Chapter 10

We woke up the next day. When I rolled out of bed, I went downstairs to the kitchen to find Dad, Richard and Sharon in the kitchen, eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Jessica," Dad greeted me.

"Morning, Dad, morning, Richard and Sharon," I said, sitting at the table.

"Your mom fixed some breakfast for you and left it on the counter, Jessica," Sharon told me. "She took Steven and the girls to school and said she'd be back in a hour. We're going to go look at houses today! Isn't that exciting?"

I bit my lip to stop myself from saying anything that would be deemed rude. House-hunting was the last thing I wanted to do. But it wasn't as if I had a choice anyway. There was nothing for me to do here.

"Uh, sure," I said, giving Sharon a sugary sweet smile. "Can't wait." I then dug into my breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage.

I'd rather eat dirt, I thought crossly.

Dad finished the last of his coffee. "Well, have fun, you two," he said to me and Sharon. "Sharon, I trust you'll find the best house for me and my family. Your help is greatly appreciated."

Sharon gave my dad a chuckle. "Don't mention it, Ned. I'll make sure the Wakefields have nothing but the best."

Dad smiled. Then he turned to me. "Alright, Jess. Don't forget you're on punishment," he reminded me.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. How could I forget?

"No, Dad," I said. "I didn't."

Dad then kissed the top of my head. "Good luck with the house-hunting. I'll see you later."

He turned and walked off towards the kitchen door, closing it behind him.

Richard kissed his wife goodbye and followed not too long after, saying goodbye to me.

Now it was just me and Sharon in the house.

Sharon looked at me, rubbing her hands on her pants. "Well, Jessica, your mother will be back soon. How about you change out of your PJs so we'll be ready when she comes back?"

I sighed. "Sure," I said dejectedly, slowly trudging towards the stairs back to Mary Anne's bedroom.

I brushed my teeth and hair and put on a pair of jeans with a purple sweater with a pair of black flats.

Once I got back downstairs, Mom was back and she and Sharon were at the door waiting for me.

"Good morning, sweetie," Mom said to me.

"Good morning," I said.

The three of us walked outside towards Sharon's car and got in.

After we strapped on our seat belts and Sharon started the ignition, we drove away.

"Now, Alice, tell me…what kind of house are you looking for?"

Mom looked deep in thought for a few minutes. "To be perfectly honest, Sharon, I don't know. I guess I'll know when I see it."

"What do you think, Jessica?" Sharon asked.

I only shrugged impassively. I was annoyed I was forced to tag along on this trip. I knew I'd be bored to tears.

"Well, I have a few homes in mind," Sharon replied. "The first one is on Slate Street. It's a lovely home, in my opinion, but I think I'll let you and Jessica be the judge of that."

Mom smiled. "Can't wait to see it. Let's go!"

So the three of us continued on, Mom and Sharon talking the whole way. I just sat in the backseat and sulked.

About fifteen minutes later, Sharon pulled up to a tiny light-blue house with grey shutters. It had a small lawn out front with a white fence bordering it. Next to the house, was a similar-looking garage.

"This is 23 Slate Street. I know it's on the small side but it is rather a cozy home," Sharon informed us. "Why don't we walk inside and see what's inside?"

Mom, Sharon and I got out of the car and walked towards the house. I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose at the house. It just looked old.

"It looks old," I pointed out, frowning.

"That's because it's a Georgian-style house. The Georgian style is particularly famous in New England because of their ties to the Old World," Sharon informed me.

Sharon took out a key and opened the door.

Well, we're in a new century now, I thought. I wouldn't be caught dead living here.

Sharon guided us through the empty house. "The house was built in 1952 and has been renovated a few times. It's a bit small but it's cozy. The last renovation was four years ago. The last owners wanted a more, um, New Englandy feel, if that makes any sense," she told us. "It's got three bedrooms, a tiny kitchen with an island, a bathroom with a claw-feet bathtub, a garage and an indoor back porch with a small backyard."

Mom only pursed her lips in thought. "It's nice," she replied. "But not what the family is looking for. We need something a little bigger and we need more bedrooms for all of the kids."

I sighed in relief. In our old house in Sweet Valley, I had to share with Elizabeth. There was no way in the world I was going back to that life again.

Sharon nodded. "I understand completely. Well…alright…I think I might have just the place. Follow me."

So we went back inside the car once more and drove off.

Ten minutes later, we arrived in front of a pretty big house. Not exactly big like Lila's mansion but it was still pretty big. I whistled in awe.

"Uh…Sharon? Where exactly are we?" Mom asked.

"This is the neighborhood of McLelland Road. A lot of the houses in this neighborhood are on the upscale side. In fact, Dawn and Mary Anne have a friend who lives on this street. Kristy Thomas' stepfather, Watson Brewer, owns a house just like this one here on this street."

I remembered meeting Kristy at lunch yesterday. I couldn't believe she actually lived in a mansion. She didn't look like a typical rich girl. From what I remembered, Kristy looked rather plain and ordinary.

I wouldn't mind living here, I thought. I could imagine rubbing in Lila's face that I also lived in a mansion and remove the smug look on her face.

Mom's voice broke me out of my daydream. "Sharon," she said, chuckling. "I think you forgot this house is a little bit out of me and Ned's price range. It's a great house…but do you think you could find something a little bit cheaper?"

Sharon blushed. "Say no more. Alright…I think I have just the place this time. Come with me."

I frowned in disappointment. There goes the mansion, I thought sadly.

We pulled up right in front a medium-sized house on a quiet street. The house was light-yellow with white shutters at the top and two large bay windows on both sides of the house at the bottom.

"This is 11 Cherry Valley Road," Sharon informed us. "A Colonial-style house with a large living room, bay windows, a kitchen with plenty of counter space, a breakfast nook that overlooks the backyard and a patio that connects to the family room. It also has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. One bathroom for the master bedroom, another bathroom and a half bathroom downstairs near the family room. There is also an attic, basement, garage and plenty of closet space."

I ran up the stairs to check out the bedrooms. One of the rooms had a window that overlooked the front of the street perfectly. It had a brown, hardwood floor, white walls and a huge walk-in-closet. I shrieked when I spotted the walk-in-closet, imagining all of the outfits I would store in there. I probably have to decorate, I thought. Some purple paint. Johnny Buck and Melody Power posters. Yeah…this room was definitely going to get Jessicaized soon.

The bathroom was a decent size. I knew I'd have to probably share with Lizzie and Steven but I was still impressed with it.

So far, the house seemed perfect. It wasn't too old or too small and it definitely wasn't a mansion or too expensive. It felt actually right for us.

I stared at Mom, hoping she would say yes to the house. It was perfect. It even had a small office near the living room. Dad and Elizabeth both would've appreciated that.

"Jess, what do you think?" Mom asked.

Did she really have to ask?

"Mom, you have to say yes! This house is perfect! It has everything we need!" I exclaimed. "Plus, it's on Cherry Valley Road. How obvious is that? It's a sign!"

Mom chuckled. "Be that as it may, I hope we can afford this. Let's not make any rash decisions."

"Oh, I'm sure this house is in your price range, Alice. I checked…$123,229. Don't worry."

Mom beamed. "Well…I guess in that case, we'll take it!"

Mom, Sharon and I had lunch in a restaurant called The Rosebud Café afterwards to celebrate buying a house. Sharon ate a salad with tofu, Mom had a turkey burger and I ate a junior club sandwich with fries.

"When we can we start moving in?" I asked, nibbling my fries.

"Well, we just have to call the bank regarding the mortgage and call the movers regarding our belongings," Mom said. "I'll have to call them today to give them the address of our new house…oh and we have to call the flatbed rental place regarding our car. Other than that, we could live there now if we wanted to. But we'll wait until we actually have furniture."

Mom sighed in contentment. "Everything is falling right into place," she said. "I am so glad I decided to take the walk of faith and move to Stoneybrook. I saw Uncle Charlie the other day and he actually remembered me! Well…a little. He remembered calling me Wonder, his old pet name for me."

Mom then frowned a little. "He only forgot my real name so he keeps calling me Wonder. I don't know how he remembers me. If it's my voice or my looks but when he saw me after so long, he just knew it was me somehow."

Mom instantly got a little teary-eyed. Sharon took her hand and squeezed it a little. "He looked so happy to see me, like I brightened up his whole day. It made me happy to see him so happy."

Mom then smiled wistfully. "Stoneybrook hasn't really changed all that much from when I was a kid, always coming here to spend time with you, Aunt Rita and the rest of my family. I know my kids aren't exactly thrilled to move three thousand miles away here and I feel bad that Ned had to drop his law firm to move here but coming here was probably the best decision I ever made."

I bit my lip a little, feeling guilty of my brattiness. I knew how much family meant to Mom. Mom has always been giving, loving and kind. She always did so much for her family and sacrificed a lot for us. She literally volunteered to be a caretaker for a sick family member because she wanted to, not because she had to.

And here I was being a brat because I didn't get the big picture. I wasn't exactly being the model daughter if I was getting into fights at school, getting suspended, grounded and being sulky. I needed to be more supportive even if I didn't entirely understand what Alzheimer's was. I thought back to what Elizabeth had told me before we moved to Stoneybrook: Mom needed help and it was time to step up and grow up. I rolled my eyes, chuckling to myself. Like always, my sister was always right. And in this case, she was.

It's time to do better, Jessica, I thought.