Chapter 2: Welcoming

Her house was in better condition than I thought. My Grandmother met me at the end of her snake-shaped driveway, wearing a floral dress and a smile. I wore a smile too when I saw the nicely dressed home and garden. "Wow." That's the only word I could bring myself to say as I got out of my honda and went to hug her. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" she said in her cheery voice that she always had. "I'm glad to see you too, Grandma. I'm also glad to see this house! How'd this happen?"

"Oh, this sweet Kent boy down the road fixed it. Such a nice young man..."

"So I guess I don't really have to help you anymore…"

"Yes! That's right, so now while you're here you can just enjoy yourself"

"While I'm here? I mean… alright. I guess I can."

I don't really want to stay… Actually, I'd rather leave right now and leave Grandma in the dust. But where would I go then? My house? I'm sure my parents wouldn't know if I stayed home alone… But Grandma might call them. I don't care. I'll just leave tomorrow.

We both went inside the small farmhouse. There was new paint on the walls and a turkey in the oven. Grandma showed me the bedroom that I'll be staying in, which wasn't too bad. It smelled like paint and mothballs, and it was an ugly color of pale yellow. At least there was a queen sized bed and the bathroom was right across from the door. It could be worse. I set my big green suitcase onto the bed that was starting to look mighty comfortable just then, and unpacked my things. I smelled the turkey that was downstairs, and my stomach grumbled, asking for me to stuff my face. I didn't realize how hungry I was! I quietly walked down the stairs, but stopped when I heard Grandma talking to someone.

"I'm so glad you could come! I needed to thank you again for fixing up my house, Mr Kent… And you too, Ms. Sullivan, for helping me with my garden… Oh, I hope you don't mind, but my granddaughter, Lexie, is going to be joining us too."

That was obviously Grandma's voice.

"No problem," said the voice of a young man. "Chloe and I were happy to help, and I'm sure that if Lexie is as nice as you are, she'll be great company."

Ha, I'm nothing like my grandmother… Did he say Chloe? And Grandma called her Ms. Sullivan. I bet…

"I'll help you set the table, Mrs. Klug."

Her voice is even more annoyingly quirky than I imagined. I'm sure that supper will be even more delicious than I anticipated.