Triplets - Part 3

Good morning!
It's a little busy right now. All 7 kiddos are over. I have two little boys playing "Top Trumps" on the floor by my desk. And little Buster, who just turned 2, is playing with two of my little flashlights. Sissy is reading in the doorway, and Funny Boy is plying "Top Trumps" with my sis. Goof Ball is reading somewhere. The only one still in bed is Missy. :)

It was really nice out last evening and we went bike riding. The kids will go home after lunch. I might get a bit writing done this evening. We'll see.

But I'm too distracted right now to say much else. Missy is awake now.

Triplets

Part 3

    Geneva pushed her glasses up on her nose and brushed her short hair off her face. “Maybe we should go back home. It’s getting kind of hot.”

    “It’s hot at home too, Gen,” Vienna answered. “I don’t know how Grandma can stand to live in a house with no air conditioning.”

    “Cause she’s working almost all day, maybe?” Sofia gathered her light curls into a high ponytail and secured it with a hair band. “Anyone else want their hair up?”

    Both Vienna and Geneva did, and Sofia handed each a hairband. Vienna didn’t feel much cooler with a ponytail since her hair was so long and it still stuck to her neck. Perhaps she should cut it off. But she shook her head. No, long hair could be put all the way up if she took the time to learn how to do it.

    “Can’t we go back home?” Geneva begged.

    “Not yet. I want to look at the other end of the building and see if there’s a door. The creak could have been a door with old hinges.”

    “What about that moaning sound?”

    Vienna glanced at the building. “I could have been our imaginations, or it could have been a wind blowing over something like a bottle. You’ve read those Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries.” As much as she wanted to believe what she was saying, she didn’t remember feeling any wind at all. “What do you say, Sofia?”

    Sofia shrugged. “Since we’re here, we might as well keep looking.”

    Keeping to the road, the girls walked the length of the old building. At the other end they stopped and looked. It was impossible to see if there was a door or not, for the vines, brush, bushes, small trees, and even an old wire fence crowded up against the wall and effectively hid it from view.

    “Now can we go home?”

    “Hang on, Gen,” Sofia sounded a little impatient. “I think if we all help, we could hold back some of that stuff and see if there is a door.”

    “Huh uh! Not me!” Geneva backed away. “There’s probably poison ivy in that mess!”

    “Wouldn’t it be easier to go around to the back of the building and look in the window again with the flashlight?” Vienna stood between her sisters. “Then we could see if there was a door, and maybe find out if there was something in there that made the noises we heard.”

    “Huh uh. I’m not going back there again. That stuff could have been poison ivy–”

    “Oh, good grief, Gen!” Sofia rolled her eyes. “It’s not poison ivy! It wouldn’t take long to look in the window.”

    “I don’t want to.”

    Vienna pursed her lips thoughtfully and twisted her long hair and wrapped it around the hairband. She’d often played mediator between Geneva, who was naturally more timid, and Sofia who grew frustrated easily. Now she wasn’t sure what to do. On the one hand she thought it would make them all sleep easier if they knew what had made the strange noises, but on the other hand, if Geneva was really frightened, she might not sleep well if they did look. And what if–

    “Hello, girls.” A new voice said, causing the girls to turn quickly. A woman with a pleasant smile was coming toward them. She wore a bright tiered skirt of some lightweight fabric and a pink short sleeve shirt. Her brown hair was pulled up loosely onto her head, and she looked fresh and cool.

    “Hi.” Vienna found her voice first.

    “Are you girls from this neighborhood? I don’t remember seeing you around before.”

    “We just moved in with our grandma a few weeks ago,” Sofia volunteered. “This is the first day we’ve come out this way.”

    The lady smiled. “Oh, are you Doris Brown’s granddaughters? She told me some of her granddaughters were coming to live with her. And by the way, I’m Abigail Shannon. I live just over there in that blue and white house.”

    Vienna nodded. “Yes, that’s our grandma. I’m Vienna, that’s Sofia, and this is Geneva.”

    “I’m pleased to meet you all. Have you found anything interesting in your exploration of our quiet neighborhood?” She looked from one girl to the next.

    “Just this old building.” Suddenly Vienna had a thought.

    “Do you know if this building has a door?” Sophia and Vienna asked at the same time.

    Vienna looked at Sofia and they laughed. It wasn’t the first time they’d spoken in unison without meaning too.

    Mrs. Shannon laughed too. “Don’t tell me you’re twins–”

    “We’re not!” This time all three answered.

    “–because I’ve heard of twins saying the same things at the same time.”

    “Actually we’re triplets.”

    The woman’s eyes widened and so did her smile. “Well, that must be fun! Now to answer your question, yes, there is a door, but I think it’s behind all those vines and branches and stuff. As far as I know, no one has used this old building in, oh, at least fifteen or twenty years. It’s kind of interesting looking though, isn’t it?” And she looked at the building as though it were only a friendly structure.

    None of the girls answered, and Vienna felt a trickle of sweat run down her back. Perhaps they should just give up and go home.

    Mrs. Shannon turned from the building. “It’s rather warm for early summer, don’t you think? I was planning on having some cold lemonade, but I would love to have company. Would you girls care to join me? I’ve been meaning to get over to see your grandma this past weekend, but things kept coming up. What do you say? Does lemonade sound good?”

    “You’re not going to kidnap us, are you?” Geneva looked closely at the woman from behind her glasses.

    “Kidnap you?” Mrs. Shannon burst into a merry laugh. “No!”

    “Gen!” Vienna nudged her sister. “Don’t you remember the phone number and name Grandma has on the fridge? She said if we couldn’t get ahold of her, to call Mrs. Shannon.”

    Geneva shook her head as flush of red, not caused by the heat, crept up her neck, and she looked at the ground.

    “That’s all right,” Mrs. Shannon said kindly. “I had forgotten that you might not know me. Do you want to come over for lemonade?”

Have you ever wanted to explore a strange building?

Do you enjoy lemonade?

Do you like riding bikes?