Triplets - Part 4

Good Morning, Friday Fiction Fans,

Yesterday was cloudy and rainy. It just made me think of fall even though it was warm and very humid outside. In the morning I wanted to just curl up and read, but I had other things to do. So I worked on blog posts for the Five Fall Favorites. I know no one is excited about this upcoming blog party. ;) Okay, so maybe you are. Then, in the afternoon I proof listened to the February story from Stories Through the Seasons and read.

But then, it was time to write. I didn't feel like writing ANYTHING! I know, I know, I have six stories started. Surely I could find one of those to work on, right? I tried. It wasn't working. So,  . . .

Yep. I did. I started a new one. A short story about a grumpy older woman. And it was fall! :D

In spite of not feeling like writing most of the week, I did get some things written. Except for Tuesday. On Tuesday I spent most of the day working on correcting By Paths Unknown and then formatting it for kindle. I still have one more reader who might find some other things to fix before the book is published, but I was able to send out the ARC copies to those participating in the blog tour.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next part of this story.

Triplets

Part 4

    The three girls nodded quickly and followed Mrs. Shannon to her house. A cool blast of air hit them as they stepped inside, and all sighed with pleasure. There were two window units in Grandma’s house. One in the kitchen and the other in the living room, but neither one worked well, and ever since the girls had arrived they had been warm.
    They all had a delightful visit over glasses of cold, tart lemonade, and by the time they left Mrs. Shannon’s house, they felt well acquainted with her.
    “I hope you girls will come again,” Mrs. Shannon said, standing on her porch in the late afternoon sun. “And if you ever need anything, give me a call or come over, okay? I’m nearly always home.”
    “We will, Mrs. Shannon,” Vienna said with a wave. “Thanks for the lemonade!”

*

    Sitting around the kitchen table that evening, finishing off their meal of spaghetti and bread, the triplets told Grandma about their visit with Mrs. Shannon and about the old shed they had seen.
    “Do you know anything about that building, Grandma?” Sofia asked, twisting the friendship bracelet on her wrist.
    “No, I don’t know anything about it. But I’m glad you got to meet Abigail Shannon. She’s been a good friend to me over the years, and I feel better knowing that she’s around while I’m at work. Now,” she yawned, “let’s get these dishes washed because I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight.”
    “Do we have to, Grandma?” Geneva asked plaintively. “I’m not tired.”
    With another yawn Grandma shook her head. “No, since you girls don’t have school, I don’t mind if you stay up a bit. But don’t stay up too late.”
    With a promise not to, the girls told Grandma they would clean up if she wanted to go to bed. Vienna and Geneva did the dishes together while Sofia wiped off the table and swept the floor. Then they sat in the living room for a little while, not doing much. There was no TV, and no one felt like reading. Sofia did her nails, painting only one on each hand to make her single bottle of nail polish last longer. She offered to do her sisters’ nails, but Vienna and Geneva declined. Finally they agreed to go to their room and at least try to get some sleep.
    Lying in the dark on the edge of the king size mattress Grandma had purchased for the girls to share when they came to live with her, Vienna rested one hand on the floor and wished the fan would blow over her a little more often. “If early summer is already this warm, what is summer going to be like later?” she mused. But at least they had a roof over their heads.
    As she lay there, trying to get to sleep, her thoughts returned to the old brick shed. She didn’t know why it fascinated her so much, but it did. “I’d like to see inside it just once,” she mused. “But I doubt we could get Gen to come close to it again with that ivy and those strange sounds. Maybe Sofia and I could find a way to look in the windows, and Gen could just watch from a distance. But Sof just did her nails. She’s not going to want to get them messed up.” With her mind planning a way to learn more about the old shed, Vienna fell asleep.

*

    “Let’s go back and look at that shed again,” Vienna suggested after a late breakfast of cornflakes and milk. Grandma had already left for work, and the girls were faced with another day of  trying to find something to occupy their time with.
    “Go back?” Geneva shoved her glasses up on her nose and a worried frown drew her eyebrows together.
    “Why?” Sofia asked, not looking up from polishing a fingernail with her napkin.
    “Because I want to see it.” Vienna shrugged. “I’d like to find out what made those strange noises, and–oh, I don’t know–just explore some more.”
    “Those noises were creepy,” Geneva complained before drinking the last of the milk in her bowl.
    “Then we should find out what made them,” persisted Vienna. “Come on,” she coaxed, “let’s at least go look at it.”
    Reluctantly the other two agreed, and as soon as the dishes were washed, the girls headed out the door. Vienna had tucked the flashlight into one pocket and the cell phone into the other. In silence the three walked down the street, turned, and headed toward the old brick building.
    “It’s still standing,” Sofia remarked.
    Geneva turned and looked at her. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
    Sofia shrugged.
    “Come on, let’s go look behind it again,” Vienna urged.
    Both sister refused. Geneva, still not convinced that the ivy wasn’t poison ivy, wouldn’t agree to step foot in it, or even in the tall grass, while Sofia looked down at her nails and shook her head. Vienna knew it was useless to argue and plead.
    “I’ll go around back by myself then.”
    “What if you get snatched by some kidnapper?” quavered Geneva.
    For answer, Vienna pulled out the cell phone and stuck it in Sofia’s pocket. “If you don’t hear from me in ten minutes, you can call the police or run over to Mrs. Shannon’s. Or both.” She laughed a little as she spoke. “Don’t worry, Gen. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to look around.”
    Before more protests could be made, Vienna stepped into the long grass. She tried to keep her eyes on everything at once, the grass before her, since she really didn’t want to step on a snake or something, the wall of the old building, just in case there was a hidden door, and the almost hidden alley on her left because someone might come down there. There were no snakes, doors, or people by the time she reached the corner of the building.
    “So far, so good!” she called back to her sisters.
    Careful not to let the ivy trip her, Vienna pressed forward. Under the first window she scanned the bricks to see if there were any that would make good steps. Nothing. Under the second window she again halted. “If the window was lower, I could look in,” she muttered. She looked around. There was no log or stump to climb on like there always seemed to be in books.

Would you have gone back alone to look into the shed?

Have you ever slept on a mattress on the floor?

Are you excited for the Five Fall Favorites party?