Chapter 1 - The House on the Hill
Kahlen felt that the minute the car's front tires passed over the border of Canada, she needed a sweater. Goosebumps crawled over her skin, but the real reason for that was most likely because of her reluctance. She had lived in Ohio for seven years of her life, and in Connecticut for thirty-one. It wasn't like it never snowed in Connecticut or Ohio, but Canada - was different. Every time someone said "Canada", Kahlen immediately thought of moose, washrooms, saying "aboot", "soorry", and "eh" after every sentence. Then when Greer had told her he read about an excellent country home online, she was ecstatic. Kahlen and Greer had been looking for a new house, anywhere but Connecticut. But Kahlen herself was thinking along the lines of a nice, quaint home in one of those mid-states. So when Kahlen asked Greer where the lovely home he found was, you could imagine her reaction when Greer spat out the words "Nova Scotia" to her. At first it had been immediate shock, refusal. That night, however, as Kahlen lay in bed, she thought of all the pluses of Canada. No one hated the Canadians, for example. If Canada had a military they had never had to use it before. And Canadians are cheerier, right? With their rosy cheeks and funny expressions. French labels instead of Spanish. But Kahlen wasn't convinced. Until she saw the picture of the house online. When she saw that home, Kahlen had no further complaints about Canada. That home was meant for them, she could feel it. Then again she could also feel the deep Canadian weather seeping through the windows of the car.
Blair was forced to watch the car moving along the wet, glistening pavement. She was shoved up against the window, her niece and nephew fighting over something that started two hours ago. Jay was in the middle, poking her in the ribs and it didn't help that Bridgette was punching him every now and then. That added Jay's squeal factor to Blair's reasons never to sit in the back seat with them again. Her sister seemed totally unaware of the mess, sitting up in the passenger seat, staring out the window. Greer was too focused on peering through the windshield, rain pelting it. Blair already felt awkward and they hadn't even arrived at the house yet. It felt weird depending on her sister to house her. But it was a chance for her and Kahlen to get reacquainted. In a way, she was glad that she couldn't afford her own apartment back in Connecticut. It gave her a reason to tag along with her sister and her family. To forget about what happened. Blair took her gaze from the road to the line of trees, spotting a sign scribbled in cursive. It read, "Welcome to Antigonish" . My new home, Blair thought.
The rain had cleared up by the time they were at the town center of Antigonish. The sun attempted peeking through the clouds, but only managed to cast a dim glow upon the town. Both Jay and Bridgette crowded to the window. They were passing Main Street. Jay unbuckled his seat belt and shoved Bridgette over.
"Jay!" She snarled, punching him in the arm. The skinny street was lined with small buildings on each side. Bridgette scanned the titles she could, reading "Video Rental Store" and "Breakfast and Coffee House". She wanted to read more, but the car turned the corner, Main Street out of sight.
"There was our Town Center!" Greer cheerfully exclaimed from the front seat, peering at the kids through the rearview mirror. "Jay, buckle up." He pestered. Bridgette recoiled from the window, wrinkling her nose.
"Mom, he cannot be serious!" She complained to Kahlen, not wanting to get into an argument with her father. The last time that had happened, her cell phone was taken away. Her mother, on the other hand, was easy to bend.
Kahlen turned around in her seat, drilling her eyes into Bridgette's as a warning glance. "Bridgette, Antigonish is a quaint little town. You'll love it, I promise. Especially when you see the house." Kahlen faced the front of the car again, glancing in the side mirror just in time to see the exasperated expression on her daughter's face.
The car began driving at much of an incline, trees leaning over them like a covered path. From the front of the car, both Greer and Kahlen could see mountains splayed in front of their eyes, just hills and hills of nothing but trees, a red tower nestled among them, sticking out like a sore thumb in the thick forest of naked trees. Kahlen glanced out Greer's window just in time to see a set of four black mailboxes posted awkwardly at the beginning of a narrow road. It was when Greer sped past it that Kahlen realized this was the right road to turn on.
"Greer! I think we just missed it!" Greer grunted, slamming his foot on the brake. Jay was tossed forward, the seat belt across his chest yanking him back.
"See?" Greer said to his son, cranking his head around. He began backing up the car, the tires moving roughly over the old pavement. "That's why you where a seat belt."
Jay rolled his eyes as Greer halted the car at the start of the mail boxes.
"Sure this is it?" He questioned Kahlen, who nodded. Greer brought his eyes to Blair. She glanced down quickly, nervous of his penetrating, cold blue eyes. "What's it say on that sheet of yours, Blair?" Greer referred to the information the dealer had sent them. Blair bent down, bringing her bag from her feet to her lap. She rifled through it quickly, pulling out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. Her brown eyes slid back and forth across the paper until she found what she was looking for.
"Um, it says… four black mailboxes. And, an old metal post with a wooden street sign hanging off of it. You won't be able to read it, but you can still see the white "B" painted on it." Blair looked up from the paper to find Greer peering out the window.
"Yep, this is it." Greer confirmed, turning the wheel of the car to the left. As the car turned, Blair spotted the old black metal post. Her eyes followed the climbing vines upward a rotted, wooden slat. A faded, but evident "B" was etched on it. She took her gaze from it as the car continued down the road. Small white, blue, and brown houses sat on big patches of Canadian grass. A dog was chasing its tale in one yard. A man mowing his lawn looked up at them, squinting through the windows of the car. He lifted up a hand and waved. For some reason, Blair shook her hand back at him, but took it down quickly. She glanced around the car, but no one else had noticed. Jay, studying his new street from Bridgette's window, sat back in his own seat.
"I thought you said this was a country house, Mom. This looks like any plain old suburban neighborhood to me."
"And why do you sound so discouraged when you say that?" Bridgette snapped back at him. "I don't know about you, freak, but I'd like to have a normal life." Jay sighed at this. His sister was fifteen, and himself twelve. Not only was there a three year age difference causing them conflict, but they were completely different people. Jay was overjoyed when he learned his family was moving into an old country home in Canada. It meant a new start. He didn't like his life back in Connecticut. He felt he didn't really fit in in school, he was more creative than the other kids. They didn't seem to respect that. From the moment Jay saw the picture of the house, he knew he would love it there. He could sit on the winding front porch for hours, just his laptop and him. Bridgette was so different. She looked in the side mirror to check her hair and makeup just about eight hundred times during the trip here, and all she did was text her friends. She wanted to be an actress, wanted a city life, wanted to be around tons of boys she could flirt with. Because of Bridgette, Jay was disgusted at any mini-skirted, purse-toting, makeup-checking girl he saw. And some of them could be perfectly nice. But his sister ruined his image of all girls similar to her. Jay felt odd sometimes, when he looked at those girls and stereotyped them. Because he knew that when someone saw him, with his wavy hair, stubby "pig's" nose and jeans that weren't showing everyone his boxers, he was probably stereotyped, too. And it probably wasn't a good stereotype, either.
The pavement under them morphed into gravel as the car began a ascent into the trees. The road winded around the woods, and the family could feel themselves rising. Suddenly, though, the trees unveiled them and they were under the clear, cloudy sky again.
Greer pressed his foot onto the brake and the car came to an abrupt halt. Blair, Jay and Bridgette crowded to the front of the car, peering out the windshield. Greer could do nothing but stare, and Kahlen's chin dropped to the floor. Somehow, the house had seemed to grow, to change since the couple first were hit with amazement at the first picture they'd seen. Now it was like a blow to the stomach. None of them could say anything, none of them could breath. There was just a still silence that hung in the air, seeming to speak for all of them. Blair took the initiative to open her door. She stood up, her legs sore from sitting for a while. It felt like the soles of her boots sank to the bottom of the gravel driveway. With heavy feet, she stumbled to the front of the house. Jay and Bridgette followed, running. Greer, unable to release his tight grip on the steering wheel, stayed glued to his seat, his wife along side him. They stared at the house. The tall, Victorian house. A porch was in the front, they could see. And where they were, at the side, they could observe all the eloquently placed terraces and the color of the deep maroon siding. Beautiful twelve paned windows were sprawled across the house, and, on the left of them, a deep terrain of forest and brush. Greer and Kahlen glanced at each other briefly, and, simultaneously, scrambled from the car to join their children and Blair. Bridgette, Jay, and Blair stood in front of the house with their hands on their hips, overwhelmed. A large front porch took up the entire front, four rocking chairs and a big bench that swung from the ceiling of the porch. An alcove drove your eyes to the door, and if you were lucky enough, your eyes would drive upwards, too. Then you would see the French doors at the second floor, an ivory white railing marking the balcony. Greer and Kahlen stood next to the three, suddenly, and the family turned around. Turned around and were struck breathless again. The house overlooked the others and the center of town. The house was on it's own hill. Greer felt proud to be standing on that hill, because it was his house. His family's house. The house that everyone in town is jealous of. Kahlen didn't even know the emotion that was going through her right now, she was so ecstatic. This is what she had needed all her life. Is a house like this, a place like this. She had to break the silence. She screamed.