4

Aunt Maggie had not shut up the entire time we were in the car. All she did was ramble off about everything that had occurred in the last 19 years since she had left with me. I was valedictorian in high school and went to nursing school on a full-ride scholarship. I graduated there on the Dean's List and was also valedictorian there. Though they were a short 'yes,' or 'ah,' Adam acknowledged her. I didn't know if he was really listening after the first 10 minutes of her speech. After a while, he glanced in the review mirror to mouth, "Does she ever shut up?" I smothered my amusement and shook my head in reply, trying not to laugh as Maggie went on about my work ethic and how I could easily outdo anyone in his workforce.

He lamented, "Maggie, there must be a reset or a cap of words or something. You'll be here for at least two weeks, there's plenty of time to have a conversation about literally anything. I don't need to hear about every little time Isabella breathed in the last 19 years. Don't get me wrong, I've missed you both but," He patted her arm, "Save it." Maggie huffed, "Alright, fair enough." She gave up. I laughed and gazed out the window at the trees speeding past us as we zoomed down the asphalt toward the small town where my grandfather and family lived.

The town of Cheswell was extremely small compared to the city where I grew up. G****e said that the population was less than 4,000. Cheswell had a small shopping district on the main strip, a grocery store, a few diners that were family-owned and operated, and a booming construction/lumber company that did a lot of the construction in the area that my uncle was the owner of.

Before I knew it, we were pulling into a private driveway nearly obscured by the tree line; I would have missed it myself. Luckily, I wasn't driving. The journey to the home we would be staying in was only a 30-minute drive from the provincial airport we arrived in. I was shocked that we were so close, considering we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. But then again, I was used to driving 30 minutes to get to the grocery store, let alone to my house.

"Ah, I missed this place." Maggie took a deep breath as she rolled down her window. "Way better than the city." I flinched slightly as the window rolled down to expose the woods to my right. I looked at the overgrowth; large trees towered over the car and draped over the small roadway leading to the house. The area smelled of deep earth and wet grass. A lovely smell indeed, much different than the honking cars and the smell of exhaust from the city we lived in back home. "This is where we grew up, Isabella." Adam announced, pulling up to a clearing, "This is where all of our family grew up, Adam. For generations." Maggie corrected.

I watched as the clearing that I had thought was empty field was actually filled with a large home that was two stories tall. The house had an enormous, sprawling property, filled with a few groups of people laying out in the grass. The pristine home had a glass wall on the side nearest to the vast lawn, and the remarkable home had a rustic appearance to it with a log roof and warm-colored log exterior embellishments. A small fountain in the center spouted water upward as we parked near one of the many cars lined the driveway. "Dad is with his nurse right now, so when he's done, you can come up to see him," Adam spoke, stepping out of his dark green jeep. I remained until Maggie got out to stand next to the car, observing her as she peered up at the house. She looked so at peace, more than I had ever seen her before. I had come to know Maggie as someone who was constantly on edge and always was weary about things.

My door opened, "It's alright. We don't bite." He kidded, "I'll carry the bags in, you have a family to meet." He bent his head up to the stairs, where Maggie clutched someone. I peeped up to see a throng of people coming out of the house to investigate the sound of Maggie's sharp cries. "Who's that?" I questioned, pointing to the woman holding Maggie. "That's our mother, Grace."

"I have all this family... Why was I sent away with Maggie, of all people?" I questioned, pursuing Adam up to the house. I sensed everyone's eyes on me, "It's difficult to talk about right now. But I promise I'll tell you everything. In time." He gave me a fleeting smile before ascending the steps behind Maggie, "Alright, I need through these are heavy." Adam proclaimed, brushing past his mother and sister as they prattled. "There's someone down there you'd like to meet, Mom." Adam reminded the women as I stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the gray-haired lady. She turned toward me and, her mouth falling open, "Oh my-!" She accelerated past Maggie to descend the stairs, "It feels like it was yesterday when your mother told me she was pregnant with you." My grandmother raved, drawing me into her arms. "Oh, how I've missed you." She wept into my hair. She gave me a peck on the head, "Come in! Come in! We made dinner for you girls!" She encircled her arm around my shoulders. I felt a little uncomfortable that she was leading me around like a prize, but I wasn't so much that I didn't want her to either.

It was nice to feel a little wanted for once.

We trudged up the stairs to a few women standing on the porch, waiting for us to come up the stairs, "Ladies, this is Isabella. Bella, this is your Aunt Adelaide, Adams's wife. Those are your cousins Leah and Mary, and this is a family friend, Charlotte. They're all here to meet you." I skimmed the three women who looked identical and the out-of-place blonde one. I deduced Leah and Mary were the two darker-haired women who looked like the aged one. Adelaide appeared to be around the same age as Maggie.

"Hi, I'm Leah." The woman with goddess-like attributes approached me, "My sister Mary is quiet and doesn't talk much." She stuck her hand out to me, "It's nice to meet you after all these years." I unhurriedly gave my hand to her, uncertain of her at first. A slow smile spread across her lips, "I'm sure we'll be great friends." She strode around me to go into the house. Her mother gave me a soft smile before saying, "It's good to have you home, Isabella." She tracked her daughter into the house. I stood there eyeing everyone as they filed into the house, trailing behind them but being grabbed on my forearm by Mary. "Don't talk to Alexander, Isabella," Mary whispered super hushedly. "Who's Alexander?"

"Someone very important around here... And important to Leah. As long as you keep away from him, you'll be ok." I softly pulled my arm out of her grip, "I'm only here for a few weeks. Then I'll leave as if I was never here." I gave her a once over before going into the house. Shaking off the weird interaction with Mary, I went to stand next to Maggie, who was sitting on the couch, laughing with her Mom.

"Where's Adam?" I asked, peeking around to see my uncle nowhere to be seen. "he's with your grandfather, Bella," Maggie uttered, turning to skim me briefly. "Sit down you're making me nervous." She flapped her hand at me. "I'm fine, thank you." I circled my arms around myself and went to stand near the windows while the women gabbed. The living room was enormous, with a massive flatscreen against the wall opposing the windows with a step down to where the sitting area was to isolate it from the walking paths. A fire was crackling against the far wall exposing a room behind the large fireplace. There were books all over the warm-colored shelves of the room. The room felt cozy, but, I felt less so. I never felt so out of place with people who knew more about me than I knew about them. It was like being a celebrity around here, where everyone knew something about me but I knew literally nothing about them.

These people all seemed to be so nice and I wondered why I had to leave in the first place? Why couldn't I live here with them? Or with anyone with children, like my Uncle Adam. Why did they send me with Maggie of all people, who had no husband and no children? It has never made sense to me and still doesn't.

I heaved a sigh, trying to just be in the moment and be grateful that I was among my family finally after nearly 20 years. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice that the room fell quiet, "How is he?" Maggie urged, making me shift to glance at her. I saw Adam standing there in the doorway of the spacious living room. "He's dying, Maggie." I rolled my eyes. Everyone gaped at me. I shrugged, "Let's be real. The man isn't coming back from this." I tried to recover. "Someone at these stages can't. His organs are failing, slowly." I added. "What are you, a nurse?" Leah scoffed. "Yes, actually, she is." Adam spoke, "And she's right. Grandpa isn't coming back from this one. That's what the nurse said to me just now." The women looked around the room at each other, and Adam waved his hand at me. "He wants to see you, Bella."