She took my hand and led me out and down the stairs. When I looked at her. I saw she wore a smile of expectation so real that it made me wonder if we would indeed find people and music and food below. Maybe she could wave a wand and perform
something magical. I used to dream of doing that to make the mansion a happier place for all of us. How could she be so happy in such a run-down house as this if she didn't have a way to do something magical?
Lester had completed the work he'd had to do in the bathroom, and he'd put bulbs in the hallway chandeliers. The light they dropped around us revealed more scuffs on the walls, and I saw just how dull and dirty the floor still was. Maybe it was too late to make the house look clean again. Maybe it was too far gone and that was why Grandmother Emma didn't really care or worry about it.
I thought Alanis must have finished the work her mother had given her. because I didn't hear the vacuum cleaner or anyone talking below. As we descended the stairs. I saw Lester on a ladder in the entryway putting bulbs in that chandelier. He turned and looked at us. He didn't look as surprised as I imagined he would be.
"Oh, Southern fried chicken tonight," he said.
"And please don't forget the chocolate marshmallow ice cream. Lester."
"No, ma'am. I'll be off to the store as soon as I can."
He put in the last bulb and stepped down. We watched him fold up the ladder. He nodded at us and went out the front door.
"We should take a short walk before dinner." Great-aunt Frances said. "This way."
She led me down the hallway, through the kitchen and out the door in the laundry room. The late afternoon sun was just behind the tops of the trees to the west. I saw the chickens in the pen with the rooster marching about them proudly, and then I looked at the barn. The doors had swung open and I could see there was nothing in it, no cows, no horses, just empty stalls and old hay on the floor. Beyond it was a large pond that went around the trees on our left. A rowboat bobbed gently by a short dock. Suddenly, we heard the honking of geese and looked up to see them in a perfect A-formation.
"There it is." Great-aunt Frances said, "the first good-bye to summer. They're going south. My father used to start his winter preparations on the first sign of them heading for warmer weather."
That memory brought a fresh smile to her face. She looked about, and the joy came into her eves as if she saw a brand- new farm with beautiful landscaping, clean and neat.
"Now that you're here, we should get Lester to clear all the land. There will still be warm enough days for us to enjoy the grounds, going rowing and drift with the breeze, and maybe roast marshmallows around a fire at night. Doesn't that all sound wonderful?"
I nodded. It did.
She held on to my arm and walked us toward the lake.
"I never really minded living here. Isn't it still very pretty?"
"Yes," I said. I tried hard to see it the way I imagined she was seeing it.
"When I first came here," she said. "I spent a great deal of my time sitting by the lake. There were so many different birds, and it was pleasant to watch how the breeze made the water ripple. We'll do that on nice afternoons."
"Where did you live before you lived here?" I asked.
"I lived in my father and mother's home until Emma had it sold."
"Why did she sell it if you were living in it?"
She didn't answer. I thought she might not have heard me because she was thinking so hard about happier times.
"Why did you come here to live?" I pursued.
Finally, she looked at me. Her smile didn't fade, but it seemed to lose its energy and freeze. There was a tightening around her eyes. I thought she was going to tell me, but instead, she turned her head to look back at the house. Her Southern accent returned when she spoke.
"Oh. listen, The music has started. People must be arriving. We'll have to go back to help greet the guests. Mama would be upset if we didn't," she said.
Music? Mama?
She turned and started us toward the rear entrance. Before we reached it, the door opened and Alanis stepped out on the short landing. She put her hands on her hips and looked at us, a wide grin washing through her face.
"Mama just told me about you. What are you two doing?" she asked and laughed.
"Get back to the kitchen. Tessie, before I tell Mr. Farthingham," Great-aunt Frances replied.
"Huh? Tessie? Who you calling Tessie? And who's Mr. Farthingham? Get back into the kitchen? You don't know how foolish you look, girl," Alanis said to me. She shook her head, then went back inside.