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“Auntie,” I beam as Daniel stops the car and I don’t wait for him to open my door. She draws near.
“Scarlett,” she wraps her arms around me. “I’m so glad that you came. I was getting worried that you may change your mind.”
“I spoke to you last night, this morning and even in the car. Why did you get worried?”
“I don’t know dear. At this age, you worry about everything. You’ll know when you get there.”
She pats me on the back, but as much as she likes to pretend that she’s the eccentric aunt. I think that sometimes it’s all an act. She knows, I can see it in her eyes.
She cups my chin, “You’re as beautiful as a flower and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Yep, she definitely knows and I want to cry into her arms and tell her that the last few weeks have been horrible. That I’ve been living a nightmare with my eyes wide open.
“We need to get you inside and dressed up.”
“Oh, I thought that I could go like this.”
She tuts and says, “You could dear, but you won’t. Wait until you see the dress that I picked out for you.”
I sigh, “But it may not fit. I’ve gone up a couple of sizes.”
She wraps her hand around my waist, “I can see that dear. I can hardly put my arm around you anymore. Don’t worry, I’m sure that I got the size right.”
“Aunt Betty…”
“Don’t. I need to go to the back, make sure that everything’s set-up for later. You have exactly one hour before the guests arrive.”
I’m trying to catch my breath and keep up with her as she leads us away from the limo. I didn’t even have a chance to thank Daniel as he whisks past us holding my bag. That’s when she points to it, “Why did you bring things with you?”
“Because I have clothes and my Mac.”
She shakes her head, “You didn’t come here to work and I think judging by the size of the dress. You need some new clothes. I already went shopping for you.”
“Aunt Betty,” because I’m a bit annoyed. She’s treating me like a little kid. I’m a grown woman and right now I feel like leaving here.
“I have clothes and things that I need to take care off. I’m not a kid anymore. Stop treating
me like one.” I move away from her, temptation settles in for Daniel to take me back to Gretchen and I regret leaving in the first place. If this is what the week’s going to be like then it really wasn’t a good idea for me to come here in the first place. I punish myself every day, by looking in the mirror and reminding myself that I’ve given out my heart and let someone tread all over me.
“That’s good!”
She starts to laugh hysterically.
“For a moment I was thinking that you’ll turn out like your mom and none of the Young spirit’s inside of you. Don’t make anyone make you feel that you’re not worth or you don’t know your own mind. We all make mistakes dear. That’s the beauty of life. We just have to live and move on from them.”
She was tricking me, testing to see if I would stand up to her. I wasn’t scared of her, just myself at the moment. I’ve been so vulnerable for far too long. For years I’ve lost myself, I’ve been living in the shadows of another who didn’t respect let alone love me.
“Now, I’m going… you take care you hear.”
I stand like a lost child, nothing about the house looks familiar anymore. I stop and look at the Mahogany Tischler windows and doors that allow the light to beam into the hallway. It's as if the hallway has doubled in size. Maybe it hasn't and it's just the reconstructive changes that she's made to the place. The once wooden stair rails have been replaced with a dark iron metal spiral pattern which leads upstairs. I wonder if my room's still the same. The walls have been replaced with a white ceramic pattern with pictures of our family hanging on the walls. I feel like Alice in Wonderland as I grab a hold of the rail and start to tread slowly on the light brown carpet which covers only the center of the staircase. The exposes the natural dark mahogany which lies underneath. Everything about this house has been changed, I can tell as I look up at the high ceiling and see unfamiliar chandeliers and a mosaic pattern which surrounds it.
Daniel heads back down, “It’s all been reconstructed, you’ll see when you get upstairs. She’s redone every inch of this place. I left your luggage in your room.”
“Is that still in the same place?”
He smiles as he gently pats my hand, which is firmly on the rail.
“Yes, but you’ll love it. She had builders in here restoring every part of the house. She said that she wanted something new. Something to make it feel as if she’s going through a new chapter.”
