Chapter Text
The house next door had been empty for years. You could see through the gate that the garden had grown wild. Some windows were shattered, old white curtains moving like ghosts with every draft. It was not haunted exactly, but had been a place of unhappiness and whispers for so long no one really remembered where the feeling of uneasiness came from. Serena could see the house from her bedroom window. She didn’t mind, she was grateful for its otherness, the odd sight helping her disconnect from her own nightmares. She had worked with bodies, alive and dead, long enough to stop believing in ghosts. Moreover no garden would go wild in a cursed place, although whoever would attempt to remove those weeds would definitely curse it!
She liked to stand there, next to the window, whenever she woke up too early. It happened more and more lately. She had the day off, but despite that and the fact that it was Sunday she was staring outward, noticing the first blooms of the apple tree, smiling.
She was taken aback when she saw several cars and a couple vans start haphazardly piling in the driveway. There were almost a dozen people, all men as far as she could see, most of them broadly built and not entirely awake. A camping table was set, coffee atop, radio next to it, set loudly enough that Serena could almost recognise the tune. She saw them empty the vans and the back of their cars until the gravel was covered in various pieces of equipment, a boiler, and a few windows she wouldn’t have believed could fit in a van this size.
She wasn’t one for spying, but she was curious and Jason wasn’t up yet, so she could still take a few more minutes. He always used the bathroom first, said she wasn’t reliable enough to be out of the shower in time.
Once properly caffeinated, the workers headed in different directions. Serena hadn’t seen who had opened the door. She wondered how much work there was to be done inside. And why it had to be done on a Sunday. While the men didn’t look like a professional team, they sure seemed proficient. The radio was turned up a notch, and comments shouted across the different work stations. Serena was just getting in the bathroom when she heard the first hammer. Or at least it sounded like a hammer.
“Auntie Serena.” Jason looked at her, frowning as she exited the bathroom. She took a look at the clock, she was on time, there was nothing planned that day, she wasn’t sure what that look meant.
“It is not 7am yet.” He said. Serena nodded. She couldn’t argue with that.
“There are noise restrictions rules. This is not a building site, so they are allowed to work during the week-end but 6am is too early.” Jason explained. Serena agreed, but didn’t really see the point. They had started, she and Jason were already up, and she had no intention of going to disturb a group of dozen men who were probably not having that good a day in the first place.
“What would you like me to do, Jason?” Serena asked. She hoped he would see it the same way, although she knew he probably wouldn’t.
“You need to tell them. They can’t do this much noise. They have to wait.” He explained patiently.
“But they could make less noise until they are allowed to make noise?” Serena asked. Jason nodded.
“Alright, I’ll go talk to them, but we’ll have breakfast first, or we’ll be off schedule.” She added. Jason nodded again. She took her time, nibbling on toast while trying to figure out what she could say. She hoped they would be understanding. She could be persuasive, but she hadn’t had enough coffee yet.
It only took a minute to reach the neighbour’s driveway. She had to slalom between cars to come close enough to be seen. The radio had an ad for mattresses on, which Serena found particularly devious at this time of day.
Two men appeared, coming from the side of the house, carrying a large broken window. One was about Serena’s age, the other a bit younger but with equally broad shoulders. They had not seen her yet. The one on the front stopped when he noticed her, the other almost colliding with his end of the frame.
“Damnit, mind where you’re going!” The younger man muttered.
“Sorry, mate!” The other replied. “We’ve got a visitor!” He exclaimed with a smile.
“We’ll just put this out of the way, we’ll be right back with you.” He added before starting to shout.
“Bernie, where d’you want it?” His booming voice startled Serena. The answer was lost in the surrounding noise but they steered their load towards the other side of the house, maneuvering it more delicately than Serena had expected.
Once they were done, the front man wiped his hands on his trousers, looked at them, and shoved them in his pockets, opting for a nod instead.
“How can we help?” He smiled. He was surprisingly cheery given the time of day, which was a better outcome than Serena had expected.
“I’m the neighbour next door.” She explained, trying to convey as much meaning in those few words as she could.
“Ah, right, one sec.” He turned towards the house, shouting even louder than he had before. “Bernie!”
“Bernie’s at the helm of this ship.” He exclaimed. “’Ll be right with you. I better get back, plenty of heavy lifting to be done I was told. Got to earn those beers we were promised.” He nodded and went inside the house, leaving Serena to feel a bit self-conscious. At least three men had stopped working to look at her, and she had a feeling whoever Bernie was would not be as accommodating as her first interlocutor. She pictured a tall broad shouldered paunchy man with a 5 o’clock shadow and a downward smile.
She couldn’t have been more surprised when she saw a woman her age, a mop of messy blond hair, overalls, bare arms and the longest pair of legs she’d ever seen, walk in her direction, with a slight embarrassed smile. She removed her heavy duty gloves and ran a hand through her already mussed hair.
“Hi, Bernie, sorry about this, I hope we didn’t wake you.” She introduced herself, wincing
“No, not at all, but my nephew asked me to come remind you of the noise regulations anyway, he is a bit of a stickler to the rules.” Serena paused for effect, and to recover from the effect the woman’s apparition had had on her. “You might want to wait a couple hours before going full on, for the neighbourhood’s sake.” Serena added with a charming smile. She doubted anyone but her would really be bothered by the noise, let alone bothered enough to come, or complain at all, but she had promised Jason. “Still, it’s good to see this house being taken care of!”
“There is a lot of work to be done, but with the load of us we should get the main things out of the way, you know, plumbing, electricity. Make it habitable. I’ll just dump my things in the room that needs least work, and that’ll be it!” Bernie replied, having stuck her hands in her pockets, shrugging in an unassuming manner.
“You’re moving in today?” Bernie could hear the shock in Serena’s voice.
“Well, yeah, while I have all of the guys on hand, it’s rare to manage to get the lot of us at once, hence why I more or less dragged them out of bed on a Sunday. I don’t have enough stuff to warrant getting a truck of any kind, nothing a few cars can’t move.” She said, looking around her and catching a few of her friend’s eyes in the process.
“That’s bold!” Serena exclaimed. She couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to live in there until it was at least partly renovated.
“Ah! Bold is practically her middle name!” One of the nearby guys interjected. Bernie rolled her eyes playfully.
“We’re doing a makeshift barbecue for lunch, if you and your nephew fancy joining us!” She said, smiling.
“I already have something going, but thanks for the offer!” Serena declined politely. She didn’t really, but she knew for a fact that Jason would not approve, and Serena wouldn’t really feel at ease herself.
“No problem! I’d invite you to come over for coffee sometimes, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to offer any surface that’s safe and sanitary to sit on for a while.” Bernie smirked. Serena could have sworn there was something there.
“Well feel free to drop by! If the car’s in the driveway, I’m probably in.” Serena explained, immediately wondering why she was doing that, and why the way the woman looked at her unsettled her so much. With a smile she turned around and slalomed her way out.
She was almost at the gate when she heard one of the men go: “She’s hot, eh?” She was about to turn around, and confront whoever had made the comment, when she heard Bernie answering “Shut up!” in an embarrassed tone. She kept walking, feeling herself blush, blaming it on the slightly chilly morning air. Why was she more at ease with the idea of being ogled by a woman?
“That was quick!” Serena exclaimed. She had been about to start preparing lunch with Jason when she had heard the doorbell.
“Sorry, it’s stupid really, but with the whole bunch of us, none of us thought of bringing matches for the barbecue, and every other attempt has been met with burnt fingers, so I was hoping you might be able to help.” Bernie pleaded, looking through her fringe. Serena thought that was the cutest thing she had seen someone her age manage to pull of.
“Well, I’m a surgeon, but I’m sure we have some plasters somewhere.” Serena replied with ease. What was it with this woman that made her want to impress her?
“I meant…” Bernie started, stopping mid sentence when Serena laughed.
“Come in, I’ll see what I can find.” Serena waved her in and Bernie stepped inside tentatively, looking around with an open mouth as she did so.
“You have a beautiful house.” She said, sounding genuinely impressed. Serena was used to hearing that comment as a polite icebreaker, but the look on the woman’s face was clearly appreciative.
“Thanks. You can do something really nice with yours, over time.” Serena pointed out.
“Yeah, I’m not there yet. And according to the guys I have no sense of interior decorating.” She shrugged.
“Fair enough. How are things coming along?”
“Faster than we expected, I think the strength of the coffee has something to do with it!” Bernie laughed, a low rumbling laugh that made Serena want to join in. “Turns out we don’t have to do all the electricity today, just the main rooms, the rest can be done later. The plumbing is almost done, and all holes are patched up. I still can’t believe there wasn’t any in the roof, that would have been trickier. So there’ll be a lot of back and forth this afternoon. I’ll have to stay at the flat to coordinate things. Make sure not to dump the books on the ones with a bad back, that kind of thing.” She stopped abruptly, biting her lip, drawing Serena’s eyes there. “But I don’t want to bore you with all this.”
“That’s alright.” Serena countered. “I can imagine there’s a lot to be done. Is it empty or do you still have to deal with that?”
“Oh, no, no, it’s not empty. It was very clear that the house came with the content, and I have a feeling I’ll spend a lot of my evenings making sense of it. I didn’t actually know the owner, but it was left to my grandmother, who left it to my mother, who left it to me, so here I am, moving into a stranger’s home. I feel like I’m intruding, even though there’s no one left.” Bernie said, looking blankly forward. “On the bright side, the library is impressive! I’m not sure what state the books are in though.” She winced.
“Well if you need a hand, I’ll be happy to help.” Serena offered before she even thought about it.
“Really? Thanks! I’ll happily give you a tour once I figure out how to store my boxes. I better figure that out before we get going, eh?” She smiled self-depreciatively.
“Don’t worry, no matter how hard you plan, things never go according to plan and some boxes just end up at the wrong place or with the writing on the wrong side.” Serena said with a knowing smile.
“That sounds like you’re speaking from experience.” Bernie winced. “I wrote on all sides and the top of all boxes. The guys were mocking me but they won’t be the one looking for the kettle with a torch!” She said, making Serena laugh.
“Do you really have this little to move?” Serena said, a bit concerned.
“Former army, never had much, and the furniture came with the flat.” Bernie shrugged. “Still, enough to get messy if it’s not properly organised.” She smiled. Serena nodded. She held a finger up and went in search of the primary reason for Bernie dropping by.
“Here.” She handed her a box of long matches. “Keep them, there’s only a few left, I hope there’ll be enough. I won’t be needing any any time soon, we’re not nearly adventurous enough to barbecue at this time of year. You better go back to them before they decide to experiment further.” Serena said, not quite wanting the neighbour to leave just yet, but feeling like she shouldn’t be keeping her either.
“Well, considering the last attempt involved a flamethrower, I think it’s safe to say we’ve tried everything.” Bernie laughed again.
“How…” Serena frowned.
“Don’t ask…” Bernie smiled, thanked her and went out, looking back for a moment before heading for the gate, her hair swishing as she turned her head, a spring in her step. Serena stood on the porch, mesmerized by her impossibly long legs taking equally long strides out of her driveway.
Soon afterward the characteristic smell of grilled meat and celebratory noise of clinking beer bottles signaled the success of their lunch endeavour. Serena smiled. Their new neighbour might have been a bit scruffy, but she liked her. Jason said something she didn’t catch, her daydreaming having distracted her for a moment.
“Is the new neighbour interesting?” He asked. Serena nodded.
“Yes, she is.” She replied. Jason nodded, clearly not expecting more, for now. Serena was glad for that, because ranting to him about the woman’s messy hair wouldn’t help anyone.
She found herself leaning against the window frame in her room a few times over the afternoon, looking at the ballet of cars. The vans were gone, possibly because they couldn’t hold more than their equipment. Serena noticed a car that didn’t move, possibly Bernie’s. It looked like some sort of sports car, which she couldn’t quite believe Bernie would pick. She shrugged it off.
It was already late afternoon when Jason reminded her that she had intended to go grocery shopping; they were missing some key ingredients for dinner, and she wasn’t sure she could go in the next two days. She decided to take the car rather than go by foot. As she sat down, she noticed cars driving past. Probably from her neighbour, she would be settling in right about now.
She tried to start the car, several times, with nothing but worrying noises. When she managed to start it, more noise and some smoke indicated that she wasn’t going anywhere. She cursed as she got out of the car, taking a look under the hood, knowing that she had no idea what to even look for. Standing there, she had her back to the gate. Bernie’s voice made her jump, leading her to turn around, startled. She had been asking if she needed some help but Serena swallowed hard as the setting sun made her hair glow in an eerie way.
“Sure! Any help would be welcome!” Serena said, sighing. Bernie was still in overalls, and Serena couldn’t take her eyes off her arms. She was strong. And covered in plaster. But mostly strong. Serena had taken a couple steps back to leave Bernie some space, but soon realised her mistake. From where she was standing, Bernie’s top half was bent over, leaving her with the sight of everything from the waist down to contemplate. She had to look away as she blushed and took a step closer to distract herself.
“How bad is it, do you think?” She asked.
“Define bad?” Bernie replied. Serena winced.
“You’ll need to get it towed and fixed. There’s just a couple bits to replace, nothing too fancy.”
“Well, I know what I’ll do tomorrow morning then!” Serena sighed.
“If you can find the time, it’s probably for the best.” Bernie smiled apologetically.
“Well, I’m always hoping for an excuse to skip budget meetings… This is not really what I meant, but I’ll take it.” She said with a borderline flirtatious smile. She could have sworn Bernie had blushed a little.
She had a feeling Bernie kind of lingered, and Serena was in no hurry to go back inside. She heard the door open and Jason walked towards them.
“My nephew Jason.” She introduced him. “This is Bernie, our new neighbour.” Bernie looked at her hand and held them in front of her apologetically. They were covered in plaster, and some grease from the car. “Sorry. Nice to meet you.” She smiled.
“Hello.” He said. There was a pause, but Serena noticed Bernie wasn’t too put out by the way he was staring at her.
“Have you been in the neighbourhood long?” Bernie asked the both of them. Jason replied.
“I have only lived with Auntie Serena for a few months, but she has lived there for much longer.” He said. Serena nodded.
“Do you intend to stay long?” He asked. Bernie thought for a moment.
“I don’t know yet. I think so. I don’t know how long though.” She said, unwavering.
“Are you single?” He asked. Now that seemed to surprise Bernie but she replied immediately, ignoring the look of horror on Serena’s face, and her slight blush.
“I am.” She replied. “And I don’t know how long that will last either.” She answered with a smile, expecting further questions.
“OK.” Was all Jason replied. “Nice meeting you.” He added before turning and going back inside.
Serena opened her mouth to apologise, but Bernie shook her head.
“Blunt, but to the point.” Bernie commented.
“Yes he’s… he’s often like that.” Serena said, not feeling the need to elaborate. If Bernie wasn’t fazed by Jason’s behaviour now, she wouldn’t mind whatever he could throw at her next.
“I should add, his motives for asking…” Serena started, realising how that might have sounded.
“He wants to know how many people he should expect to meet and see around.” Bernie finished Serena’s thought. Serena nodded.
“I should go, I realised that when we changed some of the electricity fitting we failed to put a lightbulb, so my best bet is to do it while there’s still some natural light, because it’ll be tricky with a torch.”
“Depends, do you have a head torch?”
“I do, actually, but it’s conveniently packed in the furthest box.” Bernie laughed.
“Things always are, aren’t they?” Serena smiled.”Thanks for taking a look.” She said gesturing towards the car. Bernie shrugged.
“No problem!” She waved and left with a smile. Serena waited until she was out of site to go back inside.
Later, as she went to get a cardigan from her bedroom, Serena noticed light opposite. The balcony that was facing her window had a new window, and she could see a dancing light bulb through it. It made her feel better somehow. She shook the thought away and tried to reach a compromise for a smaller grocery list. There was only so much she could carry. Jason had preferred to stay inside, which she could understand, although it wasn’t particularly helpful. If the car could be fixed by lunch, she could see whether she could get some more, not perishable, food while she was at it.
She sighed. Jason had reminded her that the usual car repair shop had closed a couple months earlier. That left her with having to pick another, and she had nothing to go on. Should she pick closer to home, or closer to work? She went for closer to work, and took a look as soon as she was back, leaving Jason to organise the groceries in his preference.
There were two, one which also sold cars, and one which claimed it could fix a wide variety of vehicles. She sighed and opted for the second. She noted the number down, the address, and the opening times; she’d be on it as early as she could the next day.