Knock Three Times

18. Daughter Dearest

                THE DAVIDSON HOME WAS quiet and still, nothing but the odd chirp of crickets from the backyard to accompany the silence of the evening. Accustomed to apartment life, there was always some sort of noise to fill the background, always a neighbour in which Miranda would commonly blame any unexpected sound. Alone in the dead quiet of suburbia, every slight noise startled her, from the furnace to the refrigerator motor kicking in at random, solitude became enveloping in unfamiliarity. When there was a bump in the night, reasoning that a cat or a neighbour was the probable cause brought a sense of relative peace, but when there was no one around, the depths of her own imagination remained. To be left alone was an unusual occurrence, as her mother, Jocelyn would scarcely leave her home unless it was absolutely necessary. She couldn't honestly remember the last time she was trusted alone in her own home, much as well another's.

    Christine was with James at the Empire Theatre that evening, and Michelle was working late at the hospital, as per usual. Mr. Davidson had left somewhat unexpectedly, following a lead on a hot story. He already had an investigative piece due the very next morning, and so the pressure was mounting for the esteemed writer. Something had happened at a local church, he revealed on the way out the door, his shoelaces untied, hair askew as he quickly threw a scarf around his neck and grabbed an umbrella.

    The house was empty, leaving Miranda alone in the house for the first time. Although she was gradually getting comfortable, the Davidson residence didn't feel like home quite yet—ever the house guest and nothing more, though she hoped the feeling wouldn't linger.

    Dressed in the black silk pajamas Christine had officially gifted her the night prior, she shifted on the rec room sectional. The television remained off as she struggled to complete one of many assignments she had accepted, looking to make for lost time and effort in her classes that semester. Her good friend Hamish was her muse, likewise arranging correspondence lessons to make up the one class she had already failed. The real work would begin on following Monday, when the books were properly prepared and she was given a deadline to add to the mounting pile before her. Miranda had come a long way that very evening, completing enough to secure a passing grade in one subject, but her work was far from over if she was to succeed in her new life with the Davidson family.

    Just being part of the family there seemed a default expectation in the air, as though anything less than her very best effort was not good enough. For the first time in her life the renewed teen found herself going over her work, ensuring perfection to the best of her ability. "Good enough" was no longer an acceptable phrase, not when the Davidson's treated her the way they did—like one of their own. Josh's insistence that rent be paid in the form of good grades would demand no less, as a scholarly failure was equal to coming up short every month, and Miranda would not disappoint.

    There was still unpacking to do as mounds of garbage bags full of clothes were still piled in the corner of the guest bedroom, but she lacked the ambition to go through them just yet. There was a mental barrier Miranda wasn't quite ready to cross when dealing with any aspects of her old life. She was still a guest as far as she was concerned, an extended stay just as temporary, no matter how hospitable the Davidson's may be. It was as though putting away her old clothes into the brand new dresser they had provided would be accepting that she could not change—doomed to follow in Jocelyn's footsteps.

    The determined young lady's goal was nothing short of proving the world wrong—to not allow herself to turn out the way most were expecting. She was different now, Miranda was convinced; a better version of herself with every passing day. A much brighter future edged closer with every good decision she forced herself to make, no matter how small; sobriety over drugs and alcohol, effort over idleness, and attendance over absence.