The tires of the SUV crunched over the gravel as pulled into
the curved driveway. Callie put it into
park and shut the engine off, her eyes of walnut brown peering out the
windshield in wonder. She hopped out of
the driver’s seat, the closing of the door echoing in the eerie stillness of
the afternoon.
“Finally.” Callie thought to herself. “Here you are, right
in front of me.” A small smile tugged at
the corners of her mouth as she gazed up at the old brick schoolhouse on the
hill. It was everything she imagined it
to be with an arched entrance, multi-paned windows trimmed in white and a
little bell tower complete with a bronze bell.
The steps leading up to the door were made of granite, solid and sure
under her feet. She took a deep breath,
and reached for the door. She couldn’t
wait to get inside!
“You made it!” A man’s voice exclaimed as Callie stepped
into the front hall, her feet soundless on the dark hardwood floor. She bit her lip anxiously as an older
gentleman tottered towards her, his cane making a thumping sound with each
movement forward.
“Mr.
Devins?”
“Call
me Alan.” He said in his shaky voice, “We’re related after all.”
Callie’s nervousness began to fade. She wasn’t sure what to expect from her
mother’s estranged brother. She had not
known of his existence until just a few short months ago. “That’s what I’m
told.”
Alan
nodded, “You look like Mae-Belle.” He waved his arm around the wide foyer, “She
ever tell you much about Hilltop?”
“A
little.” Callie was loathe to share with her Uncle that she virtually nothing
about this property or the family that had established it.
“She
hated it.” Alan stated. “Couldn’t wait to get out of here and out there in the
real world, as she called it.” He shook
his head, “Doesn’t matter now, she’s gone so Hilltop belongs to you.”
Callie
followed him from the all into a larger room that had been renovated into a
spacious living area. A dark suede couch
and chair were set up facing a large brick fireplace. Various scenery photos had been framed and
hung up tastefully around the room, and heavy drapes had been pulled back to
allow sunlight to flood in through three tall windows. “It’s beautiful”
“This
was the commons room when it was an operating school.” Alan gestured to the
fireplace, “It was a private school, of course, quite fancy in its day.”
“And
your family… I mean ‘our’ family ran it?”
Callie still had trouble remembering that this was part of her
heritage. Her mother had never spoken of
Hilltop or her brother in all the years of Callie’s upbringing in the mountains
of Colorado. When Mae-Belle had the
skiing accident, it caused brain damage and Mae-Belle had reverted to her
sixteen year old self. She thought
Callie was her best friend, Sue Randolph and she talked in length of Hilltop
and her adventures with her family in mid-Missouri. Until that time, Callie had thought her
mother was her only family.
“Your
Great Grandfather Malcom established it.” Alan said with a sniff, “He made his
fortune in the shipping industry along the Missouri river and retired
here. He opened the school as a good
will gesture to the community and it flourished.”
“Why
did it close?” Callie asked curiously as
she started down another hall to see where the bedrooms might be.
“Your
mother left.” Alan’s words caused Callie to stop and turn in surprise.
“The
school closed because Mama left here?” She shook her head, “That doesn’t make
much sense.”
Alan
looked at her for a long moment, “What exactly did she tell you about the
family, Callie?”
Callie
flushed and glanced down at her hands, “Honestly, she never told me… not
really. All I know is the ramblings of a
sick woman.”
“There
was a scandal.” Alan said abruptly, no pity showing in his face for the pain
that Callie had surely suffered. “Your
mother got mixed up with one of the professors.
There was a big investigation, the professor was fired, your mother ran
away and the school’s reputation never recovered.” He said like he was reading it off of a cue
card, no feeling, just a simple recitation. He lifted his cane towards the
hall, “Down that way is a music room, and a library. Up on the second floor are the bedrooms, just
three of them but they all have their own bathroom.” The
subject change was abrupt and obvious. He appeared to lose all of his energy and
he turned and moved slowly towards the front door.
Callie
recovered from her stunned stance and made a move towards him, “Wait… “
she reached him and offered a supportive arm for him to lean on. “What am I supposed to do?”
Alan
looked at her with a soft sad smile, “I think it’s time for you to start your
new life, Callie.”
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