The Tale of Zachary Willowbrook: A Leap Day Paradox

Chapter 26: Moving Day

About a week later, the Willowbrook Estate was complete. A fleet of moving trucks arrived at their house, packing up everything that was in their house. The only things that remained were the appliances, since Stacy and David already purchased new appliances for their new house.

When Audrey carried all her boxes of things to the moving van, she was unhappy.

"Why do we have to move?" she complained. "I like this house! I think we should've stayed here!"

Stacy tried cheering Audrey up. "Don't worry, honey." she told her. "You'll get used to the new place. Besides, moving to a new place is fun!"

"Mom," she said. "It's a mansion. We have never lived in a mansion before. The house will be too big and we won't have any neighbors!"

"What about Caitlyn and Patrick? They'll be in a house right next to us."

"But it's still on our property, mom! All of the worker's houses are on our property! They all li-"

"You'll love it, Audrey." David said, chiming in.

"No I won't!" Audrey shouted. "None of my friends live in mansions! Not even Emma!"

Stacy sighed. "We're moving there, whether you like it or not, honey. So you might as well get used to it. Do you see Timothy and Zachary? They don't seem to mind at all!"

Timothy skipped outside the house, carrying one of the smaller boxes filled with some of his belongings. "Yay!" he shouted with joy. "We're going to live in a mansion!"

Stacy took Audrey aside, away from David and talked to her. "Look Audrey," she said in a tone just above a whisper. "If you want to know a secret, I'm not really thrilled about moving to this place either. This was all David's idea, and I'm making the most of it. So stop having your pity party. Make the most of the situation and be happy for David, okay?"

Audrey sighed, giving her a soft nod. "Okay. I'll try if you're trying. I'm just glad that I'm not alone."

"You aren't," she told her. "Believe me. It will take a lot of time for me to get used to that place."

About an hour later, everything was packed into the moving vans, and the Willowbrooks said goodbye to their house. David had a "For Sale" sign placed there for anyone who was interested in buying the house.

About 15 minutes later, the car approached a tall gate, with a wrought iron fence flowing in both directions - one to the left and the other to the right. The colors were black, with gold accents running across the whole fencing. Lining the top of the gate were two carved golden letters, both in cursive - "W" and "E".

Next to the fence was an enclosed booth, which sat beside the gate. A gatekeeper dutifully sat in the booth, watching the minivan arrive, with David's car behind it, followed by the procession of moving vans.

The minivan pulled up to the booth. The window opened, with the gatekeeper's face emerging out of the opening. He sat there, brawny and proud with a widening smile. "Miss Willowbrook, I presume?" he asked her. "You may enter. Enjoy your new estate."

Stacy responded with a cheerful nod, holding back the resentful scowl that she wanted to show. She hated moving here, and used every ounce of energy to hide that feeling.

Moments later, the minivan drove down the newly paved road, past all the houses that belonged to the workers. Just up ahead, the road turned into a driveway and flowed into a circle, going around a shimmering fountain, replete in opulence. After circling the driveway, the path continued, ending at the motor court, where a four-car attached garage sat just ahead of it. The mansion sat just to the left of it.

Further left was phase II of the project. A barricade was placed in the enclosed hallway to close off the addition from the finished house that the Willowbrooks would be living in. On phase II, the second story was partially finished, with a third and (smaller) fourth story planned. As David promised, this addition would primarily consist of guest rooms, with a large dining area on the first floor. People in his financial relief program through his church would stay there.

While Stacy and David were moving in, Patrick Brown began his job as a groundskeeper for the Willowbrook Estate. Another person that was skilled in this field of work trained Patrick and the other groundskeepers on this position, and the work that they'll be doing for the Willowbrook Estate. In the meantime, Caitlyn stayed home in the house that she and her husband lived in on the property and planned new speaking engagements. Despite being wheelchair bound, this didn't shake her determination and she remained active. She knew that she had a story to tell, and she wanted to share it with everyone she could.

Hours passed. In that time, all of the items were moved out of the vans and into the house. All the dishes were placed in the new kitchen, which had all new appliances already installed. The appliances were stainless steel and state of the art, with a French door fridge, a double oven, marble countertops, and a stove with multiple burners.

For everything else, all of the items were each placed in their respective rooms. After four hours of unpacking, everything was finally moved into the new house.

It took, however, two weeks to unpack everything and put it away. Zachary didn't mind the move at all. Timothy, like his brother, was also satisfied with the move. Audrey, on the other hand, didn't like the move at all. She laid on her bed, sulking in her room.

"This house is so dumb!" Audrey said, as she pouted.

In the middle of this, Stacy entered her room.

"Go away!" Audrey shouted.

Stacy shook her head and sighed. She couldn't stand seeing her daughter like this anymore. Granted, she didn't like the house either but she has since gotten over it. "Audrey," she uttered in a calm tone. "I know you don't like the house bu-"

"I hate this stupid house!" Audrey interrupted. "Why did we have to move here? There's no neighbors! I liked our old house better!"

Stacy sat down on her bed, and invited Audrey to sit on her lap. "So did I, honey," she told her. "But do you know what? I got over it. You should, too..."

Audrey brushed the tears away from her eyes. "I know, but...."

"God wants you to be happy, honey." Stacy said, as she embraced her. "He doesn't want you to remain sad. I know that this isn't the house that you're used to. Try to accept the new changes. It will make you stronger, okay?"

Audrey nodded her head, and managed a little smile. "I'll be happy for God," she told her.

"Good." Stacy said, patting her on the head. "No more tears, okay?"

Audrey gasped, short of breath from all the crying. She then smiled again. "Okay!"

It took Audrey a few days, but she eventually came to accept the new house. If anything, she wanted to be happy for the sake of her brothers. Especially for Zachary. Everytime she saw them and played with them, it reminded her to be happy. Granted, it wasn't her small house that she was used to, but it made games of hide and seek a lot more fun.