The Chambers House Rm13 Trisha

Disclaimer:

The following story contains explicit content and is intended for mature audiences and open-minded people only. Reader discretion is advised.

This work of fiction includes themes of sexuality, romance, and adult situations and is not meant to be taken seriously. In fact some of my works may require you to suspend belief. It may contain scenes of explicit language, graphic depictions of sexual acts, situations of cheating and polyamory, group minglings, and other content suitable only for those over the legal age of consent in their jurisdiction.

All characters depicted in this story are consenting or willing adults and are works of fiction. Any resemblance to any real persons, living or dead, or both, is purely coincidental.

By continuing to read this story, you acknowledge that you are of legal age to access adult content in your area and that you understand the nature of the content provided and have an open mind for such things. The author assumes no responsibility for any actions taken by readers as a result of the content of this story. Further, the author accepts no responsibility if you are offended by what you have read.

If you are not comfortable with or legally allowed to access explicit adult content, please discontinue reading now.

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Martin opened his eyes and found himself staring at his bedroom ceiling. The sun reflected off something near the window, creating a strange display with prismatic shafts of color here and there. He watched the colors shift as the sun climbed.

"Good morning."

He glanced over at her, not realizing Amanda was already awake. "Hey, good morning to you."

Amanda pressed herself against him, wrapping her arms around him, enjoying the warmth of his body against hers. "Did you sleep well?"

He nodded, thought for a moment, and then began to share with her his dream and what had happened to the Madam.

"So," Amanda said as she got out of bed and walked over to the bags of clothes that she had gotten the day before, "You laid her down on her own grave and she disappeared?"

Martin nodded, "Yes, but it felt more like she was going there to rest, not to move on."

She shook her head, "It sounds like she wanted you to take her to where she would be able to focus on herself to recover."

He thought about this a moment, "What did she do to Duncan?"

Amanda stopped dressing for a moment, thinking about it, "I am not certain; While I seem to be sensitive to the afterlife, I cannot say that I know or understand much about it, if that makes any sense."

Nodding, Martin said, "It does. Like how I know how to drive a car, but I could only tell you the basics on how it actually operates."

She thought about this, then laughed, "I suppose so."

Having learned how to use the coffeemaker, Amanda was proud of herself when she brought two cups of coffee for her and Martin to the table, and she had even gotten his creamer right.

"So," She started, "What are we going to do today?"

Martin smiled, "I have some paperwork to finish, then the rest of the day is open."

"Can you drive me to a few places I remember to see what they are like now?"

Smiling, he said, "Sure."

Then Amanda got a serious look and added, "And using the tablet, I think I found where my parents are buried, can we go there, please?"

"Certainly, Mandy."

They finished their coffee as Martin told her about current politics, which he noted made her uneasy. Then, they talked about science, medicine, the several wars that have happened since she was alive, and things like TV, radio, phones, and the Internet.

Martin finally stopped talking about all this when it was evident that she was going through a little bit of culture shock.

"This is a lot for you to take in, isn't it, Mandy?"

She nodded and stared at her empty coffee cup, "I not sure how you do it, Marty. There seems like there is so much going on in your world." She looked up at him and continued, "In my time, I had a book, I had my phonographs, and talking with friends or my family." She smiled, "There was this boy at the chuch down the street from Madam's house. I think he was sweet on me, but he could only have been about ten at the time. And every now and again someone would call on the new telephone."

"He had a crush on you?"

Amanda looked at him confused, then figured out what he meant, "Yes, he would bring me flowers and candies, all the other girls were nice to him and treated him like a little brother." She looked at her hand and her features saddened, "I wonder what happened to him."

Smiling, Martin said, "It's easy enough to find out."

She shook her head, "No, I don't think I want to." Then she met his gaze, "Martin, everyone I know is dead, has been dead for more than a single person's lifetime. There is not even anyone alive today that I can talk to that would remember him, or my parents."

"Mandy, I..." Martin reached for her hand.

Crying now, "You cannot understand what it is like to have lost your entire history and your life, and all there is left are echos." Amanda put her head in her hands.

Martin moved his chair around, next to her, and put his arm around her. At first, it felt like she was pulling away, then she leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Marty."

Kissing her head, he said, "I won't try to tell you I understand, because I have no idea what you are going through, Love. But just remember that I am her for you and we can take this as fast or as slow as you need."

After a few minutes of this, he pushed her away, gently, and looked at her, "Let's go get some breakfast and I will take you on a drive, show you some of the sights, OK."

Amanda smiled, wiped some tears away, "That sounds lovely." Then after a moment, she said, "Can you not drive as crazy as Tiffany? She scares me."

Martin started laughing, "Sweetheart, her driving scares me."

"We must stop and get a Starbucks, Marty." She said with a sudden look of seriousness. "I really think I need my drink."

"Of course." He said with a laugh.

Isabella reached out, but it was painful. The feeling reminded her of a time in her youth when she had exercised with some friends and the pain she felt the following day. Except in this case, the pain was all-encompassing and felt physical and emotional.

Again, she reached, and this time she felt a response; it was Barbara.

"Madam," Came the response filled with excitement and concern, "Madam?"

She tried to respond, say something, and let them know she was OK, but could not find the strength to do any more.

Madam was too tired and could not communicate, and withdrew into herself and rested. "I could do that much for now, I can do more later when I have rested. For now they know I am still with them."

Then she was silent.

The ladies of The Chambers House were gathered where they all met when they were not in the house, a place that, while it was a room, was not a room in the sense that others of the living world might see. At first, there was silence, then Angeline broke it.

"If the Madam is not here, who called the meeting?"

Barbara stepped forward, "It was I."

"Why would you call this meeting when the Madam is not here?" Asked Stephenie, "This is highly irregular. The Madam would be..."

"I did so to share good news." Barbara interrupted, "Madam reached out to me this morning, or it seems that she was reaching out to whomever could hear her, and since none of you have said anything, I suppose I was the only one that heard."

"Is she well?" Asked Zayna.

Barbara shrugged, "I do not know, I felt her calling, but it felt more like she was seeing if she could, there was no conversation, but she felt weak."

There were murmurs throughout the room as people talked amongst themselves. Most of them appeared happy, but some were concerned.

Zayna continued, "So we can expect her back?"

Barbara nodded, "Hopefully, yes. But it might be a while, yet."

"Are you going to meet with Trisha tonight?" Amanda asked as Martin drove them along a tree-lined country road.

He thought about it momentarily, then answered with his own question, "Are you OK with that, or would you rather I wait?"

She smiled, "I will leave it to you, like I said before, I have you for the rest of my life, your agreement with Madam and the house is almost complete and I can wait."

Martin thought about it for a while, then pulled onto a little side road.

Amanda read the sign and asked, "Molly State Park?"

He nodded, "it's pretty here with a tower with a terrific view of Mount Olga."

She laughed, then said, "This was the old Stark farm when I was alive."

He pointed to the sign and said, "Hence the name."

She looked at it and sure enough it said, "Molly Stark State Park."

"Hmmm," She said, "I really do not recall anything that the family was known for that would have warranted them having a state park named after them."

"Sometimes it's al about who you know, my dear."

They pulled into a parking spot, and Martin went around to open the door for her, helping her out. He did this mainly because she had forgotten how to release the seat belt and was slightly motion sick from the car ride.

"Don't worry, eventually you will get used to it, it's just going to take some time."

They walked over to a park bench, and he noticed Amanda looking at something. "What is that?"

Turning to follow her gaze, he saw the fire tower. "Oh, there are a few of those around. They are fire towers." He sat down on the bench with her and continued, "They were so that the park rangers or volunteers could watch for fires and then report them so that fire teams could go in and put them out."

She continued to look at it as she nodded.

"Do you want to go up to the top? It's open to the public."

Amanda smiled nervously at him, "No, I do not like high places."

He nodded, "OK, if you change your mind, we can go."

She smiled and nodded, then looked at the paths leading into the woods. "Can we go for a walk?"

"Sure." He stood and reached for her hand. She took it, and they walked toward one of the paths closest to them.

"Marty?" She said as she kicked a small rock.

"Yes, Mandy?"

She thought momentarily, trying to think of how to ask the question, "This is going to sound a little silly, I'm sure, but what should I do with my life now that I have a second chance?"

Martin smiled and looked at her, "Whatever you want." There was a pause, then he added, "Keep in mind that I need to work with some people to get you a social security number and ID, but I do not see why you cannot do or be anything you want."

She got quiet for several long minutes, and Martin had started to think that she was dropping the subject, when she started talking again.

"I have been reading a lot on that pad thing you gave me and I see woman as doctors, scientists, musicians, actors, and so many other things that a woman in my time would have been laughed out of the room for even considering." She stopped walking and looked up at him, "Can I be anything like them?"

Taking her hand and kissing it, Martin smiled and said, "Mandy, you need to find something that you want to do or learn about it and do it. There are four really good colleges near here and once we get all your paperwork set up, you can go to any of them or none of them, you just need to decide."

She smiled and looked around, watching a young couple walk past them and nodding as they did. Then, she looked back at Martin, "Would you think any less of me or consider me less of a woman if I decided to go to school?"

"Don't be foolish, Mandy. I want whatever is best for you, even if it does not include me, I want to see you become the best version of yourself you can be. I want you to be happy."

She watched Martin's face, looking for anything that might tell her he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. Then, deciding that he was serious, she took his hand and put it over her shoulder, and they walked.

At that moment, Amanda did not think she could have loved a man more than she did him; she only hoped he felt the same way about her.

They spent the next few hours walking through the park and enjoying the fresh, chilly air. While there had only been a dusting of snow recently, which was odd for this time of year, it was still very nippy.

Amanda wrapped her arm around Martin and held him tight while they walked, then looked up at him and said, "I think I am little scared, Marty."

"Why is that?"

Squeezing him tighter, "This world is so different than what I remember. It seems like there is no place that is quiet anymore, there are people everywhere, everyone has those... things they talk into and watch as they walk, and there does not seem to be any privacy anymore." She shook her head, "There just seems to be too much going and too many people."

He smiled, "I know this is all a lot to take in, but I'm here for you."

They wandered their way back to the car and got in. Before he started it, though, he looked at her, "Mandy, what did you do as a hobby when you lived in the Madam's house?"

She thought about it, "I liked to read, cook, and play cards. I knitted and crocheted, as well as quilting with Madam and Stephanie." She thought for a few and then added, "And I liked to garden, we had a little garden near the house where we grew tomatoes, peas, and a few other things. There used to be an apple tree on the property too."

He nodded, "I saw that, it was dead when I bought the place and I had it pulled out."

"Oh. That's too bad."

He looked at her, "We'll plant another, if you like."

She smiled and nodded, "I would like that, a Granny Smith so that I can make pies."

He nodded and smiled, "Done."

Amanda jumped a little when he started the car, then laughed at herself, "I am, not sure I will ever get used to that."

He grinned and looked at her, "Wait until I bring my Corvette by some day, I can get that up to 130 miles per hour and when I start the motor the whole neighborhood knows."

Her eyes widened. "I am not certain I would like that very much."

As they pulled onto the highway, he patted her leg, "Give it time, you will get used to all the noise."

Martin took her on a circuitous route back to the house, showing her the little town of Oak Haven now and listening to her tell him about what it looked like when she had been alive.

They continued until they reached Brattleboro, and she watched with her mouth agape at how much it had changed in over a century.

They turned down a little street barely wide enough for two cars and drove for another five minutes or so when he pulled to the side and parked.

Amanda looked at Martin questioningly, "Where are we."

Gently, he nodded to a place to her right, and she turned her gaze that direction, seeing a small field with headstones and markers.

She took a sharp breath and covered her mouth. "My parents?"

Martin had already gotten out of the car and came around and opened her door. Amanda sat there for a moment, then looked up at him.

"It's OK," Martin said, then held his hand out to her, helped her out of the car, and closed the door. He pointed to a small area near an oak tree, "It's over there. Would you like me to go with you?"

At first, she let go of his hand, staring at the markers. She took a couple of steps toward it, then turned and faced him, tears running down her face, and grabbed his hand tightly, pulling him along with her as she walked to the headstones.

As they walked, she asked, not looking at him, "Why are they buried here?"

"As far as I could find out through what Tiffany put together," He said as he kept up with her, "The moved here shortly after you passed to stay close to Isabella; your daughter."

She looked back at the marker, then knelt, placing her hand on the worn stone and letting her fingers trace the letters and numbers.

"They all but disowned me when they found out what I was doing here." She shrugged, "Never responded to my letters or the courrier that Madam sent to them."

Martin could tell she was crying, but stayed back, letting her have some time to come to terms with what she was experiencing.

After some time, she looked up at him, and he knew that was his cue, and he bent down and put his arm around her, pulling her to him as she cried into his shoulder.

Several minutes later, they slowly stood, and she took one last look at the marker and said, "Goodbye, Momma and Daddy." Then they slowly walked to the car.

Amanda remained silent for some time as he drove, only letting out an occasional sniffle here and there. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that she was watching things go by, looking at people, and seemed very interested as a group of about fifteen or so motorcycles roared past.

"Martin?"

"Yes dear?"

There was a pause as she thought and watched a heavily tattooed woman on the street corner with a car wash sign, "How do you live with all this?"

Martin laughed, "I was born into this, I was raised around much louder and more active areas than this." He carefully thought about his following words, then added, "Someday I would like to take you to meet my family, but this is nothing compared to where they live."

"Oh." Was her only response.

As they got closer to home, Amanda suddenly yelled, "STOP... There there there!"

Martin hit the brakes a little too hard, the tires screeching, thinking he was about to hit something, and causing a car behind him to slam on their brakes, honking their horn repeatedly.

"What is it?" He asked, almost in a panic.

Amanda turned to face him and pointed down the street, "It's a Starbucks!"

He looked at her, trying hard not to be angry, "Really?"

"Oh, yes, please?!?" She said, almost begging.

He shook his head and responded, "Jesus Christ on roller skates, OK."

Amanda eyed him momentarily, then said, "No reason to be blasphemous."

Martin nodded, "Sorry, but you are going to find a lot of that here and in this time, my dear."

"I know, I see that a lot in what I have been reading. I mean," she grinned and continued under her breath, "I really do not have much room to talk, given my chosen profession."

They went through the drive-thru, and now, with her caramel macchiato in hand, she was happy again, "These are the most wonderful things ever, Marty."

He looked at her and smiled, "They are OK. Typically I just like black coffee, with just a little creamer."

Twenty minutes later, they were pulling in at the house and getting out of the car.

"We need to go in through the basement right now because they are sealing the floor at the front and back entrances."

She nodded and bounced to his side, "Thanks for taking me out today, it was nice."

"We'll go on some walks as you get used to all the noise and people. There is a lot you will have to get used to, and I plan on bringing you some Xanax before I ever take you into someplace like New York.

"Good, what's a 'Xanax'?" She asked.

"It's a medication that helps you deal with anxiety."

She thought about this, "Can we see how I do without it first?"

"Of course."

"How many people live there? In New York?"

Martin thought about it momentarily and then said, "There are more than eight and a half million people there now and probably a couple million cars."

"Oh my." She whispered, then took a deep gulp of the drink.

They got to the door leading down into the basement and sent down. Martin reached over and turned on the light so that they would not trip on anything.

He was about to head over to the stairs that led up when he heard Amanda say something he couldn't make out.