Chapter 2--29 South Falls Avenue

It was twenty-four hours since Henry Banks' visit with his fathers lawyer, Mr. Tumwater.  He had learned his father had passed away and left everything he owned to his only living relative, which was Henry.   This piece of information was shocking to him especially knowing how he left things with his father.  They hadn't spoken in over 10 years when he and Henry had gotten into an argument about what Henry was going to do with his life.  The last time he saw his father was in the rear-view mirror of his sloppy jalopy as he sped out of the driveway of his fathers house.  But Henry had done okay with his life.  He was a junior copywriter at the local newspaper just on the outskirts of Bridgeport, and hoped to someday become a senior copywriter someday, but for now he made a decent living.  He had food on his plate, clothes on his back and a roof over his head, but it was a lonely life for Henry. He would tell others, as well as himself, that he enjoyed his solitary life, and lived up to that by excluding himself from any social outings with others. But the truth was, that he didn't like going home to an empty, quiet home. He had been lonely for so long, that he had convinced himself that this was the way he preferred to live, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.

He explained to his boss what had happened and that he would need the next few days off so that he could go to Moonlight Falls to check out what this address was.  His boss, being the sympathetic person he was, told Henry to take as long as he needed and that his job would still be there, waiting for him, when he was ready to return to work.  After hanging up the phone, Henry called a travel agent to make arrangements for the trip.  He was surprised to hear that Moonlight Falls was not very far from Bridgeport, but was not going to be able to get there by car, he would have to fly.  This made him nervous since he had never been on a plane in his life, and thoughts of flying kept him awake for the good part of the night.

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Not knowing how long he'd be in Moonlight Falls, or what the conditions were in Moonlight Falls, Henry packed every type of clothing he owned.  If you didn't know better, you would have thought he was moving.  His closet looked bare with only a few scrub shirts that he used as rags balled up in the corner. He made sure that everything was turned off, and locked down.  He told the doorman on the way out he would be away for a while and left an envelope for the owner containing his rent, which was due in a few days. He, and the doorman, then packed his bags into the trunk of the taxi.  He was off to the airport.

Check-in's, security checks, waiting...waiting...waiting....
The airport didn't seem all that grand, and Henry felt he spent most of his time waiting around.  The waiting started to annoy him when a young woman, with a tight bun on her head, picked up the phone and announced they were now boarding.  Standing up from his seat, Henry felt his legs buckle under him, and at that moment, he realized how nervous he really was to get on the plane.  A flight attendant helped him find his seat and secure his carry on bag in the overhead compartment.  The plane was small, and there wasn't many people heading to Moonlight Falls.  The takeoff was bumpy, and caused Henry to have horrible thoughts of the plane breaking down and crashing into the runway below them.  Once they were at their altitude, he relaxed a bit and realized he had been clenching the armrest with excessive force, he was also sweating profusely. The light came on that they were now free to roam about the cabin, and he got up and pulled his carry on down onto this lap, and pulled out a small pillow.  He fell asleep immediately.

                                     **********

"Sir?"
Henry grunted a little.
"Sir?"
He opened his eyes and saw a blurry image of the young woman from the airport leaned over him.
"Sir, we've landed."
He looked around and saw that the plane was at another airport.
"Is this Moonlight Falls?"
"Yes, sir. That is where you were heading, right?"
Henry nodded and went to stand up, but his lap belt held him down.
"We had to buckle you in during our descent.  We tried to wake you so you could do it, but you seemed pretty out."
"Thank you." Henry said as he undid the clasp and proceeded to stand up.
"Are you going to be alright? Do you need us to call someone to come and pick you up?" the young woman asked, concerned.
"No...no, I'll be alright."
She helped him off the plane and Henry headed further into the luggage carousal to retrieve his bags.  There seemed to be no one there, actually, there was hardly anyone, working or vistors, anywhere.  After retrieving his bags he headed to the doors leading to a few awaiting taxi's. The taxi drivers were bundled up, standing around laughing with one another while drinking hot drinks.  It took Henry a few moments to realize, it had recently snowed in Moonlight Falls.
"Shit..." He complained as he threw down his largest bag and proceeded to look for a heavy overcoat, or sweater.  After finding something he figured would do, he zipped up his bag and headed outside to the few awaiting taxi drivers.
"Any one of you available?"
An older man with a thick beard looked over at him.
"Yep.  Where you off to?"
Henry suddenly drew a blank, he couldn't seem to remember the address. Then, remembering he had the address tucked away in his wallet, he pulled it out and handed it to the man.
The man looked at it, and the smile he had on his face while talking to his taxi friends turned to a frown.
"This is way out.  Will cost you a lot to get there.  To save you some money you'd probably be better off renting a car." He said as he reached out to hand the paper back to Henry.
"Thank you, but I'm not familiar with this town, and I have no experience driving in snow."
They stared at each other.  The taxi man still had his arm outstretched with the address between his fingers.
"I have money." Henry stated. "Money is not an issue."
The man looked at the address again and then nodded, "very well, then. Let's get your bags in the trunk then shall we?" After helping the man get his bags in the trunk they were off.  It was already getting dark, but it was hard to tell with the sky grey.
"How long will it take for us to get there?" he asked the man.
"About 2 hours."
Henry groaned.

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After what seemed like a very long two hour ride, the man spoke to Henry, "we're nearly there.  About 4 blocks away."
Henry looked out the window at the passing houses.  Most were small, some were large and grand.  As they seemed to get closer to his destination, he tried to guess which house would be the one the man would stop in front of.  All the houses he guessed at were small and simple, and each time he guessed he quickly found he was wrong as the car sped pass each one.
Then after going over a bridge, the car turned, "this is it.  Up here on the right." The man said.

As they came closer to the only house Henry could see to his right, he expected a smaller house to be just after the large house that was quickly coming up.  To his surprise there was no other houses past the large house. The taxi driver stopped directly in front of the house, and Henry sat in the backseat looking at the house from the window.  It wasn't until the man spoke that he realized his mouth was open.

"Let's get yer bags out, mmmkay?" The man said getting out and proceeding to the truck of the car. Henry snapped out of his gaze and, in one swift move, jumped out of the car.

"Wait, wait," he said heading to the back of the car, but not taking his gaze off the house. "there has to be a mistake?!"

The man stopped and looked at the house, then back at Henry, "29 South Falls Avenue?" Henry nodded.

"This is the place then, lad." The man said laughing.  He sighed patted Henry on the back and then got in his car and drove away.  It was as he pulled away that Henry remembered he hadn't paid the driver, "Wait!  Your fee!" He shouted at the driver as the car pulled away, but all the man did was wave out his window as he disappeared out of Henry's site.

                                    **********

Henry stood there staring at the house. 'Now what?' he thought. He looked around the area.  It was getting dark, and cold.  He grabbed his bags and slowly proceeded up the long driveway.  He kept thinking this had to be a mistake, and hoped whoever lived here would understand when he explained the misunderstanding since he was still convinced this was not the correct address.  As he got to the steps he looked again at the massive house, and realized there was not one single light on.

He cautiously walked up the steps to the front door, and decided it would be best to knock first.  He heard nothing and knocked again.  No sound.  He rummaged around in his pants pocket and pulled out the small, shiney brass key that had been enclosed in the envelope with the address.  He took a deep breath and inserted the key in the door's lock, then without much expectation, he went to turn the key. The door unlocked, and the door swung slowly, and silently open.   

Roloff Inspired house

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Roloff Inspired House

Chapter 1--"Henry"

The morning started off with the sun streaming into Henry's small bedroom window. Trying to ignore the sun waking him up, Henry winced at the brightness he could see through his closed eyes. "I've got to get that blind fixed", he thought.  He rolled over, back facing the sunlight and slowly opened his eyes.  After what seemed like forever he got up, and proceeded through his small apartment to his bathroom to get ready for work.

Henry worked as a junior copywriter at the local paper.  It wasn't the greatest job, but it paid the bills.  As he dragged his still tired ass back into his bedroom to dress he heard his cell phone ring from his bedroom.  Searching for the phone was like searching for a needle in a haystack.  Henry wasn't the neatest of people and his bedroom definitely showed how messy he could let his space get. "where is it?" he muttered as he pick up pants off the floor, then pulling back the comforter of his bed. The ringing stopped.

"Damn it." he said angrily to himself.  He sat on the edge of his bed and looked the alarm clock, 7a.m. He wasn't scheduled to go into work for another hour, so it couldn't have been his boss asking where he was. He didn't have many friends, actually, he didn't have any, so it wasn't anyone calling to check on him. The only person he could think could be calling him this early was his father, but even that was a far stretch.  Henry and his father hadn't spoken since he was 18 years old when they got into a heated argument about what Henry was going to do with his life. The last time he saw his father was in the rear view mirror of his little Sloppy Jalopy as he sped out of his fathers driveway with everything he owned crammed into the back of the car.

A few moments later, his landline rung.  He looked in astonishment at the phone on the end table in the living room as if it was an unknown object to him.  He walked over to it and picked up the reciever, looking at it, then finally, lifted it up to his ear.

"hello?"
"Hello," the voice on the other end said.  It was a gruff voice of an older gentleman who had called. "May I speak to Mr. Henry Banks?"
"Speaking."
"Mr. Banks, I'm Mr. Tumwater.  I am your father's lawyer,"
"You have the wrong number, Mr. Tumwater, my father is not at this number and I cannot help you with getting in contact with him." Henry said ready to hang up.
"No, no...I am aware this is not Sr. Banks' number, I am contacting you, Mr. Banks,"
"Call me Henry.  I don't like to be called Mr. Banks."
"Alright, Henry. I'm calling because I have some," there was a pause from Mr. Tumwater, and Henry suddenly felt wide awake.  He realized why Mr. Tumwater was contacting him, his father had passed away. "distressing news about your father."
"You don't need to go on."
"I'm sorry?"
"I know why you're calling.  My father has died, correct?" Henry said into the receiver, but there was no answer. "Are you still there?"
"Yes, I'm sorry,"
"No need to be sorry.  So is that it, then?"
"Well, not exactly.  As I stated earlier, I am your fathers lawyer and I have his will here that I need to go over with you."
"With me?" Henry was surprised.
"Well, yes.  You are the only known living relative to Mr. Banks. Could you possibly come to my office this morning?"
"Um...I've got to go to work at 8 a.m., and work until 5 p.m."
"Oh.  I'm afraid that's when my office closes as well.  Can we arrange for another time, perhaps?"
"No.  No, I'll call in and let them know I need time off today. I  have some sick time I can use."
"Very well." Mr. Tumwater gave Henry the address to his office and bid him goodbye.
Henry called work and explained what had happened and that he needed to take the day off to get things taken care of.  After the call to work, he jumped in the shower, threw on whatever clothes he could find that seemed the cleanest, and grabbing his keys, headed out to find Mr. Tumwaters office.

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(photo courtesy of:  http://simminginmagnificentstyle.blogspot.com)

Mr. Tumwaters office was directly across Bridgeport's city hall, but that didn't mean it was easy to find it.  Henry hated going into the heart of downtown Bridgeport and felt lucky when he found out he could do his job from home when he first started the newspaper.  Finding a parking spot that wouldn't break his wallet was even tougher.  Thirty minutes later he settled on a parking spot at a meter one block away from Mr. Tumwaters office. It was a nice sunny day, and normally would be a great day to skip work for a lesiure day, but today wasn't that day.  He walked around a corner and came face to face with an impressively large hanging sign "Tumwater and Sons-Family Law".  He went up the stairs and pulled open the large oak doors.  Inside an older woman, short with tight curls asked if she could help him.  When he told her who he was, there was a shout from the room behind her, "I got it Gretchen! I got it!". A short stout man in a very expensive suit came hurrying out.  He was bald but not completely, and a scruffy grey beard that matched his remaining hair on his head.  "Henry!  I'm Mr. Tumwater. Glad you were able to make it today." he shook Henry's hand with a great deal of force and tension.  Henry nodded, and followed Mr. Tumwater into his office.

The office was larger than it gave away from the reception area.  Henry couldn't help think about the size and was pretty sure it was bigger than his whole apartment.  Mr. Tumwater motioned to a expensive captains chair for Henry to sit in while he went around to the other side of his large oak desk.
""Let me just get out your fathers file here," he said as he pulled open one of the large oak drawers to the matching desk. "Here we go, 'Banks'.  So, you are your fathers only living relative, so it shouldn't be a shock that he left you, well, pretty much everything he owned."
"The fact that I was ready to hang up on you thinking you were looking for my father, and that I was not willing to help you find him, should have been an indication that, yes, I am shocked he would leave me anything".
Mr.Tumwater was speechless at Henry's surliness towards his father.
"I do apologize " Mr. Tumwater said in a more gentler voice.  Henry waved it off as if he were lightly swatting at an annoying fly. "Shall we proceed then?"
Henry simply nodded.

One hour later, Henry discovered he was left, as Mr.Tumwater stated, everything his father had in possession while he was living: his house that Henry and his parents lived in, his savings, car, and all the little knick-knacks he had around the house.
 Henry was already at the door to leave when Mr. Tumwater stopped him.
"There is one more thing,"
Henry turned and saw him reaching into the inside breast pocket of his blazer and pull out a sealed envelope,
"there's this," he said.
"What is that?"
Mr. Tumwater handed over the envelope, and Henry saw that it was sealed with only his name on the front of it.  Henry looked at Mr. Tumwater, but all he did was nod, smile and go back to his desk; an indication they were thoroughly done with their meeting. Henry started toward the door once again, when he turned, "What about the funeral?"
"No funeral.  Your fathers wish was to be cremated, and that...has already been taken care of".
"Well, where are the ashes, then?" He was sure Mr. Tumwater could tell he really wasn't concerned, but more curious than anything.
"They were spread out...at sea, by me," he looked sternly at Henry,  "his request.  Good day, Mr. Banks".

Henry hurried to his car.  He couldn't get the look, and the stern-ness in Mr. Tumwater's voice as he told him about his fathers ashes.  He felt as if he was a child, again, being scolded for something he knew he shouldn't have done. But then he thought of the letter and that all went away.  He was anxious to open the letter to see what it could possibly be in it.  The whole walk back to the car, Henry thought of what his father could have possibly said to him in a letter, a sealed letter at that.  Why didn't Mr. Tumwater just tell him what was in the envelope?  Did he really not know, or did he know and just didn't want to spoil it for Henry?  Or was it that he knew it was a nasty letter and didn't want the uncomfortable position of telling Henry what to expect?

He sat in his car staring at the envelope for a while.  It had some weight to it, heavier than what you would expect an envelope with just one or two page letter. After what seemed like forever, he ripped the envelope open. Inside was a small piece paper with an address, '29 S. Falls Ave., Moonlight Falls'.
"what is this?" he asked himself.
He picked up the envelope that was on his lap and pulled out a shiny brass key.

Chapter 1 preview

Henry worked as a junior copywriter at the local paper.  It wasn't the greatest job, but it paid the bills.  As he dragged his still tired ass back into his bedroom to dress he heard his cell phone ring from his bedroom.  Searching for the phone was like searching for a needle in a haystack.  Henry wasn't the neatest of people and his bedroom definitely showed how messy he could let his space get. "where is it?" he muttered as he pick up pants off the floor, then pulling back the comforter of his bed. The ringing stopped.

"Damn it." he said angrily to himself.  He sat on the edge of his bed and looked the alarm clock, 7a.m. He wasn't scheduled to go into work for another hour, so it couldn't have been his boss
asking where he was. He didn't have many friends, actually, he didn't have any, so it wasn't anyone calling to check on him. The only person he could think could be calling him this early was his father, but even that was a far stretch.  Henry and his father hadn't spoken since he was 18 years old when they got into a heated argument about what Henry was going to do with his life. The last time he saw his father was in the rear view mirror of his little Sloppy Jalopy as he sped out of his fathers driveway with everything he owned crammed into the back of the car.

A few moments later, his land-line rung.  He looked in astonishment at the phone on the end table in the living room as if it was an unknown object to him.  He walked over to it and picked up the receiver, looking at it, then finally, lifted it up to his ear.