It'd been a week since the burial, it rained all through the week, but somehow William and Amelia managed to move their belongings away from the little apartment into the mansion, their new home!
Everyone was settled in and life in the mansion had begun. The old red, brick mansion had been passed on from parents to children over the years, it was a tradition. The mansion was never to be sold or abandoned, it was an inheritance, a history, the Johnson family legacy. Another December morning, a tenth month after the wedding, the sky was covered with dark blue clouds, Rye town was still awakening, there was no sign of snow falling today but it had already kept itself firmly on the roof tops, it covered cars, and the cobbled roads of mermaid street were slightly slippery. Despite the weather the sun shone weakly, giving a warm feeling. The door bell sent a vibe all through the mansion, it had awakened the sleepy eyes of the residents, everyone groaned in their stomachs wishing that the person at the door would disappear, but she didn't! The door bell rung a second and a third time, angrily, William stumbled out of his room with his morning look, he went through the stairs down to a large dark hall. He halted at once horrified by the sight of the large, purple rat that scrambled away in front of him. Quickly, he wiped away the memory of it and hurried off to the door in his pajamas looking all weary and consumed with morning soreness. Locks were unlocked, the golden door knob swirled and the door swung freely open. William's eyes were instantly blinded by the bright morning light, his eye lids shut. Then he tried once more, forcing his golden eyes open to behold the figure in front of him. William froze when he saw Olivia, though he was frozen, he studied her features to confirm if he was sure of who his eyes beheld. Her fiery, long red hair always stood out first, it was beautifully draped on her shoulders, her nose was fearlessly pointed underneath the freckles on her cheeks. The lazy sunlight exposed her flawless white skin. She wore a thick blue sweater on a black pair of jeans, the weather wasn't so cold today, to her benefit. She stood proudly in black, low-heeled shoes, William's eyes swiftly moved upwards to Olivia's brown eyes, he shook within him, his mouth hung open. "Hello Will!", she greeted and smiled mischievously, aware of what she had done. "Uh- hey- uh Olivia?" William replied confusedly. Uninvitedly, Olivia strolled into the large hall. The chandelier hung from the ceiling, it carried ten large candles in it's hands which had been put out the night before. Coming to his senses, he ran after Olivia and caught her arm, turning her around. "What the bullocks are you doing here?!" He angrily whispered into her face. "And what in God's name is that?!", he sounded terrified. "That, is a baby-- our baby, your daughter!" It was only at that moment William finally took into notice, the lovely little creature that was strapped to Olivia's chest with a black coloured baby carrier, the little girl slept peacefully on her Mother's chest. William staggered in shock, disbelief and confusion. "But-- I thought you--" he blinked and realized his voice had become a little loud. "But you left, Olivia, I thought maybe you--" he gulped! "Had done away with it?", Olivia strikingly put in, she smiled into William's face, fully aware she had said what he couldn't say. "I couldn't possible do that!". "Then where were you all this time? I asked our friends for your whereabouts, but known knew. You could've called or sent a letter", he stammered, "At least give me a heads up!" "I had to leave, I didn't want to be the talk of the town, yeah?", she stepped closer to Will, closing the gap between them. "And I'm so glad I had this baby", she grinned. William grabbed one of her arms and towed her swiftly out of the hall. "Take your voice down silly! I am married now! I have a wife who's asleep upstairs, my mum and sisters too!" "I don't care 'bout that, what's done is done!" they whispered loudly and harshly. "Alright, how 'bout we meet up at a restaurant tomorrow and talk things through? I'll take full responsibility for our child, but you can't come here anymore", he paused "How did you even find me?" "It's a small town you know", "Bullocks! Alright alright, please just leave, I'll be with you tomorrow-- " "That's not what I want Will, you can't just set me off, you got me pregnant, you have to marry me!" She snapped back. "No Olivia, I am married! I'll pay for child's support, you can still live your life and be with someone else-- " "Yeah, like it's so easy, you were with me before the other girl came around", she threw her hands in the air. "For the last time Olivia, I met Amelia first! I-- " he stopped, "Please just leave, we'll talk tomorrow". William put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to leave. "What's going on here?!" Amelia appeared in the hall tying her robe properly, "Yeah, what's all the noise about?" Mrs Johnson slowly added. The two other women appeared in the hall too. They all looked confused-- waiting for an answer. "It's nothing, Olivia was just leaving", William urged Olivia to take her leave once more. "What does she want Will?" Mrs Johnson pressed forward. "For God's sake Mother, just leave it alone!" "There is something I want!" Olivia spoke out confidently, her voice drowning every other sound. "Come in my dear, come in where it's warm", Mrs Johnson gestured her in. Olivia took a swift look at William's fiery eyes, William moved his head side to side, trying to reason with her once more, hopeful that she wouldn't go in. Olivia stepped into the house again and the brown child on her chest winced, moving her body a bit."Good morning Mrs Johnson, my name's Olivia. I believe you're William's Mother!" She pointed out sharply. Mrs Johnson nodded in agreement. "I am William's girlfriend-- ", she shrugged, "We've been dating for some months". The women's eyes widened in shock, Amelia folded her hands on her chest in response to the words she just heard. "Surely, you're mistaken, my William has been married to Amelia for almost a year now!" Mrs Johnson corrected and directed Olivia's attention to Amelia. "I'm aware of that Mrs Johnson. You see, when Will and I met he was still single, he said he was single, that his girlfriend-- Amelia, had broken up with him, she had left him. He was in a pretty bad shape when we met, he got his glow back while we were dating. We were young and crazy and I got pregnant, he knew of it, we went for the test together. We were both terrified and unprepared. So, I left Rye to live with my grandparents on a farm, I stayed there till I had the baby-- our daughter", she held th
December 20th! Only a few days to the popular celebration-- Christmas. It had snowed all through the night, the next morning was chilly. Mermaid street looked stunning with the combination of the snow on every roof top, the paved cobbled roads, the lined up houses on both sides of the street, and on every house, there were red and green flowers and lights. The street glowed in its glory! After all, it is the most popular street in London, its name, unique! The schools were on holiday, the Rye railway stations, were filled with people, the trains brought in people for the holiday and some traveled out of the town for the season. Hospitals, airports and the Rye museum were beautifully decorated for the holiday season. It had been ten days since Olivia visited the mansion and left a troubling stain on the hearts of Amelia and William, the problem seemed to have no solution, it was a trying time for the couple, and it dealt with them. For some nights, William could find no sleep, Amelia
She banged loudly and coldly at the door without feeling. She had promised she would be back with trouble and this she did. "William! William! I know you're in there, you come out this instant!" Olivia continued banging on the white, hard wood door and the house shook! "Hey!" Someone called to her from above, Olivia turned around in shock searching for the voice. "Hey Olivia, up here!" Mrs Johnson stuck her head out the window from her room upstairs, she could see the whole street from up there. She looked down at Olivia determined to give her a piece of her mind. "Do you know that this is the Johnson residence? Why are you being childish, do you want to bring down the house?" She stopped and adjusted her weight on the window frame. "I-- ", Olivia tried to speak up. "If you don't leave this instant, I'll call the police on you, you hear me?!" "I'm sorry ma'am but I ain't leaving till I see William, I'll just have to keep banging on the door until he comes out!". "I said leave
"Yeah let's do it! You and Audrey should come live with us, Audrey has a right to a family and to her Father, you have my permission", she ended. Olivia couldn't believe her ears, she stared into Amelia's face with eyes wide open. Amelia decided not to say anymore, she was sure Olivia understood her words, she need not say more. A few seconds passed without Olivia saying a word, the room felt awkward. "Olivia, did you hear what she said?", William quickly asked, after studying her face. "Yeah, sure, of course I heard", she blinked flutteringly, then turned her eyes to Will. "So uh--, William what's your say on this?" "You already know where I stand on this, this is crazy! And both of you have given me no choice, no decision of mine. I'm the victim here, a hostage!" He glared at Olivia with fury and heat, Olivia could feel it from across the room. Amelia swiftly and affectionately grabbed on to Will's lap, squeezing the upper flesh; she stared pleadingly into William's eyes, and Wi
They got ready and were all seated in the living room waiting for William to return with the registrar. It had been more than thirty minutes since he left. Only a few seconds ago Olivia's Mother had entered the mansion with baby Audrey, she joined the other women in the living room, feeling uncomfortable most of the time. The room was as silent as a desert, the women said nothing to each other only when they had exchanged greetings. They sat on the large chairs looking all clean, classsic and gorgeous! Audrey slept peacefully in her grandma's arms. Viola couldn't bear the silence anymore so she got up and went into the kitchen with the thought to make some tea. She quickly lit the stove, balanced a small silver kettle filled with water on the flames. Then she set up ten small-sized silver teacups on a silver tray, the cups beautifully surrounded a silver slim jug which sat in the middle of the tray, the mouths of the cups were turned upside down on the surface of the round tray;
LONDONRYE, EAST SUSSEX TOWNMERMAID STREET.2005************Chapter 11 Do you remember William? Oh of course you do! It had been fifteen years since William became a married man and you know by now that has two beautiful wives! It would greatly interest you to know that he now has ten children, and a house full of relatives! The William .A. Johnson family turned out to be a strange and crazy neighbour to the others on Mermaid street. Every home, street, farm, market and hospital knew of the strange Johnson family. Amelia had three boys and two girls, while Olivia had two boys and three girls! The two women got along just fine, in their own way. They occasionally had their differences but they had a soft spot for each other. When Amelia lost her Mother, her Father came to live with her in the mansion. Amelia's father and William's mother came to be known as Grandpa and Grandma. They never had anything to do in the house, they continued to grow old in their peaceful environment,
Though, Rye town was a little one, it had everything it needed. A beautiful place to live in. A town with busy people and busy lives-- Rye only knew peace and quiet during the weekends. One of the hospitals in Rye, needed a doctor not just any doctor, an eye doctor, An optometrist! Dr Joe was summoned from one of the cities in London. He was to fly in on Monday and travel down to Rye. He would save the eyes of many patients. He would also teach other young Doctors of his practice and when they were ready for the task, the Doctor would return home. Arrangements had been made for him in respect of his accommodation. A letter had been sent to one of the families on Mermaid street asking for their permission to allow Dr Joe live as a guest in their home only for a few weeks until he's found a place of his own; the kind family agreed to this! For the first time in his life, Joe laid down his feet on Rye's soil. A beautiful place, he thought to himself. I think I'll like it here!
It was seven in the evening already and every family member of the Johnson's had found their way back to the dark home. "Thanks for that awesome meal, that's the best thing I've had in years!" Joe had just hungrily emptied a plate of hot spaghetti and a couple of meatballs. "I'm glad you love my cooking" Viola blushed. The kids began to giggle, "Aunt V likes Joe o, Aunt V likes Joe o" they teased them and fled the room still giggling. "Don't pay attention to them, they're kids" A shy Viola put in. "Uh huh, yeah I guess so", Joe nodded. "So! Why don't I show you to your room?" Viola snapped, trying to ease the atmosphere. "Yeah, okay!" The Johnsons had spent a whole lot of money and time building the mighty house. Their's were the largest on the street, it was always dark on the inside, just like the other houses on the cobbled street. The houses on Mermaid street were closely lined up, the shades from each house shadowed the windows. But there was som