The Stranger in Her House

“Is this 911? My name is Lisa Jenkins. I am 88 years old and I am calling you to ask for your help. I am very upset and do not know what else to do! Let me explain what happened last night. Since my husband, Ben, passed away, years ago, I have been living alone at 19381 Materita Drive in Pelican Preserve. I suppose, the single-family house is like most of the houses on this street. The back door faces a pond and, sometimes, I see alligators, demorats, and other unsavory pests, in my backyard. I am terrified to go out, for that reason, and seldom leave the house. I keep the doors locked in the front and back and keep the light low, so as not to attract trouble”.

I then told the 911 staff person, “Last evening started out as usual. I had toast and strawberry jelly with it and a cup of tea, an English muffin and, as desert, a chocolate chip cookie, as is my custom.  I changed into my favorite purple nightgown and settled down in my usual chair, with its lovely design of green leaves and bursts of pink flowers. I love to read and, today, I continued to read Jason Matthew’s, new book. ‘The Red Sparrow’. I hate it because it makes me very stressed, but always finish what I start!”

I continued, “That evening, I heard a suspicious sound. It sounded like someone was trying to get in from my back door. Someone tried one key after another. Then, suddenly, I heard a bang, as the door was forced open. A soft breeze filled the room. There were two heavy steps and the sound of a door slamming. In the frightening minutes of silence that followed, I could hear nothing. But, then, I heard a familiar noise. It was the sound of a toilet flushing. I was angry that an intruder would use my toilet, but my fear was mixed with anger and curiosity. I expected the intruder to march into the den, where the light was on, and attack me. He fooled me, by opening the kitchen refrigerator. I could hear glass clanging, as this demon robbed my refrigerator. I almost charged into the kitchen, when I heard a cork pop. That S.O.B was raiding husband’s wine collection! Never-the-less, I still tried to stay calm and waited for the inevitable.”

“Then it happened! I thought ‘Oh my God! He is going to attack me!’ A bald, burley man stomped into the room and shouted, Lisa, where is the ketchup? I was shocked that he called me by my name and responded, angrily, “Who the hell are you? Get out of my house right now!”  He came up right to my chair, where I could see him better and said, quietly, with a friendly smile, ‘Lisa, it’s me, Ben!’” I continued my report to the 911 staff person and explained that I told him, “You are a liar, since my husband, Ben, died many years ago”.

She continued, “Then, he sighed and said, are you are having memory problems again?” He tried to assuring me, by repeating, that he was Ben and I was still his wife and nothing has changed. He added, ‘I am really sorry it took so long to get back home. The guys were having fun bowling, as we do, every Thursday and we, and I stopped off for a couple of beers. Lisa, don’t you remember the fun we had, bowling together?’ “I thought for a moment about those good old days, Bowling with Ben”

Then, I jumped to my feet, waived my cane in a menacing way, and screamed, “You idiot! You are drunk again! You don’t live here! Your name is Ben Barnes and you and your wife, Lisa May, live two doors down. He took another look at me, his eyes widened in shock and then he gulped, apologized, and finally understood why his key did not work. He was obviously very embarrassed and promised that this would be the last time that would ever frighten me again.” I finished my report to 911, by saying, “The reason for my call to 911 is that I was just wondering if it would be alright for me to call Ben, so that I can go bowling with him. I used to be a pretty good Bowler!”

^©Norman F. Estrin, Ph.D., “The Stranger in Her House”, March 11, 2218