The Jordan's Family

Aurora POV :

I drove towads Victorian residence, The road rises and dips, dead fields of cornstalks flash by. The gentle snowfall outside added to the enchantment of the moment. The flakes drifted lazily from the darkened sky, casting a serene ambiance over the Victorian mansion.

The house was built of stone and wood, its façade a mixture of rugged textures and smooth finishes that blended seamlessly with the natural surroundings. Its roof was made of slate tiles that shimmered in the sunlight, and its windows were large and inviting, offering stunning views of the mountains and valleys that stretched out in all directions.

I pull around the drive and stop near the front door. It looks slightly different from the last time came. I did later realize the mild lightning and decoration was the reason for the change and the empty surroundings was also a huge difference, there was barely any sign of a living soul. Not sure whether to just barge in or allow Mr. Jordan to walk in with me, I beeped him to notify him I was outside already.

He came out in barely a minute.

"I hope I did not make you wait?" He inquired

"No, not at all. I just got here minutes ago"

He nodded.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes sir"

"Shall we head in?" I asked

He held out his arm to me.

"certainly" he replied

We walked into the house.

"This house is so huge" I gasped

I'm almost calm as I follow him down the stairs, through the dark cold hall, and into the dining room. Everyone is already eating. The room is low-ceilinged and comfortable in a William Morrisy sort of way; the air is warm from the fire crackling in the small fireplace and the windows are so frosted over that I can't see out. He goes over to a thin woman with pale red hair who must be his mother, who tilts her head to receive Leo's kiss, and half rises to hug me too.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Jordan."

"Oh, but you must call me Lucille, everyone does," she says and smiles in an exhausted but warm sort of way.

"This is my elder brother Gus" He pointed to a man who couldn't be older than him with a year or two. He wasn’t a male model but he should have been, truly beauty ran in their house.

We take our seats across the table from each other. Leo is sitting between Gus and an elderly woman they all call Great Aunt Dulcie.

I sat between Alicia, and a slim pretty blond girl, She had a sculpted figure that was twine-thin. Her waist was tapered and she had a burnished complexion. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes. Her delicate ears framed a button nose.

She was introduced as Sharon and she seems to be with Mark. Her crescent-shaped eyebrows inclined slightly as she saw me staring at her.

Leo's father sits at the head of the table and my first impression is that he is deeply disturbed by my presence.

Gus has a harder time concealing his distress, and every time I catch his eye he looks at his plate.

Then there was Donny, Sitting at the end of the table, opposite their father. He looks uninterested in me or the family in general. He had a cold demeanor surrounding him.

Mr. Jordan was exaggerating, the family wasn't that bad so far so good.

I look at my plate and it's ham, with peas and an effete little salad. I don't eat pork and I hate peas.

Lucille must have seen me wrinkle my nose "You can't eat it?"

I realized it was of no use lying, they had already seen me toying with my food with a fork, and I was yet to take the smallest bite.

"Don't worry, it's not a must I eat" I said wondering if that was the smart thing to say.

"How come you couldn't tell me your girlfriend could not eat these"

"I'm sorry, I forgot," He said looking at me for help.

"How could you forget such?" She asked sternly

"Lucille, it's fine. It's not a must I eat" I said again

"Nonsense!" She replied and rose to her feet "No guest of mine and future daughter-in-law is leaving this place unstuffed.

"Everyone of you should stand and leave the dining, Dinner in the next 2 hours. It will be a disgrace for the Jordan family to eat while the guests watch.

Just like an order from a dictator, they all arose and headed in different directions, but not before throwing me a stern stare.

I motioned towards Leo, but Phillip cleared his throat.

"Mark, Leo, Donny. Follow me, we have an important matter to discuss" He said

Like a soldier leading troops to war, they follow their father who leads them through a door.

"Alicia," Lucille said "come and join me in the kitchen"

"Do we have to make a new dinner" She replied whilst staring daggers at me.

"Yes we do" She replied and walked out.

Alicia used the last 10 seconds to stare me into the ground before following her mother.

Finally, it was just me, Sharon, and their deaf great Aunt. After a few minutes, Sharon stood up too and disappeared, it was just me and the older woman.

Not sure what to do, I just sat and waited. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. I took a glance at the little wristwatch latched on my wrist and realized I had barely waited for 10 minutes and it already seems like forever.

There was no way I was sitting here till they all came back, it was already getting very awkward.

I couldn't get angry at Leo, I knew he didn't leave me behind intentionally.

I scanned around and looked at the several doors that led out of the dining room. I took one and followed the dimly lighted and chilly corridor to a room illuminated from a distance.

I walked into the room before I realized I was in the kitchen.

"What are you doin' in my kitchen," Lucille chuckled

"I was wondering if you have any coffee left?"

"Left? What do you think, I let coffee sit around all day gettin' vile? Shoo, dear, get out of here and go sit in the living room and pull on the bell and I will make you some fresh coffee."

I venture closer to the center of the vortex. Something smells wonderful. "What are you making?"

"What you're smellin' is a Thompson's Turkey," Lucille says. She opens the oven to show me a monstrous turkey that looks like something that's been in the Great Chicago Fire.

"It's completely black," I said

"Don't look so disappointed dear, Underneath that crust is the best-eatin turkey on Planet Earth."

I am willing to believe her; the smell is perfect. "Twelve lobsters are crawling around in a large plastic tub of water by the sink.

"Pets?" I teased her,

"That's your dinner, dear; you want to pick one out? You're not a vegetarian, are you?"

"I shook my head" Technically I wasn't, so I assured her that I was not,

" I am a good girl who eats whatever is put in front of her."

"You'd never know it, but you look so thin," she said.

It was ironic, considering I was the opposite of thin half a year ago.

"I'm gonna feed you up." She said

"Now scat so I can get on, here."

I took my large mug of fragrant coffee off her hands and turned to leave.

I hesitated and turned to face her back.

"What?" She asked

"How do I find the living room"

She chuckled "I forgot the house is like a maze. Don't worry dear, You will get used to it with time. Take that door on your left the same one you came out, walk down the corridor, count four doors to your right, and enter the fifth"

"Okay ma'am"

"with time you will be able to find your way easily with your eyes cold"

Sadly,

I won't be here that long. I admired the house and wondered what architect designed the house as I found my way to the living room. I followed her instructions, I skipped four doors to the right and opened the fifth one.

I settle myself in an orange wing chair by the fire and am riffing through the pile of newspapers I found when someone says, "Where'd you get the coffee?" I was startled but recovered almost immediately, I looked up to see e Sharon sitting across from me in a blue armchair that exactly matched her sweater.

"I went to the kitchen, but I guess we're supposed to use the bell, wherever that is."

We scan the room and sure enough, there's a bell pull in the corner.

"This is so weird," Sharon says. "We've been here since yesterday and I've been just kind of creeping around, you know, afraid to use the wrong fork or something, but now I guess I'm stuck."

"How come?"

Sharon looks surprised. "Didn't they tell you? Gus and I are getting married."

I wonder if Leo knows this; it seems like something she would have mentioned. Then I noticed the diamond on Sharon's finger. "Congratulations."

"I guess. I mean, thank you."

"Um, aren't you sure? About getting married?" Sharon looks like she's been crying; she's all puffy around the eyes.

"Well, I'm pregnant. So... "

"Well, it doesn't necessarily follow—"

"Yeah it does. If you're Catholic." Sharon sighs, and slouches into the chair.

"Well, congratulations. Uh, when...?"

"January eleventh." She sees my surprise and says, "Oh, the baby? April." She makes a face. "I hope it's over spring break because otherwise, I don't see how I'll manage—not that it matters so much now"

"Why?"

"My parents are furious. They're leaning on me to give it up for adoption."

"Don't they like Mark?"

"They've never even met Mark, it's not that, they're just afraid I won't go to medical school and it will all be a big waste."

The front door opens and A gust of cold air makes it across the living room and blows over us. It feels good, and I realize that I am being roasted like Lucille's turkey by the fire here. "What time is dinner?" I ask Sharon.

"Seven, but last night we had drinks in here first. Gus had just told his mom and dad, and they weren't exactly throwing their arms around me. I mean, they were nice, you know, how people can be nice but be mean at the same time? I mean, you'd think I got pregnant all by myself and Mark had nothing to do with it"

She looked a bit elated at the prospect of me joining the family with her, how I wish I could tell her that was impossible.