Legacy of the Dreams

Chapter 30 - Grandma's House

Greg and Susan were on the road with the girls in the back seat early on Thursday morning. They had a long way to go ... and it was decided Mr. Simms wouldn't come with them.

"I have more doctor appointments than I'd hoped," he'd told them earlier in the week. "I'm trying to get things scheduled so I can stay for a while when I come for Passover this year."

"I expect we'll be back before Passover for Olivia's naming. That might also be an opportunity for you to come home with us," Greg offered.

"We'll see, Greg. Let's talk about it again in April," Mr. Simms suggested.

Greg smiled and no more was said on the topic the rest of the week; which was also the reason there were only four of them in the car for the trip to Escondido.

The trip was long and uneventful, starting before dawn and ending long after nightfall. The Abernathys stopped for breakfast, lunch, and eventually dinner, but they only stopped for an hour each time. Finally, after thirteen hours travel, they arrived at the hotel where they had reservations for the next couple of days.

It was the girls' bedtime when they arrived, but the first thing Susan did was to call Matt.

"Hi Mom. Where are you?" Matt asked.

"At the hotel. We just got here. Where are you?"

"I just picked up Zack at the airport. We're on our way back to the dorms. He's spending the night with me. My roommate left for the weekend this morning, so he's using his bed. We'll be down there tomorrow morning," Matt said.

"We'll be at Grandma's," Susan informed him.

"We'll meet you there," Matt promised.

c

Matt was good to his word. He and Zack left early, arriving at Mr. and Mrs. Abernathy's house about the same time Greg and Susan did on Friday morning. Also waiting for them when they arrived was Susan's brother, Stephen.

"Hello, Sue," Stephen said when he met them on the driveway.

"Hi Stephen," Susan said.

"You brought the family?" Stephen asked warily.

"They want to help," Susan explained.

Stephen nodded. "Mine are coming later. Would you mind keeping the kids out here for a moment?" Stephen asked Greg. "I want Sue to see something ... before you all come inside."

"Why?" Susan asked.

"Humor me, Sue. This is important," Stephen said.

Susan shrugged. "Okay. Greg do you mind?"

"Not at all. We'll wait for you here," Greg said.

And so, although everyone got out of their cars, most of them waited on the driveway while Susan and her brother went inside their parents' house to take a look around.

"What is it, Stephen?" Susan asked while her brother unlocked the front door.

"Look," Stephen said. He pushed open the door and allowed her to enter first. "I've deliberately kept everything the way it was the day I came here looking for Mom's address book. And this is the way I found it ... I wanted you to know."

Susan nodded. Stepping through the threshold, she walked into the familiar room ... except it wasn't ... not any more. The furniture was all there, in the same place as always, but everything else was missing, replaced by bare surfaces everywhere. There were no pictures on the walls. The mantel above the fireplace was empty, there wasn't a single book in the bookcase which was normally was full to overflowing. Instead, boxes stood lined up against the walls. Some were sealed with tape, others were open, but each one was labeled in Mrs. Abernathy's handwriting. The furniture all had pieces of paper pinned to the upholstery or fixed to the surface with painters tape, with a brief note on each one.