Living in a B rated Western Movie

weird neighbors

Photo by Chris Murray on Unsplash

The Andersons, the old couple who lived next door, had passed away and their house stayed vacant for quite a while.  I could only see the back of the house, which faced a street that ran 45 degrees to mine. My living room window looked out onto their spacious back yard.  One afternoon I noticed a young man in a swimsuit pushing a mower, the kind without a motor. He was very tan and looked like he worked out…a lot. A sweep of blonde hair partially hid his face.

Later Roger cornered me in the yard. 

“Did you see the movie star out mowing the Anderson’s lawn this morning?” asked Roger.

Roger was the go-to person for any Hungry Horse gossip.

“That was a movie star?” I asked. “What’s his name?”

“I don’t know,” said Roger. “Some B movie actor.  I never heard of him.”

“How do you know he’s a movie star?”

“The Miller’s daughter, Rachel, is back in town. She bought the Anderson’s house. She lives in L.A,” said Roger.

At that point I’m sure my eyebrows were raised up to my forehead.

“That doesn’t mean she hangs around in Hollywood,” I said.

“She’s a swimsuit model for a big sports magazine,” answered Roger smugly.

“A swimsuit model?” I asked shaking my head.

“Yup,” replied Roger.  She comes home once a year and drags a new boyfriend with her each time, usually some Hollywood type.” said Roger.

That was unexpected, but over all, not a real surprise. A very few miles away, Whitefish Lake had become a hide-a-away for several ‘movie stars’. At that time Emilio Estevez and his brother Charlie Sheen were big names in movies and it was well known they had summer homes on Whitefish Lake. Emilio and his then-girlfriend Julia Roberts had been spotted at a local Whitefish pub. She was seen painting her toenails while the ‘guys’ played pool. It was a widely circulated rumor.

The next day while I was out playing with my dogs, Rachel came up to the fence and introduced herself.  She was very friendly and pleasant. She let me know right away that she was indeed a swimsuit model for a big sports magazine. I flashed on a memory when I worked closely for the president and vice president of Pacific Trail Sportswear.  The VP had “connections” and always had the swimsuit issue before it hit the newsstands. Every male in the place would hustle to his office to drool over the photos.

In high school and college, I had a couple friends who were so beautiful they literally stopped traffic. Neither seemed aware of it. If someone told me they turned out to be models or actresses, I would not have been surprised. Rachel was nice looking, but not someone you would look at and say, ‘wow I bet she’s a swimsuit model’. She was slender, had brown hair, brown eyes and was very average looking. Makeup and air brushes can do amazing things. It was a good lesson not to use stereotypes. Whether famous or infamous, people are just people.

Rachel and I had a nice chat, about nothing in particular. She had two dogs, Bimini and Cuba. She confirmed that the Andersons passed away and she had bought their home. She didn’t mention her actor friend.

“My folks, the Millers, live on the other side of this place,” said Rachel waving her arm towards the west.

I looked where she was pointing. I could see a corner of a house deep in the shadow of several large pine trees. It looked dark, almost spooky.

Then she dropped this on me.

 “I have two brothers. They had an argument over a girl. One stuck a gun in his brother’s mouth and pulled the trigger because his brother married his girlfriend.”

A little detail Roger had failed to mention.  Stunned, I didn’t know what to say.

“Is he okay?” I stammered.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “He’s fine,” chuckling and shrugging like it was nothing.

I wasn’t sure if she meant the one who was shot or the one who pulled the trigger. I didn’t ask. I couldn’t imagine either one of them being “fine” after that.  

Our conversation had come to a sudden standstill. We said our nice-to meet ya’s and casually waved as we each walked away.

Life in Hungry Horse just kept getting weirder. I went in the house for a nap.