It was an hour later than planned when they finally arrived. It turned out that their alarm clock hadn’t gone off like it was supposed to and so they were late.
When they pulled up in their red new looking Ford Explorer Gabby said,” I think that’s them.”
Aunt Marsha opened her door and opened her black umbrella and held it out of the door and hopped out as two teenagers cuddled together in the back seat to make room for us.
“Thank you, God! I’m starving” I smiled up at the heavens only to get rain on my face.
“I am so sorry, girls!” Aunt Marsha said then explained the ordeal. “Gosh! You guys are just growing! I haven’t seen you, Natalie, since you were three! But I haven’t Gabby since she visited a few years ago!”
Aunt Marsha was wearing some warm ups and an over sized tee-shirt. Her tennis shoes were tight on her wide foot. She was a little over weight but she was jolly and reminded me of mom. Though mom worked out twice a day and had womanly six-packs Aunt Marsha’s dish water blonde hair was like moms and her big blue eyes were the same as moms. Her pink cheek’s and everything reminded me of mom.
“I figure you’re not used to sharing a room or the rules are house comes with, but we’ll try to be easy on you two since you’ve been through enough this month!” Aunt Marsha took one of my biggest suit cases in her right hand and one of Gabby’s biggest suit cases.
I picked up the other three of my bags and so did Gabby.
We ran through the rain to the Expedition and squeezed into the third row of seating. Our bags were put into the trunk and the second row of seating is where we two dark haired girls sat.
The car was considerably warmer than the cold rain outside. The fake leather seats were comfortable but still lacked the style and sophistication of the old Land Rover now sitting in a used section of a dealership still worth more than I had in my bank account.
“Hi! I’m Ally!” Allison leaned forward with a bright smile. Her blonde hair was pulled into two loose braids that were down to where her rib cage started. She was skinny and her blue eyes gleamed she rested her thin hand on the seat and picked at her dark purple finger nail polish. Her stylish jeans was paired with a Midnight blue long sleeved shirt with baby blue beads hanging off her thin neck and bangles filled her wrists. Baby blue heels covered her feet with a tight grasp. All in all, she was beautiful in her own way.
“I’m Natalie and this is Gabby,” I answered.
“Claire.” The other girl replied, her teeth white and shiny.
“Hi,” Gabby stuck out her hand and shook Claire’s looking in her dark blue eyes.
“Is that a Prada watch?” Claire asked her bright eyes sparkling.
“Yeah…” Gabby said confused.
“Awesome!”
Claire’s style was much different than the Ally’s. She had on a black tank top under a dark purple cardigan and a pair of dark wash jeans tucked into a pair of light purple Uggs.
“Hello, girls!” The man sitting in the driver’s seat smiled.
“Hey, Uncle Herman!” Gabby and I said in unison.
“You remember me?” He smiled scratching his blondish red beard.
“What other man drives this car?” Gabby smiled jokingly.
“I don’t know and personally if any other man drives this car, I don’t wanna know!” he smiled driving away from the train station.

We when deep into the country [or as Claire kept reminding me saying “We live in the boondocks!”] and when we went down one last dirt road and it ended at a two story house with a big wooden deck that stretched around the house with two porch swings on either side of the front porch and on the second floor there were many windows and only the left window was a light on and you could tell that the walls were painted orange with a black couch looking thing on the inside.
“Welcome home, girls!” Aunt Marsha smiled. “We built this a few months ago. And I hope you’ll be happy here with us!”

Once inside in the mustard yellow painted living room, our bags at our feet and the other girls sitting on the dark red couch watching some show on T.V. their feet propped up on the coffee table in front of them.
Gabby looked at me with a confident shrug and walked away carefully walking past the huge mess of suitcases so she didn’t trip. She sat beside Claire and said,” Where’s our room?”
“Let me show you,” Claire smiled her toothy grin and jump off the couch and they disappeared up the oak wood stairs beside the oak colored entertainment center.
Gabriella had so much courage in her it always made me have the courage to face my own fears. She inspired me with every step she walked, breath she inhaled, and word she spoke.
“So…” I stopped to choose from the many choices of words. “…What do you like to watch on T.V.?”
“Well, MTV Cribs is pretty cool.” Ally said turning towards me and watching as I walked to the couch and sat on the edge of the couch beside her.
“I love that show! I had every season on DVD at my old house!” I replied, she smiled and turned toward me bending her leg and resting it on the couch. I did so also. “It should be coming in the mail with all me and Gabby’s personal stuff pretty soon.”
“I can’t wait to see it! What about the kids shows? Which one do you like?”
“Gosh, that’s a hard one, probably SpongeBob SquarePants!”
“Me too!” She smiled in an odd way as if she was almost questioning my answer. “Wanna check out your new”-she cleared her throat- “Drum roll, please!”- she made a drum roll sound then said almost in an announcer’s voice- “HOUSE!” she yelled slightly.
“Okay.” I said half embarrassed for her and half laughing.
We got up from the couch and jogged up the stairs until they ended and a small landing started and beside us another set of stairs to the left of us, went up. They were just a little bit skinnier than the ones we just climbed and then two doors were in front of us and to our right two more doors were there
“Those stairs lead to the attic where our bedroom is. But first let me show you the rest of the house!” Claire explained pointing her index finger up the stairs that seemed to lead to a darkened room. “And then, here is Mom and Dad’s room.” –She opened the door closest to the stairs and we walked into the room- “And then it leads into their bathroom.”
We opened a door and led into a small bathroom with a slightly colder temperature than the rest of the house.
We turned off the bathroom light and walked out of Aunt Marsha and Uncle Herman’s room and back to the landing and then she opened the door beside the bedroom door and it led into the same bathroom that Aunt Marsha and Uncle Herman shared.
“This is Gabby and Claire’s room.” Ally opened the door and we found Gabby and Claire reading different issues of some gossip magazine.
It was a big room with magazines everywhere. Scattered on the small black and orange poke-a-dotted bedside table in the corner by a black metal futon couch crisscross from another black metal futon couch resting against a big double window [the one I saw when we pulled up], on a big desk with a T.V. sitting on it [on top of the T.V. was magazines cover also!], in corner’s, on the floor, again I say magazines were everywhere. But surprisingly her room was still perfectly clean. For example: Even though magazines filled the majority of the room where they were they were in a orderly pile or in bookcases.
“A lot of magazines, right?” Claire smiled as she sat on one of the couches looking like a model.
She was beautiful and full of smiles and giggles. Her high cheek bones and bright shiny eyes smiled and complemented her perfectly. Allison also had her sister’s features and I would have thought they were twins if Claire wasn’t so much taller than Ally, even with the heels on Ally would have been much shorter than barefoot Claire!
“Yeah!” I smiled. “Where do you two sleep?”
“These couches fold out into beds.” She said standing up and pulling a lever on the bottom of the couch/bed which then unfolded the couch and now was flat. “You see?”
“Oh, okay!” I said starring at the now flat bed get transformed back into a couch. “I get it!”
“Getting a tour of the house?” Gabby asked her eyes never leaving the newest issue of Seventeen magazine.
“Yep!” I said as Ally grabbed me by the wrist and we went back out to the landing and then she said,” And this room is the computer room.” She opened the door and we entered a tiny room with computer games everywhere and only one little lonesome computer on a computer desk.
We left that room and then started up the attic steps once we were to the top we were greeted by a white door. She opened the door and then said in a soft voice,” Walk in front of me and I’m going to shield your eyes.”
“What?” I said with a giggle. “You sound about as crazy as my old best friend, Hannah!”
Then a wave a sadness mixed with homesickness washed over me and I almost cried for the first time I had since the funeral.
“Just do it! Gosh!” She rolled her eyes then flashed me and smile.
“Fine!” I replied pushing the thought of my cozy little house in New York out of my mind.
I stepped in front of her and she placed her hands gently over my closed eyes.
Her semi-long fingernails tickled my nose but not enough for me to scratch my nose. Her hands were warm like the bright sun I used to get a brilliant tan from by lying on my blue raft in my twelve foot deep pool.
Then after five more steps I felt only one hand over both of my eyes and then a door open, a light switch clicked on and then the heat of Ally’s hand washed off my face.
“Okay! Open ‘em up!” Allison’s voice seemed right in my ear.
I sighed and opened my eyes. Her room was huge -even bigger then Claire’s- and all over the walls were giant zebra print wall paper. The wall paper was so big that it went from the ceiling to the white shag carpet.
Only one window which was a bay window with padding on it covered with zebra print fabric and zebra print blankets and pillows on it.
A white bunk bed was up against the wall across from the main bedroom door, and of course, it was covered with zebra print bedspreads, sheets and pillow cases.
“Is it a total, Oh my God, or what?” I managed to half yell. “I’ll be here like twenty four hours seven days a week, no joke!”
“I know!” Allison smiled her brilliant smile. “And you haven’t even seen the best part!”
“Are you serious?” I asked still in shock and feasting my eyes on the zebra print TV and cordless phone both sitting on w white desk along with other books and even a zebra print laptop computer.
Ally walkover to a white door which was closed and open it to reveal a big walk in closet full of clothes and shoes all over two sides of the walls and two sides were empty. She pointed to this empty spot and said,” That’s where your stuff goes!”
The hot pink paint was on the walls of the closet.
“Oh my God!” I said weakly. “Did you design you room like the paint, theme and stuff?”
“Of course!” she smiled. “Am I good, or am I good?” She fluffed up her pony tail which was full of the bounciest curls you’ve ever seen and then giggled show it was only a joke though I already knew. “Wanna see the bathroom? It’s totally mellow!”
She grabbed my wrist and led me out of the closet before I could answer.
A knock sound on the door and Aunt Marsha’s sweet voice said,” Is everything okay, girls?”
“I’m good and I think Natalie is-“
I interrupted saying,”-totally in heaven? Uh, yeah!”
“Well, goodie then!” Aunt Marsha giggled and then continued,” You want something to drink or maybe some lunch?”
“I’m fine!” Allison and I said at slightly different times.
“Well, okay then! Tell me if you get hungry or anything!” And with that Aunt Marsha walked down the steps not bothering to close the bedroom door.
We both walked into the bathroom. It had emerald green tiles on the ceiling, walls, floors, and even plastered to the counter top where the sink was.
In one corner there was a walk in shower beside a floor length mirror and a sink. A small green stain glass window showed a hard steady rain outside.
“You and I are so much a like!” I mumbled still in awe.

********************

Later that night after diner and a nice hot shower I climbed up the steps to my new room. Ally was already up there getting dressed.
I walked in on her she was in a yellow night gown with bright pink writing printed on it reading: Too bad you’re not beautiful like me!
She was over at the end of her bed looking at her book shelf. She had a few small books beside her feet already.
“Ready for bed?” I asked looking at her slim figure crouched on the floor.
“Yep. How about you?”
I looked down at my white tank top paired with green, blue, pink and purple stripes on the white boxers before answering with a weak,” Guess so!”
“Top or bottom bunk?”
“Whichever one you want!” I sighed.
“You can have the bottom if you want!” she smiled. “What type of book do you like?”
“Well, mysteries, scary books, and –um- mainly anything you put in front of me.”
“Pick you a book out!” Ally got up and climbed the metal ladder to the top bunk one hand holding four books the other one helping her get up to the top.
I got down on my knees and found the book by Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’ and then climbed into bed with a pleased feeling in my head and heart.
“Um, Natalie?”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Um, I just have a question.” Ally said slowly and calmly.
“Okay.” I answered. “Ask it then!”
“Is it hard to, you know, think about Aunt Karen and Uncle Christopher now that they’re…gone?”
I sighed at a loss for words. “I try to think about the good times not the accident.”
“Sorry if I caught you off guard. I just wanted to know.”
“Its okay, it’s okay. But Gabby, she’s not taking it as well. Don’t discuss it with her. ‘Kay?”
“Okay.”
I opened up the book but I couldn’t concentrate. I put the book down and climbed under the covers. The sheet’s were crisp and felt good on my skin.
I closed my eyes and silently cried myself to sleep.
Tomorrow, I thought, is a new day…