A HIDEAWAY TO ESCAPE TO

by PearlAnn SnowStar

The door creaked open on rust-covered hinges.

Catherine and Vincent looked at each other, wondering if they should enter the darkened room.

“Do we dare go in?” she asked. She reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a small flashlight.

He looked at the door. “This needs to be…” He looked around.

She turned on the flashlight as she watched him. Lighting up the room, she could see that there was a bed in the corner.

“Catherine.”

She turned to face him.

“I’m going to have to get something to keep this door open. Can you please make sure it won’t close?”

She nodded and walked up to the door. Turning around, she leaned up against it.

He walked down the passageway, looking above and below. Turning around, he went back toward the entrance to the basement. He looked back at her before he disappeared into the basement.

She waited patiently.

A few minutes later, he was carrying out a dresser, minus the drawers. She moved as he propped the dresser up against the door. Satisfied, he walked into the dark room.

She followed him. In the room by the bed was a table with a candlestick on it. The candle was burned down, but still usable. The room was a bit dusty. Next to the table was a dresser.

“Amazing, who’d have thought?” She looked around the room. On the opposite wall, near the ceiling, were pipes. The pipes went down the length of the wall toward the door.

“I hear, faintly, the tapping of our sentries.” He turned around. “These passageways haven’t been used in a long time.”

She smiled. “I think that does it.”

He gave her a puzzled look.

“This is the brownstone I’ll buy. I’ll put in an elevator. We’ll keep the basement apartments as ours. I won’t touch the front entrance with the stairs. However, I’ll make a handicapped entrance next to those stairs to get into the front entryway. This is a three-story building, and that would be helpful for some people. I’ll make sure everything is locked and secured.”

He chuckled.

“What?”

“The changes you want to make could take months to complete.”

“Well worth it. We’ll change things a bit. I want to have a few apartments for the Helpers who need them. As well as having a place for those Below coming Above to stay for a while.”

“I know you are keeping your former apartment for anyone who needs it.” He walked up to her. “Can you…”

She placed a hand on his lips. “We both know that we need a place close to the community Below and close to the Family Court where I’ll be working now and then. And yes, I can afford it.”

“I can check out the passageways to make sure they are safe.” He smiled. “When you mentioned the address of the brownstone, it seemed as if fate smiled down on us.”

“I’m just as happy.”  She paused, then continued, “It’s perfect. Since the basement looks like two units, I can add another door to access the handicapped entrance. That way, we don’t have to go out to get back into the other parts of the building.” She looked at him. “Some of the changes may need the help of the community Below. But it should only be those who want to help. Other changes will require permits and…”

“It’ll work out.” He looked around the room. “This place is so unusual.”

She grinned. “And with a door. Maybe it was a secret hideaway for someone. Now it could be a special place of our own, other than the apartment and the chamber Below.”

“It hasn’t been used for a long time, much like the passageways.”

She walked over to the dresser and started looking through the drawers. “Huh.”

He walked over to her.

“All the drawers are empty.” She looked up at him. “Whoever lived here moved everything out and forgot the candlestick.”

He looked at the door. “We need to make sure that when that door closes, we can get out.”

“It looks like it might get stuck.”

“I still would like to keep the door.”

“So would I.”

She hugged him. She lifted her head as he lowered his. Gently, they kissed.

“I’ll start the paperwork. You start investigating the passageways.” She smiled.

“Shouldn’t I check out the passageways before you commit?”

Shaking her head, she said, “No. I can’t explain it…”

“It just feels right.”

“Yes.”

* * *

Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months. One year passed into another.

Late in March, Catherine was standing in an apartment, looking around the living room.

There was a gentle knock. The door opened, and Vincent walked in.

She looked at him and chuckled. “What a look!”

He smiled. “It’s just amazing how everything came together.”

She walked up to him and kissed his cheek. “The renovations weren’t the hardest part.”

They laughed as he nodded. “Father was dead set against using those passageways. Then he wondered why you couldn’t keep your old apartment.”

She played with his hair. “Well, we had to do a lot of convincing.”

“He still doesn’t like the idea. He said there must have been a good reason why those passageways weren’t used for a long time.”

She smiled and hugged him. She took his hand. “Come and see the rest of our apartment.”

He followed her as she went into the kitchen.

* * *

Later that day, Vincent was in his chamber, sitting at his desk. He was reading a sheet of paper that he held in his hand.

“Vincent?”

He turned and saw Mouse at the entrance to his chamber.

“Come in.”

Mouse walked in.

“Mouse?”

“Father. Told everyone. Passageways flooded. Not yours.”

“Yes, I know. I just needed a small moment to check on other requests.” He stood up, placing the paper on his desk. “I’ll go now to check on what repairs are needed.

By the way, Mouse, I wanted to thank you for your help with the new passageways. Our brownstone is ready to move in.”

“Staying Uptop?”

“Only now and then. It’s just a place where Catherine and I can be together…”

“Without being bothered.” Mouse lowered his head.

Vincent walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll mostly be in my chamber Below.”

Vincent removed his hand.

“Mouse find out stuff.”

“Yes?”

“Jamie told Mouse. She checked maps. Found…” Mouse reached into his pocket and pulled out an old sheet of paper. “This.” Mouse handed it to Vincent.

Vincent read it and smiled. “Can I keep this?”

Mouse nodded.

“It explains why the passageways were blocked off.”

Mouse looked at him. “Homeless not there. Now. Mouse checked.”

“We all checked.”

“Long way down. Like Catherine’s old place.”

“True, but this is our brownstone. No need for me to climb up to her balcony.”

Mouse smiled. “Easier.”

“Yes, easier.” Vincent placed the old sheet into his pocket. “I’ll check on Jacob later.”

“Getting big.” Mouse grinned. “Catherine come?”

“Yes, she will come Below tonight. She’ll take our son to our new apartment tomorrow.”

“You go, too. Tomorrow?”

“Perhaps.”

Mouse and Vincent walked out of the chamber. As they walked down the passageway, they met up with Cullen.

“Oh, Vincent, just the person I wanted to see.” Cullen looked at Mouse. “Did you tell him?”

“About the passageway?” Vincent inquired as Mouse looked at his feet.

“No, not that. We fixed the door on the mysterious room.  Still, I wouldn’t trust that old door.” Cullen reached into his pocket. “Anyway, here are the keys. One for you. One for Catherine. And I had to make one for Father. He insisted.”

“OK, good, OK, Mouse go.”

Mouse scampered away.

“Thank you, Cullen.”

“Guess you two are going to have a new name.”

Vincent looked at Cullen.

“Some are calling Catherine and you the UpBelow couple.”

Vincent smiled. “Catherine may be amused at that.” Vincent paused, then continued, “I never dreamed that there would be a place like this. That Catherine would be able to work at Family Court part-time.”

“Bet you’re glad she is no longer working full time,” Cullen said.

“Yes, I am, in a way, but I also know she likes to use her skills Above to help others.”

“I’m glad you two worked things out. At least for your son’s sake. So, Catherine will be mostly Below, right?”

Vincent thought about that question before replying, “It’s not a question of being mostly Below or Above. It’s about Catherine enjoying her life in both worlds safely.”

“And you two can drop Jacob off now and then for a few quiet moments.” Cullen laughed. “Father begrudgingly finally accepted it. He still thinks Catherine should have kept her old place instead of getting this new one. Or at least consider staying Below.”

“Father has mentioned that to me at times. But I want her to be happy. I wouldn’t want her to choose between her family and her career.”

“Well, I know most of us are happy about discovering these old passageways.”

“Why?”

“Well, we have more passageways to use. The kids growing up have more options for where to live. We can have more chambers as our community needs.” Cullen grinned. “Most of all, there is a hideaway room. When Catherine and you are not using it, maybe some of us can. Maybe we can make it a honeymoon suite or whatever.”

Vincent shook his head. “Father might not…”

Cullen put his hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “Father will get used to it. We need a place to ‘hideaway’ now and then. At least for some of us. A place where we won’t be interrupted.”

“I know I wouldn’t mind you using it.”

“And I know Catherine wouldn’t mind either,” Cullen said.

“Luckily, we have plenty of people volunteering to be sentries for the new passageways. Mouse is also thinking about an automatic alarm system.”

“His alarm system for one area does work.”

Vincent nodded his head. “I’m concerned that he’ll want to wire everything up.”

Cullen sighed. “Let’s hope not.”

“I’m going to ask if you can let everyone know that for next month…”

Cullen put up a hand. “We know April is special.”

* * *

A few weeks later, Catherine and Vincent were in the chamber Below, playing with Jacob. They were playing with old alphabet blocks. Catherine was using them to make simple words for Jacob.

After placing a few blocks together, Catherine said, “Love, L-O-V-E.”

Jacob giggled and knocked the blocks down. He pointed toward the stained-glass window above the bed.

“Petty.” Jacob smiled.

“Pretty,” Catherine said.

“Petty,” Jacob repeated.

Vincent laughed. “He seems to have made up his mind what words he chooses to say.”

“Or at least trying to say them as best as a toddler can.” Catherine looked at them both. “I’m thinking of letting him learn here Below, at least for grade school. I’ll apply for home schooling, so all will appear legal.”

Vincent noticed Jacob starting to roam around the chamber.

Catherine kept an eye on Jacob as she said, “UpBelow couple?”

“You heard?”

She grinned as she momentarily looked at Vincent, then turned to see Jacob using the chair to climb up.

She stood up, running over toward the chair, and picked up Jacob.

Vincent got up from the floor, then paused. He looked at Catherine holding Jacob. She nodded. He grabbed his cloak and quickly left the chamber.

It took close to an hour to travel through the new passageways that led to the brownstone building. When he rounded the corner, he saw a small crowd. Cullen, William, Theodore, and Samuel were trying to get the door to the hideaway room open.

One of the men, Samuel, turned around. He looked scared. “Mouse…locked in.”

Vincent looked at Samuel. He was like a gentler version of Winslow. Very strong, yet calm. “Samuel, what happened?”

Samuel looked at Cullen, Theodore, and William. Jamie was there, too. “Not sure.”

Jamie spoke up. “It happened about a few hours ago. I’m not sure exactly. All I know is that there was tapping on the pipes from Mouse. He kept repeating hideaway and stuck.”

Vincent paused, then said, “Who sent the emergency call?”

“Jamie,” said another man.

Vincent turned around. “Michael, when…”

“I came to bring something for Mouse before I went back to college. Jamie sent me a note telling me that Mouse was looking for something special for this hideaway. Mouse wasn’t in his room. That’s when I heard his tapping. I placed the items I had in Mouse’s chamber and went to get Jamie to guide me to this new area.”

Jamie said, “We found that we couldn’t get into the room. I tapped the emergency call. Samuel, Cullen, and William were already walking toward the hideaway room.”

“His darn raccoon invaded the kitchen again,” William said. “Samuel wanted to check out the new place.”

“I wanted to recheck the door,” Cullen said. “We all met up here. Mouse should have been clearer about being in trouble.”

Jamie gave him a look.

Michael had a bag that he gave to Cullen.

Cullen pulled out a crowbar. “I’m going to have to get the door moved a bit. I need to jam this in between the door and the door jamb. Don’t look like the room is locked.”

“MOUSE, HANG IN THERE!” Michael called out.

There was a muffled voice that responded.

Vincent went over and took the crowbar from Cullen and finally managed to wedge it between the door and the door jamb. Not much, but the door groaned as it started to move a little.

“All right, finally,” William said. “Now what?”

Cullen went and started to loosen the hinges. “This should help. Let’s see if we can break the darn thing down.”

Vincent was about to help Cullen, but Cullen shook his head. “Vincent, the moment you feel you can pull this door open, do so.”

Vincent applied more pressure as Cullen started to work on the hinges. Samuel went behind Vincent. He pulled on the doorknob.

A few minutes later, Vincent roared as Samuel pulled and turned the door handle. The door popped open so quickly that Samuel fell backwards. Vincent caught himself. Cullen jumped out of the way. The door only opened halfway.

Theodore and William walked up to the door and started to push it outwards. Vincent pulled the handle. Finally, the door opened all the way.

Mouse ran out and bumped into Jamie. He blushed and looked around.

William looked at Mouse. “I sure would like to know how you got stuck, but your darn raccoon…”

Mouse moved toward the door and kicked it. “Stupid…stupid…door closed behind Mouse…Mouse no get out…long time…”

“Well, if you had only…” Cullen started to say.

“Enough,” Jamie yelled out. “Mouse, Michael brought the things you asked for. How about we take care of Arthur and check those items out?”

“Yeah, I wanted to know about the items you requested me to get.” Michael looked at William. “Let’s herd Arthur back home.”

William humphed and started to walk away.

Mouse looked at Vincent and Cullen. “Door bad…no fix…find another.” He then started to follow William. Jamie and Michael followed Mouse.

“Cullen?” Vincent inquired.

“How about the rest of us remove this door and leave it open until we find another replacement.” Cullen grinned. “Wouldn’t want a certain couple getting stuck in there on their anniversary.”

* * *

It was late at night when Vincent went back to their chamber. Theirs. Not too long ago, it was his chamber. He smiled as he entered the chamber.

Catherine was resting on the bed, Jacob asleep in her arms. The sight filled him with such happiness that his chest hurt.

Catherine stirred and opened her eyes. “That’s a strange look. Is everything OK?”

“The door to the hideaway was stuck. Mouse was in the hideaway.”

Carefully, Catherine moved as she placed Jacob on the bed. She got up and walked over to him.

She whispered, “He’s asleep for now.”

She took Vincent’s hand, and they walked out of the chamber.

“What happened?” she inquired.

“Mouse, for some reason, was in the hideaway room.”

“How? We and Father have the only keys.”

He smiled. “I think Mouse made a set for himself.”

Catherine shook her head. “What was he doing in that room?”

“I’ll ask him tomorrow. Right now, the room has no door.”

“Is that safe?”

“It should be all right. I looked into the room and saw that Mouse had left a lava lamp.”

She looked puzzled. “Anything else?”

“More candles in candlesticks.”

She giggled. “I think he believes we need more light. But a lava lamp?”

“We now have two candlesticks with candles on the table. Two more on the dresser. Plus, he brought in a small table that the lava lamp is on.”

She grinned. “I didn’t know he was a romantic.”

He shook his head. “Neither did I.”

She gently touched his arm. “It’s late and you’re tired. I’m staying here tonight. The cases I was working on have been completed. I let the Family Court Department know I’ll be off until the middle of May.”

“I’ll go wash up.”

He started to move, and she grabbed his arm. Standing on tiptoes, she kissed his lips lightly.

“I’ve got something to tell you, but it can wait until morning.”

He nodded and proceeded down the passageway as she went back into the chamber.

* * *

The next day in the afternoon, Vincent and Catherine were in the brownstone apartment. They were sitting in the living room on the couch, her head resting on his shoulder.

“Been a busy day,” she said.

“Yes, but at least I found out from Mouse why he was in the hideaway.”

She looked up at him and noticed a grin.

“He said he wanted to make our hideaway special for our anniversary,” Vincent said, amused.

“Well, that explains it.”

“He also managed to find new doors. Made Cullen and Samuel promise not to tell what kind of doors.”

“Oh, no.”

He laughed.

“They were smirking. Cullen even blushed. Samuel grinned.”

“I wonder what kind of doors?”

“All I know is that it will be ready for us by April 12th. It will still have a lock, but no handle.”

“Does Father know?”

“They haven’t told him the key he has now won’t work.”

They both laughed.

She got up. “I have something to show you.”

She walked over to a rolltop desk in the corner. She pulled the chair away from the desk. She rolled up the top of the desk. He walked over to her. There were papers on the desk. She picked up the papers and turned to face him.

“I found out who owned this brownstone. It’s the usual assortment of owners. Some at one time or another also owned not only this one, but the others on this block. But it gets mysterious starting in the 1950s.”

“That’s the time…” He paused.

“During that time, the individual brownstones started to belong to separate owners. In the 1970s, the entire row of brownstones on the block was purchased by one person. In 1983, three of those brownstones were purchased from the owner of those brownstones. Ours and the units to the right and left of ours. A holding company owns the rest.”

She showed him the papers. “The three brownstone units were bought in 1983 by Miss Annie Gibes. She wanted to have her friends all around her. But, when she passed, this one was the only one left for her estate to sell. The other two next to us belong to other owners.”

She looked at him. “I found something that’s interesting. In the late 1950s, there was a person who owned the three brownstones eventually sold to Miss Annie.” She paused, then continued, “His name was Professor Jacob Wells.”

He looked shocked.

“I know,” she said. “But it wasn’t Father. It was somebody else. He was a Professor of Social Studies. It seemed that he wanted those three brownstones for himself and his friends. The odd thing about it was that he was the only one who paid rent for all three. It doesn’t show that the other two contributed.” She looked at the papers. “He died in 1971. The three brownstones were empty until 1983, when Miss Annie bought them, selling two before she passed in 1987. This brownstone is the one she herself had lived in, and it stood empty until now.”

“Three years.”

“Yes, but what is even more mysterious is that this Professor in the 1950s, well, I saw his picture.”

“Did he…”

“No, he didn’t look like Father. But that name…”

They looked at each other.

“Magic,” he said.

“Coincidence,” she said. “Either way, that doesn’t explain the tunnels, the secret hideaway room, and the passageways.”

“Jamie found an old sheet of paper. She gave it to Mouse, and he gave it to me.”

She had a curious look on her face. He just stood there with a twinkle in his eyes. She raised an eyebrow.

“The sheet of paper mentioned our early community finding the passageways. However, they were taken over by homeless people who kept to themselves. Some were violent. The community avoided those passageways, as they had found a place Below to be safe. Grace was part of that early community. As they settled into the area we are now in, those passageways were blocked off.”

She looked at him, surprised. “Then the hideaway room…”

“The paper mentioned what the early community knew about these passageways and the people living there. There was no mention of a special room with a door. They did note that there was a small chamber next to the basement of a brownstone building. It mentioned that the chamber was too small to use. It also mentioned that there was no entryway into the brownstone from the passageways.

“It must have been after our community was started that someone made the basement entrance. And after that, someone built that door. But no one knows who. Devin and I never ventured into these passageways. No one among us can remember anything about them.”

“What about Father?” Catherine inquired.

“Father and the other older members insisted that after they were sealed, no one ever used them again.”

“But how did the paper get into Father’s desk? Someone knew what was going on in this area, after they were closed off to the community.”

“Father can’t explain it. But then again, sometimes, Father finds something in his desk that he has forgotten about.”

“So…still a mystery.”

He nodded.

* * *

Catherine woke up with a smile. April 12th was here. She turned to see Vincent still sleeping. Quietly, she rose to get out of bed. She felt his hand touching hers.

She turned.

“Jacob is fine with Mary, Rebecca, and Samantha.”

“I know. This is our day.”

He sat up. “We could sleep in.”

“I’m curious about what kind of doors the hideaway has now.”

He just grinned.

“You’re not going to tell me.”

“It’s a special surprise.”

“Well, Father might have one of his own.”

“No, he won’t.”

“He mentioned yesterday at lunch that some repairs needed to be taken care of. Then he mentioned that today William will have a special dessert for us.”

He had a mysterious smile on his face.

“You were quiet yesterday when he mentioned that.”

“I cannot tell a lie.”

She looked shocked. “What?”

“I didn’t want to tell him that arrangements were made for us to celebrate alone today.”

“I bet he doesn’t even know that late at night, after Rebecca took Jacob, we came up here.” She grinned.

He chuckled. “I’m sure he’ll realize that when we aren’t joining the others for breakfast.”

“Well, let’s get dressed.” Catherine smiled. “I want to change into something special for our own private celebration.”

She got up and turned around.

“Is that a blush, Vincent?” she coyly asked. “Why, you’ve seen me naked before.”

He got up quickly and put on his brown pants.

“Oh, come now, we’re adults,” she said mischievously.

* * *

They had spent most of the day being with each other in the brownstone. They were sitting on the sofa listening to music. He was dressed in a lacy white shirt, brown pants, and thigh-high boots. She was wearing the light peach colored gown she had worn on their first anniversary.

She grinned and turned toward him. “It’s evening. We should go set up the hideaway for our little celebration.”

He kissed her. “It’s been taken care of.”

“When?”

He had the look of a cat who caught the canary. “Last night, as you slept.”

“I didn’t hear you get up.”

He chuckled.

“OK, Mister Mysterious.”

“My heart, my sweet Catherine. Thank you for making my dreams come true.”

“And thank you, Vincent, for loving and encouraging me.”

“Shall we proceed to the hideaway?”

She nodded. They both got up and walked out of the apartment. He locked the door and took her hand.

“Want to check out the new elevator?” he inquired.

“Hmmm, let’s do that later. The elevator is new and needs to be tested.”

He laughed. “I see. Afraid it may stop and get stuck?”

“Not really. But to be on the safe side…”

They made their way to the empty apartment across from them. He walked over to a dresser, the only furniture in the room. He reached down to the right leg next to the wall. He pulled the leg up, and there was a click. He stood up and pushed the wall behind the dresser. The dresser and wall moved to reveal the secret passageway.

She followed him as he went into the passageway. He turned and used a handle on the wall to close the secret entryway.

Taking her hand, he led her to the hideaway room. He stopped when she did.

She gasped as she noticed the doors. They were the swing-type doors you see at an old western saloon. However, they were much longer. There was a small space between the doors and the ceiling. Where the doors ended, there was a small space between them and the floor. A latch kept the doors closed. An old gym lock was on the latch.

“The lock on the latch will make sure no one enters without a key. Once you remove the lock, you take it in with you. There is another latch on the inside to close the door and lock it.”

She looked at him and said, “Amazing.”

“Mouse glad!”

Catherine jumped. She noticed Vincent didn’t.

“Sorry,” Mouse said. He smiled. “See inside. Decorated.” Mouse took a bag from his shoulder and gave it to Vincent.

Mouse smiled and walked up to the hideaway room. He pointed out that next to the doors, on the right, was a metallic bull embedded into the wall. He pressed it. A loud moooo was heard.

“Oh, my.” Catherine started to giggle.

“Mouse knows. Needed something better. Better than doorbell. Might be busy.” He blushed. “OK, go now.”

He scampered away.

Vincent unlocked the latch and opened the doors. “Come, my love.”

She walked into the room.

“Vincent…” she whispered.

Around the room were not only candlesticks with candles, but also that lava lamp. There were roses on the bed. A small table was set up next to the one with the lava lamp. It held two roses, one white, and one red, in a vase. Two chairs were by that table. The seats had comfortable pillows.

He walked over to the candles and pulled out a matchbox from his pocket. He lit the candles.

Turning to her, he said, “Catherine, happy anniversary.”

She turned around. “This is perfect!”

He walked up to her and gave her a passionate kiss that left her breathless.

She looked at him and said, “That’s nice, but we need to lock the saloon doors.”

He went to lock the latch. When he was done, he walked back to her.

“We won’t be interrupted for some time.”

She grinned. “And what do you have in mind?”

He walked over to the bag. He took out a bottle of red wine. “It’s a bit warm.”

She walked over and took the wine from his hand. “What I have in mind, I don’t need wine.”

“Oh?”

She took one quick look at the saloon doors.

“This time, sweet Catherine,” he said, turning her face to look at him, “I won’t mind the doors being stuck.”