Out with the Old

She remembered the first time that she saw that picture.  That face was looking down at her as if to tell her that she wasn't good enough for him without even knowing who she was or what she was about.  The face looked like it was telling her to leave.  That is exactly what she did, too...



"Ethan, I'm sorry but all of a sudden I am not feeling so well.  If you don't mind, we can do this on another day."  In her mind, she was thinking that she never wanted to see that picture again.  The vibe from the picture was that strong.  She was ready to walk out of this house and never come back.



"Don't you want to see the rest of my house first?"



"No, I will see it another time.  I'm just not feeling well."



"Ok," he said not wanting to sound too insensitive, but his feelings were really hurt.  He cautiously asked, "Is it ok if I call you later?"



"I want to take a nap but am not sure how long it will take me to fall asleep, so I'll call you when I wake up, ok?"



"Ok," he said worriedly.  Now, he was really beginning to feel the cold shoulder, but was unsure what to do about it.  He couldn't force her to stay.



All night, Ethan kept close vigil of the time.  Why was this happening again?  What was it about his house that drove the women away?  At first, he had thought it was just him, but after a time he realized that he was always dumped after he took a lady to his house.  He was determined to find out what was going on.



Later, Shanna sat on her couch and wondered what had come over her.  She had been dating Ethan for about three months and the relationship was going very well, which is why he finally decided to show her his home.  She had been suspicious at first because he seemed like he didn't want her at his house.  She had been so desperate to see his house but she literally walked in the door and was ready to go.  Then, she remembered how she felt when she saw the picture.  Actually, it would be more accurate to say 'when she felt the picture' because, she did pickup a very strong feeling from that picture especially, when she looked directly at it.



Now, she was wondering what she should do.  Ethan was special and she didn't want to give him up because of a picture.  That sounded pretty crazy.  She decided that she should give the picture the benefit of doubt and try again another day.  With that being settled, she laid down to take a nap.  When she woke up, she called Ethan as she had promised.



"Heeeyy, you!  I was beginning to get worried."



"What were you worried about?  I told you that I would call when I woke up."



"I know, but that has been quite awhile ago.  Are you ok?"



"Yes, I feel so much better, now after my nap."



"That's good, then.



"I do apologize.  I will come by to look at your place tomorrow."  She was feeling a little silly about the whole thing and wanted to prove herself wrong.



"Ok, that would be great!"



"Alright, then.  See you tomorrow."



As she stood there waiting for Ethan to answer the door, she began to get that same feeling as the day before.  Only it wasn't as strong, yet.



Ethan opened the door and greeted her, "Hello Shanna, please come and," he said as he stood to the side to let her pass.



As she walked in the door, the feeling from the picture became stronger.  She tried not to look at it but she felt that the picture was willing her to look at it but she refused.  "So, show me the lovely house," she said as she looked at Ethan.



As he walked her through the house, she could still feel the picture and it was very strong in her mind.  So, she was only half paying attention to him as he was rambling on and on about this and that.



As soon as she saw the last room, she politely said, "I love your house but can we go somewhere else?"



"Where do you want to go?"



"Anywhere but here.  Then I will explain."



He took her down the street to get some ice cream.  As they were sitting there chowing down on their ice cream, he asked, "Do you have anything to tell me?"



"Yes, and this is going to sound really crazy, but here it goes," she said and gave a nervous laugh.  How long have you had that picture that is hanging over your fireplace?"



"That picture has been passed down through our family for many generations.  I have only had it about a year.  Why do you ask?"



""I don't know quite how to say this, but that picture has a very evil spirit.  As soon as I walked into your house yesterday, I felt compelled to look directly at that picture.  When I did look at it, I felt that I did not belong in that house and that it was imperative that I leave that instant."  She could still feel it now just as strongly as she did when she was standing looking up at the picture.  As she thought about it, she could feel her flesh crawl.  "Anyway, after I got home, I told myself that was crazy and I had to go back."



"How did you feel today?"



"I could feel the picture as I was waiting for you to open the door.  I decided I wasn't even going to look at the picture.  When I got inside I felt strongly compelled to look at it, but I resisted.  The whole time we were there, all I could think about was the picture willing me to look at it.  I knew that once I looked at it, then I would feel like I wasn't good enough for you.



"That would explain some things.  The day after I got that picture, my girlfriend dumped me.  We had been together for about three months.  Every lady that I have brought to the house since I had that picture has dumped me.  They would walk in and then immediately want to leave.  Then, I would never hear from them again.  You are the first lady who has called me back after coming into my house."



"That must mean that we are really supposed to be together.  Yesterday when I left here, I was thinking that I would leave and you would never hear from me again.  When I got home, I couldn't stop thinking about this whole thing.  I thought about not seeing you again and that made me feel horrible.  I have been trying to come up with a solution.  Especially since you say it's a family heirloom."



"I bet that is my dad's last wife.  She had always been fascinated with that picture.  She said the woman in the picture looked very independent, like she didn't want or need a man.  She was really mean to my father but he loved her so much.  She hated the fact that he was married once before her.  She would tell him that if she died before him, that he wasn't allowed to get married again.  She said that she would make sure of that.  Oddly enough, he never remarried after her.  She even said that my brother, Bryce, and I shouldn't get married, either.  She was very evil, especially toward the end of her life."



"Why didn't she want you to get married?"



"She said that we were too much like our father, so we should stay single."



"Wow!  That is evil."



"Yeah, I never understood why he married her.  Anyway, I am going to take that picture to my brother's house tonight.  He doesn't let many women in his house and the ones that he let go over, he don't plan on staying with for long anyway.  He might actually like having the picture in his house.  As a matter of fact, I'm calling him right now," he said as he pulled his phone out and began dialing a number.



"Say, are you at home?"



"No, but I'm heading that way right now.  Why?"



"I am bringing the family picture over.  I will explain when I get there."



Ethan got the picture from his house and put it in his trunk and hopped back in the driver's seat.  "I can still feel that picture.  That is really crazy."



"Well, I love you and want to be with you forever so forget about that stupid picture.  We will take it to a church and let them exorcise her.  I don't know that I even want that picture back in my house after this.  It almost made me lose you.  That would not have been good."



"You said the L word.  Do you even realize you said that?"



"Yes, I know exactly what I am saying.  Yesterday, when you left, I was miserable.  All I could do is sit by my phone and wait.  I couldn't think about anything else.  I couldn't do anything except sit and wait for you to call.  I don't want to live my life without you.  I don't ever want to let you out my sight again."



"What about when I have to do number two?"



"Well, maybe for a few minutes every now and then."



"What about when we go to work?"



"We don't need to work, we can live off of love...



Now, she has been married to Ethan for almost two years.  Bryce finally met the love of his life.  He is moving into their house this weekend because his lease was up.  Their wedding is next weekend which is when she is moving into their house.



He had hung the picture up in his house the day after Ethan took it to his house where it hung for a year chasing all the women away.  Then, he met Tracy and after a couple of months we all took the picture to a church to have it exorcised.  After that, he hung it back in his house and invited Tracy over.  The picture didn't run her off, so he kept it there until now.