A Bucket List for Ella

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

                  "Here we are," Aunt Jodi proclaimed as we pulled up to a large beige house that was situated neatly on a flat piece of land near the beach.

"You live here?" Nico exclaimed from the back seat of the car.

"Yup," Aunt Jodi responded nonchalantly.

"Aunt Jodi's a private investigator slash lawyer. So yeah, she's loaded," I explained, twisting from my back to face Nico. His long legs were crunched in the small, cramped back seat. Although he had slept the whole flight here, bags hung under his dark brown eyes.

Aunt Jodi pulled the car into the house's long drive and got out. She popped the trunk and Nico lifted out our suitcases. Aunt Jodi locked the car and we all walked towards the front door of the house.

"Watch this," Aunt Jodi said as she stepped into the obnoxiously large foyer that was home to a beautiful fountain.

"Honey, I'm home," she trilled, walking towards the kitchen. Her black stilettos clicked on the marble as she walked and her red hair swung behind her in gorgeous waves.

"Jode, do we have any more milk?"

Mike, Jodi's boyfriend slowly swam into view as Nico and I walked towards the kitchen.

"Ella, how's it going?" Mike said when he saw me. He took a swig of black coffee from his mug while I spoke.

"I'm alright," I said, leaning on the kitchen island. I looked around Aunt Jodi's stark white kitchen that reminded me of a paper towel commercial. The only pops of color it displayed came from the lemon yellow walls and accents.

"Mike, this is Nico," I said, pointing at him. Nico was busy filling a cup of ice Aunt Jodi had given him with water. "He's my...nurse," I added.

"Ah, a nurse eh? Studying to become a doctor I'd assume, since you're here with Ella?"

"Yeah," Nico said, smiling at Mike. I could tell they were already becoming friends.

"And you get a month off? How'd you manage to swing that?" Mike questioned.

"A part of the practicum is hospital work and working with patients one on one. They figured that this would count towards that."

"Imagine that," Mike responded.

"Mike, stop distracting them," Aunt Jodi scolded. "I'm sure they want to get their rooms set up."

"It's fine, re-," I started.

Aunt Jodi cut me off. "No, no, come on. You too Nico."

Aunt Jodi led us up a beautiful staircase in the foyer that reminded me of a staircase from a fairytale. I remember playing princess as a kid and waltzing down those very stairs, my long curls in tow as I pretended to walk towards my prince charming.

At the top of the stairs was a long corridor of rooms.

"Pick a room, any room," Aunt Jodi joked. Nico peered into every room in amazement, deciding which one to choose. Finally, he settled on the room with the beach view and the Xbox/TV Set. I went to the room I always stayed in when I was here. Aunt Jodi had specially designed it to meet my desires as a kid. When I stepped into the room and looked around I immediately noticed that nothing had changed. The walls were still a lively pink color, the bed still looking like a beach cabana with a palm frond canopy, and the Romeo and Juliet style balcony out the front. The only thing that had changed in the room was me.