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Scene #97
The House of Franelli
Open House
“Hi, I'm Madelyn
Smith of Banker Trust Realty, would you like a tour?” She tossed
her bleach blond hair to one side, forced a smile and made a
sweeping motion with her hand to invite the couple in. “Hi,
I'm Jim Bentz and this is my wife Ellen. Say, this is a rather nice
house inside. I was a bit put off by the green concrete instead of
a front lawn.” “Yes, the house was owned by a concrete
contractor. I debated whether we should remove the concrete and
roll in a lawn.” “Jim!” Ellen whispered, “Did you just pat me
on the butt?” “No.” Jim laughed and furrowed his eyebrows
like he always did when Ellen said something out of the ordinary.
“I also hear voices speaking some foreign language, I think
it's Italian.” She whispered again. Madelyn picked up on the
end of her sentence, “Yes, they were Italian; did you know them?”
“No. How did they die!” Jim glanced at Ellen with a
irritated squint, “What makes you think they died?” “They
were killed in an auto accident over a year ago. You must have read
about it, the whole family went off the road at Devil's Slide into
the Pacific Ocean.” Madelyn explained, her face was drawn with a
sinking feeling of a lost sale. “Jim, I want this house! It's
perfect!” Ellen exclaimed. “I… I don't know. Your freaking
me out right now.” Jim's mouth hung open as if to question the air.
“Jim, close your mouth, your going to catch flies!” “I…
I don't understand. You want a haunted house?” Jim puzzled.
“No Jim, not any haunted house. I want THIS house with friendly
spirits. They are inviting us in.” “Madelyn, the spirits
have spoken! Draw up the papers.” Jim spoke with an air of
resignation. First Night Jim and Ellen spent almost
the entire day unpacking boxes. It was 9:30 PM and they were both
exhausted. “I have heard anything about your ghosts?” Jim
was taking off his clothes and throwing them in the corner getting
ready to take a shower. “Jim, there is a hamper in the
bathroom. And, no, I don't seem to be tuned to that channel right
now. Jim dutifully picked up the pile of clothed and dumped
them in the hamper on the way into the shower. She sat down
on the bed and took in the view of the room and what she could see
of the bathroom and the family room through the doorways. She
thought she saw three figures in the family room doorway but when
she looked straight at the doorway they were gone. She removed her
blouse and then attempted to remove her bra. She always had
difficulty unhooking the bra and usually ended up pulling it up
over her head. This time as she tried to reach the hooks she felt a
helping hand undo the hooks. “Thanks, I think.” She whispered.
Jim returned to the bedroom in a towel, “Your turn.” Ellen
entered the shower and proceeded to quickly wash feeling a bit
vulnerable to eyes unseen. As she tried to wash her back again a
helping hand rubbed the suds around on her back. As she relaxed the
hands started to explore beyond her back and she stiffened up,
turned her back to the shower and rinsed. “Your getting fresh!” she
whispered. “Bella Donna” She heard, not one but a chorus of
three male voices. While completing the sale she learned that Jonny
Franelli had two late teen sons Michael and Dennis and his wife
Bettina were all lost in the accident. She sensed that Bettina was
not with them but must have moved on to a higher plane. This is
going to be a bit different than she originally thought.
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