Edited for length. Basically, second part of the longer chapter two. Yes i know this is confusing everyone.
Chapter Two
The Dream
Father Down gave my father directions to the lawyer’s office. There weren’t any other people there to mourn Great Aunt Sue, although I did see a few kids around my age around the cemetery. They probably just wanted to see what was going on.
One of the boys was really really cute. He had long sandy blonde hair and he looked very well built. He was tall and had a tight preppy t-shirt on. I caught him looking at me, but I turned and blushed. I barley had on any makeup. I didn’t want anyone to see me looking like a scrub.
The lawyer’s office was connected to an ice cream shop. There were apartment buildings on top of the building. The entire street was lined with buildings the same way. There was a vet/doctors office at the beginning, then a market/dinner, then four of five discount clothing stores. I wouldn’t be able to wear second hand cloths. Thank God I don’t live here.
Inside, it smelt like old leather and cigars. There was a small sitting room with two arm chairs and a bench by the door. An old lady was sitting at the desk flipping through an old magazine. She popped her gum as Bailey opened to door.
“Hi, I’m Travis Caine. I got a phone call to come down here after Sue’s funeral.”
The lady popped her gum again and chomped on it like a cow. “Fred! Davis’ nephew is here!” she yelled over her shoulder.
There was a loud cough from behind the door and it opened. I cloud of cigar smoke filed out of the office and into the sitting room. A large guy, around the belly area, popped his half bald head out. “Travis, nice to see you. Come in, come in.”
I took Bailey’s hand again and followed my father into the office. There was a desk in the middle of the room and around the walls were book shelves and filing cabinets. My father sat in one of the arm chairs in front of the desk and Bailey took the other. I stood by his side.
“I am deeply sorry for your loss, Travis. Sue was a very nice woman since I can remember.” He laughed a deep chuckle. “But to business. She didn’t name anyone other than you in her will. She left you her property in town, Beaufort Manor, and all of its contents. Like furniture and whatever else is in there.” He shifted through some papers on his desk and opened up an envelope.
“It is up to you if you want to sell the estate or live there. It says here,” he put on a pair of glasses that made his eyes bug out. “That it was just renovated up to code last year. The entire kitchen was redone and all of the windows replaced. The house has a lot of its original wood. Being that it’s so old, not many would want to touch it.”
“Is it worth much?” my father asked, leaning forward.
“Well, it is a very old manor so that fluctuates. If you find a buyer that likes antiques, then it could be worth a lot, otherwise about four hundred and fifty thousand. Not many people like small towns like ours. We have a very nice school system, but some years there aren’t enough kids in a grade to create a whole class. Plus, that house gives everyone the heeby geebies.”
I had a hard time keeping a laugh in. I thought people stopped saying ’heeby geebies’ in the fifties. Lawyer guy noticed my smirk and started talking to just me. “You think I’m kidding? Check it out for yourselves.” He handed a piece of paper to my father. “Then we’ll see whose laughing.” He smiled and led us out the door.
We didn’t go to Beaufort Manor that afternoon. Well, I didn’t anyway. My father was furious with me for ‘embarrassing’ him in front of the lawyer so he made me stay at the hotel while he and Bailey checked it out.
I ended up falling asleep from the boredom. Being alone with nothing to do and no TV had a tendency to do that to me. I had a strange dream, one that I’ve been having since I heard the news of Great Aunt Sue’s passing.
I’m standing in a dark room that is lit by a fire. There is a boy with light brown hair standing in front of it. His back is always turned to me so I’ve never seen his face. He is tall and skinny with broad shoulders. His hair was a mess but still looks trendy from this side. Normally, he wears jeans and a long sleeved collard shirt. But this time, he was wearing a black suit.
He was trembling as if he were crying. I wanted to reach out to touch him but my body wouldn’t move. I tried to speak but something, like a lump in my throat, was blocking anything from escaping my lips.
He turned, but not to me. He sat on an old red couch that hadn’t been there a moment ago. It looked antique with strange patterns sown into it. A large cloud of dust came up and he coughed and swiped at it.
From the lighting of the fireplace, I could only see shadows dance along his face and body. The boy had perfect chiseled features. But his eyes were burrowed by his frown. He put his face in his hands and stared to sob. Once again, I tried to do something to help comfort him but it was as if I was bound and gagged to a chair, forced to watch this boy’s misery.
I felt so helpless. I tried to scream but the only sound that came out was like the noise that the chick from The Grudge makes. The boy looked up startled. He had the most beautiful golden eyes I’ve ever seen. And they were piercing right through me like thousands of tiny pieces of glass. He didn’t seem mad that I was there, his crooked grin made him look almost glad.
Off in the distance I heard my name being called. We both heard it. He looked around the dark room but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. Then he looked back at me and said my name, “Genevieve.”
He smiled, but the room was fading as if the fire was being put out. Then everything was black.
I woke with a jolt, the covers being all tangled, choked me. I lay back down and attempted to get loose. Another set of hands helped set me free. I felt my arms and I had sweat while I was sleeping.
I looked around me trying to figure out where I was. The room seemed to be a complete blur. My father was sitting on the edge of my bed.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Still not completely coherent, I replied, “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”
He shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe because you where talking in your sleep. I thought you were done with that.”
I sat straight up alarmed. My eyes were so wide they stung. What could he have heard? “What did I say?” I almost shouted.
He smiled, “Nothing completely insane, just the word ‘fire’ over and over again. When did you start talking in your sleep again?”
“I don’t know. I’m not really awake when it happens.” I could have said it nicer but the dream was still on my mind, disturbing me.
He stood up. “I talked with my boss today, told him about Beaufort Manor.”
“Oh?” I stood up too. We went to the kitchen to get a snack.
“He said that if we wanted to sell our place and move here, he could transfer me to the local company. I wouldn’t be doing the same thing I do now, I would be the boss.”
“A promotion?” I asked.
“Yeah. What do you think?”
My heart sank. What do I think? I think that’s a crazy idea. Us living in an old house where some old thing lived and died in. That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard of. Did he even hear lawyer guy? He said that there was like no one living here. It’s a dead town. There is no point in moving here.
He must have noticed my contorted expression. “I think it’s smart. Since the gas prices are up so high, a shorter commute is the best, and gives you a chance to meet new people in school.”
I scoffed, “Yeah all of five kids! You can’t be serious about moving here. This place is like hillbilly town. There are no malls, no real stores that aren’t like the Salvation Army. They probably call soda ‘pop.’ I mean gosh who says ‘heeby geebies’ anyway?
“You aren’t coherent. This isn’t like you, you aren’t thinking rationally. What about Bailey? Do you really want him to live in a town like this? To grow up with a vocabulary smaller than the one he already has?” I could feel my face getting red and my voice started to crack. I sat down and put my head in my hands and let the tears fall.
I heard him sigh, “Genevieve. I have already talked to Bailey about this and he isn’t even half upset as you are. He is actually excited about this.”
“That’s because he is only eight. He will agree to anything you say is right. He doesn’t know what he wants.”
“I think he is a little smarter then you give him credit for.”
I scoffed again and brought my head up. “And how long do you think that will last in this school. Have you checked out their curriculum yet? These people might not know any more about anything then I do”
“Genevieve, enough! This isn’t just about you; this is a very good opportunity for me. You are being way to unreasonable and I won’t tolerate it. This is my decision because I am the adult. You only have to finish your junior and senior years and then do what ever you want. But for now, we are moving into Beaufort Manor. Do you understand me?” His face was burning red and there was a vein on the side of his forehead that was throbbing. It does that when he is angry.
“Yes.”
