Seara reached up and
fingered the scar on the right side of her temple where her head had slammed off
the top of the seat belt and cut her head open. Everything had changed for them
after that, they were able to become friends again. In some ways they had grown
closer than ever; and then, Seara’s mother had died and he had left her too.
They were at her front
porch, Seara turned to thank him for walking her home. But the look of
compassion on Brian’s face stopped her.
“I’m here for the week.
If you need help with anything call me.” Brian reached out and moved the hair
from the right side of her face tracing the small scar with his
finger.
Chapter 3
The next few days were a blur of
activity for Seara. Richard was released from the hospital Monday afternoon
with follow-up appointments scheduled for the following weeks. Seara had gone
grocery shopping and filled the house with fresh fruits and veggies. Gram had
helped Seara clean and dust, not that there was much to do; Gram had kept the
house immaculate. But Seara wanted everything to be just right for when Alyssa,
her husband Craig, and Michael came home.
Seara absently fingered the small scar
at her temple as she looked over the grocery list for the next day's dinner. She
had everyone’s favorites: dad’s glazed carrots, Alyssa’s corn bread stuffing,
Craig’s pumpkin spice brownies, Mikey’s chocolate peanut butter pie, and Gram’s
cabbage salad. Seara had decided to try frying the turkey this year. Dad had
talked about wanting to do it for years, so this would be the year. She took a deep breath. They would get through
this.
Michael and Alyssa would be there
soon and she planned to spend as much time with them as possible. Seara
was nervous and excited all at the same time. She knew her siblings didn’t
understand right now why she had decided to move home, but they would by the
time the weekend was over. She just hoped they weren’t mad at her for not telling
them. Realizing what she was doing, Seara slammed her hand on the table. She
hadn't bothered with that scar in a long time. Why now was it bothering her so
much? She knew why, but decided there was no reason to go there.
Sucking down the last of her coffee, she
rose from the table and headed to the grocery store. The trip to the grocery
store took twice as long as it normally did. It seemed every aisle that she
turned down held at least one person who "hadn't seen her in forever"
and "was sorry to hear about her dad." Seara had no idea how to
answer either statement and ended up doing a lot of nodding.
Seara was shocked to see the
old truck in the driveway. Her heart alternately stopped and fluttered at
the sight. What was Brian doing here? Michael came out to greet her.
"Michael!" Seara squealed,
"How did you get here? I thought I had to meet you at the airport at
six?"
Michael laughed at Seara's rapid fire questions;
it was so the big sister he loved. Michael squeezed his sister until she was
laughing too. When they were able to catch their breath Michael explained how
he was able to get an earlier flight and then took the bus to the bus station.
About a half mile from the bus station Brian had picked him up.
Seara having forgotten about Brian saw
him standing on her front porch looking down at her. Seara smiled her thanks.
"Well Pup, I'm glad you're
home." Seara told her brother.
"Really why is that?" He asked
ignoring the use of his childhood nickname.
"So you can help me bring in the
groceries of course."
Brian came off the porch and walked to
the car. Seara didn't even bother to argue as the two men hefted all of the
groceries into the house. Seara worked to put the groceries away and then
offered them both lunch, while Michael and Brian sat at the
table catching up.
Seara walked over carrying drinks just
as Michael asked, "Your family is coming over for dinner tomorrow,
right?"
The drinks sloshed on to the
table as they slipped through Seara's fingers. Thankfully, they had only
been millimeters from the table; and so, no harm was done. Michael
looked up at her confusedly. Seara had completely forgotten that Talli and
Tria's families usually joined them for at least part of Thanksgiving if not
the whole day. Seara was just about to explain that she didn't think they'd
been invited when Bryan spoke up.
"I know mom's planning on it.
Gram," Bryan said referring to Seara and Michael's grandmother, "told
mom that your dad was expecting us around 2 o'clock as usual."
Seara could not believe what she was
hearing. Michael and Alyssa still didn't know the full details of dad's
condition; and now they were having people over. And why hadn't Gram mentioned
that last night when they went over the final meal preparations. Seara
headed out the back door forgetting that she hadn't brought the men their
sandwiches.
Michael smiled at the man who was like a
brother to him. "See she as warm to you as ever."
Brian sighed, "She still blames me.
She thinks I abandoned her, but she won't talk about it. She's the same old
Sea. Keeps busy, keeps moving, that way she doesn't have to think or feel
anything. I thought maybe -"
*
* *
Seara once again found herself at the tree
house. This time she climbed the ladder and heard the creek of the wood as
entered the old structure. Seara looked around. The place looked surprisingly
good. Opening a small chest, she found an old journal inside. Smiling,
she opened the cover. Hidden Treasure
was written on the first page. Seara began to read the story she’d written so
long ago.
Hi, my name is Annabeth. I
live in a castle. I bet that sounds exciting. And a lot of the time it is.
There’s always people around, and parties, and wonderful music and food. The
ladies are always dressed so lovely and the men are dashing. I often dream of
the day I’m old enough to attend. Oh but I’m not the Princess. In fact, this castle doesn’t even belong to a princess. Lord
and Lady Dennison are loyal to the king. There’s been unrest in the kingdom for
much too long. But thankfully, we live on the outermost borders and have
seen almost no trouble here.
I live here with my
parents. I came to them late in life. My Father is the head butler and my
mother is a cook. They say, I am their special treasure. Now that I’m older I
don’t seem so special. I’m just Annabeth. I help mother in the kitchen and take
care of the chickens and other small livestock. Milking the goat is my favorite
job, it’s so relaxing. Lady Dennison desires that all the children of the
servants be educated. I’ve heard that it is a novel concept, I guess most
nobles would prefer us to remain uneducated, but Lady Dennison, doesn’t care.
Any family who wishes to send their children to the castle three times a week
for tutoring is welcome. And as much as I love learning, I would much rather be
running around in the woods with my best friend Xander, but mother and father
insist. I had heard once from a wandering minister that obedience was better
than sacrifice; and so, as much as I’d rather be out exploring, I take my
lessons seriously. Many of the families do not see the point in educating their
children, so I am grateful that mother and father allow me to, even if it does
interfere with what I would rather be doing.
Our tutor, we know him
only as Professor, seems to find the hardest work for me to do. And when that
isn’t enough I have to help correct the younger children’s work. Mother says he’s
pushing me because I’m bright. But sometimes I’d like to just finish my work
and leave. I’ve tried not working so fast, but Professor knows when I’m
stalling and only keeps me longer. So I work diligently as fast as I can, until
he finally dismisses me.
Once I’ve finished I head
out to find my best friend. Xander is always waiting for me in our woods. It’s
the one place I can just be me. I wander in and out of the stream, my shoes had
long ago been discarded. The crystal waters entice me to continue up the path.
Soon I come to my most favorite spot in the whole world. I don’t think I will
ever tire of this wonderful place. The pool is deep and clear, small fish dance
below the surface. The waterfall cascaded white water across the backside of
the pool. Sitting on my rock I dip my toes back in the water.
Where is Xander? He’s
almost always here before me.
Seara’s reading was interrupted by the
creaking of the ladder. Please, she
prayed to herself, anyone but Brian.
Blond hair peeked around the corner and Seara squealed with delight. Tria.
Tria looked around cautiously, “Are you
sure it’s still safe up here?”
Seara laughed, “Come on, I’ll come down.”
Next to Alyssa, Tria was the least adventurous. “How did you know I was here?”
Tria explained how she had stopped over
after work to assist Seara with the dinner plans for tomorrow. Michael had told
Tria where she had gone. Tria wisely avoided mentioning seeing Brian. Seara and
Tria walked through the woods arm in arm. Tria was Seara’s pillar of strength,
although she wasn’t sure she had ever shared that with her. Seara and Tria
understood the depths of each other’s pain without ever really speaking about
it. They knew how to comfort each other with just the right word.
By the time they had gotten back to the
house Tria headed for her car. She would help her friend the best she knew how:
a sleepover. Seara had perked up at just the mention of it. They would shuck
corn, put casseroles together, watch chick-flicks, and eat chocolate. It would
be perfect!
