After we'd been out there for 'long enough', yelling and jumping around, Mrs. Darling had opened the door and quite harshly demanded we go back inside. "The neighbors are sure to hear you!" She'd scolded, yanking Dory inside. "Stop acting so foolish. You two are going to embarrass my husband!"
So Dory and I had looked at each other sheepishly and then she'd disappeared inside to change out of her pajamas and put some shoes on. I'd sat down on their front porch step and waited for her. And waited. And waited. Which brings us to the present.
Resting my head in my hands, I looked at the neighbor's houses again. The one across the street was a really light minty green color with white trim and a large white door. All the other houses on this street appeared to be variations of that one, with different colors, driveways, and porch decorations. For example, Dory lived in perhaps the largest house on the block and, by constant begging of Dory, a purple one. A few years ago it had been baby chick yellow, but Dory had insisted so many times that she hated it that her father had finally given in and allowed her to choose the new painting color.
So it was purple.
It was the brightest house on the block, perhaps even the neighborhood, but still had white trim. The door, however, was a really, really, really light orange color. It looked really good, actually. On the wraparound porch the Darlings had a couple swing beds, which Dory and I had frequently slept on as kids, a barbeque, assorted play toys from our childhood, and two benches. And , of course, a normal porch swing.
"Norah?" Mrs. Darling asked, startling me from my thoughts. "Do - " She stopped, realizing that she was about to use the 'silly nickname'. She cleared her throat before continuing. "Florence isn't ready yet. She requests your help doing something to do with her outfit." She said slowly as she looked everywhere but at me. "So... Come on in."
I jumped up and turned to go inside, but before I could step a foot in the house she stopped me. "If you could, dear," Mrs. Darling added through gritted teeth. "Don't touch anything, alright? I've worked too hard on making this home perfect for my family and I don't want you messing anything up! Your already ruining my daughter and husband. Let me have my home, alright?"
I could hear the venom in her voice and suddenly, I was just slightly afraid. I nodded my head in response and pushed past her, hurrying up the stairs before she could stop me again. Mrs. Darling grunted and shut the door as hard as she could without actually slamming it. Faintly, before I reached Dory's room, I heard her mutter something.
"Why is it that the Ryders trespass on my life?"
Frowning, I turned around with half a mind to ask her what she meant. When my parents had been alive, they'd hardly known the Darling parents - let alone been buddy-buddy enough to 'trespass on her stuff'. Suddenly a cold hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into the room I was standing in front of. I yelped and twisted around to attack my assaulter, before realizing it was Dory.
Duh.
"What are you doing? Were you listening in on my parents' conversation?" Dory asked, eyebrows scrunched. I laughed softly, shaking my head.
"No. Your mother just said something as I was coming up that I found..." I trailed off, resolving not to think about what she'd said. "Anyway, why did you want me?" Changing the subject. Something I was fantastic at.
This jolted Dory out of her thoughtful moment. "Oh, right! Well, I was wondering if we were going out today to do something. You wouldnt've come all the way out here just to tell me one thing, right?" She asked, turning toward her spacious closet. It was seriously huge. Over the years, I'd assumed it was just slightly smaller than mine and my brothers' rooms combined.
