Veto

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The further I drive out to my Aunt Liza's the more nervous I become. Though I knew the neighbourhood was far from my preferred zoning, actually driving the distance really puts it in perspective. Partnered with the odd traffic jam and I really was pushing that invisible constructive safety net I had be abiding to revolving my workplace location.

I follow the directions on my maps application on my phone but find my way to my aunts mostly through memory. I hadn't been here in years, maybe not since I was a student myself but the place still looked the same from the outside. A front hedge as tall as me blocked any view from the street of the house. A longer driveway than usual for these parts, helped hide the generous house further back on the plot. The driveway slipped off near the back, revealing how the house was built to the shape of the land. From the front the house looked like an expansive one story bungalow. But to the side you realised the depth it had and how the back of the house was levelled with a downstairs dwelling. White Grecian-like pillars framed the grand front entrance to the main house.

Liza stood next to one, in her tennis whites, oversized black shades hiding half her face, immaculate red hair not a strand out of place. A few humbling bands of gold sparkled on wrist as she wove like a monarch from the palace balcony. In her own right, Aunt Liza was a bit of a queen herself.

"Roey-Rue don't you look gorgeous." Liza's strong Surrey accent was a washed with a Spanish twang thanks to her international lifestyle. As I reached her on the steps she greets me with a kiss to each cheek.

"You look wonderfully tanned." I comment and her eyes, thickly lined with mascara, twinkle with excitement. She grins at me.

"Im only back for a week, darl. But I can arrange for someone to come help you move if you need. Your mum didn't say if you needed any furniture so I've just popped a few things in there but you're welcome to throw them if you'd like. It doesn't bother me." Liza explains and I follow her. The polished gold bangles she wears chime as she speaks with her hands. She leads me further down the driveway to a small walkway. A hedge no taller than my knees boarders the stone pathway that leads to a black door.

An extravagant brass knocker is fastened onto the middle of the door. I study the metal lion face of it as Liza punches in the door code on a keypad by the door. The device beeps before the sound of a lock clicking open invites us into the dwelling. From this side of the building there are no windows, but when I step further into the place the natural light floods in through the back.

Skylight window panels and huge glass windows attract the midday sun, warming the open living and kitchen area. Glass double doors give access to a small private back garden with a spa pool seated in the far corner. The place is immaculate, just like how I remember upstairs to be. Although I knew aunt Liza's house was exquisite, I had not planned for the self contained unit under the house to be just as fancy. It seems ridiculous that she was offering this place up to university students to rent. Though I imagine her residence were from a more wealthier background and were use to this kind of luxury.

The walls were white, apart from the far back wall where the television was hung. Exposed red bricks, completely raw with crumbling texture ran right the way down the back wall with a fireplace. Black hanging light fixtures in the kitchen matched the black framing of the windows and glass doors. The kitchen cabinets also the same colour black, with some kind of smoothed, polish black granite on the countertops and kitchen island.

I understood what she had mentioned about furniture. There were already three cane stools at the island for the breakfast bar. A dining table with some crazy vase which seemed more like an art piece in the middle. A grey 3 seater sofa faced the television with its back to the dining area. I walked further in, taking in the space.