Ghost Lover-Closed For Brightwell

[BRIGHTWELL]

anti-Anne

Alexander looks around the room. "This is not the best setting for this chat." He takes her by the hand and leads her down the stair and out of the Inn. They walk past the barn and follow a path to the stone wall. He turns right and follows the wall about 1000 feet. They are deep in the woods and there is a small wooden gate. Alexander pushes the gate and it swings open. A flag stone path leads to a small clearing. A small stone house tightly fit between the trees. Out front is a flat stone table and two round stone seats facing each other.

Alexander leads Jessica to one seat and he takes the other. As he sits he brushes a few leaves off the seat. he looks at her and takes her hand in his. "First I have to tell you, this is a very special place. This is where David was born. He showed it to me when I was a boy. The only other person I brought here was my wife, Tyqua. She was the youngest sister of Topinabee. A very good native friend."

Alexander pause. " Now comes the hard part. Answering your question. It is a difficult thing to wrap my head around. When I saw you, when you were in the room, I panicked. I knew you were coming, true. You looked , sorry, look just like the Anne I knew back in my day. That moment I wanted to be rid of you and to bed you all at the same time. "

 

[Perplexia]

Gripping Alexanders hand she followed him without any hesitation. The safety she use to feel with him when she was a child was still there.

The little stone house was absolutely gorgeous. It was one of the finest examples of early american architecture she had ever seen. The fact that it was still in good shape, and looked as it did. reflected that it had been well taken care of over the years.

"It's absolutely beautiful, thank you for bringing me here." She hadn't known that Alexander had married. But she wasn't going to pry just yet. She listened quietly instead.

"I guess i can understand the mixture of emotions. You thought you would be seeing someone whose days you made brighter, and instead you saw the image of someone you hated and wanted to break more furniture with. For the future, you may want to come up with a different test, other than demanding a woman undress before you. For example.. i could have just as easily as pricked my finger and bled. Or touched a flame and burned my finger. Unless ghosts can do that too, it might be a better future choice, and much less offending."

Closing her eyes for brief moment she took in the silence that overcame her mind. Nothing could bring her piece like holding Alexanders hand. "That still doesn't explain why i'm here Alexander. Why did you submit a request for me when I was only twelve? How could you know that I would be right for this?"

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

anti-Anne

"Why are you here? I thought was plain. There have been a parade of women through the march of time at the Inn. Then 20 years ago a little girl came to visit. I looked at her and she was pleasant and fun to be with. I took an interest in you. From a distance, I followed your school progress. And through those first seven years you were on track to be a fine woman. So 12 years ago your name was posted as first candidate for care taker."

Alexander pauses and smiles. Any way after that every year your position was reviewed. With the exception of the pajama party when you were 15, and you let boys in the house. And that problem you had with Jerry Mc Carter and the West Virginia state police. You have lived a clean a decent life.

 

[Perplexia]

"Stalker" she said with a laugh. "I have no excuse for the pajama party, but Jerry Mc Carter deserved his alleged truck being smashed up with a baseball bat while he watched in horror with the girl he cheated on me with." She let out another laugh.

"Did you ever interfere? I only ask because I always felt like there was a guardian or something looking out for me. For example this time in college my books just randomly fell out of my arms and i ducked down just as a football flew over my head."

"I guess I just don't understand why you would give up your position to ensure that i'd stay."

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

why you would give up your position to ensure that I'd stay the question hung in the air.
"Why?, two reasons, really." Alexander stands up and walks toward the stone house slowly. In the door way of the house he stops and looks back at her.

" I have been Chairman since the beginning of the Cassadaga Lake Spiritualism Culture Society was formed. When I went to the Scholarship dinner and I saw all those young faces. I felt old and felt. That now that you are here I would step down.

And two, I have you here, I wanted to keep you to myself. Here at Cassadaga Lake."

 

[Perplexia]

"So you did stalk me then" she said with a smile trying to lighten the mood. Jessica was unsure what to say to his comment about wanting her to himself. She looked at him standing there in the doorway all smoldering. There was no doubt the physical attraction to him was there. But the emotional connection was still teetering. Over the past couple days she started to see reminiscence of the man she remembered.

"We should probably get back to the Inn, i'll need your help going through the paperwork. As she started getting up she looked at him realizing he'd never answered her question about the river property. Actually no one had. "What did you do with the river property?"

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

"Inn, paperwork?" Alexander smiles lightly. "I have not seen you in 20 years. " He takes off his hat and throws it in the house. "I brought my wife here to make love to her. We lived together for one year. During a raid by the British. She was shot. Her spirit is with her people. It does not even visit. She never under stood the white man ways. Her spirit is angry at all white." Alexander takes his jacket off.

"I know you are not Anne. You do not have the scar on your left breast from the bread box, nor the scar on your buttock where the broken chair stabbed her. But that day I had to know. You are Jessica Strouse St. Claire and I am your." Alexander smiles lightly.

" Ghost-lover!"

 

[Perplexia]

"Alexander St. Claire. When i was a child you were my invisible friend. Since I've been here you've been rude, arrogant, and a pain in my ass. I'm sorry about your wife. But you are not my 'ghost lover', you may be charming, and have smoldering good looks. But it does require a bit more finesse to get me on my back. I believe people in your time called it courting. I'm sure you're use to women throwing themselves at you. But I am not one of those type of women."

With a huff, she started walking back to toward the Inn.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Alexander moves swiftly and grabs her arm. " I have told you, I have waited 20 years for you. I have had many women in different ways. You need a man, not that phony peacock you left in the city. You need a man knowledgeable in the ways of the world and knowledgeable in the ways to please a woman. I did not bring you here to just show you a old house. This is the most private place of all the Cassadaga Lake Spiritualism Culture Society holdings. " He tightens his grip on her arm.

"I have seen you almost in the nude. You don't have the scars of Anne. You do have every thing else. David to Anne down to Davy Jones's locker. Her sprit along with his is buried deep in the sands. She has been gone since 1825. " Alexander looks hungrily in too her eyes.

"It may be disconcerting to you to know you are the reincarnation of a long lost evil lover. but that is what you are. The courtship, while you may have not known it has been going on for 20 years. Since you saw me as a ghostly friend."

 

[Perplexia]

"If I needed a man, then i wouldn't need one that felt manhandling me was the correct way to win my affections. Just because you may have your mind set on carnal desires. Doesn't mean that I do and at this rate its highly unlikely that I ever will. My body may look like Anne's, but as you've stated i have not her spirit. I have my own. This courtship doesn't exist when you are not a part of my life. You could have remained my 'invisible friend', outside of this place. You chose not to. I may have had a crush on you when i was a child. I may have even had feelings of attraction toward you since I've arrived. But as of this moment they are greatly fading and any like i may have had for you is quickly growing into dislike. Now unhand me please, and save whatever bit of friendship is remaining."

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

oh

"OH, is that how it is then. You got yours, and now the city girl turns ice queen." Alexander nods and releases her arm. "There are over 1000 female spirits in the Inn. Sixteen different factions I can hang out with. I choose the only living one in the area." Alexander goes back into the stone house and gets his hat and jacket.

" Tell you what Jessica, when you get that itch that Mr. Donkey Wong from the Girl's Fun House don't quite scratch. You let me know, and I'll see if I can squeeze you in to my schedule." And he fades away.

 

[Perplexia]

Jessica just shook her head. She never would have thought she'd live to see a ghost throw a temper tantrum because he didn't get his way. If she wanted meaningless sex with someone, she would. With all this worldly knowledge he claimed to have, he certainly didn't understand how a woman's mind worked. 'need a man', what did he think this was the 19th century? "you got yours" whatever did that mean? If she got an itch she'd do like every other woman with a sense of who she was, and what she wanted and use a vibrator.

As if she didn't have a trying enough day as it was. Finally she thought Alexander was back to being the man she remembered. Instead he was turning out to be like every other worthless man in her life. It wasn't to late, she could still pack up and go back to her life. From what she remembered she could stay here as long or as little as she liked.

Once she reached the Inn, she went straight to her room and started repacking. Tomorrow she would head back home and enjoy her vacation.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Kimberly "Moors" St. Clair, Nora "Clicks" Greentree

A click, click, click is heard. Then two woman appear in her room. The woman in the flowing red dress with black poke-a-dots and curled blond hair stares at her "They call me Clicks" She had been in the the lawyers office and spoke of the 3% return." I see you are pack'n. Ta leave, not a rod. Well never mind. Any way I brought my boss, ta have a word with you. She's the..."

A woman dressed similarly to what Ruth had been wearing steps forward. My name is
Kimberly "Moors" St. Clair. I think we should talk, before you leave. I'm one of the three bosses here. I have been here from the start. You just got here."

 

[Perplexia]

"I just got here, and now i'm packing to leave. Feel free to speak your mind, although I doubt there's much you can say that will change my mind if that is your intent."

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Kimberly "Moors" St. Clair, Nora "Clicks" Greentree

She smiles and brings her finger up to her lips and looks thoughtful. " We have not had a new member since 1943. She had been on a ship that was torpedoed, and did not make it to a life boat. So are you one of those.." She turns to Clicks. " What is that term? modern, some thing?"
Clicks smirks. "Modern Woman?"
"Yes that is correct, 'a modern woman?" She moves her finger over to her cheek and taps it a few times.

"When I was your age, I could fire a pistol and hit a man in the head at 50 feet. I could throw a steel head tomahawk 10 feet and hit a man in the head. A man grabbed my arm and I stabbed him in the arm pit and went back to work."

"Are we truly that different?" Then folded her hands.

 

[Perplexia]

"Ladies I appreciate the effort of comparison here i do. But I came here with the intention of inheriting an Inn, only to be accosted by someone i had once a valuable friendship with, to be inspired into accepting a job so that I could help preserve something that meant a lot to him, only to be accosted once again and find out in lei-mans terms i'd been chosen to be his future harlot. I was told i could stay as little or as long as I like, and i'm of full mind to capitalize on that and see as little of Alexander St. Claire as possible."