Enchanted, A Paranormal Romance / Fantasy (Forever Charmed) (2 page)

“Mandy! Come give Nana a hug, Sugarplum! It’s been too long!” her grandmother practically sang.

“Nana, it’s hasn’t even been a year! You just visited at Christmas, remember?” Mandy pointed out.

“Nonsense. That was months ago! Oh, I declare, looking at you is like a breath of fresh air!” Nana enveloped Mandy in her warm arms, breathing in the scent of her hair.

“You don’t need me, Nana. You’re surrounded by fresh air here, right Mom?” Mandy laughed a little uncomfortably. She couldn’t help but notice the glance Nana threw at her mother, who just gave an answering shrug.

“Come, come! Come see your new house!” Nana ignored Mandy’s mood and led Mandy by the hand up the three concrete stairs to the front door. Mandy had not seen the inside yet, except for a few pictures taken by the real estate agent for its listing. The pictures had shown it empty. Mandy knew it would not look the same now. Her grandmother had insisted that she be allowed to decorate the house for them. Some of their old furniture had been delivered, but Mandy had a feeling there would be new pieces in the mix. She was a little hesitant as she walked through the front door behind her grandmother. Nana practically looked like she would break into a skip at any moment. Well, at least this was making her grandmother happy. Nana deserved that.

The moment she set foot inside she could smell the flowers. Of course there would be flowers. Mandy shouldn’t be surprised. Nana had all the flowers she could ever want at her disposal. Mandy inhaled the sweet fragrance and couldn’t help but feel more relaxed. It smelled like Nana. Warm, and comforting. They were in a domed entryway. To the left was a rather wide staircase that curved just a bit before heading up. At the end of the hallway connected to the entryway Mandy could see a cozy looking living room. There was a fireplace with a fire crackling in it, beckoning Mandy forward with its lovely heat. She walked forward, drawn to the fire like a moth to a flame. Finally, some warmth! She turned around to see what else the room held. Two oversized, flowery chairs were positioned on either side of the hearth, with a dark chocolate leather sofa directly across from it. Above the mantel hung a flat screen TV.
Well, that’s a step-up from the old place
, Mandy thought. Sitting on the mantel were three glass jars, all roughly the same size and with a bulgy roundness to them. In the first jar there were seashells, the second was a mix of gray beach rocks and sea glass, and the third had a layer of the dark sand with some gray liquid on top.

“Nana,
what
is in there?” she asked.

“Silly girl, it’s the sand and ocean. Thought you should have a piece inside as well,” Nana replied.

“Why? We could go outside in our own backyard and splash in all its glory if we wanted,” Mandy observed, looking out the sliding glass doors that led to a deck, and just beyond it, the beach.

“To remind you, Mandy. This is your home now,” Nana said with friendly eyes. “Be happy here, appreciate it. This is who you are, who you always have been. Embrace it, rather than shun it.”

Nana had always had the tendency to be overly dramatic. What was she talking about? Mandy was the beach? Mandy was Mandy. There was nothing to tie her here, to this gray environment, other than her age. She would deal with it for the next year, but she had plans to escape. College was her ticket out of here. And Mandy would take it and run with it. Far away. Maybe California. Southern, of course. She would definitely need some time in the sun after a whole year here tucked under grayness.

Nana finished giving them a tour of the house. They had a nice kitchen with a little breakfast nook off to the side of it. Nana had painted it a sunny yellow, maybe to try to make up for the obvious lack of that element here. Upstairs was the only bathroom and it was a cool blue color. Fresh white curtains hung in the window, blowing ever so softly with the salt air. Her parents’ bedroom, an office, and then her own room.

Mandy’s room was painted a jewel tone of purple, slightly darker than the color of dusk on a warm, hazy day. A four-poster wrought iron bed sat grandly in the middle of the room. A hot pink and juicy orange comforter covered the mattress, a stunning contrast to the purple walls. More color flooded the room from the zesty orange curtains fluttering in the breeze. Along the top of the wall above Mandy’s bed a line of glimmering lights hung like stars shining in the night. There was a desk next to the window with Mandy’s laptop already sitting atop it. A closet, a dresser with a mirror. A nightstand with a vase of Gerber daisies, and another of Nana’s odd jars with the ocean trapped in it. At the foot of the bed stood an antique looking trunk, ornately carved from a dark wood. Vines of roses climbed the four sides leading up to the curved top, which was adorned by a lovely carving of a woman’s face with hair piled atop of her head in an old-fashioned up-do. Stars seemed to be floating above her head with plump, little birds perched on top of them.

“What’s this?” Mandy asked Nana.

“Just a welcome home present, Mandy. That’s a hope chest. It’s been in our family for years and years. I thought you would like it. Maybe you could find some use for it, as I didn’t really.” Nana’s eyes crinkled again.

“Thanks, Nana. That’s great!”

Just then Mandy’s dad appeared at the door with Mandy’s suitcases. He dropped them down next to the bed. “Hey, nice crib!” he exclaimed with a grin.

“Dad, please stop trying to use slang,” Mandy sighed.

“Well, I’ll leave you to unpacking, Pumpkin. When you’re done come on downstairs. I’m making a batch of my spicy spaghetti for dinner, your favorite,” Nana declared.

“’Kay. I’ll be down soon, Nana.”

They left Mandy alone in her new surroundings. She crossed the room and pushed open the fluttering curtains. The cool sea air blew in causing Mandy to recoil a bit. She had a nice view of the ocean from here. She couldn’t help but feel that it would be even nicer if the sun were around to light it up for her. She watched the waves rolling in on top of themselves for a few minutes while she soaked up all the newness. She really should go unpack. Obviously, her parents and Nana were set on staying. Mandy turned reluctantly from the window to get her suitcases, but her eyes fell on the antique trunk.

Mandy crossed the room and knelt down in front of it. She reached out and traced her fingers lightly across the intricate carving. It felt smooth and somehow the motion of tracing the trailing vines seemed to relax Mandy. She unhooked the latch in front and pushed the top back on its old hinges, bronze with rust and time. Mandy inhaled, surprised at the beautiful color the trunk’s insides held. It was lined with ruby red satin, but was empty besides. The fabric looked luxurious, warm, and inviting with its lovely, deep red color. Mandy reached in and couldn’t help caressing it a little. As she did so, she was almost convinced that she caught a whiff of something seeping out from the trunk itself. At first it just seemed to be a heady, dusty, old smell. Musky, perhaps. But as she tried to grasp it further and inhaled it deeper, it definitely took a turn towards a rose like perfume, sweet yet spicy, intermingled with evergreen. A certain saltiness clung to it. Mandy sniffed again, but the odd incense seemed to have dissipated. Huh, Mandy thought.
Wonder what used to be in this box?
She’d have to ask Nana later. Right now her thickly piled suitcases were calling her. She closed the trunk and went to tackle unpacking.

* * *

Chapter 2

Mandy had finished putting her clothes away in her closet and was downstairs in the cheerfully outfitted kitchen, stirring Nana’s spaghetti sauce slowly, around and around in the big black pot. She could already smell the spiciness and could almost feel it pricking her tongue. Mandy realized she was starving.

“Ok, Sugarcake. That should be all set. You can turn the burner off. Let’s eat!” Nana enthused.

Mandy nodded and did as she was told. A few minutes later and they were all seated around the kitchen table with heaping platefuls of Nana’s spaghetti in front of them. Mandy began to dig in right away. Nana’s spaghetti always hit the spot. Spicy, but with a hint of sweetness. Actually, that reminded her of the trunk now. She slurped in her noodles and swallowed quickly, eager to ask Nana more about that weird trunk up in her room. “Nana, where’d you get that trunk, or hope chest, again?” Mandy asked.

“Oh, that, dear, has been in our family for generations now. I don’t really know how long or exactly where it came from. Charming, isn’t it?” Nana mused.

“Well, it could have been used for a great many things, dear. I’m not really sure, to be completely honest. It’s so old I’m sure it holds the secrets of time itself!” Nana’s eyes crinkled up again. “Maybe once you get to know the chest it will reveal itself to you.”

Mandy looked at her Nana and nodded, a half-smile on her face. Nana had always been a bit bewildering. She had the habit of saying odd things, or being a bit dramatic, even superstitious at times. Mandy chalked it up to her age. Old people could be kind of weird. But what could you expect, they were like living legends. People from a different era. “So, Nana, what’s my schedule gonna look like for Dew Drops?” Mandy inquired.

“Oh, yes, I’m so excited you and your mother will be working with us! I’ll get the schedule for you, Hon.” Nana pushed her chair back, scraping it across the tiled floor. She came back with two printouts, one for Mandy, and one for her mother. “I know you’ll be starting school in a few weeks, dear. So for now I’ve got you on five days a week, but once school’s back in session it will be reduced to three days during the week after school and Saturdays for a few hours. Will that be all right or is it too much?”

“No, Nana. That should be fine. Thanks.”

“Well, this will be fun!” Mandy’s mother chimed in. “Nice to be able to have some scheduled girl bonding time.” Her mother smiled.

“Um, yeah, Mom.” Mandy nodded.

“Just make sure you leave time for your school obligations, Mandster. Don’t want your grades slipping senior year,” Mandy’s dad added.

“I will Dad. Would it be okay if I went into town tonight? Just to walk around. You know, get more familiar with it all?” Mandy asked.

“Sure. Do you want me to go with you? We could go scouting for cool shells in the souvenir shops,” her mom offered.

“No, that’s okay. I think I might just wander around tonight. Take in the nightlife,” Mandy joked. “Do you mind if I take your car though?”

“Oh, Mandy, dear, I forgot to give you one other welcome home present,” Nana chimed in. “Before you leave, you may want it.”

“Um, okay,” Mandy answered. What was her Nana going to give her now? A charm bracelet filled with the ocean water too? Mandy grimaced inwardly.

“Follow me, dear.” Nana led the way to the garage with Mandy and her parents trailing behind. Once there Mandy saw a familiar looking car parked inside it. An ’87 Buick Lesabre, cherry red interior and faux wood paneling on the dashboard. Papa’s old car.
The Boat
. That’s the secret name Mandy had always kept for it in her head. “Surprise, dear! This is yours now. Papa doesn’t have any need for it any longer where he is, and I already have my own car. Thought you might like to have your own transportation for senior year.”

“Wow, Nana, really?” Mandy was excited by the prospect, but the tiniest bit humiliated at the same time. She would be the
captain of the Boat
. Okay, at least she had a car to drive, but this might get her ridiculed. Well, she would just have to suck it up. Mandy didn’t want to hurt Nana’s feelings. She would just have to look at it as what it was intended for, transportation. So what if it was old and big and awkward?

“Yes, dear. I had Duke inspect it down at the station, just to make sure it was still in good running order. He said it’s practically good as new. Should still have a long life ahead of it.”

Great
, Mandy thought as she smiled at Nana. “Thanks Nana! So nice of you!” Mandy hugged Nana.

Yes, Captain Cautious
, Mandy thought. “Yup, right here, Dad.”

“All right, well have fun! Don’t keep the good townsfolk up too late!” Mandy’s dad chuckled at his lame attempt at humor.

The key was in the ignition waiting for Mandy. She slid onto the velvet red seats and was happy they weren’t leather. Leather would be colder. Colder was the last thing Mandy needed right now. She pushed the lever up on the heater to the red end and turned it up as high as it would allow. She backed slowly out of the garage, watching her little family waving at her. This little town was perfect for them--they were so Leave it to Beaver. She faked a happy smile and waved back to appease them. And then she was alone, just her and the Boat free to go wherever she wanted.

Mandy was tempted to get back on the highway and head south towards Boston. But she knew she really couldn’t. She had nowhere to go there now.
So, on to the wild town of York
, she thought to herself.

It only took Mandy a matter of minutes to reach the center of the small seaside town. She parked in the municipal parking lot and started digging around in her pockets for change to feed the meters. She found three quarters and plunked them in. She could hear the swings creaking behind her from the neighboring playground and the cries as happy, dirty kids played on the equipment, clearly enjoying themselves. Mandy didn’t know exactly what she was doing here. It was actually kind of awkward being alone in this town. Everywhere she looked she saw families or couples, leisurely strolling up and down the side walked streets, window shopping or slurping ice cream cones. This town hadn’t changed a bit since Mandy had first started coming here as a child. It was almost as if it was frozen in time.