*****
Benji’s Aunt Rachel looked a lot like his father. She was shorter and softer, but she had the same dark brown hair, the same blue eyes, and even the same freckles scattered across her nose. She was slovenly dressed in an oversized white button up shirt that had seen better days and denim cutoffs. There were splotches of dirt and maybe paint all over her and her hair was fixed in an untidy braid over her shoulder. She smiled as she opened the passenger door.
“Hello, Benji,” Aunt Rachel said cheerfully. “You’ve grown nearly a foot since last I saw you.” Benji frowned, thinking that every relative always said that after not seeing you for a while, whether it was true or not. She gave him a brief hug and then opened Sarah’s door and ushered her out of the back seat. “Goodness, it’s wonderful to see you all! I’m so glad you made it safe and sound.”
“Why wouldn’t we have?” Benji asked in a surly voice. Everyone ignored him.
The older man behind Aunt Rachel went around to Dad’s side and shook his hand. His hair was thick, white, and long. It fanned out around his head, like an aging lion, Benji thought. He wasn’t bent or hunched and didn’t wear glasses like Benji’s other grandfather. Grandpa Lee was tall and stout and still muscular. And he always looked vaguely threatening to Benji.
“You remember your Uncle Matt?” Aunt Rachel said, bringing Benji’s attention to the other man now helping Tyler at the back of the car. Benji nodded, though, he hadn’t actually seen Uncle Matt since he was around six or so and didn’t really remember him (Uncle Matt had not come to Mom’s funeral the previous summer). The man had curly carrot colored hair that was long enough to put in a ponytail which, with all the curls, Benji thought looked like an orange bunny tail. He was tall and lanky, taller than Dad and Tyler, so over six feet. He wore black wire framed glasses almost too small for his face and had wide smile, which he aimed in Benji’s direction. Benji did not smile back.
He ignored everyone and, instead, took the opportunity to look at the house. “This is an ugly house,” he said loudly. He heard his sister’s voiced objection from behind him, but Aunt Rachel just laughed. She was far too happy to be normal.
“Yes, it’s very ugly,” Rachel agreed. “This is what happens when too many opposing ideas come together. It’s even stranger on the inside,” she continued, “but there’s lots of room.” She put her arm out as if to hug him, but Benji skirted the attempted embrace and bent to pick up some of the bags Sarah was emptying out of the SUV.
“Don’t worry about the luggage,” Aunt Rachel said, gesturing to all three teenagers. “Why don’t you just grab what you can carry for now and I’ll show you to your rooms.”
Tyler shrugged in apathy and Benji ignored her, but Sarah said she’d love to and followed Aunt Rachel into the manor. Benji stared after them into the strange confines of the house. It looked dark inside, like a smelly and dank cave or something. He looked around for his dad, but found him talking intently with Grandpa Lee. Tyler had grabbed a suitcase and was walking toward the yawning front doors with Uncle Matt.
“You coming?” Tyler asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer and disappeared into the house.
Benji spared another glance at his dad. He and Grandpa Lee looked like they were in the middle of a heated argument. They were both stiff and red-faced, talking to each other through their teeth, but Benji couldn’t hear what was being said. Maybe Grandpa would make Dad stay. Benji hoped so. This was one creepy place to be abandoned in, he thought before grabbing his backpack and a duffle bag and following his brother inside.
The interior was gloomy and smelled of antiques. The front doors opened onto a hall with a large staircase on one side and doorless archways on the other. A hall that ran underneath the staircase vanished to the right and a woman with a red-headed girl came out of it.
“This is my daughter, Jessie,” Aunt Rachel said. “I think you’ve only met once or twice.”
Benji couldn’t actually remember ever meeting his cousin. Jessie was an obvious tomboy in athletic shorts and a pink t-shirt. She looked a lot like her mother, but had her dad’s red hair and lighter eyes.
The woman with Jessie stopped to introduce herself as Sylvie Landy. Her voice rose and fell in a pronounced British lilt.
“Sylvie and her husband, David, are the sanctuary caretakers,” Aunt Rachel explained. “They help us run things around here.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sarah said politely. Tyler sent a brief wave in their direction, but Benji put them on his list of people to ignore. Everyone here was too nice. It was already starting to get on his nerves. Aunt Rachel herded the teenagers upstairs to see their rooms, and Benji followed in glum dissatisfaction
“All of your rooms are on the third floor,” Aunt Rachel began, as they ascended the big staircase. At the first landing she pointed to the left. “Your Uncle and I are down that hall on the second floor and Jessie’s room is the farthest room in the other direction.” Tyler snorted at this, and Benji wondered at his sense of humor. Aunt Rachel continued as if she hadn’t heard him and they went up the next flight of stairs. “At the top here and down the left hall are your grandfather’s rooms and your rooms are down the right.”
The stairs continued up another flight into what Benji assumed was the attic, but Aunt Rachel guided them all towards their new rooms and Benji didn’t get a chance to investigate. His Aunt pointed out guest rooms, closets and bathrooms along the way until they reached a curved wall marking the end of the hallway.
To Benji’s right was a short staircase that led up about three feet to a door about four feet tall. To his left was a big white door with a silver handle instead of a knob. Directly in front of him, the hallway actually curved around a bit and ended at another white door. Although, that one had a porcelain doorknob.
Aunt Rachel directed Tyler to the silver handled door on the left. She opened the door and waved him inside. Tyler carried his bags inside before letting out a subdued whistle. Benji shoved past his Aunt and sister so that he could see what had surprised his brother. If Benji could have whistled, he might have done the same thing, he thought looking around.
The room was huge; twice as big as their living room in Mobile. The vaguely nautical navy blue room had a wall of windows looking out over the back year. A pair of white doors were positioned along the left which their aunt labeled as a closet and bathroom.
“Where does that door go?” Benji asked pointing to a glass door hidden in the wall of windows. In answer, Aunt Rachel stepped around him and crossed the room. She opened the door to reveal a wide stone balcony that ran beneath the windows.
“That goes to the terrace,” she informed them with a smile. “It has a staircase that leads down to the patio just outside the kitchen. It’s kind of treacherous in winter,” she warned, “but in summer it will make a nice shortcut for breakfast.”
“Kind of cool,” Tyler approved before dumping his bags onto the bed. The large bed was the only furniture in the room besides a short dresser and was covered with a thin quilt of red, yellow, and orange star shapes on a blue background. The only other thing in the room was a light wooden mantle and fireplace between the bathroom and closet doors.
“It’s a bit bare,” Aunt Rachel admitted with a wave of her hand. “I figured you guys would like decorating the rooms yourselves. We’ve got tons of furniture and odds and ends in the attic, so you can put whatever you like on the walls and add furniture or change whatever you want.” She grinned at the three of them like it was Christmas.
It was sort of, Benji admitted looking around again. They’d been told they each had their own room and bathroom, which had been cool enough, but this was definitely unexpected. Three teenagers sharing one bathroom was never ideal and Benji’s room in Mobile was hardly more than a closet. Tyler and Sarah’s rooms weren’t much bigger. This place was a palace in comparison.
Aunt Rachel waved them back into the hall and pointed up the strange stairs to the little door. “That one is your room, Benji.
You’ll have to duck,” she advised, “but it’s larger inside and kind of neat. It used to be a nursery years ago.”
What could be big about a nursery? He wasn’t a baby, so why were they putting him in here? Benji’s thoughts turned pessimistic and gloomy. He hoped it was at least as cool as Tyler’s room, but suspected it was similar to his old room. With a frown, Benji turned the little brass door knob, opened the door and quickly ducked through it.
The room beyond was actually much larger than Benji had suspected. It was long and narrow like an attic. The walls were painted a light shade of blue, and the trim was a natural wood that matched the flooring. A built in bookcase surrounded a large fireplace at one end and at the other was a big four poster bed and a matching dresser. Four tall narrow openings looked out over the front drive and opposite them were two narrow doors leading to a closet and bathroom. Benji surveyed his new domain with unexpected satisfaction.
Imitating Tyler, Benji threw his burdens onto the bed and noticed the headboard was carved with grizzly bears fighting in relief. He, too, had a quilt, though Benji’s was fashioned of multicolored squares in dark greens, browns, reds, and blues. Benji figured it was at least a queen size mattress and couldn’t help but collapse backwards onto the soft quilted pillows.
Sarah came up beside him and ruffled his hair. “You’re moving up in the world, Benji.” He certainly felt like he was and he was far too pleased at the moment to be annoyed with his sister. It was almost enough to make him forget that Dad was dumping them with strange relatives for a whole year. Almost.
“Let’s see what your room is like, Sarah,” Tyler suggested from the doorway. Sarah nodded and went back down the stairs where Aunt Rachel was waiting. Benji hopped up from his bed and followed her back to the hall. Sarah’s room was probably epic, girl’s rooms generally were in his experience.
“Ready for yours?” Aunt Rachel asked.
“You know this is great, really,” Sarah said, “but isn’t it a little much? These rooms are huge. I’d be happy in something small.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Aunt Rachel admonished gently. “We have this huge house and hardly anyone to fill it up. Besides,” she continued, “the only ‘small’ rooms in this place are closets.”
“If you’re sure?” Sarah still hesitated. It made Benji feel a little guilty, but he didn’t know why.
Aunt Rachel put her arm around Sarah’s shoulders and led her around the curving wall to the last white door. “I’m positive,” she said firmly opening the door and pushing Sarah inside.
Benji was right, Sarah’s room was epic. The best out of the three he surmised. It was in the stone tower. The whole room was round and tall like a coffee can and painted a peacock blue color that made it feel exotic. Aunt Rachel crossed the room to another door and opened it to reveal another bathroom. Benji followed to get a look.
The bathroom was girly. Just what Sarah would like, he thought, and her quiet gasp of astonishment proved him right. The center of the room held sunken bathtub tiled in tiny jade green squares that was as big as a hot tub. Alongside the door a shelf was built into the wall like a desk with mirrors above it and an ornate red and gold guilt chair sat in front of it. Makeup table maybe? Benji wasn’t exactly sure what girls did in bathrooms in the first place. And eased back out of the opulent room.
“I thought you’d like it,” Aunt Rachel said from behind Benji when Sarah giggled in delight.
Back out in the main room Tyler was investigating a bare floor to ceiling window with double doors concealed among the panes. They opened out onto a balcony overlooking the hedge maze. A wicker set of outdoor furniture was positioned outside with a couch, a table and two chairs.
Benji noticed another door that he assumed was closet. Next to that was a black laquered wooden dresser, painted with gold feathers here and there. An iron canopy bed hung with gauzy white curtains was against the far wall. Sarah also had a quilt, but hers was patterned with pink and yellow squares and had the figure of blue and green peacock stitched across the bottom.
“What’s with the quilts?” Benji asked, gesturing to the bedspread.
Aunt Rachel walked over to the bed and fingered the coverlet. “Your grandmother loved quilting,” she said. “She used to win all sorts of contests and sold her work in a shop in town.” Benji felt a little uncomfortable at his aunt’s nostalgic tone.
“Oh,” was all he said before joining his siblings at the opposite side of the room.
They were investigating a bi-level built in bookcase surrounding another fireplace, all curved to fit the round walls of the room. A heavy black and gold iron ladder was attached to a bar at the top so a person could reach even the highest of the shelves.
“Jesse’s room,” Aunt Rachel said from behind him, “is directly below this one and almost identical.” She gestured toward the balcony where Tyler was reentering the room. “There’s a stone spiral staircase outside that leads to her balcony and then into the garden.”
Sarah looked out the window, but didn’t go outside. “Thank you,” she said turning to Aunt Rachel. “This is pretty amazing.” Benji rolled his eyes at the awe in her voice. Aunt Rachel just smiled at her. “I guess we should finish bringing up our stuff,” she added.
“Go ahead and get your things,” Aunt Rachel agreed. “Jessie will give you a full tour tomorrow, but I imagine you guys are pretty tired.” They each nodded, except Benji who was trying to recover his apathy and annoyance. “Once you’ve got your things sorted, come down to the parlor and I’ll introduce everyone you haven’t met,” she said heading for the door herself.
Benji took a second to pop back into his room and take another look around. Yep, still awesome, he thought. This time, it was a struggle to keep his countenance impassive, but he worked at it before heading back downstairs.
At the bottom of the stairs, the luggage was piled haphazardly. Benji shoved a few things around and grabbed what was his. He carted it upstairs and let the weight and drudgery rekindle his ire.
*****
Chapter 4: The Big Scene