Chapter 3 – The Big Red House
Abby found that she liked horse riding. And also, it went so much faster than walking. It didn't take at all long before they stopped outside a red house. Bushes and flowers climbed the walls all the way up to the windows. The house lay in the middle of nowhere, like everything else. Abby could only make out a few other houses far away down the road. There were waves of fields surrounding them and some trees that rose from the ground towards the sky.
Gibbs jumped down on the ground and lifted Abby down as well. He then led Louie towards a gate in the fence that, in Abby's eyes, seemed to surround the whole world. Or at least a very big square of grass. The horse ran off.
"What if it starts to rain?" Abby wondered out loud. Won't Louie get wet and cold?
"Do you see that little house over there?" Gibbs pointed to another red building, half visible behind the big house. Abby nodded. "That's the barn. That's where Louie and the other horses sleep. And in the lower one that's connected to the barn, is where our sheep are."
"You have sheep as well?" Abby peered up at the man.
"Yes. And some cows and chickens. And of course Dave, who is a dog. There are also a bunch of cats here and there."
"Wow", Abby mumbled.
"Jethro!" a voice travelled to both Abby's and Gibbs' ears. Abby turned around to see a woman on the stairs to the big house. She had her red hair in a sloppy knot and the hem of her skirt and her boots were muddy, like she'd been working outside. As she walked down the stairs and came closer, Abby saw that she had blue eyes and a kind smile.
"Jethro, who's this?" she asked but smiled nonetheless at Abby.
"This is Abby Scuito", Gibbs said and put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
The woman frowned, as if she vaguely recognized the name.
"She's Mark and Gloria Scuito's daughter", Gibbs continued.
"Oh", the woman nodded but still with a frown.
A silent moment went by before the frown on the woman's face creased.
"I'm Jenny", she then told Abby with that kind smile of hers.
"My wife", Gibbs added.
"Hi", Abby said as it was all she could think of.
"Why don't we go inside", Jenny said.
"Where are the kids?" Gibbs asked as he led Abby inside the red house.
"I sent Tony and Kate to the store and Ziva and Tim are outside feeding the chickens", Jenny said. "Are you hungry, Abby?"
Abby shook her head.
"No, Gibbs gave me his sandwich", she said.
"That's very kind of him", Jenny smiled. "But let's go into the kitchen and get you something to drink at least."
"Okay", Abby nodded.
She followed Jenny through the hall and came into a quite large room. There were cupboards, a stove and a table with lots of chairs around it. The walls were white and there were nice white and blue curtains around the windows.
"Sit down by the table and I'll get you a glass of water", Jenny said and Abby carefully pulled out a chair and climbed up on it.
Jenny came back with a tall glass of clear water and put it in front of her.
"Here you go. While you sit here and drink this, I'll talk to Gibbs just for a second outside."
Abby nodded and Jenny disappeared. Abby picked up the glass and took a sip. She looked to her right, out the window, and watched as Louie and another horse walked around the field, eating grass here and there.
Just outside the window was a path of gravel and beyond that was grass and a bit further up was the fence out to the horses. There were trees here and there in the garden and on the field. One of the taller trees in the garden had a swing hanging from one of its branches.
Abby could also make out the smaller red building – the barn – to the far right.
Suddenly the barn door opened and two people burst out, appearing to chase each other. The taller one was a girl with curly brown hair and the shorter was a blonde boy. Suddenly the boy tripped and the girl fell right over him. They landed in a laughing pile on the grass. After a moment they sat up and waved at someone Abby couldn't see from the window. But the people they waved to soon appeared around the corner and Abby saw that it was another boy and girl. This boy was taller then both the kids on the grass, who stood up ones the other ones got closer. He also had brown hair, and so did the girl that was with him. She was short with her hair in two braids. The two of them joined the other kids and Abby could see that they were talking but she couldn't hear what they were saying. She wasn't that good at lip-reading yet either.
"Abby", someone said and Abby turned her gaze from the window to Gibbs and Jenny who'd just walked back inside the kitchen.
"Yes?" Abby said dangling her feet back and forth under her chair.
"We'd like to talk to you for a minute", Jenny said. "Is that okay?"
Abby frowned but nodded. What did they want to talk about? Jenny and Gibbs took a seat opposite her.
"We wanted to ask you some questions", Jenny continued. "About you, if you don't mind?"
Abby shook her head. No, she didn't mind.
"Where do you live, Abby?" Jenny asked.
"In the city", Abby said.
"Where in the city?"
Abby shrugged. She usually walked around a lot.
"Where are your parents?"
Abby pointed up.
"They are in heaven", she said.
"When did they go to heaven?" Gibbs asked. "Do you remember that?"
Abby frowned, trying to think.
"Do you remember if it was winter or summer?" Gibbs asked to try and help her.
"The leaves were falling to the ground and they were red and yellow and orange", Abby said.
"Okay", Gibbs said and looked at his wife.
"What do you usually eat in the city?" Jenny asked.
"I get bread and sometimes fruit from the man in the shop", Abby replied. "If you wait until it gets dark he often has food left over."
"Alright, that was all our questions except one", Jenny said.
"Are you okay with staying here with us for a while?" Gibbs asked. "Like I told you about before?"
Abby nodded and grinned. She wanted to stay with Gibbs. And Jenny seemed really nice too.
"I'm glad", Jenny smiled. "I'm going to draw a bath for you and I'm sure I can find some of Kate's clothes that'll fit you pretty well. Come with me."
Abby jumped down from her chair and went with Jenny who led her up the stairs and through one of the three doors up there. The room was painted in a soft blue color. Opposite the door were two beds with a drawer in between them. Over the drawer was a window with white drapes. To the left of the door was a tall wardrobe and to the right was a very big box, almost the length of Abby if she were to lie down next to it. It was painted in blue with pink and white flowers and it was one of the most beautiful things Abby had seen.
"Jethro built that for the girls", Jenny said as she noticed how intensely Abby was looking at the casket.
"Gibbs built it?" Abby asked, very impressed.
"Yes. He has built almost every piece of furniture in this house."
"What's in it?" Abby asked curiously, still looking at the box.
"Why don't you take a peak", Jenny smiled as she looked through the drawer for clothes.
Abby crept up to it and carefully opened the lid. It was heavy but she managed. Inside were a bunch of things; three or four dolls, wooden animals, two stuffed teddy bears, some books and other colorful toys.
"Wow", Abby said.
She looked at all the things for a while longer before closing the lid again. She didn't want to touch the toys. They weren't hers; they were probably Gibbs' daughters'. But they were nice to look at.
"Abby, can you please hold your arms out for a second?" Jenny asked, frowning at a shirt she was holding.
Abby did as she asked and Jenny held up some pieces of clothing in front of her to see if they would fit in length.
"This will do", Jenny finally nodded and put a long-sleeved dress, stockings and a coat on one of the beds. "Let's go downstairs and I'll heat up a bath for you."
This time Jenny held out her hand for Abby to take and after a moment of contemplating, Abby took it. Abby peered up and saw a little smile on Jenny's lips. Together they walked down the stairs and back into the kitchen. Gibbs had disappeared and when Abby looked out the window she couldn't see the kids outside either.
While Jenny prepared the bath, Abby looked around a little. She stopped to look at the different photos on the walls. Two in particular caught her eye. The first was of Gibbs and Jenny and the four kids outside. They were all sitting on the stairs in front of the house with smiles on their faces. The second one was probably taken the same day because the kids were wearing the same clothes. This photo was only of the kids and they were standing in height order. Oldest to youngest. The oldest and tallest was the boy with spiky brown hair, next was the curly haired girl with dark eyes, then the other girl with straight brown hair and lighter eyes and at last the blonde boy with the blue eyes. They all looked nice, Abby decided.
"Abby, your bath is ready."
Jenny helped her get out of her clothes and into the tub. The water was warm and nice like a river after a particularly hot day, but even better. Once Abby was settled, Jenny took out a brush and started working through Abby's hair. She washed it and combed through it again. Then she handed Abby a bar of soap and a funny looking brush.
"Let's clean you up", she said.
Ten minutes later and Abby was clean and the water was cold. Jenny went over to a linen cupboard and picked out a towel that she wrapped Abby in. She pulled out a chair and sat the girl down. She then moved to put the dirty clothes away.
"Wait!" Abby called and reached for her cardigan.
From the pocket she picked up the small, blue, delicate flower that she had stepped on that morning. Jenny saw what it was and went to get a little glass of water to put it in.
"Thank you", Abby said.
"No problem", Jenny said. "I'll put these clothes away and go upstairs and get the ones we picked out."
The second later she returned with the clothes that she helped Abby get dressed in. They fitted her pretty well actually. Once they were done she emptied the tub and hung the damp towel over a chair.
Abby felt her eyelids grow heavier. Apparently Jenny noticed that because she said:
"I'll make some soup for you and then we'll put you in bed."
"Okay", Abby said in agreement.
She watched as Jenny got a large pot, filled it with water and put it on the stove. She cut up some potatoes and some other vegetables that Abby didn't know the name of and dropped them in together with salt and what looked like butter.
"Do you want to stir?" Jenny asked Abby immediately perked up and nodded enthusiastically. "Bring a chair over that you can stand on."
With not too much difficulty Abby managed to get the chair over to the stove and climbed up on it. She received a wooden spoon from Jenny and carefully started stirring.
"How do you know when it's done?" Abby asked curiously.
"It's done when the potatoes have become soft", Jenny said. "Poke a piece with the spoon… exactly… is it soft?"
Abby nodded.
"Good, then it's done."
Abby jumped down from the chair and carried it back to the table. She looked over at Jenny and watched her pour a couple of spoonful of soup into a bowl. Abby sat down at the table and Jenny placed the bowl in front of her.
"Thank you", Abby said as she remembered old Jenkins reminding her of her manners back in the city.
"You're welcome."
Jenny sat down opposite Abby as she ate. It was a good soup, Abby thought. Warm and nice. She finished the bowl in no time, but when Jenny asked if she wanted more, she said no because she was full. So Jenny took her upstairs and back into the room with the two beds and the beautiful box. She received a white nightgown, which she dressed into, and Jenny held up the blankets in one of the beds for her slip under. They laid heavy on her but she found it comforting.
"Goodnight, Abby", Jenny said. "Sleep well."
She left the room quietly but didn't close the door all the way, so there was still a sliver of light in the room. The bed was comfortable and the pillows soft and Abby was asleep mere minutes later.