AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod as I fish my own car keys from my overall pocket.
“Thanks, son.”
“No problem, Pa.”
* * *
I squint at the piece of paper, trying to decipher my father’s handwriting.
What on earth does that say? The Pyres? No, that’s not likely. That’s a bit of a grim name for a house. I shudder. If it is The Pyres, I’m just going to sit at the end of the road for a bit, then come home and tell him it was sold. That’s something straight out of a horror film.
I put my hand on the door handle, intending to follow him into the farmhouse to check, but the satellite navigator in my car offers up The Pines as a suggestion, and I consider that is probably likely enough to be correct that I save the time and get on the road.
I’m cruising along the roads of Oakheart Glen, enjoying the quiet sunlit drive through the suburbs, with the satellite navigator showing an estimated time of arrival only a couple of minutes after the appointed time, when a thought pops into my mind.
The Pines.
Is that not…?
I shake my head.
Nah. Surely not.
The thought is insistent.
It is.
I grip the steering wheel tightly.
No.
Definitely not.
But unfortunately, the insistent little voice in my head is correct.
As I turn into the long, private driveway and my car crunches over the gravel, there’s no doubt about it. This is the Canmores’ place.
Victoria’s old home.
I remember it vaguely from the one time we were permitted to visit. It was her fifteenth birthday and her parents allowed her to have a small party. It was a Saturday afternoon. We all sat around in the front room, eating jelly and ice cream from tiny cardboard bowls and wondering how we’d managed to be transported back to the 80s. Mrs. Canmore fussed about, topping our paper cups with as much orangeade as we could manage and pressing us to finish the sandwiches, while Major Cranmore hovered about in the background, not doing much more than providing a stern and imposing presence. If anyone had had any thoughts of playing up, one look at Major Cranmore’s expression would have made them think better of it.
Having cleared the buffet as requested, we filed politely past Major and Mrs. Canmore at the appointed leaving hour, shaking their hands and thanking them for their hospitality.
We were never invited back.
Victoria never mentioned it, and we never asked. I suspect she didn’t offer an explanation because she didn’t really understand it herself.
I did.
I could see it in Major Canmore’s eyes.
We were boys. And we were not welcome company for his beloved daughter.
The Major had plans for his pride and joy. And we were not part of them.
Try as he might though, he couldn’t stop us inviting her to our parties and school events. He did his best to ensure she had no social life by grounding her regularly for trivial misdemeanors, and by flat out refusing to give permission on occasion. But he couldn’t keep her locked up forever and Victoria fought for her freedom.
And little by little, she won it.
