"Oh Bloody hell! Mother has a melt down and I am condemn to cleaning out the crazy bat's cave?"
"Colin, we must have your grandmother's estate ready for the auction next Wednesday. This is not an option. I will join you a few days once your mother's nerves have settled. For God's sake, be more respectful," his father stated more tired then anger.
"Yes, father," Colin grumbled obediently. " I will cancel my plans and head out in the morning."
His father hung up the phone without responding. Unfortunately, so had his date when he cancelled their plans to one of the hottest Halloween parties in Atlanta. His parents had always been flawless with their timing. If he had the least bit of potential for getting laid, then they would find a way to put an end to it. Frankly, if his trust fund had not been such a large part of his income, then he'd had told them to fuck off years ago.
Half asleep, with the taste of gas station cappuccino on his tongue, Colin pulled his silver TT roadster down the long drive to his grandparent's former estate. The black rod iron gate were unlocked and open. The grounds were in disrepair from years of neglect. After his grandfather's death, he'd heard in whispers that his grandmother had fired the staff and locked herself away from the world. His grandmother refused to let any of the children visit. She claimed it wasn't safe. It was the first time in fifteen years he'd step foot over the threshold of the huge house. An ungodly stench assaulted his nose and created a painful lurch in his stomach. No wonder his mother had run away. Slaughterhouses carried a more appealing aroma.
Pulling a handkerchief from his pant pockets, he placed it over his nose. The house was monstrously large and out of time for the small country town it inhabited. His grandmother, never being of sound mind, had demanded his grandfather bring her family estate with them if she was to move to the United States. Not having a choice in the matter, his grandfather had torn down, shipped and rebuild the house one brick at a time. Of course, his grandfather spent three years and an obscene amount of money upgrading the facilities. After it was complete, his grandmother sailed from England to join her husband. Upon seeing the house for the first time, her only comment was, "the shutters should be a lighter yellow."
In the kitchen, he was surprised to find his mother had not cleaned out the varies hanging baskets of rotten fruits and vegetables. He opened the many mahogany cabinets until he located a box of garbage bags. Filling each one as quickly as possible, he had cleared the area of rotting food in under a half of an hour. Out the back door, he placed the bags in the open can when he saw a woman with blonde bobbed hair and blue dress walking through the gardens.
"Hey, you! Lady, hey, stop!" he shouted as the woman walked under the trellis covered with dormant rose vines.
He jogged over to the end of the yard to meet her as she exited the arch. However, she did not appear. He looked down the path to see only weeds and empty cobblestone. Looking around for a few minutes, he rediscovered the garden was littered with statues. The dead marble eyes watched him as he snaked through thistle and overgrown planters. While he was looking down at a particularly stoic angel, he felt a small hand touch his neck and slip down his back. A light feminine laugh fluttered in the air. He turned with a dazzling smile hoping to find the lovely tart who had been strolling the grounds. However, the garden was empty and a chill climbed in the air. His smile melted as he glanced around confused. Suddenly, the rancid smell of the house felt more appealing then the garden. He strode quickly to the kitchen door not glancing back.
Colin spent the better part of the day taking down strings his grandmother had used to divide the rooms into smaller areas. Also, he dumped multiple glasses of urine lining the edges of rooms that could still be entered. Many rooms, had been nailed shut and he was too tried to try to opening them tonight. As the daylight faded, he realized that the electricity was not working. Disgruntled at the general waste of the day, he climbed the large staircase to find the master suite. He cursed openly realizing he could be nailing some model want-a-be dressed as cat woman if he'd gone to the Halloween party. Instead, he spent Halloween in his family's version of a skeleton closet.
The expensive antique furniture in his grandmother's former suite was covered in layers of melted wax from a vast collection of burned down candles. In the center of the room, a bare mattress was surrounded by piles of black and white photographs. The far wall had been completely cleared accept for one piece. The cherry wood was carved into two massive lilies holding up a full length mirror. In all her insanity, his grandmother had recognized how exquisite this one piece was. Colin pulled out his lighter and broke free one of the candles from the dresser. Lighting the wick, he crouched to look at the photos on the floor.
The pictures were all of a single party. They were taken in the garden. Everyone smiled and lifted champagne glasses at the camera. In tiny black print, the date was stamped: October 1935. As he began shifting through the pile, he heard horns playing in the faintly. He looked up and realized a light was shining from the mirror as the music grew louder. A Bing Crosby like voice floated out from the mirror as the words took shape in Colin's mind.
"Did you ever see a dream walking? Well, I did! Did you ever hear a dream talking? Well, I did! Did you ever have a dream thrill you with 'Will you be mine?' Oh, it's so grand and it's too, too divine."
He rose slowly from the ground and approached the glow. The mirror had become a door into a evening garden party from 1935. A big band played as a young thin man in a black tuxedo sang to the costume clad dancers. Paper tablecloths were weight down by jack-o-lanterns. In the distance, he saw his grandmother, young and beautiful, waving at him with a sparkling grin. Her hair was dark red and lips plump with youth.
"Darling, where have you been?" she smiled as she spoke. "I thought you had gotten lost. My Edward, come, let's dance."
Her hand reached through the mirror pulling him onto a dance floor laid over the grass. As he looked back for the mirror, he saw the blonde woman in the blue dress smile at him. She winked before looking back at the older gentleman with whom she danced. A tiny tiara was perched on her head. She was a stunning princess with a tiny waist and perfect petit breast peeking out from the top of her dress. Looking back down at his grandmother, he could not believe that her hand was caressing the crotch of his pants.
