“There.”
I fell onto my sofa with a sigh and looked around my new living room. There were still plenty of boxes to be picked up, but I had managed to finish unpacking my final room that day. Granted it wasn‘t a huge achievement - after all, I‘d been there nearly three weeks and only had five total rooms in the house - but it was one I took pride in anyway. I took a deep breath and watch dust particles dance through the late afternoon sunshine that flooded through the window, smiling.
“Welcome home,” I murmured to myself. It was small, but it was mine. My friends and family had been amazed when I showed them brochures of my neighborhood. It was, without a doubt, one of the most affluent areas in Orlando, if not all of Florida. Of course, they didn’t know the story of my house, either.
Once a home for servants that worked at the estate next door, the building and its small plot of land had, at some point, been sold off. It was now a cozy - and completely out of place - cottage stuck in the middle of enormous homes, most of which belonging to some sort of celebrity or disgustingly wealthy businessman. I was just a lowly greeting card designer (really!), but it was certainly fun to pretend I belonged there.
Picking her way between boxes and packing material, my cat Jordan made her way over and looked at me expectantly. I raised my eyebrows at her. “What?” I asked. She cocked her head to the side. “I bet you’d like a drink, wouldn’t you?” She crawled closer and rubbed against my leg. I laughed. “I can imagine. I pretty parched too - Wisconsin springs aren’t hardly this warm. We’ve gotta get used to this, J.”
Jordan headed for the kitchen and I followed, first getting her a bowl of water, then grabbing a bottle of iced tea from the refrigerator. I took my beverage out to the small back porch, Jordan close at my heels. I held her back gently with my foot. Jordan mewed pitifully but I shook my head. “Can’t come out yet, sweetheart. Don’t want you to run off with some rich Siamese and leave me here alone.” I perched myself on the railing that surrounded the porch, leaning back against a rail.
My yard, if you could call it that, was a tidy area of rich green grass, a few small trees and a haphazard garden plunked in the middle. It was beautiful, which scared me, because I had a hard time keeping a potted plant alive. My eyes wandered from my yard to the emerald expanse that was only the beginning of my neighbor’s property. Whoever it was that lived next door had more money to spare than I could even comprehend. A basketball court and a tennis court were tucked away towards the back of the lot. An amazingly landscaped area held two pools and at least three gazebos. Fountains and statues were sprinkled about. All of this led to a massive patio which was indescribable. The house itself was two floors and painted a soft peach (another thing we didn’t have back in Wisconsin - what was a perfectly suiting color here in Florida would have been unthinkable back home). New ivy crawled up the all the sides of the structure I could see. There were too many windows to count. A balcony that stretched across a large portion of the second floor off the back of the estate was held up by white columns, which matched the columns in the front of the house.
I shook my head. It was too much. I got the impression that whoever lived there was trying too hard, and I felt pity for someone I’d never even met. I finished the rest of my tea, hopped off the railing and headed back inside. Jordan gave me a suspicious glare as I walked in. “No, I didn’t have any fun without you,” I assured her, scooping her up. She purred against my chest. “Besides, we have our date with Frasier and Niles and the crew, and we can’t let them down.”
The two of us sat on the couch and watch our usual Tuesday night TV. Although I was used to living alone, I wasn’t used to being alone. A few people at work had politely invited me along on outings, I hadn’t been out socially since I’d moved here. My coworkers were very friendly, but I was looking for more...excitement. I was 23 and hadn’t done anything noteworthy. Sure, I had come from a good family, graduated high school with high honors and attended a good school after that where I’d made plenty of friends, but I hadn’t really lived yet. That was why, as ridiculous as it was for me to be here, I’d leapt at the chance to be in the middle of such extravagance. I was convinced that, somehow, living here would assure that I’d get wrapped up in the fast life. There was excitement all around me, people that lived that life everywhere I looked.
All I had to do was get them to acknowledge my existence.
* * * * * *
I knew only two people in Florida, my cousin Lily and her fiance Jason, and coincidentally enough they were rich too. Lily and I hadn’t been very close when we were younger because she’d lived in Kentucky, but at our week long family reunions each summer she and I had always ended up spending time together avoiding grownups. We’d always try to be penpals afterward but it would only last a letter or two. She’d been ecstatic when she’d heard I was moving, but because of our schedules it took til that Wednesday for the three of us to get together for lunch. I was actually on time but Lily and Jason were a half hour late. As I waited I noticed a tall blonde guy two tables away watching me. He was with another man with long dark hair, but he continued staring, unashamed. I had to admit he was rather attractive, but I was too irritated to smile back when he smiled. When Lily finally showed up she was alone. I was angry at first, but Lily was one of those people it was impossible to stay mad at. She was always so outgoing and cheery that she swept you up and made you feel important.
“Hi, I’m sorry,” she began as she approached with the waiter. We hugged quickly and she took a seat. “I got caught in traffic and just...ugh, horrible morning.” She rolled her eyes, then smiled at me. “You look great, Carra!”
I returned the smile. “Thanks, Lil, you look great too.” She did, but she had always been gorgeous. Lily wasn’t tall but she was willowy, and her every movement was graceful. She has strawberry blonde hair that just reached past her shoulders and big blue eyes. The lavender sundress she wore compliment her perfectly, making me feel ordinary (as I had since I was little and was around Lily). “I’m sorry it was a horrible morning. What happened?”
Lily waved her hand. “Not even worth mentioning.” She glanced at the third empty chair. “Obviously Jason is running late too?” Something in her tone told me Jason was one of the reasons her morning had gone badly.
“Ah, yeah, he hasn’t shown.”
“There’s a surprise.”
I peered at her. “Why’s that?” I questioned. Lily looked as if she were about to answer but before she got the chance Jason appeared. He squeezed my shoulder and kissed Lily’s cheek, which only served to make her roll her eyes again.
“Nice of you to show,” she commented dryly. He looked instead at me.
“Got busy at work, forgot to check the time,” he told me with a smile. I shrugged.
“It’s OK,” I told him. The three of us ordered, then chatted about this and that. Jason and Lily were strange to watch that afternoon. I couldn’t quite put my finger on how or why, but it was almost like they weren’t quite a couple. What exactly that meant I wasn’t sure, yet it was the analysis that repeatedly went through my mind all afternoon. When we had finished eating Jason leaned back in his chair and looked at me.
“So Carra, where exactly are you living?” he asked. I explained my neighborhood and he raised his eyebrows. “Really? I heard a lot of celebrities live in that area.” He said it in an almost disparaging tone, and it reminded me of his “new money/old money” complex. It seemed like a stupid thing for such a young guy to be hung up on, but that was Jason for you.
“You heard right. I’m really out of place. My driveway is barely paved, but my neighbor has huge gates guarding the driveway, complete with gold initials on them.”
“Really?” Lily laughed. I laughed too and nodded.
“Yup. A gold ‘BL’ just shining away.” Lily stopped laughing momentarily and her eyes narrowed.
“BL?” she repeated.
I nodded. I wasn’t sure why, but she had changed so quickly that I thought it best that I switch the topic back to the general. “But, I like where I live. The house is big enough for the cat and I, rent is really reasonable and the neighborhood’s safe and close to the office. Not much more I could ask for.” I grinned at them. “You guys will definitely have to stop by and see it. You’ll laugh.”
“I’m sure it’s great,” Jason said, not very convincingly. Lily gave me a bright smile, although she didn’t look as cheerful as she had earlier.
“Definitely, Car. You just name the day.”
I nodded. There was an uncomfortable silence so I glanced at my watch. “Will do. I hate to be rude, but my extended lunch ended almost a half hour ago.” Jason nodded.
“I should get back too.” We exchanged goodbyes and promises to do something again soon. On my way out I gave one final glance at the blonde guy. He smiled again and despite my want to ignore him I grinned too, flattered by his attention. My whole ride back to the office I pondered the afternoon. It hadn’t sat well with me for a number of reasons, but eventually I shrugged it off. Lily and Jason were just different; that’s what I would chalk it up to.
Chapter 2