*A/N: Wow! I'm getting some great reviews here. Thanks, everyone! I really
appreciate it. Special thank you's to funky pink high top, musicsdream, and
Lizzard Liz for greatly supporting my story! Seriously - I never thought it
would be this good. (LOL!) Well, here's Chapter Two for you; enjoy! Ciao
for now_*Deanna
Dark Secrets: A Legacy Of Lies
Chapter Two
It would seem naive to expect warmth from a person who refused to see her own grandchildren. Now that I thought about it, the meaning of my dream the night before was pretty obvious, even the feeling that something was not right. The door to my mother's family had always been closed to me; when you're locked out for fifteen years, you can't help but wonder what you're walking into.
"Lizzie? David? You've made it!" the stocky woman gloated, crumpling up a papered sign with our names written on it. Her large green eyes were full of excitement, and I knew that I liked her right away.
Surprisingly, yet suddenly, she hugged Gordo and I both while saying, "I'm Virginia, but people call me Ginny." She turned towards me. "I'm your mother's best old friend. I guess you've figured that out already."
When Ginny had heard that Gordo and I were coming, she insisted on meeting us at the airport close to Baltimore. She happily took our suitcases, one in each arm, and escorted us to her car. Well, I wouldn't really call it a car, persay. It was an ancient offgreen station wagon, full of clothes and antiques and shoes that she'd collected for the vintage store she ran in Wisteria.
Gordo glanced at me with amusement, leaning in and whispering with a soft voice of re-assurance, "I know that this trip won't be as bad as you throw it out to be. I promise."
It was something in his voice that made me feel as if he knew something that I didn't. Something secret. Maybe I was just imaginging things. But his voice, it had suddenly made me feel like I was in another world . .
"I hope you don't mind the smell of mothballs," Ginny said, breaking up the clutter in my thoughts.
"No problem," Gordo and I unisoned.
"How about the smell of a car burning oil?" she asked.
"That's okay, too," I replied. It was amazing. Gordo and I were making our way into the back seat of a clustered station wagon, with the smells of burning oil and mothballs, and already I felt at home.
As Ginny began driving, she handed Gordo and I a map so we could follow our progress towards Wisteria, which was on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. While we were reading over the map, which practically took both mine and Gordo's seat space, Ginny piped up.
"Hey, now, we could always open these windows here if the fumes get too strong for you."
She tried unrolling her front window, which looked pretty difficult because of the mandatory operating instead of the automatic you would find in newer cars. Ginny's station wagon was definitely far from new. "Of course, the muffler's near gone."
That was the first time that I'd noticed her southern accent. Not too fluent, yet, her way of speaking made me laugh inside. I could tell that she definitely had an enjoyable sense of humor.
Gordo, for the first time in hours, spoke up, detecting to Ginny, "I'm getting curious. I've seen a few photos of the Scarborough House from an old photo album of Lizzie's with her mother when she was younger. What's it like?"
Where did that come from? Sure, I was curious too, but I didn't expect someone like Gordo to ask a question like that. Why was he so interested all of a sudden? And why haven't *I* seen those pictures before?
Ginny grinned. "Well, what has Lizzie told you?"
"Not much. It's in a deserted area and it has a back wing. It's old."
"That's about it," Ginny said.
"Oh, and it's haunted," I added half-heartedly.
Gordo placed the map ontop of our laps and shot me a look of bewilderment. I was only joking, but I wanted to see if Ginny was really paying any attention. I sure knew that Gordo was.
"People say that," she replied. Her tone became monotonous, and it weirded me out a little. Come on, Ginny! I was only joking. You have to be joking, too.
Right?
"Well, Lizzie, every shore house has its little ghost stories. Just make sure you two turn on the lights if it gets too spooky."
Gordo and I slapped eachother a genuine high-five. I had a feeling that this trip would be more interesting than I'd thought.
Dark Secrets: A Legacy Of Lies
Chapter Two
It would seem naive to expect warmth from a person who refused to see her own grandchildren. Now that I thought about it, the meaning of my dream the night before was pretty obvious, even the feeling that something was not right. The door to my mother's family had always been closed to me; when you're locked out for fifteen years, you can't help but wonder what you're walking into.
"Lizzie? David? You've made it!" the stocky woman gloated, crumpling up a papered sign with our names written on it. Her large green eyes were full of excitement, and I knew that I liked her right away.
Surprisingly, yet suddenly, she hugged Gordo and I both while saying, "I'm Virginia, but people call me Ginny." She turned towards me. "I'm your mother's best old friend. I guess you've figured that out already."
When Ginny had heard that Gordo and I were coming, she insisted on meeting us at the airport close to Baltimore. She happily took our suitcases, one in each arm, and escorted us to her car. Well, I wouldn't really call it a car, persay. It was an ancient offgreen station wagon, full of clothes and antiques and shoes that she'd collected for the vintage store she ran in Wisteria.
Gordo glanced at me with amusement, leaning in and whispering with a soft voice of re-assurance, "I know that this trip won't be as bad as you throw it out to be. I promise."
It was something in his voice that made me feel as if he knew something that I didn't. Something secret. Maybe I was just imaginging things. But his voice, it had suddenly made me feel like I was in another world . .
"I hope you don't mind the smell of mothballs," Ginny said, breaking up the clutter in my thoughts.
"No problem," Gordo and I unisoned.
"How about the smell of a car burning oil?" she asked.
"That's okay, too," I replied. It was amazing. Gordo and I were making our way into the back seat of a clustered station wagon, with the smells of burning oil and mothballs, and already I felt at home.
As Ginny began driving, she handed Gordo and I a map so we could follow our progress towards Wisteria, which was on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. While we were reading over the map, which practically took both mine and Gordo's seat space, Ginny piped up.
"Hey, now, we could always open these windows here if the fumes get too strong for you."
She tried unrolling her front window, which looked pretty difficult because of the mandatory operating instead of the automatic you would find in newer cars. Ginny's station wagon was definitely far from new. "Of course, the muffler's near gone."
That was the first time that I'd noticed her southern accent. Not too fluent, yet, her way of speaking made me laugh inside. I could tell that she definitely had an enjoyable sense of humor.
Gordo, for the first time in hours, spoke up, detecting to Ginny, "I'm getting curious. I've seen a few photos of the Scarborough House from an old photo album of Lizzie's with her mother when she was younger. What's it like?"
Where did that come from? Sure, I was curious too, but I didn't expect someone like Gordo to ask a question like that. Why was he so interested all of a sudden? And why haven't *I* seen those pictures before?
Ginny grinned. "Well, what has Lizzie told you?"
"Not much. It's in a deserted area and it has a back wing. It's old."
"That's about it," Ginny said.
"Oh, and it's haunted," I added half-heartedly.
Gordo placed the map ontop of our laps and shot me a look of bewilderment. I was only joking, but I wanted to see if Ginny was really paying any attention. I sure knew that Gordo was.
"People say that," she replied. Her tone became monotonous, and it weirded me out a little. Come on, Ginny! I was only joking. You have to be joking, too.
Right?
"Well, Lizzie, every shore house has its little ghost stories. Just make sure you two turn on the lights if it gets too spooky."
Gordo and I slapped eachother a genuine high-five. I had a feeling that this trip would be more interesting than I'd thought.
