chapter seven
The
first room I saw was the one I entered. It was the living room. There was a
Victorian vibe in that room, although there were many pictures of the family all
over the room. On the mantle of the fireplace were more pictures frames filled
with Jacob family. I dropped my duffel bags in front of the door and walked
towards the mantle.
I picked
up the frame on the right. It was my family in Christmas of ’89. The one next
to it was Easter of ’86. The next two were pictures of me with Erik and Rachel
at Disney World. I miss her so much but I held it in. Suddenly I heard a loud
thump.
THUMP! !
!
I turned
around and noticed Justin on the floor. The rest of the guys ran to see what
they heard.
“What
happened?” JC said concerned.
“I was
carrying those two big suitcases and tripped over those duffel bags.” Justin
said as he pointed at the bags.
“Obviously.”
Lance said followed by a chuckle. Justin looked at me and gave me this look that
made me want to laugh. Erik helped Justin up, while Joey and Lance gathered up
the luggage. I just stood there staring at Justin as he cleaned himself.
The other
guys walked back to the cars to get the rest of the baggage, while Erik started
a nice barbecue in the back yard. I noticed the stairs and decided to look
around. As I climbed the staircase, I could feel Justin’s eyes following me up
the stairs. My right hand was dragging along the banister as I looked at the
walls filled with more pictures of my family. Everything looked so familiar. Now
I could actually point out which room is which with the doors closed. The
two-door bedroom was of course my parents’ room as the room next to it was my
sister’s. I could detect the little dog hanging on her door. She would always
touch it before entering her room, as if it would protect her from danger. Only
wishing she had done the same thing back in California, she still would have
been able to ride my shoulders to make a slam dunk while we play basketball. If
only…
I walked
across the hallway where my room was. It still had my elephant hanging on the
door holding a sign saying “Arlene”. As I opened the door, I suddenly was in
a hypnotic state. I felt like I was 10 years old again. My bed still had my baby
blue, lavender, and light green checkered sheets with matching pillowcases. In
the far right corner, my signed basketball was still in its clear box along with
my Orlando Magic jersey hanging below. I remember when my brother took me to my
first Orlando Magic’s game and scheduled a one-on-one game with the world
famous Shaq.
On the
right of my bed was a drawer covered with a baby blue lamp, light green clock,
and a lavender frame with yet another picture of my family. The opposite side of
the bed was a desk with a computer I used to play solitary on. I wasn’t much
of a “girlie girl”. I was kind of sporty/active like. In my closest were a
couple baseball jerseys, basketball jerseys, and even hockey jerseys. The
bookshelf next to the computer desk had books in the two bottom shelves, several
picture frames, statues from the company of Precious Moments, and souvenirs from
several amusement parks surrounding Florida on the next three, and on the very
top of the shelf were all my dancing trophies, plaques, and metals. Leaning next
to my bed were my two favorite dwarfs: Sleepy and Dopey. As I picked Sleepy up,
I recalled my daily routine with them. Before I went off to school, after I came
back to school, and before I go to sleep, I’d kiss both of their noses.
Following my memories of both dwarfs, I kissed each nose, wondering if it would
make me feel any better. A loud call soon interrupted my trance.
“Hey, I
can’t find the meat!” Joey yelled from the kitchen.
I ran
back downstairs and looked around to find my way through the house. I entered
the kitchen, noticing Joey’s butt sticking out of the refrigerator as he
searched for the meat. Across from the kitchen was the family room. I decided to
check it out, but soon noticed Lance and Justin playing video games, while JC
played around with the piano as Chris played with the dog. The dog ran up to me
and I grabbed it in between its legs. As I picked it up, I read its collar.
“Busta” the license read. Everyone’s heads turned towards me as I gently
placed Busta down onto the carpet. I turned and noticed the back yard. Walking
towards the sliding doors, I slid them open and stepped out of the house. I grew
an astonished face as I noticed how huge the back yard was. I’ve always
thought the back yard was so small, but now, it seemed to be gigantic.
There was
a pool on the left side of the yard, which was surrounded by a gate. Yet, in
front of the pool was a spa, which was covered by a rooftop along with a bar and
stools. On the right of the pool was a basketball court where the entire family
would play a round up game of b-ball, as I recall it. All the way in the far
right corner stood a tree, I called Swinger. Hanging from the branch was the old
tire swing I used to ride during the spring and summers. I remember my dad
pushing me and spinning me.