Chapter One
The only thing that Minnie Roberts cared to know about Texas was the fact that two hundred years before, it had been declared its own separate country from the rest of the United States. Clearly, that wasn't the case anymore, she thought as she stared out the grimy passengers' side window of the UHAUL she and her father had driven across the country in. It hummed and sputtered with dwindling life.
Her father clapped a hand on her shoulder and offered her the biggest grin he could manage.
"We're home, honeypot!" He threw his hands up in the air enthusiastically and pointed wildly out his drivers' side window. Minnie blew a stray lock of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She pushed open her door, grabbed her backpack from where it rested on the dashboard and slung it over her shoulder as she stepped down to the concrete sidewalk below her. Her backpack seemed to have other ideas as she headed towards the house she was supposed to call home. The bag let out a long string of curse words, ones so vile and crude that Minnie reached back to unzip it, and pulled out the offending passenger by his tail.
"I told you you would be in my bag for the whole ride over." She told her familiar petulantly as he writhed in her grasp.
"And you agreed to stay in there."
The calico cat's ears flattened against his tiny head as he stared at his keeper; his emerald eyes narrowed to slits. "You could have at least let me roam about, child."
"I'm not a child anymore." Minnie sing-songed. "I turned eighteen on the third day of our trip, remember? And besides, would you have really wanted to roam around a truck stop McDonald's."
"Insolent child," The cat hissed. "I was stuck in that cloth sack for five days, and only came out for meal times. It was an experience comparable to that of a prison stay."
"You keep telling yourself that, Lucius." Minnie sighed and set him on the ground. The cat sniffed sharply, and pranced his way up the front walk to their home, which was made of shattered shale chunks that looked like they had been there for ages. The house itself was nothing too spectacular. It was a stark, white colonial with navy blue shutters, and a door painted the same color to match. The windows were tinted, it seemed. Maybe it was just layers of filth. It had been a long time since the house had last been lived in. Minnie shuddered. She hated messes.
Off to the side of the house was a garden, but it was hardly even that. It was a patch of yellowed grass with a few dandelions sticking up from the mess. Minnie pivoted on her heel and gave her father the sourest look she could manage. He responded with his own pleading gaze as he stepped out of the truck. Crumbled concrete crunched and snapped underneath his clean, white Converse All-Stars. He ran a hand through his reddish-brown locks and paused when he came upon a tangle. He wrestled his fingers through it before giving up, and tying them up into a messy bun.
"This summer really screwed me over. What was I thinking, growing out my hair this long?" He said, flashing another wide grin at Minnie. Minnie huffed. A slew of silvered words washed over her tongue.
She opened her mouth and let them spill out.
"I'm wondering what you were thinking when you decided to move us from Massachusetts to some tiny town just outside of Dallas."
"Wilford. This town is called Wilford." Her father corrected her.
"I would like to go back to Boston, a place that everyone knows the name of." She felt her fingernails dig into the palm of her hand.
The grin slipped off her father's face as quickly as it had come. "Minerva, I couldn't stay there anymore. We couldn't stay there anymore. Especially after what happened. It just wasn't safe."
Minnie scoffed and dug the pointed toe of her ballerina flat into the shards of shale. "He got the message."
"We've barely been here for five minutes and you're already complaining." Adam was quick to change the subject, as always. He made his way to the trunk of the truck, and lifted the back door. It reluctantly came up with a low, rumbling groan. Inside the hollow space was a stackful of white boxes, of every size and shape. In the other corner was a pile of songbooks, and thick tomes, all full of sappy romance vignettes.
Minnie gave her father her patented sour look, and watched as his face blossomed bright red. "I may have forgotten to pack, er, the essentials. Everything was just a blur, y'know?" He chuckled. Minnie crossed her arms over her chest and rolled back on her heels.
"Sheila is going to be bringing them with her when she flies into Fort Worth tomorrow." Adam added as he got up on his tiptoes and reached for the smallest box at the top of Minnie's mountain of belongings.
"Daddy, don't. You're not going to be able to reach it anyways." A smirk worked its way onto her lips as she plucked the box from its resting place with ease. Adam looked up at her scornfully. "Curse you and your spontaneous growth spurts."
Minnie kept back a laugh as she bent down to kiss him on the cheek. She got a faceful of unshaven scruff instead.
"Sheila's side of the family is practically as tall as Redwood trees. Did you really think I wouldn't get even a smidge of her genes or something like that?" She teased.
Adam rolled his eyes and waved her off. He reached into his pocket and pulled a key ring from his pocket, from which one single bronze-plated key hung. "I'm gonna go take a look-see around our humble abode, 'kay?"
"Alright. Have fun." Minnie waved him off and looked down at the box in her hands. When she looked at the label, written in her loopy cursive script, she felt her heart give a little flutter. Sequins. Her fingers itched just thinking about the sorts of outfits she could use them for, just to give them that pop of sparkle. She set it down on the ground and reached out for a bigger one, the one labeled tulle.
She felt her feet lift off the ground. She let out a little exhale, and let her body relax. It was a bad idea, she knew it, but no one was around to see her. The neighborhood was mostly quiet, right? No one was flocking to their home with casseroles and Jell-O molds. She was alone.
"What are you doing?" A small, meek voice piped up.
Minnie let out a little scream, and flailed about, grabbing for anything that would break her fall, but she fell to the tarmac with a perfunctory thump. She laid flat on her back, completely dazed. Her view was blocked by a chubby cheeked, paint splattered face, who stared at her with a pair of deep brown almond shaped eyes. Her face was framed with long, dark locks that were pulled up into a half-ponytail.
Minnie sat up and ran a hand through her spiky brown locks. She offered the girl a shaky smile, paired with a little wave. "Hey, there. Uh, I was just..relaxing."
The girl tilted her head and raised both brows. "But you were flying." She pointed out. Minnie held her tongue, and swallowed the bitter words that rested on it.
"I wasn't flying, I was..relaxing, like I said." She got to her feet and hurriedly smoothed out the skirt of her dress. The girl set her hands on her hips and squinted at the latter for a moment. Then she stuck out a chubby hand in greeting.
"I'm Emmie Ho," She stated. "I live in that house over there." She twisted and pointed to an identical house next door to Minnie's. The only difference was that it was painted yellow with white shutters, and had a flourishing garden that was full of blossoms in every color possible. "I saw your kitty and I wanted to say hi to him, but then I saw you and came over here."
"I'm Minnie." Minnie replied. She took Emory's tiny hand and shook it gently. "Nice to meet you."
Emmie didn't seem convinced. "You seem grumpy. Is that 'cause I ruined your 'relaxing time'?" Her little fingers curled into air quotes.
"No," Minnie laughed at that. "No, I'm mad at my daddy for making me move from my home."
"Oh." Emmie blinked. "That's sad. I feel bad for you."
"I know."
"Well," Emmie clasped her hands together. "It was nice meeting you, too. Can I play with your kitty now?"
Minnie looked over at Lucius, who was sitting on the front porch, licking his paw. "Sure."
"Emmie, get back inside! You left a trail of paint in the hallway, and I'm sure you got it all over yourself, too." A stout, broad shouldered boy lumbered over to the little girl, a roll of paper towel in hand. His expression changed when he saw Minnie. He smiled at her, and ran a hand through his gel-slicked hair. "Hey." He said coolly.
"Hey," Minnie answered. "Are you her brother?" She gestured to Emmie, whose bottom lip was puffed out in a pout.
"Uh, yeah. I'm Jakob." The boy ripped a paper towel from the roll, knelt down towards his sister, and started rubbing at a red splotch that was smack dab in the middle of her ruffle-sleeved pink blouse. Emmie grabbed the roll from her brother.
"I can do it myself!" She snapped.
"Emmie, c'mon." Jakob sighed.
"I can do it myself." Emmie reiterated. She tucked the roll underneath her arm and started off towards her front door. Jakob dragged his hand down his face. "You got siblings?" He asked Minnie. Minnie twirled a loose lock of hair about her index finger.
"Nope. It's just me, my dad, and my cat." Jakob raised a brow, just the same way Emmie had.
She felt her cheeks grow warm. "It's a little sad, I know." She added quickly.
"No, I think it's cool." Jakob reassured her. He got to his feet and offered her another grin, though it was weaker this time around. "Seeya around."
"Seeya." As he walked away, Lucius padded over to her slyly, tail flicking back and forth.
"Don't fall for him too quick, poppet." He yowled. "You don't want your emotions getting out of hand, now."
"Shut up, cat." Minnie scrambled to pick up her boxful of sequins, which had been tossed askew and forgotten, and started up the walkway to her 'humble abode' as her father called it, her gait stiff and brisk.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Adam Roberts stepped through the front door of his home, and was welcomed inside with a faceful of abandoned cobwebs that hung above him like light, gauzy curtains. He coughed and sputtered as the silken threads wormed their way into his mouth. He swiped at his face madly, stumbling about as he did so. In his fervent stupor, he didn't notice that Lucius had slipped in behind him managed to weave himself in between his legs. The last thing he saw was the familiar's sly expression as he pitched backwards into a pile of lone couch cushions. A plume of dust flew up about him. The particles filled his nose, and tickled at the back of his throat. His eyes watered. He felt for the pocket of his jeans, fingers prickling as they searched for the odd shape of his inhaler. Why, why had Minnie chosen to go back to the moving van instead of coming inside with him? What could Lucius do? He had no opposable thumbs, or much will to do good.
Lucius let out a phlegmy cackle, and leapt onto Adam's narrow chest. Though he landed upon his human landing pad nimbly, Adam let out a groan. "Shit." The dust was starting to coat the back of his throat. "You..stupid..fucking cat."
Lucius, in turn, parked his fluffy bottom right where he was standing. He was there to stay for the moment being. "Both you and your daughter have the filthiest mouths. The apple never does fall far from the tree, really." He purred. His irises seemed like droplets of onyx seeping in pools of emerald green. Adam laughed as best he could at that.
"Aren't you a little hypocrite." He forced himself to sit up, and Lucius rolled into his lap. Lucius struggled to his feet, and padded over to the threshold of the front door. He perched himself there, and seemed to be staring at something Adam couldn't.
Adam struggled to his own feet, taking ragged breaths all the while. He slowly made his way to where Lucius was sitting, and leaned against the doorframe. He tried to ignore the dried paint that crackled against his shirtsleeve.
"What are you lookin' at?" He asked Lucius. Lucius said nothing. Adam followed the feline's gaze to Minnie, who was still taking her boxes from the back of the truck. It was nothing out of the ordinary, and Adam told Lucius so. Lucius pointed his paw at her, and urged him to look closer.
"She's..smiling?" Adam asked. The cat nodded vigorously.
"So, she's..open to living here, finally." Adam concluded, feeling a smile settle on his own lips. A tickle at the back of his throat started back up. He swallowed it back, but that did nothing.
The cat buried his face in his paws and muttered yet another string of curses. "You've always been so aloof, ever since you were a boy. Can't you see that she's floating?"
"..Oh, Merlin, give me strength." Adam felt his heart sink to his stomach. "Who's she got her sights set on now?"
"The boy next door. She talked to him for less than five minutes, and is probably already planning their wedding." Lucius mused. The smirk he wore upon his mouth returned to its rightful place.
"Well, that's how young love works, right?" Adam chuckled nervously. He felt a chill run down his spine. "It hits you hard, and..and then it fades." His voice grew meeker the longer that he spoke. "..That's just how it goes."
Lucius twisted around to stare at the man. "Well, well, it seems like you're excluding yourself from the thousands of young star-crossed lovers, hm?"
"Lucius, don't." Adam said sharply. His words came out more sharply than he intended. "Please. I've just stopped having nightmares about..you-know-who."
"Feh." Lucius waved his paw in the air aimlessly. "Quit spending your time thinking about him. You wasted seven years with him. Why waste however many more thinking about him, truly?"
"That isn't how it works." Adam snapped. His nostrils flared. He felt his palms grow warm. "But, what do you know? You're just a salty old coot stuck in a cat's body."
"Ouch." Lucius flattened an ear against the side of his head. The other stuck straight up in the air. "You really have learned how to hit someone where it hurts." The man scoffed, in turn. "You act as if you haven't done the same in the past."
"Touché." Lucius replied. He hopped off the threshold and made himself comfy on the porch. He laid down on the uneven slats of hardwood and let himself go limp. The Sun was still high at five in the afternoon. A few golden rays shone down upon the cat, who seemed rather content.
Adam's gaze trailed back over to Minnie, who was chatting with a boy who had raven dark hair done up in a coif, which he seemed to run his fingers through every chance he got. Minnie had habits like that. She had smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles in her skirt at least twice since he had been observing the two of them. They started up the walkway, each carrying a couple of boxes.
"Oh, daddy!" Minnie's eyes were sparkling like the Fourth of July when their gazes met. A coy smile was stuck on her lips, and it showed no signs of fading. She nudged the boy beside her, who immediately stuck out a hand to Adam.
"Hello, sir. I live next door, and I was just helping your daughter unpack her stuff." He said quickly. He and Minnie shared a look, and his brows shot up. "Oh, I'm Jakob. Jakob Ho." He added, chuckling a bit.
Adam's felt his mouth go dry. He tried his best to return Jakob's grin, but he knew his mouth was set into a grim line. Still, he took the boy's hand and shook it. "Adam Roberts, Minnie's dad."
A pause settled between the three of them. Minnie's smile grew wider, thinner. She grabbed Jakob by the hand and the two of them made their way inside. The door shut behind them, but not before Lucius scurried behind them. He just barely made it between the tiny space between the jamb and threshold.
"Wait, Minnie, what about the rest of our boxes.." Adam trailed off. There was no use in finishing his sentence if there was no one around to hear it. At least he could take some comfort in knowing that Minnie was going to like it in Wilford, or at least someone in Wilford.
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