Greenbriar Manor

Visitation Day

The days before their vacation were felt by all at the Manor.  Fran was the only one in the whole house who knew everything going on and she was about to leave for an entire week. She had interviewed many temporary employees. But for her job there had only been three applications.  A woman named Martha stood out to her the most.  She had long dark hair like Mari and a knack for knowing her way around. When asked about it she said she was a neighbor a long time ago but had moved away when she married and had children to Avalon, California, and had returned when her oldest had left home. Ruth had told Fran to only hire someone she trusted, and this woman seemed to fit as seamlessly into the Manor as she and the horse trainer had after just a few hours. She trained her in a couple hours and gave her a list of chores including contacting  Fern about the linen delivery. 

Fern walked in as they were finishing up. The look on her face was one of surprise. She told Fran that the mysterious applicant was a long time friend of her mothers and that she already knew how to help launder and set up rooms for them. Fran was even more pleased. She offered the woman a room at the Manor for the week but she told her that she had a husband and two children that she needed to take care of at home. Fern was surprised that Brooklyn's mother would be willing to leave the house and come to the Manor to work. That would give them the house during the day for the week. Maybe her mother could mend linens and work on something besides spending time with Martha. She had not had a day with her mom alone since they had arrived back here all those months ago. 

Martha had come here for a purpose while Fran and the boy were away she would begin to learn the family again and watch Fern work. At night she would try to sneak to the barn to see her long lost husband without anyone knowing she was gone. Mari had a friend and Mack had his family in Vermont. Brooklyn had another horse. Fern and her mom had a house each other. Ingrim had the joy of riding. It was time for her to find and rekindle the love she had lost three times. As she told Fran goodbye she thought about the last night she had come here for the party long ago. The sound of thunder still scared her awake at night. But here in the Manor she would be safe. The Greenes and the Greys were indebted by secrets and tradition. 

 The Greene's were mostly concerned about the family situation Fran would be leaving to try to help. They had been there for years, and nothing had ever taken Mack away from Ingrim longer than two nights at a time. Ingrim was prone to loneliness and the other children who came to the Manor were not as interested in him as they had been at one time. But he did have his horse. Maybe that would keep him happy until Mack returned. Brooklyn had begun to work with him to ride in circles and learn to canter. They had seen him and he was so excited. Ingrim was becoming obsessed with the horse. He spent every moment he was not at school in the barn. His schoolwork was subpar compared to last term. His parents just thought it was because of the harder math and other subjects. But when he was at school all he could think about was finally competing against other riders. Brooklyn said he would be ready soon. 

Mack was leaving and he felt very strange. He had grown up with him here in the house but lately he had begun to drift apart. He found band at school and even spent time at lunch playing music. He wondered if something was wrong with his cousin and Mack had been using art to send out the song that was in his heart. Like when he started playing baseball to repair the wound of losing his father. Brooklyn had helped Mack with that long ago.  As his friend prepared to leave the house, for the longest time since he had arrived, Ingrim ran to hug him goodbye. Mack smiled at the gesture. He hoped that his time away would help him understand who he was. That Ingrim could be okay until he returned. Th night before he had asked Brooklyn to take care of his friend and the horse while they were away. He nodded. Brooklyn had been preparing for this moment for a long time should it ever arrive but he was choked up by Fran getting in the car. He was never as close to a mother as he had found in Fran. He loved her and hoped she would return soon.  He had to remember that the house takes care of its own. 

Brooklyn watched from the barn as Fran and Mack loaded the same car they had arrived in with suitcases. His sister was in the library looking through a book about dolls. She had become almost obsessed with finding hers since Mack had been found in the piano room during the storm. She had awakened the entire house demanding that she had seen Bridgette. Her mother told her that it was impossible she had been made to stay in Vermont after the accident. Meri looked like she had been slapped when the word accident came out of her mouth. She had never believed that Bridgette would abandon them all. She had to find the doll that would tell her what had really happened.  She also had started spending more time with the man training the horse in the barn. He was nice to her and made her feel happier than Fern or her mother had in many months. She wished that she remembered her father. Brooklyn had not told her anything about him in a long time and her mother cried when she asked her. But maybe this man could be like a father somehow. She smiled at the thought as she brushed Ingrim's horse's warm muzzle. She had found a friend of her own and a pet to love.  Now she wanted a full family. Bridgette's return was no longer enough of a pleasant dream to keep her happy. Even if she was here where would that leave her? Would Fran come back? 

Fern had been working double duty since she found out Fran was going on vacation. She was not even sure who she would report too until she saw Martha in the interview that morning. It would keep things simple. That is for sure.  She had wondered how things would go for them all now that so many people had returned and now some had left. Would there be changes that would forever alter the Manor in this handful of days or would they all find out who they were without Fran to hold as a mediator and linchpin between the past and present? She would keep to herself and watch for changes. She and Brooklyn knew things. Maybe he would help her.

As Fran drove out of the driveway, to go see their cousin, Mack  turned around to see the dark-haired girl he had played piano with waving and smiling at him from his bedroom window. He opened his suitcase to find a small handwritten piece of music and a tiny saucer with a letter V on it. It felt cold on his palm. He smiled and returned it to his bag. He had a welcoming gift for his aunt and something to teach his cousin Mabel. Something that would last far longer than seven days.