Page 11 of A Chance Love

She looked at the tree she once collected leaves under and noticed the overgrown branches and the even tougher roots at the bottom of its trunk. The leaves on the edges of each branch were still strong, greener than ever.

A vibration came from her back pocket, distracting her from the beautiful sight of her childhood vacation home. The phone read that it was Maxwell, her old boss.

She wasn’t going to let him ruin her time here. Whatever he wanted, it could wait.

April took a moment to thank mother nature for keeping at least one thing sacred at this poor estate. “You looked out for the one thing I really needed to see thrive,” she said to the air.

The outside of the house was in poor form, but maybe the inside wasn’t as bad. That was what April wanted to think as she approached the front door. The key in her front pocket unlocked it. Her hand grabbed the cold metal handle without turning it and instead she took a deep breath.

Whatever was in there, she was going to need some kind of strength to get through it. It was her first time seeing it like this. Disheveled and abandoned.

She closed her eyes and imagined what it was like back when she was a child. The large furniture pieces delicately placed throughout the rooms to make it feel inviting and spacious at the same time. The family had kept some original parts of the house and the furniture that was in it. But with each new owner, things here and there were updated.

The built-in on the living room wall was original to her grandparents, but the television was updated by her father. The kitchen cabinets were original to the house, but every owner since had painted them a different color or added a different finish. The one she remembered most was the off-white color her mother had insisted on.

It was almost like April was creating a floor plan in her mind, trying to ground herself to something she knew. She knew where each room was, the color of its walls and if it had wood flooring or carpet. That was a place to start.

With her eyes still closed, she slowly opened the door. The great entrance was wide and tall with intricate carvings on a rounded doorway leading to the living room. It revealed the staircase just inside, to the back of the living room and in front of a bedroom and bathroom. It used to be her space when they visited.

When April opened her eyes, she gasped with shock at the state of the home she once knew. The intricate carvings were covered by cobwebs as if they were no longer there. The couch was full of dust, covering its original cream color to make it gray.

Just the smell alone was enough to topple her over, like something had died in the attic and had been rotting for a few years. Which was probably what happened.

April walked into the kitchen, remembering how her grandmother used to make pancakes in the mornings when she was extremely young. It was one of her first memories of the house.

The cabinets weren’t the same color now, but they weren’t the color her mom had asked to paint them either. They had yellowed, smelling of mildew from something left behind. April just hoped it wasn’t as rotten as the dead animal she predicted was in the ceiling.

There was one piece of the kitchen the house managed to keep nice. The wooden countertops looked as if someone had just wiped them down. Sure, there was a little bit of dust here and there. But otherwise you couldn’t say if they’d been installed today or thirty years ago.

She slid a finger across it, avoiding the sink that was bone dry, then lifted her finger to see the damage: only a light dusting.

It was the dining room next. Her mother had wanted to get rid of the formal dining room in order to build a giant pantry. Her father wouldn’t let her, said it was tradition to keep it for special occasions. Even though they never used the space for its true intentions, everyone was glad they kept it.

It meant a lot to keep something that used to hold the entire family for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. April tried to think back, remembering any time she spent with the family when she was young. But nothing came to mind.

Her mother had said she’d been to one of those dinners, but she could never remember.

April walked around the house, taking in the damage and what needed to be done. When she got to the master suite, it was all too overwhelming.

The sheets on the bed were just like she remembered. A navy blue sheet set and a large cream-colored comforter. It was ruffled ever so slightly, as if someone had just gotten up. If there were animals in the house, the bed would have been the warmest place to lay. April had to hope that there weren’t any under the covers.

She could never let herself into this room before. It took a special kind of preparation to walk in. And it was because of this very scene. Tears streamed down her face.

Her heart felt like it was pounding in her throat. Her blood was rushing through her, warming her cheeks and hands.

The corner of the comforter laid across the left side of the bed, facing the door. April could almost swear she saw an indent from where her mother sat.

“I’m sorry you had to hear any of that last night,” she’d said. “We didn’t mean to keep you up.”

“Where’s Dad?” April asked her.

Her mother shrugged and half-smiled. She pat the bed beside her and April sat next to Caroline. “He’s gone away for a while. He told me to tell you that this isn’t your fault. You’ll see him soon, just not with me. We’re going to fly home together. Do you have your things packed?”

April nodded her head. She wasn’t sure what to say to make her mom feel better. No words would come out; she was just a teen with no understanding of marriage. It was the last time she’d seen her mother show pure emotion. After that, she became the stone cold mother April knew today.

As she wiped away a tear, she couldn’t believe that after all this time her parents’ divorce was still getting to her. But given the circumstances, she understood why she was so emotional. After all, she did drop her entire life to come out here. She thought she’d be coming to a pristine estate for a relaxing getaway, but boy was she wrong.

April walked up to the large wardrobe where her mother kept her dresses. Surely those would be gone, but it was a beautiful wood piece April always adored. With a creak, the doors opened and dust flew into her face.

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