The Lodger at Button House

Setting foot on Button Soil

My breath hitched as I watched the taxi pull into my driveway. All my bags were littered around my feet, the heaviest in my hands. I could hear my heart in my ears as I looked back at my family home. It was old and broken in places but I still loved it. My mother stood in the doorway, she had no shoes on so she stayed there, not helping.

"Goodbye mum!" I called as I helped the driver put my stuff in the trunk of the car.

"Adios lovely! Call me when you have arrived so I know you're not dead!" She answered back.

"Will do" I called.

With the last box in the boot, I took one last linger at the house, creating a snapshot in my mind. Glancing towards the living room window, I gave a weary smile to my friend, my family, as they waved back, in knowledge that I couldn't reciprocate the gesture.

I hopped into the backseat of the taxi, gave the address of my new home, and we rolled out of the lane.

Although I was sad that I left my family behind, I knew this was the right thing to do.
Mums words played in the back of my mind but I tried my best to not let it get to me. After all, the woman Alison on the phone sounded really nice.

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"Okay guys, you know the drill. Please try not to get my attention when they are talking to me, I don't want to look silly."

The ghosts muttered their reply's as they slowly diffused from the tight circle they had formed around the homeowner. Alison had been giving a briefing for half an hour now on what they could and couldn't do when the lodger was here.

Between them, the ghosts had decided it would be best if the new person decided which room they wanted and that ghost would just have to put up with it and move if necessary.

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After Alison had gotten off the phone with the lodger for the first time, they all had many questions:

"What's their name?!" Pat asked eagerly.

"Male or Female?" Questioned Cap, just so he could get an understanding of what the newcomer might look like, for safety reasons.

"Are they nice?!" Kitty said. Then she added, "I hope they are like me, we can be friends!"

"What years they be?" Added Mary.

Taking a deep breath Alison cut her friends off, "Guys please calm down okay. Their name is Ashton and they are non-binary which means they are neither male nor female and they are a student at university, this is going to be their first home away from home so it needs to be calm okay?"

"Outrageous!" Lady Button exclaimed, "Next you will be telling me that you can be Male and Female at the same time! Its a scandal!" And with a huff, she stomped out the room.

"So how do we refer to them?" Pat inquired, "I don't want to get it wrong".

"No, we shan't offend them" added Thomas, putting his hands outstretched in front of him.

"Just do it as you are now. So They/Them pronouns and you can call them Ashton or just Ash obviously, not that they will hear you." Explained Alison.

"Oh, that's simple enough" Julian replied, "I still don't understand whats wrong with just staying as you are".

"Gender. Its all a fad. Just so people can take charge" Robin affirmed matter-of-factly.

Alison considered that, "hmm, if you think of it like that".

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She paced in front of the fire as they waited for the taxi to arrive. Mike was sat on the sofa, watching her as they waited. Suddenly, Alison looked at her phone.
"Ashton says five minutes, I guess they need to figure out which driveway it is." She laughed hastily.

"Relax Ali, everything will be fine. I don't understand why you are stressing so much" replied her husband.

Alison didn't know why either. She had never done anything like this before but why did it bother her so much? Maybe it was because she had no knowledge on whether this new lodger could see ghosts like she could. What if they could and it drove them right out of the house and never returned? Oh well, Alison told herself - she would see when Ash arrived.

As if on queue, the small family heard Thomas exclaim from the window view.

"They have arrived in their car!" (gloating again).

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The gravel crumbled underneath the tires as they drove through the large driveway. Ashton could see the details on the crumbling, dry fountain in the front drive. This was definitely posh.

"Just here thanks" They said to the driver who gave a face which suggested this was one going to be one of the most memorable rides he had done.

"Here? This place is huge!" He exclaimed, "it looks expensive for a uni student"

"I'm just the lodger, the people who own the house seem really lovely. I think they might be getting a bit lonely in a place like that" Ash added.

"Your telling me! That looks like it needs a good DIY"

The taxi driver helped drag the various bags and boxes out of the trunk and disappeared once more down the trail.

With the bag containing their clothes and stuffs under one arm and a bag of chargers and snacks in the other, Ash trudged up the pathway and knocked on the door.

As they did so, they noticed a group of faces huddled round a window, all from different periods. Haha, Ashton thought. This will be fun.