The Lodge at Whispering Pines

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  “Good,” I smiled back, and hugged him. And kissed him. Until the elevator door opened, then we continued on our way.

  “Hi John, hi Annette,” I said, as we rounded the corner and saw them both behind the check-in counter, focused on John’s laptop.

  They looked up. They both looked a little nervous.

  “Hi,” said John. “Hey, we want to run something by you when you have time.”

  “Sure,” said Miles. “We’re on the way to pick up Anika’s sister right now, but later we’ll be free to talk.”

  John and Annette looked at each other. A meaningful look. But meaning what?

  “That’s fine. We can talk tomorrow,” said John.

  “In the morning,” said Annette.

  “Sure,” said Miles.

  “Unless you’re planning on leaving, in which case I absolutely forbid it!” I said.

  They both laughed.

  “No, we’re not planning to leave. We’re not leaving,” said Annette.

  “Okay, fine then! We’ll talk later,” I said, and Miles and I were out the door.

  Our valet drove up with our vehicle, and I waited to speak until Miles and I were both inside, our seatbelts fastened, and on the way down the mountain.

  “Those two are up to something. Did you see how nervous they were? They’re not planning to leave, that was the truth. But they’re planning something!”

  “I think so too,” said Miles, as he took the hand I held out to him. “Wonder what, though?”

  “I don’t know, but I hope we find out soon.”

  “Considering they want to talk to us, and they’re nervous, we probably will. They don’t want to talk in front of your sister, though.”

  “Huh. That’s why Annette said ‘in the morning.’ Oh my goodness, this is going to drive me crazy!”

  “It’ll be fine, you’ve endured worse than this,” said Miles. “As fast-paced as life has been ever since we got here, it stands to reason it isn’t going to slow down enough for you to dwell on this for very long anyway.”

  “It has been kind of crazy, but it’s all interesting, and none of it’s dark. Even Elizabeth isn’t dark, just… really confusing! But even that’s interesting.”

  “So how are you feeling? You look good, and you sound good. Are you feeling good? If you start to wear out, I want to know so I can do something about it.”

  “I feel great,” I assured him. “I’m so glad you came up with this idea and bought the Lodge. I’m having a lot of fun, and I love spending so much time with you.”

  “That’s my favorite part too,” he smiled. “I’m glad we did this instead of taking classes on campus.”

  “Can you imagine having to go to class, and study, when Trixie has a bunch of cute puppies that need played with?”

  “I can’t. I can imagine skipping class and study to play with them, though. After all, a person’s got to prioritize.”

  I laughed, and squeezed his hand. He laughed, and squeezed mine.

  “You’ve made an amazing turn-around,” I said with satisfaction.

  “I wonder what she’ll name them,” said Miles. “That could get very interesting.”

  “No kidding!” I laughed. “Maybe she’ll name one after you.”

  “I should hope not!” Miles said, laughing at the same time. “Can you imagine? ‘And this is my dog, Miles. Yes, he’s named after me. That’s not weird, is it?’”

  I laughed so hard I had to wipe tears from my eyes.

  “If we have to name our firstborn son Miles to stop her, we’ll do it,” Miles smiled.

  “I’m not opposed to that,” I smiled back.

  “I wonder though,” Miles said, giving me a serious glance, “what you’ll do to stop her from naming one Anika.”

  “Oh my goodness, I’m going to have absolutely no eyeliner left at this rate!” I choked out between bouts of laughter as I wiped away more tears.

  “Sorry, honey,” he smiled. “You’re just as beautiful without it, though.”

  “You’re very sweet, and I forgive you,” I said, and he laughed.

  “Your sister didn’t bring a suitcase to school with her, did she?” asked Miles. “We may need to go by your parents’ house.”

  “You’re right. Mom may have forgotten all about that, or expects Doreen to say something. Here’s the school,” I pointed. “Park there, I guess, and I’ll text her.”

  Miles did, and I texted Doreen to let her know we arrived and were wondering where to meet her.

  A couple of minutes later the doors to the school opened, and students poured out.

  “How do they manage to fit that many kids in the building?” asked Miles. “It doesn’t seem possible!”

  “It reminds me of a clown car,” I replied. My phone alerted me that I had a text, and I read it. “She wants us to meet her by the front doors.”

  “That’s just as well, she’d have a hard time finding where we’re parked in this sea of vehicles.”

  Miles opened my door for me, and we held hands as we pushed our way upstream through the rush of kids anxious to get as far away from the building as quickly as they possibly could.

  “I wonder what after school on Friday will be like,” I said, thankful for the force field Miles used when we were in crowds. No matter how little attention others paid, we were never bumped into or run over.

  “Guess we’ll find out tomorrow,” he said. “There’s your sister.”

  Miles waved, he could see above the students. I could see above some of them, but others were taller than me. And they were only like twelve or thirteen!

  The crowd began to thin. The school was running out of children, so many children ran out of it. We reached the front steps, and there was Doreen. She was with a group of friends.

  “Hi,” I said, when we were within speaking distance. “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah,” said Doreen, then turned to her friends. “This is my sister, and this is my brother-in-law, Miles.”

  I don’t have a name.

  “Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” smiled Miles.

  I’ve no idea what Doreen told her friends, but they were positively swooning. She might have told them we live in a castle, are ridiculously wealthy, almost died for each other shortly before we were married, and saved a girl’s life last semester. Our life did sound kind of exciting, even knowing as little about it as most people did.

  “Hi girls, it’s nice to meet you,” I smiled too. “So what do you say, Doreen? Ready to go check out our Lodge?”

  “Yeah, sure,” she said. She waved to her friends, and they stared wide-eyed at—well, Miles, mostly—and we left.

  “How was your day?” asked Miles. “Learn anything?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” she smiled.

  “Have any fun?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I guess,” she said.

  “Do we need to drop by your house and pick up a suitcase or two?” asked Miles.

  “Yeah, I guess,” she said.

  “Okay kiddo, so do you have any other words in your vocabulary?” I asked.

  All three of us said together, “Yeah, I guess!” and then laughed.

  Miles drove to our parents’ house, and we picked up Doreen’s things.

  “Have you heard from Mom?” she asked as we headed up the mountain toward our Lodge.

  “Not about Grandma, but we’ll call if we don’t hear from her soon. She and Tryon probably just got there.”

  “I wonder how long Mom’ll be gone,” she said.

  I wondered that too.

  “It’s hard to say,” said Miles. “Your Mom will want to be sure your Grandma’s okay and that she and your Grandpa can get along without her, before she leaves them.”

  “It’s not a major surgery which is great. Grandma will need help for a while, though,” I added.

  “But don’t worry,” Miles assured her. “You can stay with us for as long as you need to.”

  “I’m not worried about that,” said Doreen as we came in
sight of the Lodge. “I just hope Mom doesn’t come back real soon!”

  “Kind of impressed, huh?” I said. I flipped down the visor and looked in its mirror to see her expression. Her blue eyes were wide as she took it all in.

  “I can’t believe you own this, and I get to stay here!” she said excitedly. “Do I get my own room?”

  “You’ll have your own room, but it’ll be in our suite,” I said.

  That didn’t seem to dampen her enthusiasm any.

  Miles parked under the covered awning, and handed the keys to our valet. Then he opened our doors for us, while Troy wheeled over a cart and unloaded Doreen’s suitcases. She tried to act nonchalant, but she smiled when she glanced at me, and I could see the excitement in her eyes.

  We went inside, and she gave up on acting as though this was all in a usual day for her. She stared in awe at everything around us. And we were just in the entryway!

  “Hi John, Annette,” Miles smiled. “You remember Doreen, I’m sure.”

  “Yes, hi Doreen,” smiled Annette, and John nodded and smiled.

  “Hi,” she smiled back.

  “You two,” I pointed at Annette and John and gave them a grim look and a raised eyebrow, as we passed. “Be prepared to talk about whatever it is you want to talk about, first thing in the morning!”

  “Oh, don’t worry, we will!” said Annette, as she smiled at John and he put his arm around her.

  “Oh my goodness, you people are going to drive me crazy!” I shot back at them, as we rounded the corner on our way to the elevator.

  The cruel things just laughed in response.

  Miles laughed too, but massaged my shoulders while we waited for the elevator to arrive. Doreen was too overwhelmed taking in her surroundings, to pay any attention to the dialog around her.

  We arrived at our suite. While Troy unloaded Doreen’s bags from the cart and Miles tipped him, I showed her around. We didn’t get far, though.

  “Hi, Trixie!” Doreen dropped to her knees and hugged her. “I missed you!”

  Trixie smiled and enjoyed the affection, and I pet Chip while he waited for his turn.

  “Where are your cats?” she asked, as she gave Chip and Trixie one last pat and stood.

  “Probably asleep on our bed. Come on, we’ll go look.”

  We walked through the sitting room to the doorway of our bedroom, and yes, there they were sprawled out on our bed, taking up as much space as they possibly could.

  “Oh, they’re so pretty!” Doreen exclaimed. “Can I hold one of them?”

  “Sure, why don’t you try Night. Pandora’s kind of persnickety,” I said, picking up a limp Night Furry and handing him over.

  “Surely I didn’t hear right,” said Miles, as he entered the room and put his arm around me. “You couldn’t possibly be maligning my cat now, could you?”

  “Not maligning, just saying it how it is,” I said, putting my arm around him too. “She doesn’t have much use for anyone but you.”

  “Your cat is just as bad, but apparently he makes an exception in the case of family.”

  Night was lying comfortably in Doreen’s arms, purring loudly.

  “Come on kiddo, we’ll show you your room, and finish the rest of the tour. You can bring the cat,” I said.

  We walked back through the double doors, and I waved toward the fireplace, loveseat, couch, and chairs.

  “This is the sitting room, and in here is the office… this is the family room… this is your room… this is the bathroom… and this is the kitchen. But we either order room service, or eat at Elizabeth’s.”

  “Are you serious?” Doreen asked.

  I did not know eyes could get this big.

  “Yeah. We’re planning on going tonight, we thought you might like that,” I said.

  “Oh my goodness…” she said faintly, then perked up. “Can I just—move in with you guys? Mom and Dad have Tryon, they’ll hardly miss me!”

  Miles and I both laughed.

  “They’d miss you,” I said.

  “Think how much more fun it is to have visits to look forward to,” said Miles. “If you lived with us, you’d get bored eventually.”

  I squeezed Miles’ hand twice, and he almost laughed.

  “Nobody could get bored with your life!” she said, looking all around her again.

  Little sister… you have no idea!

  Chapter 10

  At exactly six o’ clock, Miles opened the door to Elizabeth’s for Doreen and I, and we walked into our restaurant. She didn’t speak, but once again her blue eyes were huge.

  She looked way more grown up than she ought to. Way more grown up than I looked at her age! She took after Mom, and great-great-great Grandma Sarah Lawrence. Maybe tomorrow I should insist she wear overalls and braid her hair, instead of loaning her one of my dresses and helping her pin up her beautiful blond curls!

  “Mr. and Mrs. Bannerman, how very nice to see you this evening,” our smiling maître de greeted us.

  “Thank you Malcolm,” smiled Miles. “Let me introduce you to Doreen, Anika’s sister.”

  “How do you do, Miss Doreen,” Malcolm smiled.

  “Nice to meet you,” Doreen replied quietly, and smiled back.

  Malcolm turned back to Miles.

  “Do you have a seating preference this evening, sir?” asked Malcolm.

  “We wish to be seated in the main dining room tonight,” Miles said, then turned to me. “Your sister might enjoy the music.”

  “Very good sir,” Malcolm said, but he looked a bit concerned. “I am afraid to say that we’ll be without a piano until later this evening, however.”

  “Why is that?” I asked. “Is it the piano itself, or did something happen to Jadon?”

  “No ma’am, the piano is fine and so is Mr. Ryan. However, he’s been delayed, and isn’t certain when he’ll be able to arrive. A semi overturned on the highway between here and Pine Bluff. No one was injured, but traffic is at a standstill in both directions.”

  “Okay, thanks Malcolm,” said Miles. “If he calls back, tell him not to worry. We’ll get by until he arrives.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Malcolm. He motioned to a waiter, who showed us to our table.

  Joe, that’s the waiter’s name. Nice guy, but he needed some clarification.

  “Hi Joe, I’d like you to meet my little sister,” I said.

  Miles finished for me, “She’s eleven.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Joe said. He was a smart boy, he got the message. He left us with our menus, and retreated.

  “I’m almost twelve,” Doreen said a little indignantly. “And you’re more my little sister than the other way around.”

  There was a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes at working that shot into the conversation. I gasped and put my hand to my chest as if deeply offended. Miles smiled but didn’t laugh.

  “Well! You needn’t be insulting. Your point is taken, however. The next time we see a guy looking at you like you’re his age, we’ll introduce you as my bigger, but much younger sister Doreen, who’s almost twelve,” I said. “In six more months.”

  Doreen gave me a look.

  “See, we’re no fun to live with,” smiled Miles. “By the time your parents get back, you’ll be begging them to never leave you with us again.”

  Doreen laughed.

  “Yeah, right! Like that’ll happen…” she opened her menu and focused on that.

  “Do you ladies mind enjoying some appetizers before dinner?” asked Miles.

  “Not at all,” I said.

  “Great. Then I’ll go fill in the gap until Jadon gets here.”

  “Okay,” I smiled. Miles kissed me, then crossed the few steps to the piano, and began to play. I understood now why he asked to be seated near it.

  “Wow, I had no idea he could play,” said Doreen, her eyes huge again.

  “Isn’t he amazing?” I replied, watching him as I listened.

  “Is there anything he can’t do?” she asked, approp
riately impressed.

  “Hm… I don’t think so,” I said.

  “Except walk on water, huh?” she joked.

  I just laughed along with her. With his abilities, he probably could.

  “He doesn’t have spider-sense and can’t shoot webs,” I said suddenly. “That’s something he can’t do.”

  She laughed.

  “Yeah, too bad, he’d be a superhero then.”

  “He already is,” I said softly. Miles looked up and smiled at me, and I smiled back.

  Doreen looked around at the restaurant as it began to fill with diners. She and I both laughed, and Miles had laughter in his eyes, when a guy put a tip in the jar on the piano along with a request for a song. The guy had no idea the piano player owned the Lodge! And a lot of the town, and several others.

  I had fun chatting with my sister and catching up on her life as we ate appetizers.

  “We haven’t done this in like forever,” she said. Then she gave that some thought and looked at me. “We’ve never done this, actually. I was so sick the last couple of years you lived at home, and before that… I was just like seven or eight.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “When you were seven and I was seventeen, the age difference was huge. Not as huge of course as when I was ten, and you—well—weren’t, at all!”

  She laughed.

  “I remember sometimes you’d take me to a movie, or to Sonic. You took me shopping, too. You bought me a doll I really wanted… I still have it. That’s one of the things I kept.”

  “Yeah, it’s too bad when we lost the house we had to downsize everything we owned,” I said with empathy. “I’ve always been glad Mom and Dad let me keep Chip. They never said a word about finding him a different home.”

  “Yeah. I sort of remember that apartment, though. Chip made us all feel safer.”

  “What a different world we live in now, huh,” I said.

  “Especially you!” she said, looking around. “What does that feel like? To live in a castle, and own this, and be able to do whatever you want?”

  “Well… it’s great, of course. I’m not going to pretend it isn’t. But… it would be meaningless if I was alone. What makes it great, is Miles. I’d rather be with him and have nothing, than to be alone and have all of this.”