of the couch and by the armchair-all dark sage green
softened with a white wash.
A large oval area carpet claimed ownership of the center of
the floor.
The focal point of the room was an amazing fireplace.
“Mom, I would never have imagined anything like this in a
million years. It has to be the only one in existence in
the world !”
“I agree, this is unbelievable.”
It was massive, covering the entire wall. The main body of
the fireplace began at the ceiling, then flowed down to the
slate flooring. It had been sculpted or formed from a
smooth material that upon completion of building looked
just like molten rock had been slowly poured from the
ceiling and had dried in a freeform shape. The result was
that of the wall of a cave formed by nature over many
years. Even the opening to the firebox was enhanced by
several free form icicle shapes with the appearance of
small stalactites.
There were cairns of smooth rounded stones built close to
the edges of the opening which added to the illusion of a
cave. On one side of the fireplace wall, a number of
shallow cavities had been carved in a random pattern up the
wall. In each cavity was a large candle.
“Mom,” Manda whispered,”Do you suppose she was a witch or
something ? This is really weird.”
“Well, its definitely unusual. Now, after having made the
understatement of the year…. I can say that I have no idea
what possessed her. Maybe I should rephrase that….”
Manda burst out into a belly laugh that triggered the same
reaction in Teresa. They laughed helplessly until tears ran
down their cheeks. Manda clutched her stomach and
plopped onto the sofa.
Teresa joined her and after several attempts, they managed
to regain a semblance of sobriety.
“My life has become so bizarre, I can’t believe it, Mom.”
“Maybe you should substitute the word interesting. That
might make you feel better.”
“I think we need to have a long talk with Kate and Mr.
Lanier. Maybe they can help us with a reality check. Maybe
there’s a logical explanation for this.”
This comment brought another uncontrollable round of
laughter.
“Lets go outside for a few minutes, Honey. I need a strong
dose of sunshine and some recovery time before we see the
rest of the house.”
Manda stood and headed for the door. “I’m with you, Mom!”
#
Gem sat in the darkness without movement other than the
slight rise and fall of shallow breaths. Beads of
perspiration covered his brow and upper lip. He felt that
his inner body was racked with quivers of both dread and
excitement.
He had been listening to the muffled sounds issuing from
above his ceiling. The voices had been so faint that he’d
been unable to understand the conversation, but the slight
current running through his body had told him that it was
she.
I wonder if she feels my presence as I feel hers. Should I
stay here or move to one of my other rooms ?Being close to
her could be a tremendous benefit to me. I just have to be
very careful to keep my existence here unknown. I need to
think this through. A slow smile tipped the corners of his
dry lips as he continued to sit in the darkness.
#
After a deep breath, Manda looked at her mom.
“Well….are your loins girded for the rest of the tour ?”
“If yours are, Hon”
“Let’s get to it then.”
They reentered the cottage and walked down a short hall
toward a bright, sunny room.
The room was quite large, stretching the complete width of
the house. Along the entire back wall that overlooked the
back yard, were windows. The left side of the room was a
spacious kitchen area. Cabinets of cherry wood supplied
ample storage and counter space. An island stood in the
room’s center. The color scheme was wedgwood blue and
white with copper accents. A copper rack over the recessed
range held matching cooking utensils. The back splash above
the counter and the wall behind the range were of sealed
slate to match the flooring. The counter tops were white
with fine etchings of wedgewood. On the right of the room
was a floor to ceiling deep bay window. Before it
stood a round table with chairs of cherry. A matching
breakfront stood on the opposite wall. A corner étagère of
white wicker held copper, white, and blue collectibles.
Between the kitchen and dining area was a Dutch door which
opened onto a terrace of meandering flagstone.
Manda could see that flagstone paths wound through beds of
riotously blooming flowers, shrubs and trees.
“Nanny was an child of nature,” observed Teresa.
“Yes, isn’t all this fantastic ! We’ll have to take a
stroll through the garden before we leave.”
“Absolutely, Sweetheart.”
They retraced their steps to the small foyer where there
was a closed door across the hall from the living room.
Manda swung the door open to reveal a bedroom.
“This has to be Nanny’s room. Based on the theme of the
rest of the house, except the weird fireplace, this looks
like what she’d like for her room.”
The walls were a soft medium shade of wedgwood; the molding
white.The slate floor was covered with a plush gray blue
carpet.
The windows had no curtains. Nanny had chosen instead to
have white shutters mounted at the windows to close the
darkness out at nightfall.
“Manda,look ! Isn’t this adorable?”
Teresa had closed the shutters to find that a vine with
leaves of ivy had been stenciled on them.
“She even had a pretty window view at night.”
“I think I’ll put a pot of ivy under each window to match.
What do you think,Mom?”
“Perfect,Hon.”
They turned and gasped with surprise and pleasure.
The full sized bed rested on a frame that didn’t require a
head or footboard. It was covered in a white eyelet duvet
over a matching bedskirt. Pillows in colors of Wedgwood,
sage, lilac and purple to coordinate with the color scheme
of the rest of the house were tossed on the head of the
bed.
The wall above the bed was decorated with vintage woman’s
finery.
A wide brimmed straw hat with lilac satin ribbons trailing
down had been hung on the wall…an old fashioned pair of
opera length white lace gloves had been stiffly starched
and affixed to the wall with a large pearl brooch…a triple
strand of pearls hung from a small decorative hook…a small
purple satin evening bag…several starched delicate
crocheted doilies of white with crocheted
purple and blue
pansies on ruffled edges…an antique fan opened and mounted
at a jaunty angle…a small grapevine wreath with flowers
and ribbons of pink and sage. Framing this fanciful
arrangement were vines of ivy stenciled to drape across the
upper wall at ceiling height and then cascade down the
wall on either side.
“Your great aunt was a very unique and talented
woman,Manda.”
“I know. I just can’t believe all this. A fairy home for
sure.”
A pair of cherry bedside tables were graced by small
boudoir lamps with eyelet shades.
A matching small size chest of drawers and vanity completed
the furnishings.Displayed on the chest were elaborate tiny
trinket boxes, a vintage quilted satin handerchief box
opened to display delicate hankies, and several photographs
in silver frames. Colorful antique perfume bottles and a
lovely mirror, brush, and comb set with mother of pearl
handles rested on the vanity.
Beyond a door in the bedroom was a small beautifully turned
out bathroom with state of the art furnishings fashioned to
appear to be of an earlier era. A claw foot tub with a
circular curtain, a pedestal sink, and a commode
with..believe it or not..a chain pull. A small white wicker
étagère held towels, washcloths, and a few knick knacks. A
tiny window, also with shutters., opened to let the sun’s
rays pour through.
As they turned to leave the bedroom, they saw an elaborate
wrought iron cross with a white distressed finish hanging
over the bedroom door.
A gray blue carpeted staircase at the end of the hall led
upstairs to two small bedrooms and a shared bath. Both were
gorgeous but tricked out to satisfy the taste of both men
and women.
The upstairs rooms were done in neutral colors with bold
accents of bright terra cotta and brick red in one; bright
blue and gold in the other.
The windows had shutters like Nanny’s room but with no
design painted on them.
The two women returned to the kitchen.
“Mom, I’m going to check the kitchen out and make a grocery
list for the basics. It shouldn’t take long.”
“Ok. I think I’ll start through the garden.”
“I’ll catch up in a few minutes.”
Teresa left through the dutch door as Manda began to
inventory the contents of the cabinets and pantry. There
was a good supply of food staples, cleaning supplies, and
paper products so she just had to worry about perishables.
That wasn’t much of a chore. I’ll go find Mom and check out
the garden with her.
Later this evening, maybe we can pack and be ready to move
in tomorrow.
She was so excited that she didn’t think she’d be able to
sleep at all tonight.
She shoved her list into her purse and followed Teresa.
When she went through the door, to her left was a circular
garden shaped like a pie with slices. Between each piece of
the pie was a narrow path and different plants grew in each
piece. Marigolds were planted around the perimeter of the
circle.
She followed the circuitous flagstone path that threaded
through the garden. Each curve of the path revealed a new
and different vista. In each area was a decorative garden
bench. Small concrete statuary seemed to be everywhere.
Cheerful elves peeked from beneath shrubs and clusters of
flowers. Fairies perched on small boulders and were affixed
to the limbs of trees. Manda passed a fish pond with a
small splashing waterfall. Pink and white water lilies
floated on the water and goldfish and koi could be seen
darting about just beneath the surface. Dragonflies in
shimmering colors skimmed the surface of the water. A
Mulberry tree providing shade stood there by the pond with
a bench tucked amidst the weeping branches. Verde gre
garden lamps with tulip shaped shades followed the pathway
to provide lighting for strolls after the sun had gone
down.
Mounds of flowers were everywhere as were shrubs and trees.
Birds flew among the trees attracted by bird feeders hung
from tree branches. They scolded her as she passed.
Butterflies flit about and lit on flowering scrubs.
Manda was in awe of the beauty. She breathed air scented by
flowers.
This is absolute paradise,she sighed.
Someone works very hard on all this. I don’t see a weed
anywhere…just beauty.
As she walked around the next curve, she began to hear the
murmur of voices.
Curious and a little apprehensive, she quickened her pace.
Her mother came into view, standing in the company of a
man. They turned toward Manda. Teresa smiled and stretched
her hand toward Manda.
“Sweetie, I want you to meet Jesse. He’s the head landscape
artist here.
Jesse, this is my daughter, Manda Harris.”
Manda reached to shake his hand but he stuffed them into
his pockets.
“I apologize,Miss Harris, but my hands are dirty from
working.
Teresa glanced at him with an odd expression.
Manda took in his appearance. A few inches taller than she,
he was lean but muscular. He was very tan from working in
the sun. He wore cut off jeans and a tee shirt. A baseball
cap was pulled low over his forehead and he wore dark
sunglasses. He had a slight frown on his face. She couldn’t
tell what he looked like except for a few strands of dark
curls edging from beneath his cap. He stepped back and
began to turn away.
“I better get back to work.Nice meeting you,Miss Harris.”
He walked away at a rapid pace.
Manda looked at her mom.
“Not very friendly,is he ?”
Teresa still wore a puzzled look on her face.
“He was fine until he spotted you,Hon. He really tensed up
then. Maybe he’s uncomfortable around beautiful women.,”
Teresa ventured a teasing look toward Manda.
Manda laughed at Teresa.”Yes, I could tell that he was
bowled over by my looks. Mom, you are hopeless !”
They began wandering back toward the cottage, stopping here
and there to admire points of interest.
“Mom,how about I lock up and we’ll take a little tour of
the grounds. Then we can have an early supper. I’m getting
a little hungry.”
“ Sounds like an excellent idea.”
PULLED FROM SHORTCUT TO PART 2 ICON ON DEASKTOP
Jesse walked about 10 feet into the grove of young trees and sat on the ground. He flung his cap to the ground, took the bandana handkerchief he held, and began to mop the beads of moisture from his brow and upper lip. He drew up his knees, crossed his arms over them and leaned his forehead on his arms…staring down at the grass.