Chapter 9: Scoot, Scoot, Boogie

My mother must have been waiting for my return, because she flew out the door to greet me as I pulled into the driveway.

For a moment I panicked, worried that more time had elapsed than I realized, but the Rav’s clock confirmed that I had only been gone for an hour.

I slipped the straw doll into the mini backpack that I kept in the car for emergencies, snuggling its rough body into my stash of tampons. Then I grabbed the bag and exited the car, confused by the silly expression on my mother’s face.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my eyes darting to her, then to the garage that was bare except for one large item hidden beneath a sheet. “Did you find something?”

“I was saving this for your birthday, but when needs arrive…” She trailed off as she walked over to the mysterious item and tugged at the corner of the sheet, revealing a blue-and-white scooter.

“It’s a scooter!” I exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

“Town is a bit of a hike, so I assumed you would need transportation,” my mother gushed, hardly able to contain her excitement. “And look, there is a compartment in the back so you can transport your schoolbooks.”

“That’s great, Mom,” I attempted to keep my voice light because I didn’t want to dampen her spirit, but I was perplexed. My mother was difficult to fool, though, and detected my dismay.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” she asked, disappointment seeping into her voice. “You had one in middle school, and you loved it.”

~That’s because I didn’t have a driver’s license~, I thought. Aloud, I said, “I do like it. I’m just confused, because we discussed buying me a car.”

“I know we did,” she said, giving me a sympathetic look. “I didn’t want to tell you this, but my financial advisor suggested that we tighten our belts for a while. That’s why he called yesterday.”

“Why? Did something happen? Did Daddy’s company quit doling out his pension?”

“No, no.” She waved her hands in front of her, as if to ward off my concerns. “It’s just I haven’t opened for business yet, and I’ve taken quite a bit of time off work this year. To top it all off, we need to start thinking about paying for college.”

“So, our money is all tied up,” I concluded.

“For now, yes,” she responded, but before her face could finish falling, she suddenly brightened up. “But that isn’t all I have another surprise for you.”

I secretly hoped that the scooter was only a prank, and a new car would be pulling into the driveway at any moment.

“Gimme!” I squealed eagerly, putting out my hands so I could receive a set of keys.

“The holiday weekend is coming up, and I asked the Murpheys if Haylee could come visit,” my mother announced.

I gasped, genuinely delighted. “Are you serious? Don’t the Murpheys usually visit the Hamptons for the Fourth of July?”

“Haylee wanted to work this summer, so they canceled,” my mother said, raising her shoulders and displaying her arms.

“Lucky for us that they did.” I wrapped my arms around her, my disgruntlement over the scooter temporarily forgotten. “I’m going to call Haylee right now!”

“Not so fast, young lady. We still have some unpacking to do before supper. We can’t have company over with the house in disarray.”

“Phooey…,” I muttered.

“Don’t be so petulant,” my mother scolded me. “Now, close the garage and march your butt to the kitchen. We need to start washing some of those dishes and getting the cupboards in order.”

I waited until my mother was out of earshot before I started grumbling my complaints. “The dishes have been packed up in boxes—how dirty can they be?”

But after some consideration, I realized that they were probably swimming in germs since we had wrapped our glass items in newspapers donated by our neighbors.

Before I lowered the retractable door, I paused to admire the scooter my mother had purchased. It really was a nice scooter. Though I didn’t recognize the brand, it did have an old-fashioned aesthetic that I found pleasing.

It may not have been the car I wanted, but at least I was not stuck taking the shoelace express.

I hurried to close the garage door before I became too fond of the scooter and made a beeline to the kitchen.

While my mother finished setting up the area that she had designated for business, I got busy with the dishes, alternating between loading the dishwasher and handwashing so the task would go faster. I was nearing my final load when the dishwasher alerted me of an error.

I inspected the machine and found that the tray at the bottom was covered in muck.

I sighed heavily and put on a pair of rubber gloves so I could remove the tray, doing my best not to inhale through my nose while I carried it outside and dumped its contents onto the grass.

As I entered through the glass doors, the pressure caused a nearby door to clatter. Assuming it was a broom closet, I set the tray on the dining room sideboard and investigated, hoping to find some cleaning supplies that I could salvage.

But once again, I was introduced to a narrow stairwell.

“Mom,” I called out, “I think I found the servant’s stairs.”

A few moments later my mother appeared. “Is everything all right? I heard you hollering.”

“I said, I think I found the servant’s stairs,” I pointed to the warped steps.

“Look at those tiny stairs,” my mother complained. “Could you imagine having to haul laundry up those stairs day in and day out?”

“Perhaps we should think about reviving them?” I suggested. “So that I won’t be trampling up and down the stairs while you are receiving clients.”

My mother was quick to reject the suggestion. “If one of my clients can’t tolerate my daughter using the regular stairs, then they are a client that I don’t want.” She glanced over at the discarded tray. “You need to finish up your chores, or your next chore will be sweeping those stairs.”

“Aye, aye,” I muttered as I shut the door to the hidden stairwell and retrieved the draining tray from the sideboard.

Once I was done with the dishes, I returned to the staircase, curious about where they led. I deduced that they were too short to lead to the attic, so they must emerge on the second floor.

Carefully, I pulled my way up the bowed steps. I bit my lip and cringed as they objected to my weight. I wasn’t concerned about the stairs not supporting me but my mother catching me and giving me an earful.

I grasped the fragile railing for support, clinging to it until I reached the top, where a solid door greeted me. I reached for the brass doorknob and turned. It squealed in protest, and I had to resist the urge to cover my ears.

I gritted my teeth and waited for my mother to appear at the bottom of the stairwell and start berating me, but after some time passed and she didn’t appear, I proceeded.

The door resisted when I pressed against the wood. My first assumption was that it had been locked from the other side, but then I felt it give slightly.

I pushed with all my might until the door relented, and the force I had been using against the wood nearly sent me tumbling over the threshold.

Though I stumbled, I managed not to fall as I clung to the door for support and reclaimed my balance. Once I was certain I could trust that I was on good footing, I released the door and brushed myself off.

I was in the room I had dubbed ~the sports center~, due to the blue, sporty wallpaper. It seemed like an odd room for a servant’s exit, but I supposed the room had served another purpose when the house had been built.

With my curiosity satisfied, I shut the door to the stairwell with the intention of returning to the kitchen so I could help my mother start supper, but before I reached the stairs, my phone began to vibrate.

I fished it out of my pocket. Though my mother had requested that I wait until after supper to call Haylee, she never said anything about not answering Haylee’s call.

I accepted her request for a video chat, and after a short delay, the screen sprung to life.

“Haylee!” I greeted her warmly as she popped onto the screen.

“Hey, lady!” she responded with equal enthusiasm, but then she paused and squinted. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

I laughed. “No, it’s not even six o’clock yet, you ding dong.”

“It’s awfully dark there, so I assumed that you were in bed.”

“Oh, just wait until you get here, this place has so many nooks and crannies. I just discovered a hidden stairwell that leads to an upstairs bedroom. That’s why I’m standing here in the dark. I was just about to go back downstairs to help my mother start supper.”

Haylee’s brow quirked. “Your mom isn’t upstairs with you?”

“No, if she were, I wouldn’t have answered the phone.” I paused for a moment. “Why?”

Haylee pointed at the screen. “If she’s not upstairs, then who is behind you?”