Genesis

CHAPTER 6 Under Pressure

Saturday arrived too quickly. I was totally unprepared to be charming and witty. I wasn't settled yet. I wasn't comfortable in my new surroundings. It was different back home. What if my family embarrassed me? I knew that was extremely likely. Especially if the conversation turned to parentage. I hated the fact that the five of us had three different dads, plus another brother from my dad's wife. Ugh! I'd do my best to steer the conversation away from that topic.

I fetched the newspaper from the front porch and sat in one of the rocking chairs, deciding to familiarize myself with the local news instead of stressing about our dinner plans. With my second cup of coffee in hand, I started reading the front page of the Pen Observer. Effingham County commissioners meet to discuss budget for upcoming fiscal year; curbside recycling coming to Pooler; blah, blah, blah. Holding these few pages in my hand reminded me that I hoped to one day be writing Pulitzer-worthy articles in a major market. Page three contained the first story I found to be even remotely interesting. "IS EDEN HAUNTED?" read the titillating headline. It seems there had been a series of unexplained events in Eden ― a motorist who swore that his car just drove itself off the road; a couple of public works employees who claimed that their backhoes had a mind of their own; a teen who believed she was pushed into the street by an invisible force, barely avoiding being hit by a car; etc. Hmmm. Dinner conversation? Perhaps.

I spent too long obsessing over my clothing options that afternoon. I didn't want to look like I had tried too hard. But I also didn't want to look like I didn't care. Capris and a couple of layered tank tops? Some cute flips?

We all piled into the Suburban at about 5:45. I read the directions aloud as my mother navigated through the tiny town that mainly consisted of two-lane roads with no sidewalks. After about ten minutes, I spotted the blue house number sign on the right side of the road. She turned in to the tree-lined driveway, but there was no hint that a house was close by. It was a good thing Ty had warned me that their home was about a half mile off the road. The low hanging branches of the large trees crowded the SUV on both sides. Hollie and Danny were whimpering that they were scared and thought that the trees were going to get them. Mum and I laughed and assured them that the branches were not arms.

Much to the delight of all the kids, we finally arrived at the most amazing house I'd ever seen in my life. Because my dad was an architect, I was familiar with a variety of structural designs. This was a three-story American gothic style home with three large archways across the front — the middle one, slightly larger, showcased the large, arched door. The three third floor windows each had a small balcony at the base, and on the point of the front of the roof sat an imposing gargoyle. It appeared that he was staring right at us as we got out of the car that we parked on the edge of the circular drive. Even though the house and landscaping were beautiful, there was something dark about it as well, something eerie that I couldn't quite put my finger on. As I was taking note of the ivy that was growing up the sides of this magnificent dwelling, the front door opened.

Ty walked out to greet us. "You must be Mrs. Jacobs," he drawled, his perfect manners on display.

"Actually, it's Rosen, but please call me Caroline," she gushed, immediately impressed by his smooth southern charm. He flashed his amazingly bright smile and turned to look at me. And, again, once our eyes met, I found myself unable to break away from his gaze.

"Essie, won't you introduce me to your sisters and brother?" he said without looking away.

"Of course," I complied, wanting, yet unable, to take my eyes off him. "You remember Jennie from the Piggly Wiggly," I said with a slight smirk and a shake of my head. It was still hard for me to say that name with a straight face. He nodded. "And this is Laurie, Hollie and Danny."