Boots
Chapter 16: Haunted
It looked like Gone with the Wind.
That’s what I was thinking when we pulled into the driveway. I accidentally watched that old movie once for a few minutes, until I found out it was boring. I remembered the houses, though.
“Do you see that right there? That right there is a historical artifact. It’s on the National Registry. I can’t even paint it without getting permission from the Mayor.”
What my dad was pointing at looked like a carport for horses. The roof was rounded on top so the rain and snow wouldn't get stuck up there. To my eye, it was a hat on stilts. The whole thing needed paint.
One thing was for sure. This house was huge. There were big houses on both sides of it, and up and down the street, but as far as I could see, my dad’s house was the biggest house in Bladenboro. It was definitely the biggest house I’d ever planned on sleeping in. From my quick glance, I could see it was two and a half stories tall. The roof had another tiny house growing out of it. There was a window way up there looking out over the street. The house on the roof was about as big as a lawnmower shed. I’m not sure what it was up there for, but that’s why I gave the two-story house the extra half story.
There was something else about the house that I haven’t told you yet. I should’ve mentioned it first because it stood out the most when you drove up. Right in the front, sticking out of the porch, were a bunch of Roman columns. Each one was as big as a grown-up cedar tree trunk. They might have been Greek columns. I’m not sure. I didn’t pay much attention in Mr. Nolan’s class, especially when he was teaching about ancient architecture.
While I was considering what kind of columns they were, my dad had already popped the trunk and pulled out the suitcases. My brother and I met up with him behind the Cadillac.
“Well, we made it. Let’s get these inside and up to your room. You guys can take turns in the showers, and by the time you’re all cleaned up dinner will be on the table. All the towels in the upstairs bathroom are fair game. We just pretend to be fancy for the guests in the bathroom downstairs next to the parlor.”
I didn’t know what a parlor was, but it didn’t matter. I understood the mission our dad was sending us on.
The stone steps up to the door might have been bigger than the ones I was used to, or I might have just been tired. I had to use both hands to pull my suitcase up to the wraparound porch. When I finally made it to the thickly slatted landing, I took a moment to gaze at the large lantern hanging down over my head. I couldn’t see where the chain was anchored because it reached so high, but it was somewhere near the top of the columns. When I looked back at the giant double-doored entrance, my dad was already standing there holding one of them open, gesturing us in like we had reservations.
As we made our way across the threshold, I saw a short hall that led to a staircase wide enough that it seemed to go off in two directions. On one side was a living room so huge you could ride a horse around in there without breaking anything. On the other side was a long dining room that led to an oversized kitchen.
“Go up the stairs and take a left. Your room is at the end of the hall. You’ll see the shower along the way.”
My brother nodded to my dad, picked up both of our suitcases, and headed up the stairs. I guess he didn’t trust me not to scuff anything. By now, there was only one thing on my mind.
This house has to be haunted.
I’d never been in a house that was haunted before. Our house back home was built from scratch by Grandpa George. It was brand new, so there couldn’t be any dead people living there. My dad’s house felt like it was a couple of hundred years old, so it must have been full of dead people.
When we got to our room, my brother tossed my suitcase onto one of the two twin beds.
“That’s yours. I’ll take the one by the window. You can have the first shower. Don’t forget to take your toothbrush.”
When I was done in the shower, I dried off a little, wrapped the towel around my waist, and went over to the sink to brush my teeth. When I’d taken care of that, I had a look at the pile of clothes on the floor.
Those are way too nasty to put back on.
I tightened my towel, cracked the door, checked the halls, then scampered back to where my brother was waiting. As soon as I shut the door behind me, I tossed my balled-up dirty clothes into the furthest corner and sat down on my bed.
“The shower’s all yours.”