“Thank you,” I tell the driver and internally panic if I’m supposed to tip him or not. I didn’t think to ask James if he included gratuity when he booked the limo, and now I’m desperately reaching into my purse, cheeks reddening, as I pull out cash from my wallet.
“Would you like me to carry your bag up, ma’am?” the driver asks.
“No, thanks. It’s not that heavy.”
“Have a good day then.” He gives the house another look and then gets back in the limo, slowly backing down the gravel driveway. Wrapping my fingers around the handle to my suitcase, I drag it behind me, eyes wide as I walk toward the porch. Three stone steps lead directly to the front double doors that have amazingly detailed stained-glass windows depicting pictures of different types of flowers.
The porch wraps around the side of the house, and a little white table and chairs is set up on the angled corner. I blink and can see myself having tea there…though it’s almost like I did have tea there.
“Maybe I did,” I say to myself and stop in front of the door, heart in my throat as I slide the key into the lock. It opens with a click, and the door swings in. I step inside the small vestibule that leads to the foyer and pause, looking in and feeling almost as if the house is staring back at me, judging me and making sure I’m good enough to come inside.
Closing the door behind me, I set all my bags down and take the blueprints from the folder, glancing down at them before I start exploring. The familiar smell of sage and lavender hits me when I take a step forward, and I get a sudden vision of Harrison and me racing down the stairs and into the kitchen, grabbing freshly baked cookies from a plate. The same pretty woman with dark hair from my dream is standing near the stove, talking to a woman. She has to be Aunt Estelle, but I cannot remember her face.
It’s a split second of a memory, and it jars something inside of me, making me feel a little uneasy. I close my eyes and shake my head, trying to rid myself of the feeling so I can get back to checking out the house. Moving through the small vestibule, I stop in the middle of the foyer. So far, the layout of the house seems to match the blueprints, as there’s a parlor to my left and a dining room to the right.
I expected the house to either be empty or full of ugly old-lady-styled décor and boxes upon boxes of the weird, useless items Aunt Estelle sent me over the years. I never expected it to look like something out of a magazine. The dining room is furnished with a dark wooden table and eight matching chairs with pretty cream-colored upholstery that is sure to get stained the second I eat anything in that room. A simple yet pretty chandelier hangs above the table, and the build-in hutch is styled like something I’d see on Instagram.
The dining room opens up to a large kitchen, which must have been a recent addition since the blueprints originally had a breakfast room here instead. It’s modern yet classic, with off-white cabinets, a white backsplash, and marble countertops. There’s a window above the sink that looks out at the backyard, and another sense of familiarity hits me.
I go through a narrow hall off the kitchen, leading to a room the blueprints had named the library. It’s set up like a formal living room, but there’s an entire wall of built-in bookshelves around a fireplace, and my eyes light up. There aren’t any books on the shelves, but it wouldn’t take long for me to fill them up.
The parlor is attached to the library and has only a couch and a coffee table in there. This would probably serve as a family room now, once a TV is added that is. I’m back in the foyer now and go upstairs. Several bedrooms on one side of the house have been combined to make a spacious owner’s suite, complete with its own bathroom. Like the kitchen, the bathroom has been recently redone in colors and styles that are trendy right now, leading me to believe the updates had to have been done within the last year or two.
The bedroom is furnished and styled in a way that almost reminds me of my room back in New York, only much bigger and fancier. Like the rest of the house, the decor is light and girly. It fits the house, though I can’t really put my finger on why. It’s just the feel of this place, I suppose.
Across the hall are two more bedrooms, and the third bedroom has been reconfigured to make a bathroom as well as a laundry room. The stairs continue to the third story and has a little sitting room at the landing. The rest of the attic is unfinished and full of junk, looking as if whoever remodeled and decorated the house took everything from the main level and just shoved it up here. It’s a hoarder’s dream, and not something I’m up to dealing with.