Page 99 of Into the Mountains
“So, now what?” asks Andy.
“Now, I go to the house, I guess. See what the damage is from leaving it behind for over a decade. Clean it out. Sell it, I suppose.”
Both Andy and Meredith look at each other, something behind their eyes I can’t put my finger on.
Turns out, Andy and Meredith have been taking care of the house ever since I left. Where I expected there to be vines snaking their way up filthy siding, there is nothing but clean paint and fresh flowers planted in an updated flower bed. My imagination created a run down house that could be a contender for a horror movie with creaky floors and cobwebs in every corner. But it’s the complete opposite.
The inside is no different and it’s like I just walked out fifteen years ago, changed my mind and turned around to uncover everything. The furniture is exactly the way I left it, covered and unchanged. Where I expect to see dust on the breakfast nook, a clean surface gleams back at me with a fresh vase of flowers in the middle, like someone plucked them from the garden in the backyard and placed them here waiting to welcome me home.
The garden.
My mother’s labor of love is what I was most afraid to come back to. Dad kept up with it the best he could before his heart attack, and when I left, I knew what would happen to it. But when I step outside, it’s like no time has passed. Fall colors grace the branches and while some flowers are dying, others are still holding on a little bit longer, like they waited for me.
I step down the few stairs and stop at one of the flower bushes and gently touch one of the red petals, the silkiness of it sliding across my fingertips.
“It’s beautiful,” Eli says from the back porch where he’s standing with his hands in his pockets and casually leaning against the post.
“I can’t believe they kept up with it. I expected it to be completely dead.”
“Question is, which one has the green thumb? Usually in a marriage only one person does. The other kills anything as soon as they buy it from the store.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“More than one.”
Everything else in the house is the same, exactly the way I left it. While Andy and Meredith kept the house clean and the lawn and garden cared for, they didn’t clean anything out. Not that I’d expect them to. I’m still at a loss as to why they did it in the first place. Why would they go to so much trouble for so many years for someone that just left them behind?
“Maybe that’s a question to ask them.” I look up at Eli, not realizing I spoke my thoughts aloud. But he’s right. If I want answers, I should ask for them. It’s one of the reasons I came here.
“You can ask us anything, you know.” Meredith is coming down the back porch slowly, one hand on the railing, the other on her round belly. Andy comes behind her, placing a steady hand on her lower back until her feet reach the solid ground of the back yard.
I almost forgot they followed us here to see what they could help with even though I told them they had already gone way beyond anything I could have expected of them.
“Why did you do all this?” I ask, ripping off the metaphorical bandaid, the skin briefly stinging as I wait for a response.
Meredith looks to her wife who takes a deep breath as if she prepared for this question on the way over here. “I knew your parents, Charlotte. We were best friends and we were togethera lot. I was practically in this house more than I was my own, because of the way I know my parents felt about me even before they fully knew who I was. I never had a good relationship with them, hell I never had any type of relationship with them. But Anne and Paul…” Her eyes shine with tears and I take a few steps closer to her, reaching out for her hands. She takes them and tries to blink back her tears. Two escape, making a run for it down her cheeks.
“Those two were basically my parents at one point in my life and losing them…I know losing them was worse for you. But it still fucking sucked. I loved them so much and I struggled for a long time after they died. This,” she turns around to the house, “was a way I could repay them for giving me the love my parents never did. They gave me somewhere to go and this place meant a lot to me back then. It still means a lot to me and I just couldn’t leave it here to rot.”
I cringe at the word even though she’s right. That’s exactly what I did and if she hadn’t taken it upon herself to take care of it, the house would be in bad shape. Silence falls on the group as an idea forms in my head. Turning my head towards Eli, I find he’s already looking my way and I have the feeling, he’s thinking the same thing I am.
“You know, I came back here to clean out the house and sell it?” I ask Andy.
“I mean, yeah, I figured that was the case,” she looks down and I see Meredith give her a sad smile like this was something else they had discussed before. The possibility of me coming back to rip away the house they both love so much.
“You can have it. I’ll sign over the deed as soon as I can and it’s yours. You should have it.”
Andy’s eyes widen and she looks back at Meredith whose expression matches hers. She gives her a small nod. “Besides,” I add, glancing over at Eli. “Blue Grove is my home now.” Hecomes to my side and slides an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
“At least let us buy it.”
Before she finishes her request, I’m already shaking my head. “Absolutely not. This house should have been yours for years anyway. Consider it my baby gift to you and a grand apology all wrapped into one. We planned to get it cleaned out this weekend anyway and there’s plenty of room for both of you and your baby boy. Please accept it,” I plead.
Both Andy and Meredith have smiles spreading across their faces bigger than I’ve ever seen and I immediately know I’ve made the right decision. This house deserves more than to be abandoned. It deserves the love and care Andy and Meredith have given to it over the years and more importantly, it deserves to have a happy family inside of it again.
“We accept.”
CHAPTER FORTY
