Page 69 of Second Chances
“Straight back and to the right. Now, the food is all set up in the dining room. Thank the Lord, at least the caterer arrived on time. Everything is still wrapped but we should probably unwrap it soon, maybe as soon as the decorations get put up…” her mother droned on, following her into the kitchen.
Like the exterior, the inside of Caro’s house was painted a light gray, not depressing in itself except for the fact that there seemed to be no color present in the entire house - everything was either gray or black.
Guess she never has to worry about matching anything that she buys.
Finally making it into the kitchen, her muscles sighed in relief as Beth set the huge box down on the black, granite countertop, looking around for some scissors and the teacups.
“Oh my, andwhatare you wearing? Please tell me that you brought a change of clothes,” Irene continued, shocked when she realized her daughter was still in jeans and a t-shirt.
“Yes, mom,I brought other clothes. I just didn’t want to get them dirty while I do this. Now, can you bring me the cups, please?” Beth irritably asked her mom, who pursed her lips at her daughter’s emotive response.
Irene walked off with a huff into what looked like the dining room - Beth couldn’t really tell. She started to unpack the box of flowers and trim the stems when her mom returned with two smaller boxes of decorative tea cups that Beth began to arrange the English tea roses in. Irene began talking again, but Beth just nodded every so often, not really responding or really listening for that matter.
“Beth, are you listening to me?”
“I’m sorry. These will be ready in two minutes if I can just focus on doing them. Why don’t you take the ones I’ve already done and start putting them where you want them, mom?” Beth asked, trying not to come off too frustrated with her mom, but also trying to get the woman to give her a minute to collect herself and work in peace before the guests began to arrive.
Finishing up the flower cups, Beth washed her hands and quickly wiped down Caro’s black, granite countertop removing all the clipped stems and leaves that had been strewn all over it. Judging the kitchen as passably clean, she moved into the dining room to find her mom.
“I’m going to uncover the food now. Why don’t you go change? Use the bathroom upstairs, I don’t want you occupying the one down here in case our guests arrive and someone needs it,” her mother instructed her pointedly.
“Ok, I’ll be right back down,” Beth responded, heading towards the main staircase.
“Oh, and Beth! Caro put all of the favor bags in the guest bedroom; can you please bring them back down with you?” Irene yelled after her.
Beth shook her head as she made her way upstairs, glancing in passing at the artwork that lined the staircase. Strangely, she hadn’t seen any photos of family, or really any photos at all, in the house. It’s like Caroline wanted there to be no evidence of who the house belonged to, or that she had family or friends.
Well, she did just buy it. Stop being so judgmental, Beth; maybe she hasn’t gotten around to personalizing it yet.
Maybe.
Finding the bathroom right at the top of the stairs, Beth quickly stripped down, pulling on a soft, hunter green shirt dress and tall brown boots. Letting her hair loose from its ponytail, she quickly ran her hands through it, flipping her head over and back again trying to put some life back into the curls.Digging through her purse, she pulled out her small makeup bag. Hastily applying some eyeliner, eye shadow, and mascara, she reassessed her appearance in the mirror.
Not too shabby.
Who knew what Irene would say, Beth thought, rolling her eyes to herself as she gathered her things off of the bathroom floor and walked back into the hall. She set her bag down at the top of the steps, figuring it was as good a place as any to keep it out of the way, and then turned her focus to which room was the guest bedroom that contained the favor bags.
Why they felt the need to hide the favors up here in the first place was beyond her. Who was going to be looking for them?
There were three other doors along the hall before the entrance to the second staircase that went up to the third floor. Beth was about to yell down to her mom and ask which room was the guest room when she heard the front door open and her mom greeting the first arriving guests.
Guess we’ll just have to check them all.
Opening the first door on her right after the bathroom and peeking inside, Beth realized that it looked like it was just a smaller sitting room, but definitely not a guest bedroom and no sign of the favors.
The next door was a little farther down the hall. Opening the door, Beth peered inside, seeing windows along the left side of the room and then, finally, a bed.
At least she’d found a bedroom.
Just like with the rest of the house, there were no personal effects to tell if it was Caro’s room or not. She opened the door further and took a step inside. Directly opposing the door was the king size bed. There were three windows on the left that faced out of the front of the house, and a long dresser along the wall on her right. The room was a darker gray, the bedding black and white, and a huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Beth stopped for a moment, just taking in the surroundings, still wondering why Caro had no photos or personal effects anywhere, even in her bedroom.
Not your business. Find the favors.
Shaking her head, Beth turned to leave and close the door behind her. Just as she made the one-eighty degree turn, a large canvas on the wall that the door was on, the wall that faced the bed, caught her eye; she couldn’t see it clearly as she was almost back out the door. She didn’t know what it was, but something deep down had her stop and compelled her to push open the door and turn back into the room to take a good look at the artwork.
Standing in front of what had to be a four-foot by five-foot canvas, she took in the entirety of the work. It was a charcoal sketch of a nude male, posing suggestively with a blanket barely covering what was a clear state of arousal; it was done by Caroline whose name was scrawled with a flourish in the bottom right-hand corner.
Oh, God.
