An Inheritance

Chapter 3

The ride to the cottage wasn’t bad, considering that once past the major roads, there really wasn’t much to look at.  In the hotel room, Lauren had changed into jeans, a long sleeve white shirt and boots.  She had read about the snakes and critters that inhabited the bayou, including those rather large mosquitoes.  So she sprayed herself and her clothes with a bug spray that was heavy with DEET.

Keeping one eye on the road and the other on the map, Lauren found the gravel road that was the beginning of a long driveway.  The further she went, the more concerned she felt about whether she had taken a wrong turn somewhere because although the road was wide, it looked unused with vegetation encroaching on both sides.  At one point Lauren stopped and took another look at the map, but she couldn’t see where she had made a mistake, so she kept on.

The road took a sharp hook to the left and Lauren found herself in a large clearing.  To the left the ground rose to a small hill with a cottage located on the top.   The house stood on tall pylons and although it looked weather-beaten, it appeared to be sturdy.  To the right, down a ways, was a barn that leaned precariously backward.  Even from where she sat, Lauren could see various water marks where the marsh water must have risen during storms or hurricanes.

“Huh!  So this is what Grandma used to call home.  I can’t imagine anyone, especially someone at her age, staying out here all by themselves.  It’s kind of spooky with the cypress trees and that Spanish moss hanging all over everything.  Well, let’s get out and check out that house, we have to find out how much work we have ahead of us.”

Lauren climbed out the car and Abigail scooted out right after her and waited at her feet.  Together they walked on the path that led up to the cottage.  At the bottom of the stairs, Lauren grabbed the railing and gave it a shake; it was solid.  She climbed to the porch and turned around to look at Abigail.  “Well, come on.  You insisted on coming, don’t wimp out now.” She coaxed.  The cat looked up, then daintily climbed the stairs.

Pulling out the ring of keys she had been given by Gabrielle, Lauren put the large one into the lock and turned it.  Giving the door a little push, she opened it until it pressed against the inside wall, allowing the afternoon sunlight to invade the room.  The air was oppressively warm with a musty smell, although Lauren could also detect the faint scent of lavender and sage.

The first room was evidently the living room with large heavy furniture, handmade, which is what people now call the primitive or folk art style.  A bookcase lined the entire wall to the left, jammed with books, magazines and papers.  Lauren looked to the right where a large stone fireplace took up most of that outside wall but there were bookshelves on either side.  A wooden mantle held a variety of small boxes and an old clock, while above it a shotgun was predominantly displayed.  Boxes and crates occupied the floor space in front of each bookcase. 

A large roll-top desk was pushed up against the middle of the wall straight across from the outside door.  To the left of the desk was a door and to the right, an archway through which Lauren could see was the kitchen area.

Lauren looked at the wall to her left behind her and found a light switch.  When she flipped it up, a tiffany-like lamp on a table by an armchair lit up.  The light, defused through the multi-colored shade, gave the room a cozy, warm feeling.  This wasn’t what she was expecting at all.  In her mind, Lauren envisioned a worn, tattered interior, just begging to be ripped out.  If this was any indication of what else the cottage held, Lauren’s friend, Linda, would be chomping at the bit to come visit.  She was an interior decorator and primitive was her specialty.

Abigail had trotted off toward the kitchen, so Lauren closed the outside door and followed her.  The kitchen was large and looked as though it may have been modernized sometime in the 1950s.  Situated to the right of the archway was a long wooden table with a runner down the middle and eight chairs.  Each wooden chair had handmade cushions, all of different patterns and colors, but seemed to go together.  The floors were old wood, while white tiles went halfway up the walls.  Across from the entranceway, a wide, white sink was attached to the wall, with fabric hanging from it to the floor.  Above the sink was a window framed by curtains made with that same material.

Intrigued by the huge trees outside the window, Lauren walked over and looked out.  Old trees, mostly cypress, oaks and fir, mixed with younger elm, gum and pecan trees encircling the cleared back property.  Spanish moss draped itself over most of the cypress while honeysuckle and other bush filled in the spaces nearer the ground.  It was a beautiful view.  An overgrown garden took up about a third of the cleared ground and a propane tank stood between the garden and the house.  What surprised Lauren the most was that there was a large greenhouse to the left of the garden.  She didn’t think that was the norm for around these parts.

Turning the tap at the sink, Lauren was happy to note that there was clear running water, and when she waited a minute the hot water came on.  The cupboards were without doors and the dishes and serving pieces were of various colors of Fiesta ware.  Probably original, Lauren thought.

Foodstuffs lined other shelves, mostly cans and small glass spice bottles with hand-made labels.

An old rounded refrigerator and gas stove (white of course) completed the kitchen interior.

Opening a door to the left of the sink, Lauren expected to find a pantry, but found a bathroom instead.  “At least we do have an indoor bathroom.  It must have been added about the same time they put in the electric and plumbing.  It’s not a bad size, and I love the claw-foot bathtub.  There’s plenty of room for your necessities, too.”  Lauren looked back at Abigail who had somehow managed to get on top of the refrigerator and was peering down at her.

“Well, let’s go see what other surprises are in store for us.”  Lauren turned and headed out back through the archway.  She heard the ‘thud’ as Abigail jumped from the refrigerator.

They turned right, went past the desk and Lauren opened the door to the left of it.  From the doorway, she could see that there were two bedrooms, in tandem, as was common in older homes.  The first was small and contained a cot, a shift robe and many crates.  She continued walking to the next bedroom straight ahead.

This room was much bigger and had a high double bed along with two shift robes, a wooden valet, a small table with lamp and a large painted and engraved trunk.  Abigail made a mad dash for the bed and was up on the quilt before Lauren could react.  “Well, you’ve made yourself at home.  Just don’t get your fur all over that quilt, it looks old.”  The cat just stretched full out on her side and yawned.

Lauren made a circle around the room, briefly opening up the shift robes and trunk.  One of the shift robes contained women’s dresses and shoes while the other held jeans, overalls and other things to work in around the house or yard.  The trunk held linens and at least one more quilt. Lauren was starting to feel as though she had invaded this woman’s privacy, after all, she had never even met her grandmother, and now she’s going through all of her personal things.  

Abigail’s ears perked up.  She turned and jumped up onto the window sill and peered out, the tip of her tail twitching.  “What are you looking at?”  Lauren went around the bed and looked.  “What is it?  I don’t see … oh!  Is that a bear?  No, it couldn’t be.  What would a bear be doing in this area?”  They both watched as the bear lumbered over to a rain barrel and looked around.  It glanced at the house, then kept going until it was lost from sight through the wooded thicket.

“Abby, that’s not something I’d like to see between the house and our car.  It is getting late, so let’s call it a day and head back to the hotel.”  Abigail seemed to agree as she jumped from the sill and headed toward the living room.  Lauren locked up and they headed back to the hotel.

Lauren had decided that she would tackle the kitchen and bathroom first; making sure everything was clean and in working order.  She had noticed there were plenty of household cleaners, brooms, mops and dustpans but hadn’t seen any rags, sponges or garbage bags.  As they got closer to town, Lauren spotted a WalMart and dashed in to get those needed supplies.  After placing those purchases in the car and making sure Abigail was okay, she went into the Office Depot next door and bought a shredder, keeping in mind all of those crates and boxes that were sure to contain volumes of unimportant papers.

The last stop was a visit to a McDonald’s drive-thru where Lauren got a hamburger for herself and a fish sandwich for Abby.  Finally back in their room, they ate in companionable silence then cuddled on the bed watching television until Lauren fell asleep, exhausted from the several days driving.