“Yeah. I’ve got the boxes in, but I need to unpack them.”
She pursed her lips, her brow furrowing. “Would you like some help cleaning out the shop? It’s probably better to get it running sooner rather than later.”
My heart lifted at the offer. I hadn’t realized that in all my excitement to be on my own, I’d also been feeling the heavy burden of getting the house and shop in order. Getting the shop running would go twice as fast with Maria’s help.
“That would be wonderful, thanks! I need to finish unpacking today, but I was planning on going in tomorrow morning around nine. Does that work for you?”
Maria beamed. “That’s perfect. I’ll see you then, okay?”
I gave an answering smile. “Okay. It was nice to meet you.”
“So nice to meet you too, Sage.”
She bustled off in the direction of the frozen food, so I turned my cart to the cereal aisle. My sadness about Dad melted a bit in the warmth of Maria’s kindness. Knowing that I’d made a friend, and that we’d meet the next day, helped ease some of the loneliness I’d been feeling.
When I got home, I decided to get my clothes unpacked and hang the curtains. The early evening air was cool and refreshing, so I opened the windows to air the place out.
As I opened the windows in the front room, a flash of movement caught my eye. Standing on tiptoe, I peered through the window, my forehead nearly pressing against the glass as I did.
A medium-size cat meandered along the front porch, rubbing up against the railing. It didn’t appear to have a collar, so I dismissed it as a lonely stray. I wondered vaguely if the cat wandered around here regularly and thought it might be nice to befriend it.
I’d never had a pet growing up. Dad had a dander allergy, so I’d never been allowed so much as a hamster.
The cat looked directly up at me, startling me. I gave a little gasp and backed away from the window, my heart pounding.
Its eyes were a strange shade of orange that I’d never seen before. They flickered eerily in the light from the dying sun. Its’ coat was gray, striped with black, with just a touch of white around the pink nose.
Though I couldn’t hear it, the cat gave a loud meow, then turned and ambled down the porch steps.
Moving away from the window, I fought to catch my breath. The cat was beautiful, and I’d really wanted to befriend it, but something about that stare was just…weird.
“Get it together, Sage,” I murmured to myself. “It’s just a cat.”
I headed upstairs and tried not to heave a sigh as I looked at the many boxes that needed unpacking. I had an average amount of clothes, but it was going to be difficult to find a place for all of my books.
Arranging the hangers I’d bought in the closet, I quickly hung all my shirts then put my underthings and pants into the large bureau. I exchanged the dated bedding for my sheets and blankets I’d brought from home, but I left the pretty blue coverlet on top. As I ran my hand over it, I wondered vaguely if Grandma had crocheted it.
There was so much about Grandma that I didn’t know. She was my dad’s mom, but he barely talked about her.
I sat down slowly on the bed, thinking about my mother. My memories of her were scattered, but I remembered her hugs and her smile the most.
Who had been her mother? As tight-lipped as my dad was about his own family, he’d never said anything at all about my mother’s family. And worse, he’d never explained why. I’d always assumed it had something to do with her death, but I didn’t know for sure.
And why? A car crash was tragic but not generally something to be ashamed or mysterious about.
My thoughts turned to Maria. She’d mentioned that her husband had an interest in genealogy and had apparently learned a lot about his ancestry. Maybe once I got the Internet up and running in this place, I could do some research of my own.
Turning away from my gloomy thoughts, I made my way downstairs. The curtain rods I’d bought had to be installed with screws, so I would need a drill. I figured all the stuff like that had to be in the basement, so I grabbed an old flashlight I’d seen in the kitchen drawer and headed down the stairs.
To my surprise, the flashlight turned on just fine and gave off a powerful beam. I saw a bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room, so I yanked on the chain next to it.
The bulb gave off a pale, yellow glow, but it was bright enough for me to turn off the flashlight.
Several stacks of boxes and bags surrounded me, teetering precariously. I walked slowly through the maze of junk, looking around for tools.
I peeked inside some of the boxes, wondering what kind of stuff grandma had kept down here. Some held clothing from bygone eras, others had old kitchen cookware and pans, and still others had stranger things like unusually long, tapered candles in a variety of colors.
I even came across a box of romance novels, the covers emblazoned with shirtless men and large chested women. I couldn’t help laughing, imagining Grandma reading these kinds of books.
As I meandered towards the back of the basement, I noticed two old-fashioned cellar doors that were designed to open up and out to the back yard. I supposed they were there in case of an emergency. Tornadoes were a possibility in this part of the country, so it would make sense to have an outside entry to the basement.
My foot hit something solid as I walked, and I looked down.
“Here we go.”
I’d found what looked like a large toolbox. Hefting the lid open, I grinned with satisfaction. An assortment of tools lay inside, including a very old drill. It sat right next to a case with different sized bits. Taking them out, I shut the lid and dusted off my hands.
As I stood up, a random door, painted white, caught my eye on the far wall of the basement. It didn’t have a doorknob but closed instead with a bar across the middle. Intricate carvings of leaves ran the length of the door from top to bottom.
The craftsmanship was beautiful, but something about it made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
Though the door creeped me out, I couldn’t resist walking up to it and reaching out, trying to grasp the bar of wood to lift it. My fingers curled against some kind of invisible barrier. A sort of jolt shot through me at the contact, not painful, but not pleasant, either.
“What on earth?”
Goosebumps sprang up on my arms as I backed slowly away from the door. Why would Grandma Celeste have something like this in her house? What was behind it, and how come I couldn’t reach the bar?
I quickly decided I’d had enough of exploring the basement and wound my way back through the maze of boxes, moving faster with each step. Pounding up the stairs, I didn’t look back until I’d reached the main floor and slammed the basement door shut.
