The old, gray manor stood
tall and brooding at the highest point of Sunset Valley. It was one of the oldest buildings in the
town belonging to one of the oldest families.
Goth Manor had been called ‘the house on the hill’ by most that lived in
Sunset Valley. The Goth family was dark
and strange, at least they were to the other people in town. The Goths considered themselves normal, but
overseeing the town cemetery instead of building schools and business offices
was weird for most folks. The town
cemetery was just an extension of the Goths’ private family graveyard. Thus, the house on the hill earned the honor
of being the town’s haunted house. Of
course most people only guessed that ghost roamed the grounds around Goth
Manor, but the Goth’s knew that their ancestors visited on a nightly basis. They found comfort with the undead that had
been at one time living in Goth Manor.
Gunther
Goth inherited the Manor from his father Victor, who had inherited from his
father, and so it had been since the Goths first settled in Sunset Valley. Gunther had been prepared to follow the same
path as the men in his family had for over a century. He was doing well at the business office for
the local media corporation when he met the love of his life. Gunther had fallen hard for Lolita. They dated for a while and Gunther asked
Lolita to be his wife. After a short
engagement they were married. Life
seemed to be perfect for Gunther and his new bride. Unfortunately, a couple of years into their
marriage Death had come to collect Lolita after an electrical accident. No amount of bargaining with Death would help
to save Lolita. Death wanted a soul and
he took hers. Gunther was forced to bury
his wife with the others in his family who had passed to the afterlife. Gunther had invested himself in his work and
climbed ranks quickly. While he had no
intention of remarrying, his father insisted he find a woman that would produce
an heir to inherit the manor after Gunther’s death. He wasn’t fond of the idea but he would do
what was necessary of him. Victor had
arranged a date between Gunther and Cornelia Crumplebottom, a young woman from another well-to-do
family in town. Cornelia seemed like a
good fit to be a matron of Goth Manor.
Since he was not young any more, Gunther agreed to marry Cornelia. Their son Mortimer was conceived during their
honeymoon, and since he only needed one heir Gunther didn’t join Cornelia at
the end of most days. Despite moving on
Gunther would walk through the manor and over the grounds seeking the ghost of
his beloved Lolita. She would only
apparate on rare occasions, especially after Gunther married Cornelia, but when
Gunther would find her he would spend the entire night talking or just
sitting with her.
Business was doing well in the
office since Gunther was CEO but things were not running smoothly at City
Hall. During a special election some
residents started a write-in campaign to elect Gunther as the next mayor of
Sunset Valley. Surprisingly, he won in a
landslide by earning 65% of the votes.
He thought that the change in pace would be a great opportunity so he
accepted the position. Being Mayor had
its perks. He was picked up in a limo
every day. He also enjoyed the prestige
the job brought to him. The Goths had
been in businessmen for generations, but Gunther was the first to tackle
politics. The job was interesting at
first though soon it became monotonous.
The grind at the business office was usually broken up by flirting with
businesswoman Nancy Landgraab. Now that he
was at City Hall he couldn’t see her every day, but her couldn’t get her out of
his head either.
Nancy
was a retreat from the boring every day work, but now Gunther needed more. He pursued Nancy outside of work. It was risky but he was willing to take the
chance. Nancy descended from the other
family that founded Sunset Valley, though never in the history of the town had
a Goth and Landgraab alliance been solidified by a marriage between the
families. It was a mystery to
Gunther. He found Nancy a refreshing
contradiction to his everyday life.
Cornelia had fit well into the Goth family just like his father had
thought, but she was more of the same.
Nancy’s skin glowed whereas Cornelia was pale. Nancy was soft, lush, and pastel. Gunther found the scent of Nancy’s lavender
rose perfume intoxicating. He looked
forward to breathing her in when they met.
For the longest time Gunther had maintained a balance between work and
Nancy and keeping both of them at work.
He was a dedicated father and a minimum husband, but he did not wish a
scandal upon his family. While no one
suspected anything his grasp on the affair was beginning to slip.
Mortimer
was a lonely boy. He had often wished
for at least one brother or sister, but he made do with his best friend Bella. Even though he was lonely he did enjoy the
doting by his parents. His favorite was
seeing new movies with his dad at the theatre.
Mortimer had been waiting for the next movie for over a month. It was going to be awesome. His mom had gotten a call earlier that his
father was going to be working late so he decided to get a head start on his
homework. Mortimer was well into his
homework when he realized that the movie was starting and his dad was home yet. They had never missed a movie so he was
hopeful that his dad would be home any minute and he went back to writing an
essay. After his essay he worked on
math. Then his homework was done, but
his father still wasn’t home. Looking at
the clock Mortimer understood that he wasn’t going to see the new movie. He quietly picked up his homework and headed
to bed. Cornelia watched her son hurt
and the anger was brewing.
Earlier that afternoon
Gunther had decided to meet Nancy at Hogan’s for dinner. It was one of their favorite places because it
was dimly lit and a little corner table was always reserved for him. After dinner Gunther and Nancy decided to
have dessert at the Landgraab Estate.
Since Nancy’s husband Geoffrey worked overnights at the hospital it wasn’t
likely they would be interrupted.
Dessert was followed by particularly amazing woohoo. Afterward, as Nancy was lying over his chest,
Gunther was content is breathing her in.
He became lost in thought about what his life could have been like had
he not agreed to marry Cornelia or if Nancy had not married Geoffrey. It was in this silence that they heard the
click of the front door.
“Nancy, Malcolm, I’m home,”
Geoffrey yelled from the foyer. Gunther
and Nancy scrambled for anything to dress themselves. Gunther settled for Geoffrey’s pajamas when
he realized his clothes were strewn across the bathroom floor. Nancy just finished tying her robe when
Geoffrey walked into the room. It only
took him a moment to understand what he was seeing.
“What the hell is going on
here?” he angrily questioned his wife.
“Geoffrey, I didn’t know
you would be home so soon.”
“It doesn’t look like you
were expecting me home at all. And you,
Gunther get out of my house before I kill you.”
“Your house?” Nancy
retorted back. “You forget yourself
Geoffrey. I am the Landgraab. This is my house and you are just my
husband…”
As Nancy and Geoffrey’s
argument declined into a fully fledged screaming match Gunther quietly let
himself out into the hallway. As he made
his way to the front door he passed a room that was blaring music. A blonde teen boy stared at him like he
wished death upon Gunther. Nancy’s son
had been home after all. Gunther felt lucky
that he didn’t have to stay in this house tonight.
Gunther had kept an extra
set of clothes in the car and was relieved he wouldn’t have to walk into the
manor in someone else’s pajamas. If he
was really lucky then Cornelia would already be asleep when he came to
bed. All the lights were dim when the
car pulled into the drive and Gunther felt a sigh of relief escape his
lips. He crept through the living room
on his way to bed when a voice startled him.
“Where have you been?”
Cornelia demanded as she walked toward him.
She had been sitting at the window waiting for the moment Gunther
returned home.
“Calm down Cornelia,”
Gunther responded softly. “I was working
late.”
“Don’t tell me to calm
down. I’m not some stupid, naïve,
housewife.”
As Cornelia laid into him
Gunther realized he wasn’t as lucky as he thought he was.
“This isn’t about working
late. I’ve heard the rumors. Our marriage may mean nothing to you, but I
will not stand by and watch you hurt our son.”
“What are you talking
about, Cornelia?”
“You really don’t
remember? You were supposed to take him
to a movie tonight. He waited over two
hours for you.”
“I’ll take him tomorrow
then. It won’t even matter next week.”
“It does matter and it will
until he wants nothing to do with you.”
After the last stinging remark Cornelia walk away from Gunther. She knew that she would not be able to reason
with him and he would never tell her the truth.
Early
the next morning Mortimer got ready for school and avoided both of his parents. The manor may be large, but it was old and
the walls were thin. He had only just
drifted off when the fight between his parents started. He had heard every word. He had wanted to believe that his parents
loved each other even though they were often distant, but the more time he
spent at Bella’s house the more he realized his parents were not normal. Mortimer snuck his breakfast and waited
quietly until the bus came. As soon as
he saw it driving up the street he ran out of the house without even telling
his mother goodbye.
Cornelia
knew that Mortimer had heard the fight since he rushed off to school without
saying a word. She figured it would do
more harm than good to chase after him.
When she was sure that he was safely on his way to school she went to
work in her garden. Gunther had already
left to work and she was alone in the house.
The Goths were known for their fascination with death, which never
really bothered her. However Cornelia
felt the calmest in her garden. She
loved watching life bloom from the tiny little buds on her veggie plants and
apple trees. Cornelia chose to manually
weed and water each plant because it gave her time to clear her head and
think. Cornelia often wondered why she
stayed in a loveless married but then she thought of her sister’s spinsterhood
and knew she didn’t want that. Mortimer
was also a problem. Well, Mortimer
himself wasn’t a problem but it was a problem that he was the only heir. If Cornelia decided to leave the she would
have to leave Mortimer behind. Since the
Goths were practically Sunset Valley royalty there was no way she would win
custody in court. So she would stay, but
she wasn’t going to settle for being a married spinster either. As she plucked the last weed from the garden
she decided it was time to take matters into her own hands.
Mortimer
had called home from school to ask if he could go over to Bella’s house. Cornelia thought this was a great way to get
some time with Gunther so she arranged for Mortimer to spend the night with
Bella’s family. Mortimer didn’t
mind. Homework was always easier when he
and Bella worked on it. He had a
graveyard in his yard, but Bella had a jungle gym and sometimes her older
brother would even play catch with him.
The best thing about being at Bell’s house was that he just felt like a
normal kid.
With time on her side
Cornelia asked Gunther to take a walk through the cemetery with her. The cemetery may have been creepy to most
people but any Goth felt calm and comfortable among the headstones. Cornelia led him over to a bench and began
her effort to make things work.
“Listen Gunther, I know
that I am not making you happy and that you don’t have the love for me like you
did for Lolita.” She paused for a
moment. It was always hard to mention
his first wife. She carefully chose her
words before continuing, “We are not young anymore and it has been such a long
time since she died. Give me the chance
to be the wife that you need and want. I
do love you Gunther.”
“Don’t beg Cornelia. Everything is fine.”
“I’m not begging. Mortimer needs a good family and loving
parents to learn from. We can do
that.” Gunther stared at Cornelia. He didn’t really know what to say to her. He didn’t hate her, but the passion he had
for Lolita just wasn’t there with Cornelia.
Nancy was a different story all together. She was just so different from Goth women he
was addicted to her. Cornelia’s eyes
searched Gunther’s. It wasn’t often that
he gazed at her for any amount of time.
As they sat in silence he
couldn’t help but notice her sadness and desperation. He barely remembered how much he liked her
mouth when she pouted. It may have been
a stupid move but he leaned in for a small kiss, just so she wouldn’t look so
sad anymore. Their lips brushed and
Gunther could feel a hopeful sigh escape her lips. He knew he shouldn’t have lingered for more
than a moment but he had forgotten how soft and full her lips felt, even if
they were slightly wrinkled with age. He
shifted slightly to bring her kiss in deeper.
Cornelia had forgotten
about the small feeling of butterflies in her stomach when she was close to
Gunther. She felt him move and the kiss
became more. She leaned in to take it
all when Gunther pulled away.
“Don’t make this to be more
than it is,” he said in a cool and quiet tone.
Cornelia’s hands trembled and tears threatened to flood her eyes. She searched his face for any indication that
something went wrong. Gunther broke
her gaze and stared off into the distance.
With nothing left to say Cornelia slowly walked the path back to the
manor, her heart broke into a million pieces.
Gunther
felt anxious after the brief display of affection with Cornelia. He had hoped to calm down before returning
home but the thought of going back made his anxiety worsen. Gunther had kept his distance from Nancy
after her husband interrupted their night.
The more he thought about her the more he wanted to see her. Gunther gave her a call and asked her to meet
him in the cemetery. Nancy was not thrilled
about meeting there, but all of their usual places weren’t an option in the
fallout of being discovered. Gunther was
glad to see Nancy again. It seemed that
she was putting on a little weight but her new curviness was sexy. They spent the afternoon relaxing in solitude
and Gunther gave Nancy a tour of the mausoleum.
Gunther had returned to his
old habits of working late. Even though
he was into his elderhood, he gave no indication of retiring. Cornelia was having no luck with Gunther. She was unflirty by nature and she thought
that could be part of the problem. She
supposed if Gunther was having an affair he was obviously looking for the
affection she thought was somewhat pointless.
Not one to give up easily Cornelia did a little research and decided her
current nightgown choice wasn’t helping matters. She visited a high-end lingerie store and
invested in something a little more revealing.
Later that afternoon she sent Mortimer over to the Bachelors, lit some
candles, and called Gunther to come home early.
Gunther wasn’t happy that
his wife wanted him home early. He was
ramping up his campaign for Vice President and he thought about grabbing some
dinner with Nancy. However, the urgency
in Cornelia’s voice was concerning. The
election wouldn’t go well if he was in the midst of a divorce. Gunther decided that it was probably best to
go home this time. He had imagined that
Cornelia would be waiting for him on the front porch with her bags pack and the
divorce papers in hand. He was surprised
by the quiet house. Even the maid wasn’t
around. He went upstairs to the master
bedroom. As he opened the door his heart
nearly stopped at the sight of her silhouette in the candlelight. Cornelia beckoned him to the bed. He had never seen Cornelia like this before,
conceiving Mortimer had been mechanical, and the sparse encounters since then
had been obligatory. He was so caught
off guard that he found himself relaxing next to her.
Cornelia took Gunther in
her arms, “Don’t speak,” and she kissed him before he could say a word.
Cornelia drew him in with
her kisses, deeper and feverishly with each kiss. Gunther wouldn’t have been able to leave if
he had wanted. At first she was nervous
and clumsy, then slowly she let go.
Cornelia’s instincts as a woman took control and Gunther matched her
rhythm. Together they shared a night
together as lovers rather than husband and wife.
After that unexpected night
Gunther made an effort to come home at a reasonable time. His relationship with Cornelia was improving,
though nowhere near perfect. He had
returned to long hours after he took office as the Vice President. He wasn’t seeing Nancy however. He had heard that she did follow through with
her divorce from Geoffrey, but with his relationship on the mend with Cornelia
he dare not risk meeting with Nancy and falling back into habit. It was during one of his late nights that his
secretary took a call from Nancy. She
requested that he meet her at the Art Museum.
Gunther didn’t think it was a great idea, but if Nancy dared trying to
contact him at home the situation could be worsened. Upon entering the second floor Gunther could
see why Nancy wanted to speak with him.
“I’m pregnant,” Nancy
blurted out before Gunther had left the staircase.
“Congratulations to you and
Geoffrey,” Gunther said quietly. Nancy
stared at him in disbelief.
“Congratulations to you and
Geoffrey? Don’t be a fool, this is your
baby Gunther and you know it,” she spat.
“Keep your voice down
Nancy. This is not my baby. Go home and tell Geoffrey he is going to be a
father again.”
“What?! If you deny this child I will tell
Cornelia. How do you think she will take
the news? I know she has always wanted
more than just your one son.”
“You have no proof
Nancy. Are you looking for money? I can’t imagine that you are short on cash,
but regardless, you aren’t getting a dime from me either.” Nancy was blinded by fury but thankfully her
Landgraab upbringing was stronger.
Before she caused a scene she left.
Gunther, on the other hand,
was not so refined. To him the matter
was not settled and he went after Nancy.
“We are not finished
Nancy.”
“Oh, I’m finished and when
I’m done you’ll be more than finished. I
won’t stop with telling Cornelia. I’ll
tell Mortimer, and then I’ll tell the entire town. Your campaign for Leader of the Free World
just ended.”
“Don’t you threaten
me. I’ll ruin you before you even get a
chance to tell people that is my baby.
If you go anywhere near my family I will destroy your business and
anything you are holding for Malcolm.
When that is done, I will make sure you never see that baby again.”
“We are done here,” Gunther
said. “If you want a father for your baby,
go tell Geoffrey.”
“I can’t believe you. I can’t tell Geoffrey. I left him for you. You were supposed to leave Cornelia you lying
snake,” Nancy cried at him.
“It is not going to
happen. You shouldn’t have made such a
rash decision. Now go home and stay away
from my family.”
“Don’t do this
Gunther. We can be a family. You, me , and this baby. Life wouldn’t change much for you at
Landgraab Estate.”
“Landgraab Estate?” Gunther
scoffed, “What in the world make you think I would give up Goth Manor for
Landgraab Estate? Nancy you are clinging
to a desperate fantasy.”
“You should have thought
about that before you started this affair,” Nancy replied. “You have an obligation. You can cooperate or I can make you
cooperate.”
“It is your own fault you
are pregnant. I don’t want this baby, it
is not mine. This is over.”
As
Gunther walked away for the last time he could hear Nancy screaming through the
door, “This is not the end Gunther.
There will never be an end. We
are enemies and every Landgraab will always be an enemy to any Goth.” Nancy’s Landgraab poise had deteriorated into
a woman scorned.
