The Arrangement 1

Chapter 3

The following week was a blur. She found out she was moving on Monday and by Wednesday morning a team of packers was already at the house helping her box up their belongings. Each box was carefully labelled and loaded onto a white truck. 

She also received a package from the office manager at the firm containing pictures of the new house, a schedule and floor-plan. She learned that the house was in an exclusive gated community outside of town called The Oaks. She’d heard of the place before and as far as she could remember it was where the other partners at the firm lived with their wives. 

She had misgivings about living so close to the other partners, and their beautiful wives, but she was afraid to voice them to Walter. He always said she had a built in resistance to happiness and most of the time she thought he was probably right. Often she would find herself lying awake at night worrying that she would lose everything and everyone she held dear. She felt insecure in the life she had built, like it was all too good to be true and might be taken away from her at any moment. Over the years that fear had never really faded and she knew it would probably haunt her all her life. She had seen her mother lose too much, too often, to ever forget how easily it could all come crashing down. That was what was bothering her now and preventing her from enjoying this new stage in her life and she made up her mind not to sabotage her own happiness any longer.

On Thursday morning after she dropped the girls at school she returned home to find a realtor parked in the driveway. She appreciated all that the firm was doing for them but she wished they would let her be part of the decision making process, or at the very least, notify her when important decisions were being made that affected her. The blonde woman in the car was pleasant enough, in her mid-forties, and introduced herself as Betty Miller. She said she was going to show April the new house.

Despite her misgivings, April had to admit that she was impressed on the drive out along the GW Parkway towards The Oaks. She had never been out that way before and hadn’t realized how picturesque the countryside was. As soon as they were out of the city they entered beautiful dense woodland and Betty Miller explained how desirable the new neighborhood was. She said The Oaks was one of the most well situated developments in the metro area and that they’d be sharing a postal code with some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country.

When they pulled off the main road, April was surprised to see that there was a security gate at the entrance.

–Is that really necessary? she said to Betty.

Betty told her she didn’t strictly think so but it was an increasingly common sight in neighborhoods like this one. There was a lot April didn’t know. They pulled up to the gate and a guard in a gray uniform waved them through.

–We’re expected, Betty said.

The development was cut into the forest and formed an enclave among the trees. They must have been climbing while they were on the highway because there was an opening in the trees onto a wide vista and April saw that they were looking down on the valley below. The view of the Potomac and the skyline of the capital in the distance was breathtaking.

–That’s something, she said.

Betty took in the view with a quick scan and nodded. –I know, she said. You should see it at night. The lights are stunning.

–I’m really going to live here? April said.

Betty just smiled. They got to the end of the road and there was a small circle for cars to turn around. Off of the circle were four driveways, each marked with two pillars and a row of lights leading into the trees.

–Wait a minute, April said.

–Yes?

–There are just four houses here?

–That’s right, Betty said.

April felt a creeping sensation running down her back. If there were only four houses, that meant the only other residents were the other partners. She’d imagined more houses, more of a community.

–Who else lives here? she said.

–The other members of the firm, Betty said. Herb Kingsley, Frank Prentiss and Pete Wellington. With their wives, of course.

Suddenly the place began to feel very claustrophobic. April was already struggling with the move, and the fact that the firm seemed to be controlling everything so tightly gave her a strange sense of foreboding. Now it was getting to be too much. She knew she would have to talk to Walter about it and she dreaded that prospect almost as much as she did living here in this secluded forest with only his business partners as neighbors.

She was ashamed of herself for thinking it, but what might happen if she had a fight with her husband? Walter was not a violent man but he could be controlling, and at times manipulating. If her only neighbors were the people he did business with she doubted whether she’d be able to turn to them in times of need.

–Are you ready to go up to the house? Betty said.

April was not ready at all but she nodded. If it were not for the strange circumstances, she would have actually been amazed by the house. It was truly fabulous. She tried to enjoy the viewing, a task that became easier the more she saw.

Betty pulled her car up to a covered porch in front of the house. It was wide enough for two cars and lit by ornate iron lamps. There were stone steps leading to the main entrance.

Betty was smiling. –You think this is grand, you should see the other houses.

They climbed the steps and Betty pushed open the wide double doors. April found herself standing before what had to be the grandest entrance hall she had ever seen in her life. It was two stories high with a staircase curling around to the second level. The floor was of white marble polished to a sheen and above her was a chandelier that seemed to be made entirely of diamonds.

When Betty saw her staring at it she said, –The chandelier was custom made by the Gemini Glass Company in Englewood. They made the chandeliers for the Plaza Hotel in New York.

–I can’t believe it, April said, struggling to take it all in. Before her was a large archway leading to the main living area of the house and she could already see across it to the wide windows overlooking the view she had seen of the valley earlier. Up on the second level she could see the solid doors that led to the various sleeping quarters. Each door led to a separate suite with its own bedroom, bathroom and sitting area. April had never seen anything like it in her entire life. What she didn’t see however, were any of her belongings.

–Where are our things? she said.

–Oh they’ll be here before you move in. I think the moving company still has them at the depot. Betty looked over the stack of papers she had with her. –They’re unloading tomorrow. You and your husband are moving in on Saturday.

–It’s all news to me, April said. They hardly tell me a thing.

Betty gave her a slightly questioning look. –Everything’s taken care of, Mrs. Masterson. One thing you can say about the firm, they sure do know how to take care of their own.

–I guess they do, April said.