Sandusky Heights

An original work based loosely on Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Written By: Rebel Smith

©2018

Chapter I:

Vacancy in Sandusky Heights

It had been a few hours since Adelaide and her mother left the bright bustling streets of Chicago. Adelaide had lost count of how many cornfields they'd passed, but it felt like hundreds. There was an eerie sense of seclusion to the roads of Ohio. It felt as if they were driving farther and farther away from the rest of the world. Her father, Oliver, had enjoyed a successful career as a real estate developer in the Windy City, and had overseen many prominent projects that had rewarded him handsomely throughout the years, but after his passing, the money dried up quickly. The hospital bills and funeral expenses alone wiped out their savings. The life insurance policy barely covered the debt Oliver left behind. Amelia could no longer afford the high rent of their Lake Shore Drive apartment, so she was left with few options other than to return to her hometown of Sandusky Heights, Ohio - a place Adelaide had scarcely heard of, and never visited. Nevertheless, the pair had ultimately remained optimistic about their futures. They relied heavily on each other through Oliver's untimely death, and in many ways it had brought them closer. However, tonight's car ride had been quiet and dreary.

The rain pitter-pattered down on the car, and Adelaide was frequently drifting off into solitary thought with the steady hypnotic rhythm of the wiper blades. By nature, she was a confident young woman, well liked among her cohorts, a model student, and a talented young actress. She was expected to secure the female lead in her senior play, Our Town. It was a challenge and opportunity she had very much looked forward to, a true test of her capability to own the stage, and win over the audience. It could have potentially gotten her some notability in the local acting community had she achieved her ambitions. At the very least, it would have been a wonderful addition to her portfolio and resume. She assumed that role would likely go to Caitlyn Fitzpatrick now, since she was her primary competition. Adelaide wasn't the pretentious type, but she doubted Caitlyn's ability to truly capture the spirit and charisma of Emily Webb; the sincerity of the character would be lost on her.

Adelaide leaned her head against the passenger side window and gently sighed. Starting her senior year at a new high school hundreds of miles away was now going to be her most demanding performance. She didn't blame her mother for the move, nor did she hold any resentment against her; she was mature enough to understand the reasons behind why it had happened, and honestly, once her mother got settled in, Adelaide imagined she'd return to Chicago for college. Perhaps, she'd even continue on with a modest acting career.

At long last, the dim orange glowing lights of what appeared to be a suburb came into view; the last of the cornfields were finally behind them. This sparked Adelaide's attention, and she sat up in her seat just in time to read the "Welcome to Sandusky Heights" road sign as her mother drove passed.

"This is it?" Adelaide asked.

"This is it," replied Amelia. "We're going to spend tonight in a motel, but we'll meet the realtor first thing tomorrow morning and get the keys to our new home."

"What about Grandma?"

Amelia chuckled lightly, "Your grandma can't wait to see you, sweetheart."

"Couldn't we stay with her tonight instead?"

The rain tapered off into a drizzle, just as Amelia turned onto Cold Harbor Road; a bright blue neon sign shaped like a bird came into view. Adelaide could make out the words Mockingbird Motel, underneath it. "We are," Amelia answered with a serious tone as she pulled into a parking space, and turned off the ignition to the car.

Adelaide looked around the motel parking lot puzzled, "I don't understand. Does Grandma live at a motel?"

All of a sudden, the side door of the motel swung open and an older woman came galloping out into the darkness yelling, "There they are! My girls are finally here!"

"Remember, hold your judgments; it's all a little different here," Amelia gently reminded right before she opened her car door.

Magdalena embraced her daughter tightly, wrapping her arms around Amelia and rocking slightly from side to side. Her enthusiasm was candid and refreshing. Adelaide felt a smile creep across her face at the sight of the two women reunited. Magdalena shifted focus to her granddaughter, now standing patiently by the front of the car. She paused for a moment to briefly admire what a beautiful young woman she had become. She had her mother's soft brown curls and her father's intense, icy blue eyes. She looked wiser beyond her years, and she had a sense of resiliency about her, but she still managed to appear delicate, and it remained noticeable she was shouldering the sorrowful burdens of her father's death.

"Adelaide, I barely recognize you. You're all grown up." Magdalena spoke sweetly into the cool air. Her eyes whelmed up with tears, and she cleared the lump that had formed in her throat, "I tell ya, those photos your mama's sent me don't do you justice, darlin'." She pulled Adelaide into her arms and rubbed her shoulders affectionately, "Lets get you gals out of the rain, huh? Come on, come on, don't worry about your bags, I'll have Calvin bring them in," she ushered the girls into the motel.

Adelaide felt as if she had suddenly stepped back through time. The motel lobby looked like something straight out of a 1950's movie set. All the furniture and décor appeared to be the original, and it had been kept in remarkable condition. An old-fashioned cigarette machine stood snuggly next to a wall payphone. The powder blue lobby chairs were arranged neatly in a semi-circle around a vintage Danish triangular coffee table. There was a rainbow of different neon colored signs placed around the motel, actual room keys hung freely on hooks behind the check-in counter, and somewhere, there was a record player softly performing the sounds of Patsy Cline.

"Now, listen, I fixed a special room for you two," Magdalena took Adelaide by the hand and led her down to the end of the hallway, "I wanted to make sure you a got a good night's rest after that long car ride. Are you hungry? I'll have Calvin walk down to Trudy's Diner and get you a burger… and a shake… oh, and a piece of Trudy's homemade apple pie."

"Mom, you don't have to make such a fuss over us," Amelia reassured as she followed behind, "We're fine."

Magdalena stopped outside of room number 7; she turned and stared impassively at her daughter, "Well, I know that."

"I think it's really neat here, Grandma," Adelaide smiled. "Thank you for everything."

Magdalena's face lit up with joy, "You're welcome, love." She looked over to Amelia, "Millie, you could take a page out of Adelaide's book when it comes to good manners."

Amelia smirked, "Yes, ma'am."

"Excuse me," a young male voice called out from the lobby, "Ms. Maggie, I'm sorry, but I can't get the bags, the trunk is locked."

Magdalena called back down the hallway, "Just a moment, Calvin!" She opened the door to room 7, and Amelia stepped inside, Adelaide was about to follow behind her mother, but Magdalena stopped her, "Adelaide, will you be a dear, and take the keys to Calvin while I help your mama get settled?"

"Umm… sure."

Amelia handed her the keys, "Don't stay outside too long," she cautioned.

"What? You worried she's going to run off with Calvin?" Magdalena laughed, "Hah, not a chance. His shift isn't over till 9pm, and his father picks him up at 9:05 on the dot, every night. That boy's leash is shorter than a bee's knees." She motioned to Adelaide, "Go on, now."

Adelaide walked back towards the lobby, as she turned the corner of the hallway, she spotted a tall teenage male lazily leaned up against the counter. He was wearing a red and white letterman jacket, a black V-neck t-shirt, and tight blue jeans. He even wore the classic black and white Chuck Taylor Converse shoes. His sandy blonde hair was shaved short up to about the crown of his head, but longer and a little messy on top. Adelaide's first impression was that he looked like he belonged in a hipster band. He casually glanced over at her, but then quickly did a double take, and stood up straight. He nervously chuckled, "Sorry, I was expecting Ms. Maggie."

"You're off by a couple generations," Adelaide ribbed. "Here," she handed him the key. "Would you like some help?" she nodded towards the parking lot.

"Yeah, yeah, I mean… if you don't mind."

"I don't mind."

"Cool…" Calvin fiddled with the keys in his hands, "I'm Calvin."

"So I've heard." Adelaide extended her hand, "I'm Adelaide."

Calvin reached out to shake her hand, "I've heard about you too." He let go of her hand and quickly shoved it into his pocket. "I've heard a lot about you, actually. Ms. Maggie just raves about you. Honestly."

"That's sweet of her; she barely knows me." Adelaide glimpsed out the lobby window and realized it had started to rain steadily again. "We should hurry, before the rain picks up more."

"Oh, ah, yeah, yeah, we should," Calvin stammered. "We should definitely do that." He quickly surveyed the lobby, "I'm sure Ms. Maggie has an umbrella around here somewhere…" His eyes landed upon an umbrella stand tucked behind the cigarette machine. He grabbed a large black umbrella, "Ah, here go. Perfect." He escorted Adelaide outside, holding the umbrella above her to help keep her dry.

Meanwhile, back in room 7, Amelia and Magdalena were having a rather frank discussion about Oliver's passing and Amelia's return to Sandusky Heights. It had been a long kept secret from Adelaide why Oliver and Amelia never mentioned Sandusky Heights, why they only rarely mentioned Magdalena, and never brought Adelaide to visit. There were times in her childhood it did seem peculiar, but Adelaide had never pushed too hard for answers, she reasoned her mother left Sandusky Heights to live in a big city, and to marry a successful businessman, just like her father had been. After the cancer diagnosis, Adelaide's concerns were consumed by her father's well being. It wasn't until after his death, when Amelia mentioned moving back to Ohio, that Adelaide remembered Sandusky Heights even existed.

Magdalena and Amelia sat down on the bed next to each other. Maggie placed a hand on Amelia's shoulder, "I hate that it took Oliver's death to bring you back to me," Magdalena shook her head regrettably. "And I wish I could have been there with you at the funeral, I hope you know that."

"I do, mama," Amelia replied tenderly.

"I have missed you so much all these years…" Magdalena sighed. "Lord knows I wish I could have been a bigger part of Adelaide's life."

"Well, we're here now, aren't we?" Amelia sniffled and quickly wiped a few tears from her eyes. She sniffled again, but quickly composed herself, "My goodness, just when I thought I didn't have any more tears left to cry."

"And here I've managed to squeeze a few more out of you."

Magdalena's eyes wandered around the room, but then landed back on Amelia. "I just want you to know, that whatever you need, whatever Adelaide needs, I'll get, I'll do it, or I'll hire someone who can. You just say the word and it's done," she assured. "I don't want neither of you worrying about a thing."

Amelia stood from the bed and began to pace around the room, "We're meeting with the realtor tomorrow morning, and the movers should be here tomorrow afternoon, so my primary concern is just getting everything into place before it's time for Adelaide to start school this fall. I want this to be as smooth of a transition as possible for her." Amelia ran her fingers anxiously through her hair, "I hope I've made the right choice. She's been through so much already."

"Have you told her anything? You know, about..."

Amelia turned around abruptly to face her mother, "No," she interjected. "And you have to promise that you won't either."

Magdalena scoffed, "Millie, you can't protect her forever. I can promise you I won't say anything, but what about everyone else? How long until someone else tells her? Would you rather she hears it from a classmate? A stranger? And besides, she needs to know what to do in case anything ever happens."

Amelia closed her eyes and titled her head back with a sigh. She sat down next to her mother, "I'll tell her, but when I'm ready."

Magdalena nodded, "All right." She patted Amelia's hand, "Well, how about that burger and shake, hmm? Let's see if Calvin's managed to find his way back from the car."

II

The next morning, Adelaide and Amelia woke early and got dressed. The sun was shinning, and the town looked different in the daylight. Adelaide could now see that the motel was built on top of a hill that overlooked a harbor for Lake Erie. There was a dock with several boats lined up along it stretching across the rocky coastline. In a way, it reminded her of the view from their old apartment on Lake Shore Drive, yet it was distinctly different. The motel definitely had more character than her old apartment building in Chicago, and the rocky harbor appeared more jagged and bleak than the sandy shorelines of back home.

As they drove down Cold Harbor Road, and into the small town of Sandusky Heights, Adelaide began to notice nuances about her new surroundings. It was becoming apparent it wasn't just her grandmother's motel that appeared frozen in time, but several of the businesses had kept their vintage décor and style. As they passed Trudy's Diner, Adelaide saw waitresses bringing food to customers who were parked in their cars. Across the street from the diner was a General Store, and next door to that was a Coin Laundromat.

Then, as Amelia turned passed Sycamore Street, Adelaide's mouth gaped open, "No way," she whispered. "Mom, is that a drive in movie theater?"

Amelia nodded, "Yep, one of the few functional drive in cinemas left in the entire country."

"You mean people still go there to watch movies? That's so cool."

Amelia turned down a series of side streets, and then eventually stopped at the end of a cul-de-sac, "Well, here we are. Home sweet home." She gazed around the neighborhood, looking for the realtor who was scheduled to meet them. "I guess we're a little early."

"Which one is ours?" Adelaide asked.

Amelia pointed to a quaint, compact looking house, with pale yellow siding and white shutters. There was a brick path that sprawled from the driveway to the front door, and a picturesque, freshly painted, white picket fence around the perfectly portioned square front yard. "Over there. 1313 Cuyahoga Ave."

"1313?" Adelaide repeated. "Bad omen much?"

Amelia opened the car door, "Oh, Addie, don't be ridiculous; besides, it's fives you have to watch out for." She closed the car door behind her.

"What?" Adelaide quickly opened her door and got out of the car, "Why should I watch out for fives?"

Suddenly, a car horn beeped multiple times from behind them, startling Amelia and Adelaide. They both turned quickly to see a young, blonde, woman in a small, red, two-door sports car pull up next to the house. The woman rolled down her window and removed her sunglasses, "Are you Mrs. Matthews?"

"Yes," Amelia answered.

"Great, here, hold this," the woman reached a folder out of the car window for Amelia to take. She didn't turn off her car's ignition; instead, she left it idle while she dug around through her bag for a pen, "Here you go sweetie, just sign and initial the last two pages, and we're all set."

"Aren't you going to show us the house?" Adelaide asked.

The woman seemed annoyed by the girl's question, "I only show houses to clients who are actively looking to buy – your mommy already bought this one." She glanced back up to Amelia, "This is just a dotting the i's and crossing the t's sort of thing. You know, so I can legally hand you the keys." Amelia opened the folder and flipped through the forms, she signed the last two pages and handed the folder back through the woman's car window. The woman gave her a small box with two keys inside. "Enjoy your new home." She put her sunglasses back on, rolled up her window, and quickly sped out of the cul-de-sack.

"Don't worry, Adelaide," Amelia reassured, "I have copies of all the paperwork, and the lease, in my email. That was all taken care of before we left Chicago." Amelia glanced down at her watch, "Well, the movers aren't scheduled to arrive until 1:00pm, but I have an interview I need to get to if I expect to be gainfully employed soon. Are you okay with waiting here at the house by yourself for a couple of hours? I can have Grandma come over and stay with you if you'd like."

"No, that's okay," Adelaide objected, "I'm sure Grandma has better things to do today than sit in an empty house. Besides, I don't need a babysitter. I'll be eighteen in October. Go crush your interview for…"

"Cold Harbor Freight and Cargo Area Loss Prevention and Distribution Manager."

Adelaide laughed, "Seriously? That's like, the longest job title in the world. They should hire you just for being able to remember it."

Amelia echoed her daughter's laughter with her own, "I know, I know. All right, I'm leaving. Call me if you need anything, or if the movers show up early." Amelia opened the box and gave one of the keys to Adelaide. She kissed her daughter tenderly on the forehead, "I love you."

Adelaide unlocked the door to the house and stepped inside. The floors were hardwood, and the doorways were arched with ornate carvings. It felt surprisingly homey, even without any furniture. She walked through the kitchen and found a back door that lead to a patio area behind the house. There were two old rusty lawn chairs sitting underneath the kitchen window. Adelaide guessed they were a generous donation from the previous owners. She took a seat in one of the chairs and pulled out a book from her backpack. In times like this, when she's sitting alone in the backyard of an empty house, she could always count on a good book; she was about ten pages into her reading when she heard a voice call to her from across the yard.

"Les Misérables," Calvin noted. "Good movie." Adelaide looked up from her lap and saw Calvin standing behind the back fence, holding two plastic cups. "Do you like coffee?"

"I don't just like coffee, I'm in a very serious and committed relationship with coffee, actually." She closed her book and tucked it inside her backpack. She walked across the patio and unlocked the back gate for Calvin. "Thank you," she replied as she took the warm cup from Calvin's hand. "This was thoughtful of you."

"Ms. Maggie had me bring it over," Calvin admitted, "but I was more than happy to do it." He smiled and took a sip of his coffee. He joined Adelaide on the patio. "Hey, listen, if you don't have any plans for later tonight, you should come down to The Record House. There's going to be a live band, and a gang of us from the high school will be there. It's the hippest place to be on a Friday night in Sandusky Heights."

"Oh, yeah?" Adelaide asked raising an eyebrow. "Is that where all the cool kids hang out?"

"Totally, but don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you," he winked. Adelaide looked away, avoiding eye contact with Calvin. He realized he had made her uncomfortable, and thought perhaps he had come on too strong with her, or possibly embarrassed or insulted her. He took his social cue gracefully and stood from the patio chair. "Well, I should get going… you know, best not to keep Ms. Maggie waiting."

Adelaide stood as well, "Thanks again for the coffee."

"Anytime." Calvin turned and exited the backyard; he stopped and tossed his hand up as a gesture of goodbye, before closing the gate behind him.