
"Oh," I said frowning a little. "Anyway, there was also ghosts hanging from rafters, and bloody foot prints…and that's before things started to get really weird."
"I knew it," Mary said softly. "I could feel it from the moment we walked into the house. There was evil inside."
"See, all I got from it at first was creepy," I responded shaking my head. "But, it didn't mean much to me at the time because I get the same feeling when I walk into the Pottery Barn."
That comment caused a few snickers to go around the table, but Nell was amused for an entirely different reason. She found the comment funny because she knew that I had never set foot inside of a Pottery Barn and that I had no plans to rectify that situation.
"So it was an actual, honest to God haunted house?" Todd asked. He couldn't seem to quite wrap his mind around the idea.
"Not even Mortisha and Gomez would have wanted to live in this place," I responded. "Are you upset that you missed the opportunity to have five…possibly even six years shaved off of your life expectancy? Cause I'd trade ya," I continued.
"I'll pass," Todd responded. "I think I saw my fair share of blood for that trip."
Mary's eye twitched when he said that, and he had the good grace to look regretful.
"How is your eye?" Nell asked gently looking over at Mary.
"It's fine," Mary responded smiling a little. "There was a plastic surgeon on call and he pretty much took care of any cosmetic damage there may have been," she continued. "It's just that when I think about it…" she started to say but she trailed off.
"Trust me, I'm right there with you," I told her. "I mean, I for one am never going to look at a gargoyle the same way ever again in life."
There was a bay window in the hallway of David's house and after what seemed like a zillion games of go-fish I retreated out into the hallway to look through them. I must only have been out there for two or three minutes when I felt a presence come up behind me. Turning around I saw David standing behind me.
"Three time loser?" I asked smiling slightly.
"Yeah. I'm really more of a poker man myself," he responded before joining me in my vigil. "Nell's looking well," he commented a few moments later. "I was worried about her."
"She's dealt with everything exceptionally well," I related. "Once we got back to the city, I was the one falling apart."
"So, having her go back with you worked out well?" he asked shuffling his feet a little before settling into a stance that looked anything but casual.
"Better than I could have hoped for," I responded smiling. "It's been good for Nell to get away from the She-demon's influence."
"The She-demon?" he asked slightly confused.
"Nell's sister. As you can see I'm not too fond of her. But it's okay, the feeling's mutual. She's even made retirement plans for me. Apparently I can rot in hell for the rest of eternity. That's a bit more long term than I'm considering at the moment so I was forced to suggest she shove that option up her fat ass," I responded.
"Yes, I remember her. We met at the hospital. She's rather…" he stopped searching for a politically correct term.
"Vile?" I offered. He smirked.
"Still suffering from the insomnia?" he asked. I looked up at him, and he lowered his head.
"Yeah," I responded. "But it's getting better. On and off you know. You should be happy to know however that's Nell's has gone completely."
He nodded his head and returned his gaze to the window.
"I have absolutely no idea whether it's appropriate to ask this question or not, but I was wondering…" he started to say but I interrupted him. I knew what he wanted to know.
"The answer is yes," I told him smiling a little.
"I didn't even finish the question," he said looking at me.
"You were going to ask about Nell and I right?" I said meeting his gaze. "Are we more than roommates? The answer's yes." I paused giving him a moment to absorb the confirmation. "Does that bother you?" I asked a moment later.
"No, not at all. Poor Todd's going to be heart broken however, I think he has a bit of a crush on you," he responded smiling.
"No!" I responded sarcastically. David's smile simply grew.
"I had thought as much about you and Nell actually. A few days into the stay I noticed that the two of you became…rather affectionate towards each other."
I smirked. "Did that make it into the paper, too?" I asked. "Day two subjects B and C seem to be gravitating towards each other. Note to self; investigate whether the amplified endorphins produced due to excesses of fear lead to increased hormone levels. If so set up video camera and invite subject A over for beer and nachos," I went on lowering my voice and adopting a contrived façade of academic curiosity.
It took him a moment to realize that I was playing around with him.
"Only two, three pages at the most," he responded finally.
"Good to know," I responded returning my attention out the window.
"I'm happy for you two," he said a moment later. "You both look very happy."
"Happy for us, or happy that something favorable besides your paper resulted from our vacation upstate?" I asked.
"A bit of both I suppose," he answered honestly. "A bit of both."
"Why do I get the feeling that you've joined me on the list of hopeless insomniacs?" I asked a moment later.
"Because I have," he responded with a weary smile. "If you're at all interested I'm thinking of conducting a study."
I stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. He joined in and soon the others came from the living room to see what all of the commotion was about. We tried to tell them, but it was really one of those 'you had to be there' moments.