The dinning room table seated twelve when needed, but without its two leaves, it was down to seating for six. Two chairs on either side and an arm chair on the ends. The other six chairs sat tastefully along the outer walls in the same room. This room had hard wood floors like the kitchen, but like the fire side area, there was a large rug under the table and chairs.
To this point I was unsure that I would be able to handle the rest of the house. If I was this thrilled with just the kitchen and dinning room, I almost believed that I would begin to hyperventilate should I go on. I decided to take the risk. I continued, crossed the foyer, opening doors as I went. On either side of the main entry door was a closet. The first contained light jackets, sandals, and umbrellas. The second held winter coats, boots, hats, gloves, scarves, and event ski pants. Next was a small hallway with a door on each side and one at the end. I went counter clockwise this time, the left hand door lead to a two port garage. There was a work bench with tools, two vehicles, and two bicycles. It was the first neat and clean garage I had ever seen, but then we had just moved in. I closed this door and moved on. The laundry room was next.
I actually clapped my hands to see a yellow room and an orange washer and dryer set in side. The cup boards above the duo stored what looked like a years supply of laundry soap, dish washer soap, bar soap, and shampoo, all from the same company. There were also two sets of sheets for each of the beds in the house, and a multitude of towels of various sizes. Everything was labeled and orderly. Still one more storage spot was found under the sink that was first in the line of laundry units. Below the sink were two five gallon buckets, two gallons of vinegar, and a stack of kitchen towels.
At first this seemed strange, but as I thought about it memories that did not seem to be my own, yet they were came to my mind. Conversations, ideas, and experiences came flowing into my mind. I was slowly beginning to comprehend where I was, how I had come to this place, the things I had experienced between being a sixteen year old girl telling my sister a story and being a thirty two year old woman married and living in her dream house. It began slowly with finishing high school, going to college, and meeting Willard. Each memory was so clear, every experience so fresh, it was all coming together. I was not yet sure why five gallon buckets and gallons of vinegar would bring these things to me, but none the less, I could recollect my life.
I closed the cupboard door and moved on. A powder room was behind the next door. Just a toilet and a sink, with a green and yellow color pallet. Not much to see there. The only room left to explore on the main floor was the family room. I walked around the corner from the powder room and looked into the family room. The floor was a crimson plush carpet, soft and rich. Facing the fire place there was a huge, overstuffed, sectional, khaki sofa. Above the fireplace was a fifty-two inch flat screen television, with the remote on the mantel.
In the far left corner contained a tea table and a couple of chairs, all prettily decorated a few family pictures.
On the other side of the room, at the far end was the black mini grand that I had played. Sun light streamed in from the five tall windows that lined the south wall, filling the room. The house faced full west, so in the morning the back yard was blasted with light, then cool and shaded in the after noon and evening.
I sat down at the piano to see what would come of it. When I touched the keys music came rushing into my head, I sang as I played. Strangely the music that I played and the lyrics were from a choir concert in high school. This must have been one of the first things I had learned to play. I smiled to myself as I got up from the seat. I studied the pictures on the walls, of Will and myself. It looked as if I had gained a lot of weight at one point, but had apparently lost all of it again. I still had my chubby cheeks. I took one last look around the family room then turned to go out the way I had gone in. There was a door there, an unexplored door.
The last door remained unexplored for a very short amount of time. After grabbing a soda from the refrigerator I opened the door and made my way down to the basement. The area directly below the foyer appeared to be a game room. Not for board games, but for video games. There was a sofa, a few game chairs, another sizable television, and a cabinet with glass doors containing three game consoles, games, control pads, remote controls, and other devices for each of them.
Clockwise seemed the logical approach to the basement now, therefore I took a left at the bottom of the stairs. French doors opened into an exercise room. In it was a bow flex, some yoga equipment, a treadmill, and an elliptical unit. Along one wall were mirrors and a ballet rail. There was a small table with an iHome on it for us to listen to music, if we so desired. All of this was quite impressive. So this was how I would keep off all the weight I had lost.
I exited the exercise room to find a bar on the other side. Though I did not find any liquor, I did find every juice imaginable, a juicer, fruit, vegetables, protein powder, a blender, and a couple of bottles of wine. In this same area, like the kitchen above, there was more than just the juice bar. Over to the right was a poker table and in the middle of it all was a professional sized pool table, a thing of beauty to my husband I was sure. I stared for a few moments at the billiard table, more memories flowed into my mind. Will enjoyed pool and video games yes, but he had always wanted a good home theater.
The home theater was what I discovered on th other side of the next door, below the family room. At the far end of the room was the screen for the projection television, stadium seating with guide lights, and perfectly placed speakers all around. There was a closet off to the side where the dvd's and player were stored, as well as a control center for the stereo system that ran through the whole house. There were hundreds of movies, television series, educational videos, and what have you. Now this was his pride and joy.
The exploration was over, the entire house had been searched. Nothing was left, except maybe the yard. The yard would have to wait though. I had to sit down and soak some more of this in.
I went to my study and grabbed my journal. I read it from the beginning then made an entry for the day. I explained my situation, my confusion and my resolve. The things that I read were fascinating, and added more details to the life I was in now. When I looked for old journals I found a box on the top shelf in the closet that contained my diaries dating back to 2005, I was now living in 2012, according to the calendar on my desk. I proceeded to read from the beginning of the set. It was boring at times, but completely absorbing in others. The first diary even had things from as early as 1999, though the entries were intermittent, it brought me up to January 2006. In 2006 I had filled five journals complete, and the next year began slow again. I realized why when I read that this was the point a which I began writing my first book and when I had regained more consistent contact with the friends and family whom I had left behind when Will and I moved from Minnesota to Wisconsin.
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