July (The Year of The Change Book 1) (37 page)

The Neighbors

The morning dawned cloudy. I felt for my clock to see how early it was. After 9 am. I couldn’t believe I’d slept so late since I’d gone to bed so early. My stomach was normally very prompt. Though a lot of time last night was spent wrestling with my anger over the move, my loss of Gram and my fear of going through this alone, it was a wonder I’d slept at all. I must’ve dozed off comparatively early in the A.M. or the days that never end were messing with my internal clock.

I rolled out of bed and ambled to my bathroom. I thought that again.
My bathroom.
I've never had my very own bathroom before. It may not seem like much to other people, but it meant everything to me. If I wanted to camp out in this little slice of heaven, there would be no one pounding on the door just after I stepped into the shower or opened a magazine to read. There would be no one to yell at me if there were clothes on the floor or a mess in the sink that I didn't put there.

Lately, I’d been a little irked about having to clean up after the twins. It wasn’t so bad when they were little. At age eleven, they were old enough to fend for themselves. Now they had a bathroom to share. They would be the ones Sue yelled at to clean up the mess. I smiled at that thought. Sue never overburdened me with chores. I’m certainly not Cinderella. My stepmother preferred that I not help, most of the time. She liked people out of the way so she could get done quickly whatever she was doing. I never did anything to her satisfaction, anyway.

Finished in the bathroom, I pulled on my jeans from the floor and rummaged for a clean t-shirt in my large suitcase. I really needed to unpack that. It would wait until after breakfast. My stomach awoke, boy was I hungry.

With tennies on, I clomped down the creaking stairs headed for the kitchen and food.

Sue called up. “Sylvia, you’re not an elephant. Walk quieter!”

This is going to get old quick. I stopped at the second floor landing. Sue was right, I was rather lead footed. I slowed my pace and put effort into being quieter. I have a nice stride and look almost graceful (according to a friend ... uh, former friend back in Oklahoma). In the next breathe she said I was a little heavy with my feet, though. Of course, I blame my women’s’ size ten feet on that. To be truthful, I really hadn’t tried to ‘
Grow up and be a lady’
like Sue said I should. Walking is walking and simply got me from one place to another. I didn’t think about it like most of my girlfriends did.

As I descended the last flight of stairs, I decided that after I turned seventeen I would be more serious about how I stood and walked. Right now, though, I didn’t want any boys noticing me for any reason. My stomach did a flip-flop. I missed Gram to talk to.

At the bottom of the stairs, I turned for the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Who could be at the door so early in the morning? Boys came to mind.

“I’ve got it!” I hollered at Sue.

I put on the friendliest smile I could find this early in the morning and turned back to answer the front door. Standing on the front porch were three women, actually two women and a girl about my age.

“Hello, neighbor, we're the Peterson’s from next door.” The shortest of the three indicated the stately Victorian I’d admired the first day. She was the younger of the two women, with brown hair and a slightly rounded physique. “I’m Cara. This is my daughter Destiny and my grandmother, Emma.”

The grandmother looked familiar. Emma … ah … the woman in the attic window. She wasn’t a ghost after all. That was a relief.

Cara continued through my musings. “We just came to welcome you to the neighborhood.”

“And to bring you some of the very best cinnamon rolls ever made. Grandmother makes the best you’ll ever taste.” The girl, Destiny, broke in with such a friendly smile I just had to smile back.

Destiny’s wavy dark brown hair -- that I would have given my right arm for – cascaded down her slender back and framed her big, wide, light brown eyes and oval face. She was a good four inches shorter than me. Her abundant energy radiated around her and I felt drawn to her immediately.

I doubted the cinnamon rolls were the best, since my Gram always made the best rolls of any kind. Nevertheless, it would be inhospitable to turn down food. My stomach agreed

My smile broadened and I opened the door wide. “Won’t you come in?” I turned around and yelled. “Sue! The neighbors are here!”

Sue, probably mortified that I yelled through the house, would be ticked. There wasn’t much she could do about it with company here. Destiny handed me the warm plate of rolls that did smell awfully darn good. It took all my self-control not to eat even one roll, as hungry as I was. My stomach growled, telling me it would prefer a little less self-control.

“Hi,” I said to Destiny, “I’m Sylvia.”

Before Sue could come out of the kitchen, smoothing her hair, the twins raced ahead coming to a screeching halt just behind me. They peered around, hoping for kids their own age. They spotted the cinnamon rolls and stuck around.

When Sue caught up, she introduced us and thanked our neighbors for being so kind. Sue was always at ease around people. She had an air of confidence that most people liked, especially if they were looking for someone to chair a committee.

Cara introduced her bunch to Sue. She had a real homey friendliness about her. I took to her sweet voice and the crinkles around her eyes as she smiled. I hoped she and Sue would be friends. That would make Sue easier to be around.

Emma, the grandmother, looked to be in her mid-sixties. I did some math and decided she had to look young for her age. She kept peeking at me from the corner of her bright hazel eyes. With a trim figure and reddish brown hair, she looked too young to be Cara's grandmother, but what did I know? She was friendly and I didn’t mind her looking, too much. The twinkle in her eyes reminded me of Gram. The thought sent a twinge through my stomach and I missed Gram all over again.

Sue welcomed our neighbors into the living room while the twins went to the sitting room to watch TV. The lines were drawn. Sue and Cara sat on the couch while Emma sat on the chair next to them. Destiny and I sat in a couple of chairs on the other side of the fireplace. The cinnamon rolls sat on the coffee table, untouched. I was starving.

Destiny and I immediately clicked and she dove right in telling me all about the cute boys in town. I wondered how long it would take before The Change drove her away. My bet was on two weird encounters.

Though Emma looked engrossed in the other conversation, I could tell she listened to our jabbering about boys. I wondered why she found us so fascinating. I had to admit there was something about the older woman that drew my attention as well.

Fifteen minutes later, Cara finished telling Sue all about where to shop and took a deep breath to answer Sue's question about the school, when Emma cleared her throat.

"Cara, dear, we should not monopolize their time. There will be plenty of chances to ask and answer questions. Shall we let them finish breakfast and get back to unpacking?" Had she heard the escalating complaints of my stomach?

"You're right, Emma." Cara turned back to Sue. "I could talk your ear off for days."

Sue genuinely smiled. "I don't mind. To tell you the truth I'm enjoying the adult conversation." She glanced meaningfully at the sitting room where we could hear the music and sound effects from a cartoon. Cara laughed.

"I fully understand. That's one of the many reasons I'm so glad we live with Emma." Cara reached over and patted the older woman on the hand, pulling Emma's attention from me. I tried not to notice her stare, then again I found myself unable to keep my eyes from searching the side of her face. I'm sure it was my discontented stomach that attracted her attention.

Destiny had giggled the first couple of times my stomach sounded off. After that she ignored the loudening noise which endeared her to me. I needed to eat something, and soon. The light-headedness was getting worse. Sue's frowns with each growl didn't help either. I wanted to eat the cinnamon rolls. It would be rude to eat in front of our guests. Be a good hostess? Be rude? Be a good hostess? Be -

My stomach doubled its efforts to get my attention and Sue sighed.

"Perhaps you would like to come over for tea sometime?" Emma offered.

"Oh yes, you must." Cara quickly chimed in. "Emma finds the most wonderful teas and grows lots of plants to make her own."

Sue raised her eye brows. "That sounds very interesting." Sue wasn't adventurous. "I would like that very much." Her softened response surprised me. "Then, when I find my blender, you must come over and try my smoothies. I've developed a couple of recipes I'm rather fond of."

I noticed Destiny frown slightly.

"If you like smoothies you could come over, too," I offered.

It would be great if she would come back. Destiny lowered her voice as the women talked drinks.

"Actually, I've always wanted to see the inside of this house and was hoping you'd give me a tour." She glanced at the women and caught Emma's doubtful eye. "I mean, it doesn't
have
to be today."

"I'd be glad to give you a tour." My stomach grumbled. "That is, if you don't mind if I eat first."

Destiny grinned widely. "I don't mind at all."

"Well, then, that is settled. Come, Cara, we need to pick up that flat of petunias Darvis is holding for me." Emma stood and Cara followed.

"Oh, that’s right. We should be back in an hour. If you need to get away from the boxes, come on over."

Sue smiled,
really
smiled, as she stood. It was the first one I’d seen since before Christmas. Sue never truly smiled when Gram was around.

Cara touched Sue's arm. "That's a standing invitation. You're welcome anytime."

"Thank you." Sue led the women to the door and it was my chance to escape.

"Come on." I whispered to Destiny and snatched up the plate of rolls as I lead the way to the kitchen.

Destiny stayed at my side. "My bedroom faces your house. By any chance is your room on that side?"
"Yes and no." She looked at my funny. "My windows face the front and back, my room's in the attic."

She brightened. "You got the attic? Even though Grandmother owns the house, she chose to live in the attic."

Ah, that must’ve been why I'd seen her there waving from the attic window.

We reached the kitchen and I placed the still warm rolls on the counter. "Well, obviously this is the kitchen." I motioned around us before I grabbed a roll. Remembering my manners I held the plate out to her.

She waved it away. "Thanks, but I've had my limit." She rubbed her tummy.

This year I don’t have a limit. My stomach agreed vigorously as I put the plate back on the counter. The twins ran in. I grabbed one more and moved out of the way of the sugar attack.

I grabbed a stack of pancakes from the oven and some bacon. I was hungry. Not wanting to look like too much of a pig in front of Destiny I motioned to the food.

"You want some pancakes?"

"That's nice of you, but I had a big breakfast. You eat and I'll keep you company." She didn't pay much attention to my eating while she jumped into a monolog about the kids our age. Since she wasn't paying attention, I grabbed more pancakes and Tam shoveled bacon and fruit onto my plate.

She kept her surprise to a minimum when I had third and fourth helpings. I appreciated how patient she was while I ate. She told me her older brother ate as much so it was no big deal. I wanted more pancakes. Should I push my luck and gross Destiny out? Nah, not this time. I rinsed my plate and fork, stacking them by the sink. I knew there would be leftovers to scarf later.

On the way back to the stairs I pointed out the dining room and sitting room, all still littered with boxes.

On the second floor we stepped into Tam’s light purple room with the very light lavender ceiling. It was a mess with half emptied boxes everywhere. Destiny liked the colors Tam picked out.

Next was Tim’s room. He’d tried to talk Sue into black walls and grey ceiling. Sue nixed that idea, but agreed to light grey walls with black trim. Dad had a fit, until he saw how bad a shape the woodwork was. Paint was definitely a good thing until he had time to replace the trim. Sue went with a shiny black and it turned out looking industrial. Tim was happy. He already had most of his race car posters up.

Destiny scrunched up her nose, obviously it wasn’t her style. “It works for a boy’s room.”

I agreed.

The second floor communal bathroom was white with blue towels and red accessories. Destiny said she would have gone with cream walls to soften the space. I looked at it again as I turned the light off. She was right, cream would’ve looked better.

Dad was sleeping so we skipped their room

I hesitated before opening the door to my stairs. My room was a mess. Though, I had a good excuse, heat rose to my cheeks. I should’ve unpacked my bags last night. Destiny, obviously a mind reader opened the door for me. "It can't be any worse than my brothers’ rooms."

"Well..."