Gravel crunched under the tires of the silver gray Corolla as Sophia rolled to a stop, the sun shining through the leaves of an oak tree casting dappled moving shadows of light on the hatchback. The white two story farmhouse was just as pretty as the pictures Sophia had seen with a reddish brown barn just to the north and even a white painted wooden fence surrounding a paddock for horses. All the windows had actual working wooden storm shutters, the trim painted in a dark green, a bright copper weathervane in the shape of a rooster crowning the roof peak.
"Well, Ezzy, we're hom..." Sophia began before chocking back a sob.
She angrily sniffed and palmed away the tears in the corner of her eyes before taking a deep, calming breath. Ezmerelda jumped onto the back of the seat to press a furry head against Sophia's check, the cat's purr vibrating against Sophia's skin until she reached up to scratch beneath the cat's chin.
"We're home," Sophia said again and was pleased at how steady her voice sounded.
Sophia turned her head to kiss Ezmerelda on the top of the head before noticing a woman with a leather binder in hand wearing a cream blouse and tan slacks walking down the steps of the wrap around porch. The blond woman was smiling broadly, but her narrow face and pinched expression made her look like someone who had just pit into an unripe persimmon. With another deep breath Sophia opened the door and stepped out, the humidity making her feel damp and clammy the moment the door opened.
"Ezzy!" Sophia cried as Ezmerelda suddenly made a dash out the car door to streak across the long, uncut grass before disappearing through the crisscrossing X's of the lattice skirt beneath the porch.
"Oh, she's a beautiful tortoiseshell kitty!" the woman exclaimed as she reached the paving stone path to the driveway, "I'm Charlotte."
The woman held out a hand to shake Sophia's who ignored her to hurry over to the lattice skirt and kneel down.
"Ezzy!" Sophia cried while peering into the gloom.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Charlotte said after a moment, "I... um... I have your keys... and I'd be happy to show you around before I leave."
Sophia glanced up at Charlotte before gazing back into the gloom beneath the porch.
"What if there's something under there?" Sophia demanded.
Charlotte seemed to hesitate for a moment before walking over to pat Sophia on the shoulder.
"I'm sure whatever is under there is much more likely to get eaten by your kitty... Ezzy?... than Ezzy is to get hurt by it," Charlotte said reassuringly, "Why don't I show you around and we can leave out a little bit of cat food by the door and I'm sure Ezzy will be right along."
"You're sure?" Sophia asked while still looking beneath the porch.
"I'm sure," Charlotte replied with a smile, "Just make sure to have Ezzy in before it starts to get dark and she'll be fine."
Sophia stood and brushed away bits of gravel that had dug into the skin of her knees before holding out her hand sheepishly.
"I'm Sophia," Sophia said while the woman reached out and shook her hand.
"It's so nice to finally meet you instead of talking on the phone or by email all the time," Charlotte replied.
"It is!" Sophia said, "And I have to say, the house is just as beautiful as what I thought it would be from the pictures!"
"It's a shame that Mr Bartlette's son decided to sell after his passing, but I'm sure you'll be very happy here," Charlotte said before gesturing towards the porch, "How about we set out a bowl for Ezzy and I'll show you around?"
Sophia nodded and then after setting out cat food spent the next hour being shown her new home. The house had been built in the early 50's with a spacious, open family room in the front that led into a dining room, the stairs with a finely carved and polished walnut banister on the left and a half octagonal solarium on the right. The kitchen was at the rear of the house to the left of the dinning room, and although large enough, Sophia could have wished for more up to date appliances since everything from the stove and refrigerator to the kitchen sink and faucets looked to be all 50's originals. The stairs led up to a second story balcony with a walnut balustrade overlooking the family room with doors for a master bedroom, a bedroom converted into an office and a furnished guest room.
"I love everything!" Sophia exclaimed over an hour later while running a hand over the heavy oak dinning room table that had been polished from years of use, "I didn't expect it to be furnished though!"
"Mr Bartlette's son tried to auction off most of the furnishings, but what didn't sell he simply left for whomever decided to buy the house," Charlotte said with a shrug, "There's also the garage, barn, well house, and what's left of the old silo if you'd like me to show you those?"
"Oh, I appreciate the offer, but I think I really need to get unpacked," Sophia said and then grinned mischievously, "And it might be fun to explore a bit on my own too."
"Alright," Charlotte said and handed the leather binder to Sophia, "I've included a list of contacts... the county Sherif, Ash, our local handyman if you need any help with repairs or such, your neighbors the O'dale's up the road to the north and the Hartley's to the south, and a map with our one dinner and two coffee shops in town.
"Most folks in town stop by The Duck Inn for breakfast or lunch on Sunday, be a good way to make everyone's acquaintance."
"I'll..." Sophia began and had to clear her throat, "I'll... ahh, try to stop by then."
"Look, there's your kitty!" Charlotte said with a smile and a nod before walking out of the family room and onto the porch.
"Ezzy!" Sophia cried happily before scooping the cat up and depositing her inside the screen door.
"Well, enjoy the rest of your day," Charlotte said with a quick handshake, "I really hope you'll come to think of Bicknell as your home!"
Sophia watched Charlotte drive away in an old, but perfectly maintained Station Wagon that even had the fake wood paneling on the side and gave a wave just as the car turned onto the two lane county blacktop and disappeared. She listened to the harsh rise and fall of a cicada somewhere in the oak while hugging her arms tightly before turning to smile at Ezzy's demanding mewling.
"You are not coming back outside!" Sophia declared and tried not to laugh at Ezzy's spiteful flick of her tail before turning to stalk away to explore her new home as well.
It took the rest of the afternoon to unload her Carolla, the back of the car packed as tight as any Tetris player could manage with a score or more trips up and down the stairs to the master bedroom. The blouse she had started the day wearing had been quickly replaced by a sports bra, her jeans by a pair of light athletic shorts. Sophia tied her long, sleek black hair in a ponytail, sweat beading along her brow to drip into her eyes as she padded barefoot back and forth between her car and the house, more often than not having to use a foot to push Ezzy away from the screen door every time she came inside. She had to pause and spend almost a half an hour searching from room to room for light switches when the sun began to set, the heat and humidity not giving up in the least.
"Oh!" Sophia cried on one of her final trips out to the car and froze in her tracks.
A dozen flickers of yellow light flared briefly before quickly fading along a row of hedges that separated the grass of the lawn from the tall green stalks of corn beyond. Sophia stood and just watched as the lightning bugs lit up the night, the soft chirps of crickets a backdrop as she stood in amazement.
Several sharp yaps from coyotes sounded from what seemed like only a dozen paces away, Sophia jumping and her eyes widening in alarm before she made one more final trip to her Carolla. She hastily grabbed an armful of boxes without even bothering to check the labels before slamming the hatchback and hurrying as fast as she could to the safety of the porch.
"Oh my gosh!" Sophia said breathlessly as the screen door swung closed with a creak of springs and a bang.
She sat the boxes down on the wood and velvet couch that looked like it belonged in a museum before glancing around to find Ezzy slinking up the stairs with her belly to the ground.
"Oh, not so committed to going outside now, are you!" Sophia said with a smile.
The yip of coyotes caused her to jump and then hurry over and close the front door and twist the deadbolt. She glanced guiltily up at the second story balcony and Ezzy who had her head poked between two of the balustrades while watching her.
"What?" Sophia demanded and then hurried into the dinning room to close the glass double doors onto the porch quickly followed by the kitchen door.
Sophia stood hugging her arms while staring at the kitchen door for a moment before glancing down at her chest and grimacing at the clean tracks of skin left where her sweat had washed trails through the dust. Sophia's belly took that moment to growl noisily.
"Food, shower, bed," Sophia said to herself and began to rummage through the boxes she had stacked in the kitchen until she found a teapot, silverware and three Nissin Hot & Spice ramen noodle bowls.
As far as dinner, it wasn't much, but it would at least do for the night until she could head into town to stock up on groceries. A box that she had set to the side labeled Vino caught her eye and after a moment she opened it to retrieve a bottle of Bartenura Moscato and after another moment of searching found a waterglass. Sophia quickly filled the teapot and set it on the gas stove to boil and poured herself a glass of wine.
"Ezzy!" Sophia called after a sip, "Food!"
Sophia set a cat bowl of dry food and water dish on the floor and smiled at the rapid thumps as Ezzy came bolting down the stairs. She took another sip of wine and walked over to stare out the kitchen window, the night surprisingly dark without any street lamps, houses, or even a the passing headlights of a car in sight. She spent the time waiting for her water to boil looking for an exterior porch light but gave up when the piercing whistle from the teapot sounded. Sophia filled her ramen bowl with boiling water and then sat at the table to sip her wine and watch Ezzy crunch contentedly at her dry kibbles.
"What do you think?" Sophia asked softly after a minute, "Personally, I'm going to be filing a complaint about the lack of disclosure about those coyotes!
"No one told me we'd be having them as neighbors!"
