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At the airport, the sisters exchanged a rather bristly embrace, using the frosty cold evening air as an excuse to limit the formalities and be on their way to their folks. Their conversation revolved around Julia speculating about the nature of this command visit, with Jesse not seeing much value in the exercise, but wanting to keep the mood calm. As if waiting for them to get close enough, a light snow began to fall about a mile from the inn. Julia slowed as they approached the driveway, and they both murmured worrisome comments about the road lights not being lit, the store and bar closed, and the inn being completely dark. The familiar relief that typically accompanied the crunchy sound of gravel as they pulled off the blacktop from a long journey's end was absent as they crept toward the darkened building. Their mounting curiosity was now mixed with escalating concern, creating a spooky feeling as they pulled up in front of the inn and parked.
"This is creepy." Jesse whispered and then wondered why she had whispered.
"Ya think? Why are we whispering?" This made them both giggle, and they were relieved to know they were capable of giggling right now.
"You said Charlotte had just seen them today, right?" Julia's voice was filled with tension.
"Yes. She said Dad was bringing in wood and saw Mom getting the mail. Come on. Let's go in." Trying to sound unalarmed, Jesse opened the door and got out. Julia followed. The wind whipped them and twirled the snow around in front of them as if dancing with it. They stayed outside the van for a few moments, letting their eyes adjust to the darkness. It wasn't snowing hard, but enough to add to the chill of the moment.
"This is weird. I'm scared, but I don't think there's anything to be afraid
of; you know what I mean?" The uneasiness of earlier was in full force, and Jesse noticed that part of her was responding to the fearful appearances, and part of her was remaining fully present in the moment, totally open to accepting and loving what is.
"No, I'm pretty much going with scared right now. Okay, let's try the front door." Julia's tone of authority quivered slightly. As she stepped onto the porch the light came on, startling them both until they realized it was a motion detector. Julia reached for the door and found it locked.
"Crap, now what?" She hissed. As if to answer herself, she knocked and rang the doorbell. Jesse joined her on the porch and began looking around for a place that a key might hide.
"If I were a key, where would I be? Hey, I rhymed!" This amused Jesse, not so much Julia.
"Stop joking and look for a way in. Maybe we should go get the Reeds. Maybe the back door is unlocked. This is too
much; what the hell is going on?!" Jesse realized the suspense combined with a day of traveling was starting to wear down their nerves. Jesse was getting punchy, and Julia wanted to punch something. "Let's try the other doors,
though I'm sure they're locked. Maybe there's a key stashed somewhere." They both began poking around the porch. There were too many hiding places, it was cold, and they had to keep waving their arms to trigger the light to come on. After several minutes of searching, Julia whispered, "Oh, my God, Jesse, I think I see the key. Dad is so weird." Several yards down from the entrance on the porch, their father has a collection of wind chimes which have been added to in the form of gifts over the years, and taken from by nature's mighty storms occasionally. Attached with a thin wire to one of the chimes was a key that would be undetectable by the average eye, unless you had the eyes of a detective as Julia does. She unhooked the key from the chime and tried the lock. The door opened.
"I feel like I'm in the middle of a plot for a Clue mystery story. It's cold in here. I'm going to make a fire." Jesse announced, while Julia combed the room turning on lights and peering around furniture, as though expecting their folks to jump out any moment.
"Don't you think we oughta check for Mom and Dad first?" She asked with a voice that suggested doing anything else was ludicrous.
"Jules, they aren't here." Jesse surprised herself at the confidence in her voice. She didn't know what was going on, but obviously they left the key. "They left the key, the stove is still warm, and they knew we were coming." Logic does have it's virtue.
"Well, then where are they?" Julia insisted, almost accusing Jesse of being in on the scheme.
"I don't know. I only know that they aren't here." To this Julia sighed, half with relief that they didn't have to scour the entire place looking for their parents or possibly their bodies, and half annoyance that this meant the mystery wasn't over and the potential for surprise was still present. Julia hated surprises.
"All right. What do we do now?"
"Make a fire. It's cold in here." Do only one thing. "Go make a fire in the great room, and then we'll go upstairs and start one there. This place is never closed. What's up with that?"
"What's up with any of this?" Julia shot back over her shoulder as she went to make a fire in the great room. The role of older child shifts from person to person depending on the needs of the
situation and whose strengths best meets those needs. Jesse saw it as good that they could teeter totter back and forth without a struggle. One smooth spot in an otherwise rocky terrain.
"It stopped snowing. I need food." Jesse barked, and the sound of her voice breaking the loud silence made them both flinch and then laugh. They made themselves a light dinner of cheese burritos, and decided a beer would taste good with them and the situation. Jesse had never seen this place empty and sensed a sort of sadness hanging in the air. Every time she
had been here, it was always alive, well lit and brimming with activity. This place lived to be lived in.
"I don't want to go to the bar by myself. It's spooky. Come with me." Jesse whined to Julia.
"What happened to all the brave talk?"
"Hush up and come with me." Darkness was not Jesse's favorite. She was getting tired, and her confidence was fading. They munched their burritos as they went into the tavern to grab two beers, and coming back at the bottom of the staircase to the guest rooms and family residence, gave each other a consenting nod to see if anything upstairs would further unravel this mystery. It was almost eight, and their parents rarely left, particularly at night, so Jesse didn't expect them home tonight. Her sense of adventure re-emerged as they made their way up the staircase. Plus, the beer had kicked in.
"This is almost fun!" Jesse teased.
"Yeah, Jesse, almost." Julia was getting nervous again, and Jesse clinked her beer bottle up to her sister's.
"To adventure." Jesse toasted.
"To shutting up." Julia warned.
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