See You Soon

Chapter 8

I turned around and smiled. I hoped I would see her again but I couldn’t think about Leslie just now. I followed the directions to a very large house in the middle of the city. I parked on the street grabbed my suitcases and walked up to the door. I took a deep breath, this was it. I rapped on the door and heard a muffled crash.

“Someone throw those dishes away! Everyone be on their very best behavior. You have no idea how serious I am. Shit!!” I heard another crash.

“Godammit, we should have left that lamp in the corner.” I worried about who I was going to be living with but I figured if mom liked her then we would probably get along just fine. The door swung open and I saw a woman standing in the doorway, 4 other kids sitting at the table behind her staring at me, three boys and a little girl with blonde pigtails. I put my hand out for her to shake.

“Hi, I'm Ryder. You must be Mrs. Sher-” I was swooped into a big hug and cut off by her saying,

“Oh sweetheart, call me Auntie Lyn, everyone else does. Now come in, come in.” I pulled my things into the house and marvelled at the size.

“Ryder, these are my three boys: Carter’s 15, Derrik's 23 and is currently attending Harvard University, and Tommy’s 6. Now I would die if I just had these three boys so this is my angel niece, Kari she’s 6 as well. Her and Tommy are best friends, right kiddos?” She raised one eyebrow.

“The bitch put my lucky underwear in the cake batter before you put it in the oven!” Tommy complained. Auntie Lyn looked stunned and I’m not sure if it was because a child cursed or underwear was put into a cake. Instead she shocked me.

“I was wondering why the batter looked so lumpy. Wait, what cake? The one I told you not to touch because it was for Ryder? Shit!” She took off into the kitchen. Carter was trying not to laugh. He got up and grabbed one of my suitcases.

“Here dude. I’ll take you to your room. Mom will be there soon.” He took my bag up the stairs and I followed him. A couple doors down and we turned into a large bedroom painted a sky blue. It was a very large room complete with its own en suite and walk-in-closet. He put my bags down on the floor and turned to me.

“So, I don’t really know what to say other than welcome to our home and our family.” He shrugged and gave me a small smile, “I know mom can be a little overwhelming but she’s a really cool mom. Just a quick warning in advance: If you’re inviting someone important over don’t tell mom, she will have everyone scrub the house ‘til it shines like the top of the Chrysler building. Before you came we totally reorganized the house and we put this stupid lamp in the middle of the living room and I'm sure you heard that crash. She also threw all the dinner dishes from the table onto the floor as soon as you knocked.” I laughed at that image. Maybe this would be okay. He gave me another smile before he left.

I sat on my bed and looked around. The room was amazing. A desk and laptop computer sat in the corner, I assumed for homework. The bed had a simple duvet and felt like heaven to sit on. The bathroom was decked out with a Jacuzzi, steam shower, toilet and vanity. Everything was white and gold, and I was overwhelmed. The walk-in-closet was equally incredible. I’m sure it was meant to be a girl’s room because no guy had enough clothes to fill this. Three hampers sat next to the door, whites, darks and colors I'm sure. The walls had rods for shirts, shelves for pants, drawers for shoes. All my stuff would fill maybe a quarter of the room. I didn’t know who I was living with but they must be crazy rich. The far end had four mirrors that you could angle to your liking. I moved one of them and saw my Guardian standing in the doorway. I let out a girlish yelp.

“I’m sorry sweetheart. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She said with a soft smile. “I see you’ve seen the room. I know it’s overwhelming, don’t worry about anything. I can take you shopping if you ever need anything, or I could just give you the credit card, whatever you like.” I smiled at her.

“Thanks Auntie Lyn, I really appreciate what you’ve done for me.” She snorted.

“Honey, if I had known earlier what happened to you. I would have had you here years ago. I can’t believe they let that prick near you! God, you must be in so much psychological pain right now! Would you like to see a therapist? I'm a psychologist but if you want to see someone else I understand. ” I started laughing.

“It’s fine Auntie Lyn; I learned how to take care of myself a long time ago.” She let a sad smile slip onto her face.

“Well I brought you a gift. If you don’t like it don’t worry about it.” I opened it up and what I saw made me smile. There was a picture of Auntie Lyn and my mom from when they were in college. I had never had pictures of my parents, and my memories were fading fast so to have this was incredible.

“I don’t have a picture of your dad; otherwise I would have given you that one too. I just thought you’d like to see a familiar face before you settle in. I smiled and thanked her. I put the picture on my night table next to the picture of Harmony.

“Is that a friend of yours?” I looked at the picture and nodded my head. “She helped me a lot after my parents left, and with my uncle.”

“Anyone would need help with him, he’s a dick.” I laughed,

“You really hate him, don’t you?” I asked.

“Doesn’t everyone? I mean, he made out with your mother on her wedding day.” That I didn’t know.

“Seriously?” I asked although I wouldn’t doubt it.

“Of course. He was after your mother for a long time, even after she was married. Oh, that man! He kept on trying to start something saying that there was chemistry between them, humph!” She sat back and took a sip of her wine that I only noticed now. She saw me look at it and offered me some.

“Umm, I'm not 21 yet.” She shrugged.

“So? I’d rather you have the occasional drink now instead of going off to college and becoming irresponsible with your drinking habits. Besides, it’s not like this would be your first drink.”

I smiled and took the glass.

“Anyway, I better let you get to your unpacking. Have a great evening sweetheart.”

“You too, Auntie Lyn.” She closed the door behind her and I was left alone in a big empty room that was starting to feel like home.