Kady was seated in the front hall with her back against one of the walls, using a dark blue Sharpie to color on the bright white toe of her Converse, the blue blending nicely with the dark purple to symbolize the sunset. Her plan was to use a silver Sharpie after the background dried and color in the Enterprise since it would go with the galaxy design printed on the sides of her shoe. Milo was somewhere upstairs, probably still working on his room if the obnoxious singing and occasional curse was anything to go by, and August was in the parlor sweeping.
Since she had finished her room so quickly, August had allowed her to be lazy until the new maid showed up. That would be a new thing for Kady to adjust to since they've never had one before. Whenever she thought of maids, she pictured an old crone with gray hair tucked into a strict bun, a high-collared black dress, and sensible shoes—well, that or a girl around her age in a fetish costume, but she doubted that would happen.
No, it was more likely that the former would show up on their doorstep. What are we supposed to do with a maid—throw pizza pockets at her, leave small amounts of dust on things for her to clean? To be honest, Kady wasn't thrilled at the idea of having a maid, but she also knew this house would be impossible to maintain without a little help. Later on, if the maid worked out, there'd be another woman and two men joining as well, though Kady didn't know how the hell she was going to feed them all. She was making Chicken Alfredo tonight, but she would need to make a grocery list later on in case the maid didn't like what was in the kitchen.
It was made clear earlier that Kady would be the one cooking because August couldn't even make a simple pizza and Milo could burn water. Oh well, at least I like cooking. Estelle had taught Kady everything she needed to know and Kady's grandmother had taught her even more, so Kady was set for life as long as she didn't get burned out on it. As Kady began the outline of the Enterprise in pencil, there came a knock on the front door that seemed to echo throughout the house.
"Kadence, could you get that," August called from the parlor. She didn't bother answering him, just setting the shoe down and getting to her feet, dusting off the back of her skirt before making her way over to the heavy wooden doors. The people on the other side were nothing like she'd expected the help to look like. The woman standing before her was the complete opposite of any maid she's ever seen on TV with straight black hair that fell past her shoulders and had bright blue streaks running through it, her complexion was pale with a few wrinkles, and she had warm brown eyes. Instead of a dress, she wore a pair of red and black checkered pants that hugged her shapely legs, a black leather jacket opened over a dark gray sweater that had a red heart on the front, a pair of sensible boots that had a thick heel, her left nostril was pierced twice by two small gold rings, and Kady could make out a dragon earing that started at the top of her ear and ended at the lobe where the tail pierced the soft flesh there.
Beside her was a little girl that might have been around five or six with hair just a shade lighter than the maid's and just as straight, she was slightly tanner than her mother, but her eyes were wide and dark enough that they could be passed off as obsidian; she wore a pair of dark blue jeans, a pink Aristocats sweater beneath a dark gray coat, dark blue shoes, a blue beanie pulled down over her ears, a Christmas charm bracelet, and a silver snowflake necklace. Both of them had one hand wrapped around the handle of their respective suitcases while their free hands were joined.
"You must be Emy," Kady greets with the sweetest smile she can manage, stepping to the side to allow both of them entrance. "I'm Kadence, August's daughter."
"Right," the woman, Emy, smiles, leading the little girl a few feet inside as Kady shuts the door. "This is my daughter, Amy, she'll be staying here, too." Kady offers the little girl a sincere smile, laughing softly when she hides behind her mother's leg. Kady noticed that the woman wore no wedding ring and wondered if that had been the deal closer when August had allowed her to interview. She has to be in her early or mid-thirties, just a few years younger than August.
"Um, do you want a downstairs room or upstairs?"
"Definitely downstairs, I don't want to chance Amy falling down the stairs in the middle of the night." Emy lets out a nervous laugh, prying her hand out of Amy's and resting it on the little girl's head. Kady motions for the pair to follow her, leading them to the bedroom the farthest away from August and flipping on the overhead light for everyone to see. It was a bit dusty in that room, but it wouldn't hurt Emy to start cleaning this room before she cleaned the rest of the house.
"Anyway, my father should be out here soon since he was only around the corner in the parlor and I'm sure you'll meet my brother at dinner, but Milo mostly passes time in his room."
"August told me he had two kids." August already and not Mister Hastings? He must really like this woman. All of Kady's and Milo's friends weren't allowed to use August's first name and they've known him almost as long as Kady and Milo have.
"Well, I hope you packed your magic bracelets because you're going to need them if you're working in this place," Kady says, only half joking as she nodded towards Emy's Wonder Woman suitcase. "See you guys later." She could hear the pair talking quietly as she moved back to the entrance hall, Amy laughing and making a tiny smile tug on Kady's lips. Unlike Milo, she actually liked little kids and had a feeling that she and Amy could be decent friends. It's going to be confusing since their names are so similar, though.
"Did you show them to a room," August asks, rounding the corner.
"Yeah, but you might want to wipe the dust off your forehead before you go and say hi." He had a long streak of dust or dirt one that spanned the length of his forehead, making the creases there more noticeable. August was only forty-five years old, but his job as a police officer already had wrinkles appearing prematurely on his darkly tanned face. He frowned more than he smiled, but Kady could see a bit of happiness in his eyes when Emy was mentioned. I hope she's not a gold digger or something.
"Thanks, sweetheart." And then August was walking back the way Kady had just come from, using the sleeve of his sweater to wipe at his forehead as he went. Kady just rolls her eyes, picking her shoe back up and making her way up the stairs to her brother's room. As she had expected, Milo was still working to get his room unpacked, his top half inside the tall box that held his books. With a grin, Kady tiptoes over to her brother and begins to work her fingers against his sides where she knew he was the most ticklish.
Milo lets out a high-pitched squeal before thrashing against her to get away, but the box allowed only limited movement and he was stuck until Kady decided to help him out.
"Kady," he calls breathlessly around his laughs," n-no! Bad, Kady-bug!" After a minute of struggle, he manages to throw himself backwards, knocking Kady sideways onto his bed and himself to the hard floor. The two share happy smiles as Milo rises up on his elbows, Kady taking the moment to observe Milo's new room. Like hers, Milo's room was spacious and had its own bathroom, but his walls were painted a deep blue with silver stars on the ceiling. There was no doubt in Kady's mind that their father still believed Milo was interested in astronomy just like he thought Kady was still obsessed with all things pink and girly.
Milo's bed was a four-poster like hers and his blankets were dark green while his pillowcases were silver, the rug that covered most of his floor was the same color as his walls, and his desk was a boring white. Boxes were strewn all over the floor, but most looked to be empty, and there were several posters covering the wall near his door and bed, most of them for his favorite bands but a few for the movies he and Kady went to see together—Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic World, Indiana Jones.
His painting stuff was set up near his desk, on the flat surface of his desk was his laptop and the drawing tablet that hooked up to it, a printer, and the stuffed bunny Kady had given him when she was four; beside his desk was a wardrobe similar to the one in Kady's room, but his doors were flung open to reveal the clothing inside. Half of the wall across from his bed had bookcases that were filled with all of his novels and above his desk was a large window that allowed him to see outside, but his showed a different angle of the yard than Kady's. Milo was the one that inherited a lot of talents in their family—he could draw, he could write fairly well, and he could sing well enough to have a decent YouTube following.
"You wanna help me with the last of my books," he asks, tossing a thick book beside her on the bed without waiting for her answer.
"No," she moans.
"Kadence Marie," he says using his Boss voice," you tickled me, so you're going to help me finish this." She rolls her eyes, grabbing the book and moving over to the bookcase closest to the desk, finding an empty space near the middle shelf and sliding it between his Death Note manga and War and Peace. "You can borrow one if you want, Kady."
"No thanks, Bubby." Unlike her brother, Kady had trouble staying focused on one book for long, she'd rather be drawing the characters than reading about them. It constantly frustrated their grandmother that Kady wouldn't sit still long enough to make it through Wizard of Oz, but she seemed pleased enough when Kady was able to assist her in making a complicated chili recipe without much trouble. "Hey, did you have a weird dream last night?"
"No, but I did hear August playing the piano at a God awful hour." He passes Kady another few books before kicking the box off to the side and plopping down in his rolling desk chair, moving his laptop closer to him. Kady frowns, trying to remember if she'd heard the piano last night, but drawing a blank. "Are you sleepwalking again, Kady?"
"I don't know. Maybe we should start locking my door again."
"It's probably just from the stress of the move, no need to overreact." He pulls up iTunes and soon Fall Out Boy is playing just loud enough for the teens to hear, but not loud enough to have August yell at them. "Have you tried getting on the internet today?"
"No, I've been working on my shoes." He nods, hazel eyes focused on his computer screen as Kady goes back to putting up the books in their proper places. She hesitates when she finds Anna Karenina, wondering if she could borrow it long enough to remember what Anna looked like so she could add another sketch to her portfolio.
Suddenly, Milo lets out a horrified scream and the book slips out of Kady's fingers as she rushes to his side.
