“CORDELIA!” Sadie shouted from the bottom of the stairs.
“I’m coming!”
Cordie quickly grabbed a black sweater and her combat boots and put them on before pulling her long, dark curls into a ponytail. She bounded down the stairs.
“You’re going dressed like that?” Sadie said.
“You might be interested in impressing some quack headshrinker, I’m not.” Cordie crossed her arms, staring down her aunt and uncle. “I’m not as stupid as you think I am.”
Cordie walked straight past them, out the front door, and climbed into the passenger’s side of her uncle’s truck.
“I better take her,” Jesse said, picking up his keys.
“Sure,” Sadie said as tears welled in her eyes.
Jesse walked to the truck and climbed inside, pausing to look at Cordie who was staring out the window.
“She only wants what is best for you,” Jesse said.
“No, she wants to control me. She wants to be my mom, and she isn’t. She’ll never be her. And as for her dumb Daughters of the South thing, she can keep on doing it herself. I AM NOT a southerner. I am from New York.”
Jesse realized Cordie was far too angry to attempt reasoning with her. He started the truck and headed toward town. As soon as they reached the doctor’s office, Cordie opened the door of the truck, leapt out, and slammed it closed, then walked inside.
“I have an appointment. Look under Cordelia Bolivar, the nutjob from New York,” she said to the receptionist. She opened her mouth to say something, but Jesse shook his head no. “Please have a seat.”
Cordie stomped to the other side of the room and plopped down in a chair as far away from her uncle as she could get. Ten minutes later, Dr. McWhirt opened the door. She stared at him and his long hair pulled back into a ponytail.
“You should get a haircut,” Cordie said as she walked past him. “It’s unprofessional.”
Dr. McWhirt smiled and closed the door behind them.
“So Cordie, you seem pretty angry.”
“You are going to write down whatever you want anyway, so there is little point in me saying anything at all.”
The doctor ignored her. He knew a bit about her history and how she ended up in Savannah Oaks. “My name is Jackson, but I go by… Jack.”
“Whatever,” Cordie said and crossed her arms.
“Are you going to talk at all today? Or do I get to tell your aunt and uncle you were completely uncooperative?”
Cordie glared at him, thinking quickly about what she could say that would make him believe her.
“Ok for starters, I don’t want to be here.”
“Seeing me?”
“No, in Savannah Oaks. I didn’t ask for my parents to die. I didn’t ask to come stay with an aunt and uncle that I don’t know, an aunt who plays dress up and runs around in ridiculous costumes, pretending she is something she isn’t. Then she gets all mad at me because I am trying my best to do what she wants, I keep practicing in those old dresses cause I want her to be happy, and all she does is give me grief. It doesn’t matter what I do. It isn’t good enough for her and her ‘southern’ ways.” Cordie made quotation marks in the air. “She’s nothing but a phony.”
“What about the fainting?” Jack asked.
“That isn’t anything new. When I get stressed, I hyperventilate and I pass out. It’s why mom and dad put me in prep school. It was lower stress than public school.”
“Why didn’t you tell your aunt that in the first place?”
“Maybe cause she never asked. She doesn’t ask me anything except ‘is that what you’re wearing’, ‘do you really think that was nice’, ‘why aren’t you in your room’, ‘what were you doing outside?’
“I see,” Dr. McWhirt said, smiling. “So if we pull your medical records that will show up?”
“Go ahead. It doesn’t make any difference to me.”
The truth was, Cordie had fainted three times when she first started her period in high school. She was slightly anemic, and it always made her sick when that time rolled around. The cheerleaders at her high school started teasing her mercilessly. That was when she switched to a prep school. She knew the nurse noted it in her file as it being stress related.
“Please wait here,” Jack said and left to get the records wired to his office. When he returned, Cordie was smiling.
“Yeah, so now you know I’m not a liar.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re crazy either, but you do have some serious anger issues. However, I don’t think I am the best person to help you. Losing parents is never easy, Cordie, but you can’t punish the people who are trying to help you. Maybe talking to your friend, Cricket, would help?”
“She isn’t my friend, not anymore. Are we done?”
“For now,” Jack said as he opened the door. Cricket walked straight to the truck without saying a word to her uncle. “Come in, Jesse.”
Jesse walked into the room not knowing what to expect.
“She’s fine. Her medical records state she faints when she is stressed. You have to understand, this is hard for her. Cordie just lost her parents, and quite frankly, she hates the world. She’s living with people she doesn’t know. Her surroundings are completely foreign. You need to give her some time to adjust. Cordie said she kept practicing for the Daughters of the South by wearing those dresses. You have to realize these traditions aren’t hers. She is trying really hard to adjust and make the two of you happy. Yes, there has to be boundaries, but she needs space to discover how she fits into your family.”
Jesse nodded his head. “Thanks, Dr. McWhirt. Do you want her to keep regular appointments?”
“I think every two weeks will be fine.”
Chapter Nineteen
Finding Her Way
Jesse joined Cordie in the truck. She still wouldn’t speak to him. When they got home, she went straight to her room.
“Well,” Sadie asked impatiently.
“We are both guilty in this. It’s been two months since her parents died, and we are acting like it didn’t happen. Cordie is angry, and I don’t blame her.”
“But what about the dress, the fainting?”
Jesse led Sadie to the parlor and laid it out plainly. By the time he was finished, his wife was in tears.
“This is all my fault. I was just trying to make her feel like I cared.”
“Maybe what she really needs is to talk about her dad.”
Sadie looked at the large group of photo albums sitting on the shelf. She gathered four of them in her arms and walked up the steps to Cordie’s room.
“Cordie, can I come in?”
“If that is what you want to do,” she replied, not caring if it hurt Sadie’s feelings.
Her aunt opened the door to find Cordie standing on the balcony staring at the old oak tree. Sadie carried the albums onto the porch and sat them next to one of the rocking chairs.
“Your dad used to do the same thing when he was little. He was always up here talking and carrying on to his invisible playmate. James loved to pretend.”
“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Cordie said coldly as her eyes continued to scan the field for Jon.”
“I think he called him JP or PJ, well it was something like that.”
Cordie realized her aunt was talking about Jon. So dad could see him, and they did know each other, Cordie thought.
“Are you here to yell at me some more?”
A deep sign escaped Sadie. This was going to be more challenging than she thought.
“This has been hard, I know, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I only ever wanted you to be happy. Maybe we could start over. No Daughters of the South, just you, me, and some old photos of your dad.”
Cordie turned, looking at the albums sitting on the porch floor. “Maybe,” she said and shrugged.
Sadie tried her best not to smile. It was a start and that was all that mattered. “Come over here and sit down. I will tell you all about your
dad.”
She sat next to Sadie and leaned over so she could see the album.
“This is your dad when he was two.”
It was a picture of James standing under the old Live Oak in the center of the field. Cordie strained to see if Jon was anywhere in the picture.
“That was where he used to play with his imaginary friend.”
“He didn’t change much, I mean he still looks like dad.”
“Your father was so handsome. Every girl wanted him to ask them out on a date. Then he met your mother and well, it was love at first sight. He used to joke around and say JP told him to marry her. It was the running joke for a long time. Your father had the best sense of humor.”
Cordie thought about her dad, all the times he had made her laugh, and all the time she thought he was embarrassing. God, I would give anything to have it all back… Cordie thought while looking at the photo of her father.
Sadie continued to flip through the albums, until they reached a picture of her holding James when he was a baby and she was seven. She burst into tears. Cordie hadn’t really thought about the fact her aunt had loved her father too, about how his death had impacted her.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Sadie.”
“Me too, sweetie, I didn’t mean to push so hard. I’ve never been a mom. I was just trying to do right by James. Let’s make some new rules, ones that we can all agree on.”
Sadie picked up the photo albums, all but one, and Cordie followed her downstairs to the dining room.
“Jesse, honey, can you come in here for a minute?” Sadie called out. He appeared from the kitchen with a puzzled look on his face.
“We have agreed to set some new rules,” Sadie said smiling.
Jesse pulled out a chair next to his wife and sat down.
“No more dragging you along to the Daughters of the South. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. No more eight o’clock curfew. You can stay out till nine, but then you have to come home. You can stay up till ten so long as it doesn’t affect your school work. Sound fair?” Sadie asked. Cordie smiled and hugged her aunt.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t like it, Aunt Sadie, it was just too much for me to get used to, that’s all.”
“Maybe you could start helping your uncle out more? He is always working on the house.”
“I would like that,” Cordie replied, and she meant it.
“Can I ask for a favor?”
“Sure, sweetie,” Sadie said, praying it wasn’t that she could bring a boy over. It was just way too soon for her to meet this Jon fellow.
“Could we fix up the secret room? I mean, all our family stuff is in there, just laying around like we don’t care about it. I was thinking maybe we could clean it up, hang up the pictures, and get some of those cheap dress forms to put the dresses on so they don’t rot in that trunk. It could kind of be a like a secret den for our family history.”
“Sure, Cordie, if that is what you want to do.”
“Only if you help me,” Cordie said, knowing that if she acted like she wanted them to be part of her life, it would make things easier, and they would be less suspicious.
Cordie stood, kissed her aunt and uncle on the cheek, and went to her room. She picked up the last remaining photo album and flipped open the covers.
“Photos I’ve taken,” she read aloud, feeling excited it was something that belonged to her father. She turned the pages slowly, looking at all the pictures closely, noting they were all pictures of Whispering Oaks and Schelling House. The last picture in the book was of the Old Oak, with the rays of the summer sun shining through its branches. She squinted, leaning closer, and saw what no one else in the family had paid attention to… her father’s so called imaginary friend leaning against the tree, playing his harmonica.
Chapter Twenty
Cricket the Betrayer
Cordie walked into history class, head held high, obviously snubbing Cricket. She took her seat and cleared her throat, looking directly ahead. She could feel Cricket’s eyes boring into her. But, she wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of looking back.
“How are you feeling?” Cricket whispered.
“I’m just great, Cricket. Clean bill of health… not even crazy! Thanks for asking.”
Cricket’s face fell.
Cordie took notes and listened intently through the rest of the class. There was no way she was going to let Cricket guilt her into forgetting what she had done. Cricket could have taken everything from her. She had already lost her parents. Her relationship with her aunt and uncle was already overwrought. Jon was the only constantly good thing she had in her life. And Cricket knew it.
Cordie may have felt differently if Cricket didn’t know the details of the relationship, but she did. And Cordie didn’t care what Cricket’s opinion was about any of it. She had torn her away from Jon and she wouldn’t give her the chance to do it permanently.
Petulia had probably filled Cricket’s head with all sorts of nonsense. Now that Cordie was thinking about it, she figured Cricket had told Petulia everything about her secret. After all, she had proved that she couldn’t be trusted.
The bell rang after what seemed like hours and Cordie quickly gathered her books and went out to her locker. She selected the book she would need for math class and closed the locker, only to find Cricket standing next to her.
“WHAT?” Cordie shouted.
“How long are you going to be mad at me?” Cricket asked, appearing to be a tad irritable.
“You won’t do that to me! You WILL NOT try to make me feel guilty. You almost ruined everything!” Cordie spoke sternly between her grinding teeth.
“I was worried about you!” Cricket roared.
“You knew exactly what was going on! I confided in you completely,” Cordie said.
“Well, excuse me for trying to be a good friend!”
“A good friend to who?! Aunt Sadie?” Cordie laughed smugly.
Cricket began to tear up. “I’m not sure what you are doing, Cordie, but it’s dangerous and I am worried about you! I don’t think you understand the extent of what you are doing.”
“I can take care of myself. You betrayed me,” Cordie said. “You stay away from me. Far away. Do you understand?”
Cricket wiped a tear from her cheek, nodded and walked down the hall.
Cordie felt bad for a moment, but stood her ground. Cricket had almost torn her life apart. She deserved what she had coming to her. She may eventually forgive her, but it would take a long time for her to earn that trust back.
“Trouble in paradise?” Cordie heard from behind her.
She turned to see Maggie McNeely, the most popular girl in school, looking down her nose at her. Her two best friends, Nicolette and Franny, stood behind her.
“It’s none of your business,” Cordie spat, and tried to walk passed them.
Maggie leaned in, getting closer to Cordie’s face. “Nobody talks to me like that.”
“Am I supposed to be scared?” Cordie asked. “Oh no, the big, bad head cheerleader made a snide remark to me. Let me go cower in a corner somewhere…”
Cordie rolled her eyes and started down the hall. “Idiots,” she announced as she departed.
Maggie was in shock. Her mouth hung open as she let Cordie walk to her next class. “She won’t get away with that.”
That night, Cordie heard Jon playing his melody by the old oak. The autumn air pushed leaves of red, orange and yellow about the property. He leaned against the tree in his crisp white shirt and she could barely make out a smile on his face. She decided it might have been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was still two hours before her new curfew and she decided to test the new boundaries set forth by her aunt and say she wanted to go for a walk.
She pulled on her long, charcoal sweater and combat boots and hopped down the stairs. Aunt Sadie and Uncle Jesse were watching the weather. The wind whipped wildly outside and branches scratched at the house. “There’s a storm coming, Cord
ie,” Uncle Jesse said when he noticed her presence.
“Right now?” Cordie asked.
“Nah, not right now. It’s a category three hurricane coming in northwest. We are gonna see some heavy rain and awful winds the next few days. It’s just off the coast now,” he explained.
“Well, I know it seems weird, but this is my favorite weather. I love the wind and the autumn leaves falling, and it’s so cool and refreshing outside… Mind if I take a walk?” Cordie said.
Jesse and Sadie look at each other. Sadie glanced at the time. Although it obviously pained her to do so, she replied. “Yes, dear, just be back by curfew. And be careful!”
Cordie grinned, kissing them both on their cheeks and running out the door. She rounded the house, taking in the woodsy smell of fall. She could see Jon still standing at the oak, and walked briskly to be in his arms.
“How are you this evening?” Jon asked.
“I’m okay,” Cordie smiled. “Long day at school.”
“I suppose you and your friend, Cricket, are still quarreling?” he asked.
“Yep,” she answered. “I’m going to quarrel the hell out of her if she ever tries to take you away from me again.”
A chuckle escaped Jon’s chest. His laugh always made Cordie smile. It was deep and rich and reminded her of everything good in the world.
“You do understand that she intended to help,” Jon suggested.
“You do understand that I intend to kiss you now, right?” Cordie said, leaning in.
Jon laughed again. “My, Cordie, you are very courageous this evening.”
“I can’t help it. Everything that has happened lately has just made me realize how much you mean to me. I have to find a way to help you and find a way for us to be together. There’s not a single person in the world that can take that away from me.” Cordie smiled.
Jon pulled her to him, his hands in her hair, and kissed her gently. Cordie’s legs went weak. Jon took her hand and sat beneath the oak. He eased her down so he could cradle her between his legs. She snuggled up to him, allowing Jon to take in her lovely scent. They gazed up at the stars that scattered across the autumn sky.
House at Whispering Oaks Page 9
