As I walked out into the chilly November air, I dug out of my purse not only my cell but also the keys to the new house. I stared at them a second, then I mentally kicked myself. Duh! I stepped out from the awning and was pelted by freezing rain. I laughed at myself. Back under the awning I called Shiloh with my cell. When I heard the ring the Lamborghini pulled up. I snapped my phone shut with a frown. What is wrong with me today? Surely, I would've seen the car in this small lot. I shook my head, attempting to clear it. Keys, rain, and car? Oh well, just focus for the remainder of the day, Avé. I hopped in the back seat and Hazel said, "Hello, Stranger!"
"Hello, sister of mine," I answered. As Hazel drove out of the parking lot, I reached out and jingled the keys between their heads.
"Hello, sister of mine," I answered. As Hazel drove out of the parking lot, I reached out and jingled the keys between their heads.
"Haha! Very funny. Now hand them over." Shiloh reached out to snatch them but I moved them out of her reach.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Where are thy manners today, young child?" I think my smile was a little wicked. To Hazel I said, "Head for the bed and breakfast, please."
"Yes, boss."
When we got to the newly bought building, the freezing rain transformed to snow. We didn't skip up the steps, but it was close. The keys were in Hazels hands, much to her glee. She opened the door. My enchanted-ness only lasted a moment.
"Welcome home girls." I walked in, but they stayed where they were. I clapped my hands together loudly making them both jump. "Enough sightseeing. Let's get to work."
While I went to the car to get my painting clothes, Shiloh and Hazel started covering what furniture there was with old sheets. I shook the snow off my coat when I got back inside. While I changed, the paints were brought in and set in the rooms where they were going to be used. Shiloh set to work on the bathrooms, Hazel in the living room, and me in the kitchen. The next few days flew by in a whirl of scraping, painting, cleaning, more painting, fixing, and rearranging. The next week was spent shopping. Those days did not fly by, much as I would've liked them to. Searching for furniture, decor, and appliances takes time and patience. I was more than glad when it was done. Done. Our Avé Maria Bed & Breakfast was ready for the public. And the decoupage sign I made declared where we were. To celebrate, Hazel declared we party. That is, have a party. Shiloh created an event on the internet and I called anyone who couldn't be found on the world wide web. So on December fifteenth, we were in a bustle. We moved into the house so we didn't waste precious money on rent and gas. We woke earlier than usual, probably from the excitement bouncing inside us. Because none of us could sit down for long, Shiloh tidied the house house, while Hazel worked in the kitchen preparing snacks. When I went into the living room to check it over, Hazel screamed at me, "Avé! Where on God's green earth did you put the cream cheese?!"
"Fridge door, second shelf up." I answered calmly. I had to suppress a giggle. She was obviously in need of something. Be it the cream cheese, or help, I wasn't sure, until I looked in her direction.
"Whoa!" Shiloh saw what I saw. The counters were covered with baking supplies, sandwich ingredients, and popcorn kernels. "What happened here?" I said, as Hazel looked about herself.
"Um, it just happened I guess." She said with a shrug.
"Quite the answer for a girl your age. C'mon Shiloh, we've got work to do." I got the dish washer running while Shiloh put all the unused supplies away. Before long we were dancing to the radio, baking, making, and preparing. When the doorbell rang, Hazel and Shiloh both jumped, given they weren't used to the DING-DONG! yet. The guests arrived one after the other. Mom and Dad wouldn't have missed this for the world, neither would've anybody else we invite for that matter. My parents were the biggest supporters along with our grandmother, Mimi. None of this would have been possible without them. I looked around myself. Everyone had arrived who was coming: my parents, Gia and her husband Ken came, much to my glee. One of my sisters, Savannah, arrived with Mom and Dad. Another of my sisters (Savannah's twin), Destiny, came with her two sons and her husband, Josh. I hoped some others would come, but most had been kept up from work or such. When everyone was introduced, we set the party under way. The kids went straight toward the kitchen where the snacks sat on the island.
Shiloh led the adults to the living room, and when we sat down conversation was underway. Five minutes is how long it takes to get my dad to talk about beekeeping. Josh got him in three. From what I eavesdropped (yes, I tend to eavesdrop) my brother-in-law was looking into beekeeping and Destiny had voiced so when Dad asked about their lives. Gia was bragging over my hairstyle, saying she knew my taste and what would suit me best. I had to give it to her, it gave me many, many comments.
My sisters, every one of them, loved it. Shorter cuts don't work well with their hair types. The twins' type is so frilly, curly, and puffy all in one. Destiny always said that if she had her hair cut, it would puff up into an Afro. But enough on hair. Everybody's was anxious to explore the house. Destiny's sons, Jack, who was the oldest, and Xavier, the youngest, ran up the steps with scary speed when Hazel declared we tour the house. When they got to the top they crashed open the nearest door.
"Boys! Please tell me you didn't break anything!" Josh yelled as we walked up the steps. "I don't want to have to pay your aunts for it!" A gasp rang from two throats, making their mother assume the worst. When we got into the room there was a collective gasp of all the throats except three. The first of four bathrooms had a red theme. Two walls were painted the color, the wall to the right of the door was back-splashed and the wall opposite of he door was covered in decorative marble, in this case the tile and marbles were on the same color palette as red. We walked out of there and toured the rest of the upstairs.
All the bedrooms were conformable looking and stylish. Walking back downstairs were toured the Den. The den was my favorite part of the entire house. It was designed to be a getaway for those who need a serious break. Dark blue walls, dark green trim, and black curtains were the theme. A water decoration dripped water into a bowl like music. The lights in the ceiling were adjustable to whatever lighting fits the mood. When our party walked in we had it on a low setting, giving the entire room a dark, calming touch. And to finish it off, healing music played from a stereo display.
Crossing the entryway we went back into the kitchen and living room. I call the space the Living Area, considering that the kitchen was part of the living room. Hazel did an excellent job on painting the walls in the living room side a mocha brown, and with the lighter brown furniture it was a good looking room, in my opinion. The kitchen side had a darker coffee brown, matching cabinets, and a backsplash of mosaic tiles. I chose the colors black, orange and red, to give the space some spice. Hazel said it was hot, whereas Shiloh doesn't really enjoy the "sassy lava" touches to the kitchen. And the wood flooring throughout the house makes the cleaning easy.
The party lasted until the evening hours. We got so many comments that I didn't remember any of them, save one. As Destiny, Josh and the boys were heading out the door, Destiny stops and said: "Oh! I almost forgot! Chester called me to say that he forgot your number." I smirked, "Just like him," I thought.
"What did he want me for?"
"He wanted to know if it would be alright if he stayed a couple of extra months when he comes down for Christmas." I choked on my coffee I just had to sip at that moment. "A couple of extra months?!" Then I thought about it. Thinking about it after I said it reminded me of a long list of quotes that said that same thing, "Think before you speak." When I thought about it I figured it wasn't a bad idea. I needed somebody to finish the repairs anyway. So I said, "Why don't you give him my number again and we can finalize the plans." With a quick 'will do,' and goodbyes all around, she left, leaving us with a mess to clean up in the morning. I could only imagine what her house was like, with having three boys in the house.
I smiled at myself, Josh was just as excited to explore the house as the boys were. Mom was in love with the living room, as was Destiny. Gia's favorite part, she said, was the den, (I never stop marveling at how we are so much alike). And the men were all interested with the entire place, but didn't say much over, "I like what you did with the place." Savannah and the boys, Jack and Xavier, loved the kitchen. Savannah, for the looks, and the boys for the food.
As I started to clean up, Shiloh stopped me and said, "You should really be in bed. I'll take care of this." I started to protest, saying that I was in no hurry to hit the sack, but after being up since dawn and spending the entire time of the party with the boys, (I wanted to give Destiny a break, and in doing so I exhausted myself with trying to entertain them). I stopped picking up the dishes and headed for the stairs.
