The Dollhouse

CHAPTER 6

Susan finished unpacking the boxes in her room that morning. It was hard to arrange things in a semicircular room. She only had one flat wall, which her and bureau were against.
She finally decided she'd go for a sort of free floating, middle-of the-room arrangement for her chair, bookcase, and desk.
When she finished, she stepped back and admired the effect. The room looked neat and cozy
Great. Now all she needed was a friend or two with whom to share it. Someone to come up here to talk to and trade secrets and giggle with.
Again she thought about starting at a new school next week and felt butterflies.
I'm sure it'll be fine, she told herself. Won't it?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
During lunch, her mother declared she needed a break.
"I've been bent over, unpacking boxes all morning," she said with a sigh. "I need to walk upright for a change I thought I'd go up to the mall and pick out curtains."
Susan was in the middle of wolfing down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She thought about the mall as chewed. After waking up this morning, she hadn't wanted to see Mr.Tidwell again. Ever!
But now she wasn't sure so sure. Mr. Tidwell probably knew where the dollhouse had come from. Maybe he could tell her who made it. And why.
She couldn't explain it, but since she had moved into tbe house, she'd felt kind of strange----almost as if someone were watching her. Maybe she wouldn't feel so uneasy if she knew more about the dollhouse. And maybe Mr. Tidwell could tell her something about this house. There had to be some kind of construction between the two.
She swallowed the mouthful of sandwich and washed it down with some milk. "Could I come along, Mom?"
"Since when are you interested in curtains, Susan?"
"Since never," Susan replied with a grin. "But there are some really neat stores up there."
Her mother raised an eyebrow. "You gave me a scare last time, remember? If I take you, do you promise to meet me promptly at the time we agree on?"
Susan crossed her heart with her finger. "Promptly. That's a promise."
The mall was packed. Susan and her mother parted at the entrance to the mall's biggest department store.
"Now remember---one hour. Okay?"
"Okay, Mom."
Susan stopped at the Bird Court to check the map.
The Bird Court was noisy, colorful place with huge, wrought-iron cages containing exotic birds---parrota, parakeets, cockatoos, mynah birds. People stopped to admire the birds and tried to get them to talk.
Susan didn't care for that court. All the squawking gave her a headache. Besides, she was allergic to birds. They made her sneeze.
She walked quickly through the main hallway to the Clock Court, arriving just in time to see the little knights on their horses mark the hour by riding around and knocking each other down.
Finally she reached the little corridor that led to Mr. Tidwell's Once and Forever Toy Shop.
The little bell jangled as she opened the door.
The shop was dimly lit and deserted, just as it had been last time.
Strange, thought Susan. Why isn't Mr. Tidwell ever in the front of the store, the way most shopkeepers are? Doesn't he have any other customers? There wasn't any one in here last time, either.
The thought gave her the creepy feeling. The cold, musty air in the shop made gooseflesh rise on her arms.
Suddenly she heard a noise behind her. She whipped around, expecting to see Mr.Tidwell.
Instead, she found herself looking into the faces of a row of old- fashioned dolls.
One of them seemed to be staring at her.
She moved closer, wanting to see if the doll would it again. Was it a mechanical trick or something? But the doll only stared straight ahead, glassy-eyed and smiling.
Susan frowned. Her imagination was getting the best of her again. She looked at her watch. It had taken her longer to walk through the mall to get here than she'd realized. If Mr. Tidwell didn't show up soon, she'd have to leave.
Bu5 just then her eyes fell on the dollhouse.
She wasn't even aware of what she was doing as she walked over to the little archway, with its velvet curtains looped back like theater curtains.
All she could think was that the dollhouse was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was almost as if it had called to her to its side. A happy feeling came over her---a feeling of coming home to an old friend. She walked around the dollhouse carefully, drinking in every detail.
Wait a minute.
Something was different.
The dollhouse wasn't empty.
Looking through a window, Susan could see that little pieces of furniture were scattered through the rooms, as if the'd been left there by moving men. Tiny carpets were rolled up and leaninv against walls. There were even little packing boxes, no bigger than matchbooks, stacked in every room.
It looked as if a miniature family had moved into the dollhouse and hadn't finished unpacking yet.
How weird! Why would Mr.Tidwell want to do something like that? It wasn't at all attractive.
And then she noticed something else. There were dolls in the house.
From what she could see, looking through the small window, there were four of them. Even though they were positioned with their backs to her, she could tell that they were a typical doll house family: a mother, a father, a girl, and a baby.
Eagerly, holding her breath, she fumbled around the side wall of the house, searching for the hidden spring that would open the back. At first she couldn't find it. Finally her fingers connected with what felt like a little flat button, and she pushed it.
The back popped open with a quiet click.
Susan smiled. Now she could really take a close look. Hunching down with her hands on her knees, she brought her dead closer to thr dollhouse.
And what she saw almost made her faint.
The furniture was her family's furniture! The dining-room table looked exactly like her parents' dining-room table----oval shaped and made of shiny brown oak. It even had the same folding flaps on the ends that could be used to extend it. And the blue-and-white-striped fabric on the chairs was exact same pattern and color as the fabric on the chairs at home.
Frantically, not believing her eyes, she went through the rooms, pushing the tiny cardboard boxes aside with a fingertip so she could see the pieces of furniture behind them.
Susan's heart began beating faster.
Every dresser, chair, table, and bed in the dollhouse mirrored one in Susan's real house. Everything matched the furniture in the Martin house.
Not close. Not almost. Exactly.
Except for one thing. One the bureau of the little turret room on the second floor, there was a small carved wooden comb.
It didn't llook like Susan's regular comb.
Susan gasped.
It looked just like the comb in her dream!
She leaned in closer. Her heart was beating so fast now she thought it was going to leap out of her throat. With trembling fingers, she turned the dollhouse family dolls around so she could see them.
She bit her lip to keep from screaming.
They looked like her family---her real family.
And the girl doll looked just like her!