Chapter one: As told by Jenny Smith
The first time I met Orchid, she struck me as a little off…
She was certainly unique. Her voice reminded me of green fireworks. Green is such a mellow, easy going color. Believe me I know, I MARRIED someone green. Still, her voice split the air as she spoke. She made sure that you heard everything she said.
She was definitely special that’s for sure. She struck up a successful conversation with Nervous, our resident antisocialist. He only comes to visit new neighbors because I ask him too.
Perhaps the most shocking thing about Orchid is the fact that she made Nervous laugh. Not even Pascal was capable of that but he’s not much for jokes anyway. I was happily surprised that Nervous found someone he could talk to other than the shadows on his wall.
With a smile, she invited us in. She had an interesting taste in decorating. She had a taste for color coordinating her rooms. Her bathroom was green, the living room was red, her kitchen was monochrome and her bedroom was blue. I made a mental note to ask her for some decorating tips. She also had a taste for the Asian and African cultures.
“You seemed to have adjusted well. You have quite a taste for decorating.” I said.
“Thank you!” Orchid chirped.
“The walls look kind of like blood to me.” Vidcund…always the downer…yeah, that’s my little brother…
“I know isn’t it great?” Orchid didn’t seem fazed at all.
“Yeah…it’s pretty cool.” Nervous said. His voice was low and slightly raspy like someone had been who had yelling a little too much which is just strange to me because he hardly ever speaks at all. “Where’d you get this?” He asked pointing to an obviously expensive vase. Orchid’s smile faded.
“It was my mother’s.” Was all she bothered to say. I was a bit curious. Yes, it runs in the family but I figured it was none of my business.
“So…um, Orchid, what do you do for a living?” I tried my best to avoid an awkward silence.
“I teach high school.” Orchid replied recovering slightly.
“What subject?” I asked in a desperate attempt for conversation.
“I bet it’s something like …Art.” Nervous said smiling sheepishly.
“Yeah…” Vidcund said flatly. If that bothered Orchid, she didn’t bother to show it.
“As a matter of fact, I do teach Art.” She said waving a finger in the air. “The Art of the Stage. I’m a Drama teacher.”
“Close enough.” Nervous said with a shrug.
Vidcund let out a snort of disinterest. It was only then Orchid acknowledged his attitude.
“If you don’t like it then you don’t have to stay.” She said placidly.
Without another word, he left. Orchid couldn’t hide the smirk that passed her lips. I felt the need to apologize for him. He is my brother after all.
“I’m sorry for Vid. He can be a real—“
“Don’t worry about it.” She said waving a dismissive hand. “He shouldn’t have come in the first place.” Her blunt if not downright harsh way of tongue was more out of honesty than cruelty.
“Yeah, he’s a dick.” I couldn’t say the same for Nervous. I stifled a giggle. As much as I hate to admit it, I sort of agreed with him but Vidcund did have his good moments.
“At least let me make it up to you. He is my brother after all.” Orchid looked at me incredulously. “Would you like to come over to my house for dinner this evening?” Truthfully, I expected an immediate answer but Orchid seemed to be seriously thinking about it.
I wondered what she could be thinking, it’s not like she had much to do besides unpack. Suddenly, she came to a decision.
“Okay, I’ll take you up on that offer.” She said with an unexpected jauntiness as if she came up with a brilliant idea.
“You can come along if you want, Nervous.” I said to Nervous. I almost hated to ask. He had such terrible table manners and I really didn’t want someone who cursed that much around the kids.
“No.” Nervous said much to my relief.
“Why not?” Orchid asked. She looked a bit disappointed.
“Fuckin’ Loki…” Nervous grumbled crossly. He inadvertently glanced at the clock. “Shit…umm…I gotta go.”
“You’ll be around again right?” Orchid asked with a playful arch of her eyebrow. Nervous looked around then back at Orchid.
“I’ll think about it.” He said returning the playful tone. With that he turned in left. “See ya ‘round…” I was shocked. I didn’t know Nervous even had a sense of humor. No one, not even Pascal, broke his surly exterior, but he only spent an hour with Orchid. I was still reeling over the fact that she made him laugh. Maybe it was the gentle undertones of her voice or simply just her natural flair. She reminded me of someone who’s seen things most people could never comprehend. Her smile was knowing but gentle. She had this sort of “wise beyond her years” aura. I decided that I liked Orchid. In fact, it was refreshing to be among another female.
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Orchid showed up at my house at seven o’clock on the dot. She must’ve been hungry. Having just moved, there probably wasn’t much in her fridge. I was sure to greet her with a smile.
“Thanks for inviting me over, Mrs. Smith.” She sounded like a teenager meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time.
“Please call me, Jenny.” I said with a wave of my hand. “Come on in.” She followed me inside where my family was waiting. Like his father, my son Johnny was always eager to meet new people. Jill was still at the “hey, hey look at me!” stage.
Most people find my husband PT a little off-putting but Orchid didn’t even flinch. She shook his hand with a bright smile.
“Nice to meet you Mr. Smith.” She said cordially. She treated Johnny just the same. “You must be…” However, she forgot his name. “Help me out here, sweetheart”
“Jonathan.” Luckily, he didn’t forget his manners and shook Orchid’s outstretched hand. “Johnny for short.”
“You got a firm grip.” Orchid said as he shook her hand. “That’ll come in handy one day.”
“I’m Jill!” My daughter announced proudly. Orchid shook her hand with a childish jauntiness to suit Jill’s boisterous mood.
We wall sat down to dinner. Much to my embarrassment, I had Orchid sit in a folding chair. I made a mental note to bug my husband about extra dining chairs later.
“So Orchid, where’re you from?” PT asked.
“Pleasantview.” She said pointing up with her fork.
“What made you want to move down here?” Johnny bleated.
“It’s a bit complicated.” Orchid replied vaguely. I cleared my throat and glanced angrily at Johnny.
“It’s taken an enormous amount of adjustment no doubt.” PT continued as if nothing happened.
“Not as much as you think. I’ve had a lot of help.” Suddenly, she choked on her words or my pork chops. I couldn’t really tell. “…from my sisters. Help from my sisters. Jenny, I told you about them.”
“To be honest, I’m a bit jealous. I grew up with three brothers.” I said going along with the quick subject change.
“How many siblings do you have?” PT asked keeping the conversation going.
“There are six of us. All girls. I’m the youngest.” Orchid answered politely.
“And do you all have such, ummm…” PT search for the right word. “…unique names?”
“Why yes, actually. My older sisters and I were name after all sorts of things. My older sister’s name is Aurelius. My father had a thing for Rome. So he named her after a Roman emperor.”
“But isn’t she your sister?” Johnny asked. Orchid laughed.
“My father was hoping for a boy but Aurelius still turned out to be a total daddy’s girl.”
“Where’re your parents now?” I asked cautiously.
“Gone.” she replied distantly. I cleared my throat loudly to save the conversation.
“So Orchid how do you like Strangetown?” There was a silent sigh of relief all around the table. All in all, dinner went very well. I was very pleased with myself.
Orchid’s parents must have been very strict on teaching her manners. As I cleared the table she insisted that she help me with the dishes.
“So Jenny…” Her voice now carried a mischievous undertone in her voice. “What’s the deal with this town?”
“What?”
“Well it must be Strangetown for a reason.” Forget manners, Orchid was looking for gossip. No, not just gossip but information. It almost seemed as if I was giving her a reason to move here. “Come on, Jenny. You know what know what I’m talking about.” She bumped against me playfully. I let out a chuckle.
Yes, it felt good to have another grown woman around. There were a few secrets I’d been waiting to divulge.
For a version with pictures see my livejournal
here
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