Clairece watches as the local thrift store carries away the last of her furniture. Then she loads the three boxes and two suitcases of her clothes in the back of her Suburban. She pulls open the driver's door and climbs in, the box with Oscar in it beside her. She pulls her phone from her pocket, as it vibrates in her hand. She sees Evelyn on the screen and rolls her eyes as she answers it.
"Look Evelyn, I'm not getting back with Carl; So, save your breath."
"I would never call on his behalf, I was actually calling to check on you." She sounds cheery on the phone.
"I'm doing fine, I guess you heard about mom?" Clairece says as she watches the neighborhood kids playing ball.
"Yes, I did, I am sorry for your lose. I hope you're doing okay."
"I guess I am, just lonely. Lisa is, well Lisa. I don't have any friends anymore. Right now, a truck is leaving to the thrift store with all my furniture, I have three boxes and two suitcases with my things in them and I'm going to the cabin that is empty. I'll spend the rest of the day cleaning, which be the only distraction from how lonely I am." She says beginning to cry.
"I bumped into your sister and Greg in Switzerland and found myself in her cruel little clutches." Evelyn tells her, as her heart breaks for Clairece.
"Been that long honey. That's the only way I could see you volunteering for that ride." Clairece says with a smile, realizing she isn't the only one lonely.
"Oh my God yes, I fuck my way to the president's chair. Now I couldn't get laid if my life depended on it. I can't keep a man, because I am not mousy enough. I've honestly thought of becoming a lesbian, if I didn't like dick so much." Evelyn says as she almost cries.
"Well, you could do both, maybe open up your options." Clairece says almost laughing.
"Honestly I have entertained the same thought." Evelyn says and then giggles. "All I have is Rexy for companionship. Unfortunately, he can't take care of certain needs." Evelyn says looking at her dog.
"Well, he could if you wanted." Clairece begins to laugh.
"Stop teasing Clairece, that's horrible." Evelyn giggles.
"Yeah, but I bet you've thought about it." Clairece laughs harder.
"You naughty girl. but yes, I have." Evelyn says in disgust as a shiver runs up her spine.
"You could ask Carl, I'm sure he would." now tears running from her eyes.
"Promise me if I ever entertain that idea, please slap me." Evelyn says almost gagging. "What about you Clairece, who is filling your nights."
"No one, why do you want the job." Clairece says in a serious tone.
"Be careful I might take you up on that." Evelyn replies with a mischievous grin. "Lisa told me about the stipulation on the money. Whining about having to spend five days with you."
"And of course she will make it a horrible holiday. I don't understand why she finds it so hard to spend Christmas with me, I'm her sister for fucks sake." Clairece says, pissed at the idea of her sister. "You know once the Lawyer gives her the money, I'll never hear from her again."
"I'm sure she will, she is still pissed at me over your father." Evelyn says, regretting the words as they left her mouth.
"I know you had nothing to do with my parents getting divorced. He didn't want to face the fact I was "sickly" as he put it. She used that shit to get all the money. Which is fine, I didn't need it." Clairece says trying to rein in her anger.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to piss you off. I was just wanting to check on you and talk." Evelyn explains to her.
"I know, maybe you could come by the cabin for Christmas. You are more than welcome. I could use a friendly face." Clairece asks her, hoping she would agree.
"I would love to, my mom and dad are in Florida now, Carl will be with them. They haven't really celebrated Christmas since me and Carl have grown up. I would love too." Evelyn says, loving the idea.
"Do you remember where the cabin is?"
"Lady, I could find it blind folded." Evelyn tells her with a smile.
"Excellent, I shall see you then. It has three rooms, so you'll have some privacy." Clairece tells her.
"What if I want to room with you?" Evelyn says playfully.
"I umm, that would umm, be okay.... I guess." Clairece stammers as her face goes red.
"I'm only kidding, is it okay to bring Rexy, I would hate to have to board him for a week."
"Absolutely, we have the fence and covered area in the back so he can do his business." Clairece says to her. "I have to go. the neighbors are starting to stare."
"One more thing, do you mind if I call from time to time?" Evelyn asks her.
"Just because I divorced you cheating brother, doesn't mean we stopped being friends. You can also stop by the cabin too; I will love the company." Clarece tells her.
"That would be amazing. I'll talk to you later. I love you, my friend." Evelyn tells her.
"Love you too, talk to you later." Clairece says as she starts her truck. She pulls from the parking lot and drives away.
# # # #
After driving for two hours, she arrives to the cabin. She pulls in the drive and parks close to the door. She looks at the cabin then at the box in the seat beside her.
"Well Oscar, we're here." She says then looks back at the cabin. "I wonder what it looks like inside. It's been a few years." She looks around seeing everything is pruned and clean, with no leaves everywhere.
She flings open the door on the truck, and Grabs Oscar as she slides from the truck. She slowly walks to the front door, looking around the yard. She is surprised how well maintained the property is. She unlocks the door and sees the inside is also clean. There is no dust or spider webs hanging. It looks like she remembered it as a child, she snickers thinking of her mom.
"How did the cabin get clean?" She asked as a child.
"The elves came and cleaned it so it would be ready for Christmas." Her mother would reply.
She finds a white envelope sitting on the table by the door. She puts her keys in a small bowl and sets Oscar on the table. She picks up the envelope. It had "Cabin Services" written on the front. She opens it and pulls a 5x6 card from it.
"Ms. Harbor, I am Olivia Hanson. Me and my husband are the owner and operator of Cabin Services. We have a contract with your mother to maintain the cabin. We handle the cleaning and landscaping of the property. We would like to express our most heartfelt condolences for your lose.
We would like to continue the services to the cabin. If you would like to create a continuing contract with us, please contact me at XXX-XXX-XXXX to discuss what services you will require and how often they shall be required. Thank you and have a nice day."
"Yeah, I think I will need your continued service." Shew says as she looks around the beautiful cabin. "I couldn't imagine cleaning up spiderwebs." She feels a shiver run through her at the thought.
She walks into the kitchen and sees the cabinets are bare, except for the dishes. Then she looks at the covered area outside. The rack is full of split wood. She smiles looking at the woods on the other side of the fence. Then goes back inside to the dining area.
The round table sits in the center of the room, on top of a Persian rug. She remembers her dad, hating that it covered the hardwood floors. But he hated the chairs sliding on the floors worse. The large table had six chairs around it, Clairece smiled as she remembered sitting around the table for Christmas. She walks into the living room. It had a large blue sectional, a coffee table sitting in front of it. A large screen tv on the wall facing it. There was a staircase that went up, on the same wall as the entertainment center.
The stairs went up to a short balcony. She walks up the stairs to the balcony. She looks down at the sectional, remembering her and Lisa watching her parents' put presents under the tree from it. She turns right to a hall with three doors on the right, the door on the left was the master bedroom. The first door and last door on the right were bedrooms. The middle door on the right was the bathroom.
Clairece walks in the master bedroom. It had a large king size poster bed against the wall facing the door, with a nightstand on each side. To the left of the bed was a window, a desk in front of it. To the right was a large bath with a stand-up shower.
