Chapter 510: Bobbi-Lee's Cottage
Saturday, February 18th, Morning
The flight was not that long but bumpy; the private business jet bounced like a ball in the air's turbulence. When they arrived in Wilmington, she was already tired. They had a limo pick them up and bring them to Beaulieu. She was one of the few people on the flight that didn't live at Beaulieu Manor.
Bobbi-Lee drove to her small cottage, trying to stay awake. Stopping off at a Seven-eleven, she got herself a cup of black coffee. After drinking her coffee, she finally returned to her car, arriving at her cottage, finally.
Carrying her bags, she walked to her front door. Unlocking it, she stepped in and took a deep breath. Bobbi-Lee dropped her bags on one of her sofas. She looked at the other sofa and was greeted by the eyes of one of her cats.
"Meow!" Custis said.
"Thank you for welcoming me back," Bobbi-Lee said.
"Meow!" Custis repeated.
Bobbi-Lee walked over to the sofa and started to scratch the cat. Custis at first tried to swat at Bobbi-Lee but gave up. Bobbi-Lee laughed a bit and walked over to the side table with a pile of mail on it.
Looking through the mail, most of it was junk, but a few were bills, and one was Wake Forest appealing to alumni for a donation. After separating them, Bobbi-Lee walked over to the kitchen and threw out the junk mail. Shaking her head, Bobbi-Lee grabbed her bags and went to her bedroom.
Bobbi-Lee unpacked her bags and put them back into her closet. She sorted through her clothes; clean stuff was put away, dry cleaning stuff was placed in one area of her closet to be brought to the dry cleaners, and dirty clothes were dumped into the hamper. She'll wash clothes later this week.
Once she finished, Bobbi-Lee got undressed and went into her ensuite. She started the shower and got in when the water was at the correct temperature. Bobbi-Lee washed herself and her hair just to feel human again. Getting out of the shower, she dried herself off.
Getting dressed in pajama pants and a tanktop, Bobbi-Lee walked back into her bedroom. She plugged in her smartphone and climbed onto her bed, curling up for a nap. After a minute, a little black cat hopped onto the bed and curled up next to her.
Bobbi-Lee reached out and stroked the cat a few times. "I'm home now, Rob," Bobbi-Lee said.
Her doorbell woke her up. Bobbi-Lee rolled out of bed and checked her smartphone. Her ring camera showed her who it was. Bobbi-Lee put her smartphone down, got out of bed, and went downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, a cat shot by her. Rooney was off to hide for some reason. Bobbi-Lee shook her head and walked to her front door. Opening it up, Bobbi-Lee saw her baby sister standing at her doorstep.
"Kelly," Bobbi-Lee said. Kelly was the family's baby, whereas Bobbi-Lee was the oldest of her mom's kids. After her mom died, she left instructions leaving the family legacy to Kelly, making her the head of the family.
"Welcome home," Kelly McMichael, the Mistress of Murphy House, said.
"Come in before one of the cats gets out," Bobbi-Lee said.
Kelly looked past Bobbi-Lee to the sleeping cat. "Yeah, they're rushing out of here," she said.
"Just get inside," Bobbi-Lee said.
"Fine," Kelly said and stepped by Bobbi-Lee. Kelly and Bobbi-Lee were about the same height, even though five years separated them in age. Another difference was that Bobbi-Lee got the Burke looks and coloring, while Kelly tended to their mom's family, the Kellys. Bobbi-Lee closed the door behind them. Kelly took a seat next to the sleeping Custis and adjusted the bangs of her auburn hair. Bobbi-Lee walked over to a chair and took a seat, adjusting her ginger red hair.
"So, how did New York go?" Kelly asked, trying to be polite. Bobbi-Lee knew this was a check-up to make sure Bobbi-Lee didn't mess up at New York Fashion Week.
"It went well; the numbers from my show seem to be positive," Bobbi-Lee said.
"That's good news; you've worked hard for this," Kelly said, skirting the line between being proud and condescending.
"Thanks," Bobbi-Lee said, "So, I heard it's been a shitshow down here."
Kelly shrugged, "Maddie Pierce finally did the world a favor and died," she said.
Bobbi-Lee nodded; she didn't have much connection or face time with Maddie Pierce. Her brother Huck and Kelly were closer in age, so they spent a lot more time together; with Huck dating Ashlyn, he was heavily exposed to Maddie Pierce. Kelly spent some time also exposed to Maddie Pierce, and neither had a favorable opinion of her.
"How's Brett taking it?" Bobbi-Lee asked.
"She's been busy, but things will get chaotic," Kelly said.
"How so?" Bobbi-Lee asked, trying to get caught up.
"She's at Huck's this week, and next week she'll be at Ashlyn's," Kelly said.
"Oh boy! How's Ashlyn handling it?" Bobbi-Lee asked. Bobbi-Lee always believed that Brett, even though primarily raised by her mom, Ashlyn, was more a Burke and thrived when she stayed with her Burke relatives, and not so much with Ashlyn.
"Like Ashlyn normally does," Kelly said.
"In other words, badly," Bobbi-Lee said.
"Yeah, Huck offered to swap weeks with Ashlyn," Kelly said.
"Brett is almost eighteen; this is crazy," Bobbi-Lee said, the gears starting to turn in her head.
"I know," Kelly said, "I heard rumors that Ashlyn wants to move her dad and sister's kids into Jamlyn."
"Which would coincide with Brett's week at Jamlyn," Bobbi-Lee said horrifyingly. Brett was always preferred to deal with her emotions physically, and her younger siblings at Jamlyn would never leave her alone, whereas the kids at Tree Hill Hall would give her the space she needed. There were different emotional maturity levels between the kids, and throw in two more on top of that. Including the three new bodies as strangers weren't good for Brett's mental health.
"Yep, the math works out right," Kelly said matter-of-factly.
"Where's Brett now?" Bobbi-Lee asked, understanding now why Kelly was here.
"I saw her and Huck head out into the south woods," Kelly said.
"Deer Therapy?" Bobbi-Lee asked.
"Yes, but they were doing that before Maddie died," Kelly said.
"Over what?" Bobbi-Lee asked, interested.
"When she came back, there was some confusion, and I guess she's starting to understand that her life is about to change dramatically," Kelly said.
"She's too much like her dad, overthinks things," Bobbi-Lee said.
"She gets that from her mom too," Kelly said, "Also, she copies Angela."
Bobbi-Lee shook her head. "What is it with those three? They can't do anything without a research paper," Bobbi-Lee said.
"As opposed to you? Never could do anything planned," Kelly said.
"Look at where it got me," Bobbi-Lee said.
"Yeah," Kelly said.
Bobbi-Lee nodded, "Yeah," she said and went upstairs. Bobbi-Lee grabbed her smartphone and returned to the great room, where Kelly was waiting. Kelly raised an eyebrow as Bobbi-Lee dialed a phone number.
"Hello Ashlyn…yes, sorry for your loss…yeah, I called about my niece…yeah, I have the spare room and not much going on…I know she crashed here on New Year's; she was being responsible and not driving tired…of course, it would and should be up to her, thanks," Bobbi-Lee said and hung up.
"What was that all about?" Kelly asked.
"Just offered to take Brett in for the week," Bobbi-Lee said.
"Okay," Kelly said.
"So, when do they usually come back from hunting?" Bobbi-Lee asked.
"Around noon," Kelly said.
"Thank you," Bobbi-Lee said, and the two sisters nodded.
