Enough to Miss Christmas

"I'm getting ready to haul it inside," she said with a wave of her hand and a smile. "Big discounts. This is my uncle's house. He and my aunt moved to Florida and left it up to me to get rid of their stuff."

"We're going to move down the street," Timmy announced. He and the woman began discussing our new home. Karen and I looked over the merchandise; the usual collection of household goods, glassware and knickknacks with some well used furniture. The only item to catch my eye was a large overstuffed chair.

"It's gigantic!" Karen said.

The woman turned her attention to us. "Mr. Armstrong is a very large man. He had it custom made. He barely got to use it so it's practically new."

Karen sat in it. "Two regular people would fit."

Timmy joined her. "Buy it! You can read to me in it and we'll be really cozy!"

I squashed between them, bouncing a few times. "I like it. It has character and the blue color matches the tone I plan to paint my bedroom."

Paul smiled in disbelief. "I'm glad our bedroom is king size!"

"Buy it for me," I said, "for a wedding present. I'll call it the love chair!" I hugged my two seat partners. To Paul's credit, he pulled out some crisp bills.

"Does this move me to the top of the adaptability list?" He asked as he made arrangements for the seller to store our purchase until we moved.

"It's a first step, mister, but it's a long road." I owned my first piece of family furniture.

We continued to our new house and spent an hour there. Karen remained away from me, especially when I was alone. I was sure she was afraid I'd question her about her fear of the cellar and her desire to mislead her father about the subject.

I felt no desire to broach the subject in front of others and embarrass her, but I resolved to discuss the matter with her once we were alone. My opportunity came when Timmy tugged his father off to the barn. I trapped Karen in the kitchen though she attempted to follow the others.

"Karen, lots of us have phobias about dark places, but you seemed to be truly frightened of your cellar and that bothers me." She brushed off the subject as meaningless. I questioned her truthfulness but I didn't want to push too hard. I feared something untoward might have occurred there. While I had no fear of Paul causing his daughter grief, I knew there were males employed on the property.

"Karen, has a man ever tried do something bad to you?"