Chapter 3
When the fifth of May finally arrived, I was very happy. I quickly played Beethoven's ninth symphony, giving it a jazz beat, on the piano I had learned to play after Ethan left, and began to pack my things for Florida. I loaded a backpack up with books, tapes, and word-find books, plus four pairs of clothes for the next four days.
I stopped before leaving the house to make sure everything was turned off. I drove to Dad's with the music on. Ah, country music, what beautiful music to listen to. (Author's Note: So sue me, I love country music. Had no idea what the author wanted her to listen to so I made it country.)
When I got to Dad's, I left the suitcase that I had packed the week before and the backpack in the car and only brought two pairs of clothes into the house.
"Hey, guys," I called out, when I got inside, "is all your stuff packed?"
"Yeah," Ian said. "But before you go upstairs, why don't you come into the living room?"
"All right," I said with a smile, "what's going on?"
"Nothing. Come on. Please?" Ian asked, with a big puppy dog face.
"I'm coming. I'm coming."
When we got to the living room all our relatives and friends jumped up and shouted "Surprise!". I was so surprised, I couldn't think straight.
We had cake and ice cream and I started opening presents. The first gift had my name on it and someone's name I hadn't heard from in four years. It was a gift from my mom.
"How did this get here?" I asked my dad, who was sitting next to me.
"I have no idea. Maybe it came in the mail," Dad said, with a huge grin on his face.
"No, it didn't," Ian said and left the room. When he came back . . . our mom was with him.
* ^ _ ^ *
Chapter 4
"Hi, Honey. Happy Birthday," she said.
"Mom!" I cried and ran over to her and hugged her tight. To my surprise, she hugged me back even tighter. "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to be with my daughter on her nineteenth birthday," she said.
"It's good to see you, Mom. Why don't I open the presents, talk with the guests, and then I'll take you to see my house. Okay?"
"You got your own place? How much did it cost?"
"Well, you can say it was pretty much a gimme," I told her nervously.
"I would love to see it. First open the presents," she said rather excitedly.
Mom's gift was a good sized box. When I opened it, I saw four other boxes. Each box had a number on it. The numbers were sixteen to nineteen.
"What's this?" I asked her, confused.
"There's a gift in there for the past four years that I have missed giving you a present," Mom said, "open sixteen first."
I drew a deep breath and held it while I unwrapped number sixteen. I unwrapped a necklace, bracelet, and earrings set, and they wre all diamonds. The necklace was a charm necklace with five charms on it. Two charms were circular. One was a heart and another was a tear shape. These were all pretty, but the last charm was a gold cross with a diamond at the intersecting point.
"They're beautiful, Mom," I said.
"Thank you, Honey. Now, open the other three," she told me.
The next two presents were less exquisite than the first, but the last was an early nineteenth-century ball gown, in the French style (*AN: Don't ask me why, I just love long dresses and thought this was a beautiful time period for dresses*).
"Mom, thank you so much. I'll try to think of a day that I can wear the dress, but I'll wear the diamonds forever," I told her.
"Well, certainly not forever. A person only lives so long," she said.
Ian and I exchanged glances and I didn't tell her that I knew someone who would live a very, VERY long time.
"Anyway, they're lovely. Let me open the other gifts, then we'll go to my house."
When I finished opening gifts, I talked to my relatives and friends. After about half an hour I was ready to go.
"Okay, Mom. Let's go take a look at my house. "I grabbed my keys and we left.
We went out to my van and I got behind the wheel.
"How well do you drive?" Mom asked.
"Pretty well. Wait until you see the house. I think you'll like it," I told her.
We rode in silence for the rest of the time. When she saw the house, she gasped in surprise.
"This is where you live? It's beautiful! I wonder what the inside looks like."
I chuckled. "You'll see soon enough. Come on."
I unlocked the door then stepped inside and turned on the light. Mom stepped in a second later. She was even more surprised than she had been outside.
"Wow! This place is really magnificent. you even have a grand piano. Remember how I tried to make you take those lessons?" Mom asked.
I didn't answer but went over and sat on the stool, instead. I played a song Ethan had played on it three years ago. "Unchained Melody."
"Wow!" she said again. "You've become quite an accomplished player. How did you learn to play so well without music?"
"Well, I had a friend who used to live here, and he sold this house to me," a lie, but it served it's purpose, "and he played even better than I do. Do you want to see the rest of the house, then we'll sit down, drink some tea, and I'll play some more. Do you still remember how to play?" I asked her.
"A little. Do you have any sheet music? I can't play without it."
"Yeah. I have some up in my room."
We walked around, looking at my things. She liked my computer room and the master bedroom with its large canopy bed. I got the music out from my closet and we went back downstairs. I gave Mom the box of music and went out to the kitchen to make our tea. Soon music was wafting through the house.
"Mom, the tea is read," I called out to her after a while. The music stopped and I brought the tea out on a silver tray.
"This is a beautiful piano. It's all tuned up and everything." Mom said.
"Thank you," I said.
After I finished my tea, I played quite a few songs before I announced that we had to leave.
"Do you mind if I make a bed on your bedroom floor? I have to leave tomorrow afternoon."
"Sure, Mom. I have to go some place tomorrow. D'accord?"
"You speak French, too?"
"Yeah. I took French lessons three years ago."
When we got back to the house, I helped Mom take her stuff up to my room. I made her a bed and we went downstairs to collect my gifts.
* ^ _ ^ *
When the fifth of May finally arrived, I was very happy. I quickly played Beethoven's ninth symphony, giving it a jazz beat, on the piano I had learned to play after Ethan left, and began to pack my things for Florida. I loaded a backpack up with books, tapes, and word-find books, plus four pairs of clothes for the next four days.
I stopped before leaving the house to make sure everything was turned off. I drove to Dad's with the music on. Ah, country music, what beautiful music to listen to. (Author's Note: So sue me, I love country music. Had no idea what the author wanted her to listen to so I made it country.)
When I got to Dad's, I left the suitcase that I had packed the week before and the backpack in the car and only brought two pairs of clothes into the house.
"Hey, guys," I called out, when I got inside, "is all your stuff packed?"
"Yeah," Ian said. "But before you go upstairs, why don't you come into the living room?"
"All right," I said with a smile, "what's going on?"
"Nothing. Come on. Please?" Ian asked, with a big puppy dog face.
"I'm coming. I'm coming."
When we got to the living room all our relatives and friends jumped up and shouted "Surprise!". I was so surprised, I couldn't think straight.
We had cake and ice cream and I started opening presents. The first gift had my name on it and someone's name I hadn't heard from in four years. It was a gift from my mom.
"How did this get here?" I asked my dad, who was sitting next to me.
"I have no idea. Maybe it came in the mail," Dad said, with a huge grin on his face.
"No, it didn't," Ian said and left the room. When he came back . . . our mom was with him.
* ^ _ ^ *
Chapter 4
"Hi, Honey. Happy Birthday," she said.
"Mom!" I cried and ran over to her and hugged her tight. To my surprise, she hugged me back even tighter. "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to be with my daughter on her nineteenth birthday," she said.
"It's good to see you, Mom. Why don't I open the presents, talk with the guests, and then I'll take you to see my house. Okay?"
"You got your own place? How much did it cost?"
"Well, you can say it was pretty much a gimme," I told her nervously.
"I would love to see it. First open the presents," she said rather excitedly.
Mom's gift was a good sized box. When I opened it, I saw four other boxes. Each box had a number on it. The numbers were sixteen to nineteen.
"What's this?" I asked her, confused.
"There's a gift in there for the past four years that I have missed giving you a present," Mom said, "open sixteen first."
I drew a deep breath and held it while I unwrapped number sixteen. I unwrapped a necklace, bracelet, and earrings set, and they wre all diamonds. The necklace was a charm necklace with five charms on it. Two charms were circular. One was a heart and another was a tear shape. These were all pretty, but the last charm was a gold cross with a diamond at the intersecting point.
"They're beautiful, Mom," I said.
"Thank you, Honey. Now, open the other three," she told me.
The next two presents were less exquisite than the first, but the last was an early nineteenth-century ball gown, in the French style (*AN: Don't ask me why, I just love long dresses and thought this was a beautiful time period for dresses*).
"Mom, thank you so much. I'll try to think of a day that I can wear the dress, but I'll wear the diamonds forever," I told her.
"Well, certainly not forever. A person only lives so long," she said.
Ian and I exchanged glances and I didn't tell her that I knew someone who would live a very, VERY long time.
"Anyway, they're lovely. Let me open the other gifts, then we'll go to my house."
When I finished opening gifts, I talked to my relatives and friends. After about half an hour I was ready to go.
"Okay, Mom. Let's go take a look at my house. "I grabbed my keys and we left.
We went out to my van and I got behind the wheel.
"How well do you drive?" Mom asked.
"Pretty well. Wait until you see the house. I think you'll like it," I told her.
We rode in silence for the rest of the time. When she saw the house, she gasped in surprise.
"This is where you live? It's beautiful! I wonder what the inside looks like."
I chuckled. "You'll see soon enough. Come on."
I unlocked the door then stepped inside and turned on the light. Mom stepped in a second later. She was even more surprised than she had been outside.
"Wow! This place is really magnificent. you even have a grand piano. Remember how I tried to make you take those lessons?" Mom asked.
I didn't answer but went over and sat on the stool, instead. I played a song Ethan had played on it three years ago. "Unchained Melody."
"Wow!" she said again. "You've become quite an accomplished player. How did you learn to play so well without music?"
"Well, I had a friend who used to live here, and he sold this house to me," a lie, but it served it's purpose, "and he played even better than I do. Do you want to see the rest of the house, then we'll sit down, drink some tea, and I'll play some more. Do you still remember how to play?" I asked her.
"A little. Do you have any sheet music? I can't play without it."
"Yeah. I have some up in my room."
We walked around, looking at my things. She liked my computer room and the master bedroom with its large canopy bed. I got the music out from my closet and we went back downstairs. I gave Mom the box of music and went out to the kitchen to make our tea. Soon music was wafting through the house.
"Mom, the tea is read," I called out to her after a while. The music stopped and I brought the tea out on a silver tray.
"This is a beautiful piano. It's all tuned up and everything." Mom said.
"Thank you," I said.
After I finished my tea, I played quite a few songs before I announced that we had to leave.
"Do you mind if I make a bed on your bedroom floor? I have to leave tomorrow afternoon."
"Sure, Mom. I have to go some place tomorrow. D'accord?"
"You speak French, too?"
"Yeah. I took French lessons three years ago."
When we got back to the house, I helped Mom take her stuff up to my room. I made her a bed and we went downstairs to collect my gifts.
* ^ _ ^ *