Valley Forge
Chapter 25
Jackson got a signal and read it. "Looks like our luggage has arrived as well as Katherine's parents. As comfortable as I may be, shall we go see our room?" He kissed the side of Martha's head and helped her get up.
He'd seen his son take a call that he'd been expecting; he moved over to the island and looked at the its countertop. He had used it, it was there…somewhere. A few trial attempts later he found that if he placed his palm on the countertop it would light up. After pressing a couple of panels, this went out over the house's speaker system: "Everyone's luggage is on the roof if any of you care to move into your bedrooms. Katherine, your parents are also on the roof for the moment. I will arrange for them to be moved to the ground." Jackson took Martha's hand and went to the elevator with Rick right behind them.
It took a little time to sort out the luggage along with a few, "I think that one is yours," since it didn't look anything like what the person speaking had asked for.
"OH, JACKSON!" Martha had her hands pressed to her mouth and was ready to start crying. It was everything she could have ever asked for and she hadn't even seen it all yet.
The windows on the outside looked EVE modern, but on the inside they looked like wood. They were also floor to ceiling with the uppermost window having wood inserts. It was a darker wood and the ceiling had wood beams in a crisscross pattern while the ceiling was a wood that was a touch lighter. The floor was the same wood as the main area however there were area rugs placed in a number of areas.
The bed itself was quite large and looked to be built on an elevated platform. The sheets were a deep purple with a light beige comforter that had wide stripes in a pattern. The main pillows were the same color while the accent pillows were a dark red. The head board was black with large wood accents around each side. There were two oversized seating areas, each with two chairs and a small table. Over each table was a glass chandelier. Over the bed was a more rustic black domed chandelier.
Martha slowly walked everywhere until she saw an opening on one side of the bed. Stepping through almost took her breath away. It wasn't a walk-in closet. It was a walk-through closet with side alcoves on either end. Like the bedroom, it was dark wood with places to hang clothes and lots of drawers to store things in. "I don't have this much clothing." She was never going to fill it.
Jackson smiled. "You can go shopping, love," he assured her.
There were glass double doors in the center of the back wall, where there was a lot of light in addition to the glass chandeliers and purpose lighting that was in the closet itself.
Through those doors was the bathroom. "OH - MY - WORD!" Martha looked everywhere as fast as she could. There was a floating vanity to either side with a vessel sink on top. On the opposite wall was a large bathtub that she was sure had jets in it. On the other end was a huge walk-in shower with heads everywhere, including the walls.
On either end were storage closets that already had towels inside them. White for her and a deep purple for him.
Each end had a glass chandelier; the vanities were black with a brilliant white top. The floor was different beige colors within a square, within a smaller square, within yet a smaller a square. The walls were a soft baby blue. The ceiling was an even softer baby blue that was almost white.
Martha walked up to the glass that was everywhere. However, the one right in front of her looked to have an etching made into it. The etching looked like an outdoor scene. There was a bench to sit on with plants on either side that formed a canopy. It was lovely enough that she wished she could sit down.
"What do you think?" Jackson wanted her to love it. He liked it but she needed to love it.
Initially Martha had been taken aback by all the wood. After living on EVE for a few short months she had started to get used to all the steel and glass. This was so totally different. At first sight, she hadn't liked the black vanities, but since everything else in the room was soft, they sort of popped.
She turned to look at him and couldn't stop the tears. This was theirs! "I LOVE IT!" They could change what she didn't totally love later.
- :: - :::- :: -
Victoria had been resting on her bed in her room since her daughter had dragged her here after finding it. It felt good to have a space that was all hers and that her daughter was happy. They had been living in what was essentially a studio apartment. After her husband had died she had chosen to be very frugal with their money. Her bed and her daughter's little bed took up most of the space.
She had understood why her daughter had brought her down here. They each had their own space now.
She hadn't really been a fan of the main room. While she liked wood and the plants she worked with, she wanted something different to retreat to at the end of the day.
Her room was far more EVE modern than anything else in this home so far. It had black carpet with white tiny stars in it. Her large, round, white bed was up against the glass wall. Her headboard was the glass itself which in this case had etchings of clouds in it.
The opposite wall was navy blue at the top and gradually faded to a softer blue when it reached the desk that was a stark white. As the blue got softer it had white dots added to it until the blue was almost gone.
Her ceiling was white and had a large white dome in the middle with eight dark blue triangles around the side. On the opposite side of the wall with the dresser was her walk-in closet and bathroom. Both were basically standard EVE design.
She was in heaven until her daughter came running in and jumped on her. "Do you like your room?" It was a stupid question and she knew it, but she really wanted to see her daughter smile.
"I LOVE IT! COME SEE!" Stephanie was up and was dragging her mother behind her. Victoria indulged her even if all she wanted to do was just lie there and soak it all in.
She had let her daughter choose what she had wanted and hadn't interfered at all. She had tried to guide her but still she was a little surprised at what she saw.
The floor was white tile. She had a sofa, small coffee table, and a chair that was all white. The outside walls were all glass, of course, however, she had chosen to hang white drapes that were presently bundled up to either side. Under the coffee table was an area rug that was black and dark navy blue, the complete opposite of everything else.
Her large bed was actually inside a large gray frame. Her bed linens were all white. The gray continued up the inside wall until it reached the ceiling. It was there that she saw a large thick slab of gray with lights inside it.
She had a small table that was white and so was the chair. Even the accent tables near her desk were white. It left her wondering what her closet and bathroom looked like.
"A little white, isn't it, sweetheart?" She was starting to be sorry she had let her daughter have this much say in her room. Then she watched her walk over to a panel near the door and press a couple of panels. Suddenly there was a soft purple light across the glass, shining out from under her bed, up the sides of the gray panel and shining out the top of the slab that was over her bed. Even her table had purple lights. There were even purple lights framing the doorway to her closet and bathroom. Then the purple changed to navy blue, then red, orange, and finally green. Every time her daughter pressed a panel the color changed.
Victoria was sure her daughter had been pressing panels making the colors change for the last hour. "Come see." Suddenly she was being dragged through a green outline and into another room.
Her closet was to the right while the door to her bathroom was in front of them. Her closet was almost an exact duplicate of her room. It was all white and presently had green lights outlining almost everything. Next came the bathroom and it was there that Victoria feared her daughter hadn't listened to her.
Stepping in, her mouth dropped open. The glass was the outside wall and she had done nothing to it. Then Victoria saw large openings in the floor in front of the glass. To her right was a free-standing tub in white. The floor was basically a beige tile while the walls were full of murals of the outside. All plants. Her floating vanity was also white. There was a small walk-in shower that was mostly beige that varied in hue.
"Where's your storage, sweetheart, and what's with the holes in the floor?" Victoria finally asked, almost afraid of the answers.
"Out in the closet. These…," she walked over to the holes in the floor, "I'm going fill with dirt and put plants here. They'll fill the glass with plants." She spread her arms wide like a fan and was smiling, very pleased with herself.
Victoria tried to picture it. It was clear her daughter loved white. Maybe just a little too much. But she also wasn't afraid of color, any color, so it would appear. It wasn't to her taste, but if her daughter was happy then so was she. "I'm sure it will look amazing." Her bathroom anyway. She stood there and saw her daughter smiling from ear to ear. Her mother had just given her her blessing for her choices.
- :: - :::- :: -
Alexis stepped into her room and began smiling. It looked better than the renderings she'd been shown. The bed was presently up, showing her the large seating area that was in a large step down area right in the middle.
The main floor was black tile all around the center. Off to one side was a dark gray dresser with a black top. Two of her walls were all windows that had blackout curtains that were presently pulled back.
The ceiling was white with a number of recessed lights. Down in the seating area was a large sectional that took up three sides and was a dark purple color. It had a number of ice blue throw pillows. At the end of the sectional on each side was a black end table. The coffee table in the center was a simple black box that had a hidden storage compartment.
Up against the inside wall was a depressed area that presently held simple yet elegant glass vases meant to hold flowers. To either side were white doors that were hidden into the wall. You had to know they were there and where to push to open them.
Alexis looked at the panel next to the door and pressed one of them and watched as the bed and the platform the bed was lowered down to the floor.
The new floor was white as was the bed frame. The bed itself was mostly white with dark stripes of purple in the bedding. Looking up she saw the space where the bed itself was hidden into the ceiling.
There was a short ramp so that she didn't trip and walked to one of the hidden doors. Pushing, she opened it and saw her narrow walk-through closet. Here she had chosen all white cabinets, complete with several drawers. Instead of walking through and coming back out into her bedroom, she went straight and opened the door to her bathroom. This place was totally unique.
Her bathroom was backed up against the house so there were no windows to the outside. It was there that you could tell what she did for a living. It was full of green and lots of glass.
Opening the door showed a trail of white stone steps with a pool of water all around, then turned left that lead to a large tub. To the right was a white tile floor that had a pair of golden colored wood cabinets that floated above the floor and had a pair of white vessel sinks. They floated because they were supported by a wood column between the two. Behind them was a large hole where she could plant many plants.
Mirrors encased with a wood trim hung from the ceiling above each sink.
Opposite was the large walk-in shower that had a painted mural that showed a beach, ocean and palm trees. The ceiling of the space was white around the edge with a wood ceiling in the center filled with recessed lights. The shower itself was filled with shower heads.
"I think I'll live in this room." Humming happily, Alexis stripped off her clothes and settled down into the tub.
- :: - :::- :: -
Rick had asked Kate to design the bathroom after he promised he wouldn't go all masculine on their bedroom. Right inside the door was the door to the bathroom.
It was long and narrow with white marble for the floor, the countertops, and the round walk-in shower. It was just that instead of it being white and black marble it was white and gold marble. The large round shower was half way down on the left with cabinets that had oversized sinks in them to either side. The cabinets were white. While the opposite wall had storage just inside the door that was made using really dark wood. Just beyond was a freestanding soaking tub.
"I like it." Rick kissed her cheek and they headed for the walk-in closet. This space he had totally given over to her. He had seen some of her clothes and even though they were on a space ship, she'd brought everything she owned, including all of her shoes.
It actually had two aisles to walk down. One for Rick and one for Kate. The cabinetry was an off-white with gold borders; the very end on each side were shelves perfect for shoes. Both of them got to use the middle cabinets with drawers on each side. The outside cabinets all had hanging rods at different heights.
There were two hanging chandeliers while each aisle had hanging lights. "You actually gave me some space!" Rick was amazed.
"I had a fever at the time," Kate smiled and they left to go to the bedroom. She was dying to see what Rick had chosen.
The bedroom was on the outside so the far wall was all glass looking out. In this case it looked inward to the island so the first thing they saw were the horizontal hardwood blinds that went from floor to ceiling.
The ceiling had a slight slope to it from the outside in and had exposed wood beams and a wood ceiling. The windows had a wood cover that matched the beams. The ceiling was a little lighter and matched the floor. There was a large ceiling fan and a few positional lights.
The bed was front and center and faced the windows. The frame was nothing exceptional, however, the sheets were white with a green leaf pattern while the pillow cases were a soft solid green. The comforter, while white, had a raised pattern to it.
"Nice, simple, comfortable. I like it, you did good, Castle." Kate kissed his cheek. "Maybe we can inaugurate the bed tonight. I'll set up the equipment." She moved in close and played with his shirt.
Then Jackson's announcement came over hidden speakers. "Want me to come with you?" Rick asked since her face suddenly went from soft to hard.
"Please." She really didn't want to do this alone.
"That's what husbands are for." Rick gave her a quick kiss.
Kate and Rick came out to the living room area and started looking around. "How do we get down to the ground?" They found their answer in the elevator. It could take them from the roof to ground level.
Once down to the ground they found Jackson and Martha waiting for them. "This is as per your request." Jackson and Martha got in one transport while Kate and Rick got in another and started down the road to what would eventually be the city.
About halfway there they found that the road was blocked by a machine, her parents' caskets, and a pair of workers for the contractor. "They want to know if you're ready," Jackson translated and Kate nodded mutely.
It only took minutes; the machine picked up a casket, slid it into the cavity in the wall, and then did the same for the other one. The same machine picked up what looked to be new solid granite markers that were a lot bigger than the ones on Earth. Moments later the machine was rumbling down the road toward the city, leaving Kate, Rick, Jackson, and Martha behind.
The wall was maybe 20 feet tall and made of hardened gray lava. Everyone on the road would go past this spot on every trip.
"Welcome to your new home, Mom and Dad. Please don't be upset. I promise to visit more often. It's not Earth but it's home. You should see the new house. It's amazing. This is Rick, my husband. I think you'd love him if you were here. This is his mother and father. His sister's here, too. We're all in the same place now. I've even made some new friends. Real aliens!" Kate felt her tears starting. "Maybe they'll stop and say hello. OH and I've got a new job. I get to explore the new galaxy that we're all in. Bet you never thought that would happen. …I never dreamed what Earth would do.
"Get ready to hear a whole new language and wish me luck. I think I might need it. Please don't forget to attend my official wedding. My husband made my ring himself. Now we're getting tattoos together as part of the ceremony."
Kate placed a hand next to her mouth to block Rick from hearing her. "I'm going to kill him if I don't like it." Except that he did hear her because he groaned and rolled his eyes just like Kate had taught him.