Midnight in Suburbia

NaNoWriMo Day 20: Chapter 20 - Inspecting the Kitchen

Chapter 20: Daniella
Inspects Amity's Kitchen

Ethan drove Emily's brown Ford into Amity's drive way and turned off the ignatition. Then he got out, went around to the passenger side and opened the backdoor. Daniella got out, closed the door and, followed by Ethan, walked up the walk to the front porch where she stopped.

"Daniella," said Ethan, "are you sure you don't want to go to lunch with us?"

"Yes," she sighed. "I have to see what damage the kitchen sustained and..." she frowned. "And I have to see if I can find Grandma Hattie's silver."

"OK, considering how upset Mom is about this, I think that's a good idea, but..."

"You think there more wrong with Mom then simply the forgetfulness that comes with old age or stress."

"Yes!"

"I agree, Ethan, but I'm not sure what the problem is until I talk to her doctor next week." She started up the steps and then turned around. "Uncle Rodger noticed a problem too..."

"What?"

"He said Mom called him wanting to know Larry's phone number in Texas."

"But Dad's been dead over..."

"Over 30 years, so be careful what you say if that subject comes up."

"OK, Daniella, do you want me to bring you some turkey and dressing?"

"I'd like you to bring me the works," she laughed. "Because I suspect that is the only Thanksgiving dinner I'm going to get this year."

"All right, Sis." He turned and went back to the car, while Daniella climbed the front porch steps and enter the house.

Inside, she checked the keys that hung by the door. 'That's odd,' she thought as she found the front door keys hanging on hocks. 'I thought Mom had her keys with her when she left the house yesterday.' She took the keyring down and studied the keys hanging from it. 'Weird, there are two keys here instead of one and...' she compared them side by side. 'It looks to me as if they are for two different doors or, at least, two different locks.'

Putting the keys in an outside pocket of her purse, she continued to the kitchen. "Well," she sighed. "I suppose the damage isn't too bad." She looked into the open oven, where she found the remains of a turkey. "Burned to a crisp," she shook her head. "Why would Mom be cooking the turkey on Wednesday morning instead of Thursday. You don't suppose she thought that Wednesday was Thanksgiving."

Daniella tried to remember the conversation between her and her mother, but she could not remember exectatly what Amity said. The only thing she was sure of was that Amity had been crying and saying something about Dolly and the silver. "I wonder," she said as she left the kitchen. "What happened to the silver?"

Opening the china closet, Daniella begin searching it, but all she found was two silver spoons and a gravy ladle hidden behind a place setting. At that moment, the telephone in the living room rang. Leaving the door to the china closet open, she hurried into the living room.

"Hello, this is the Shupe residence."

"Nice to hear form you, Uncle Rodger."

"Yes, why don't you and your son come to Mom's house."

"No, I'm going to be here the rest of the day," she laughed. "I have to find Grandma Hattie's silver.

"Ethan and Alice took Mom and Aunt Emily out to lunch."

"Because Mom burned the turkey yesterday and the kitchen caught fire."

"No, Mom's all right. She wasn't here when the fire started."

"We can talk about that when you get here."

"Sure, bring me something to eat." She smiled, "I can always eat and since I'm stressed I'm going to be hungry for the rest of the day."

Daniella hung up the phone and looked around the living room. She noticed that there was something on top of the bookcase. She walked quickly to the bookcase and standing on her tiptoes, she pulled the item down. "A soup ladle," she shook her head. "Now why would Mom put a soup ladle on top of the bookcase."

The next thing she noticed was some books out of order. 'That's odd,' she moved the books. 'Mom usually keeps her books in alphabitical order by author.' Behind the books she found several spoons and a cake server. Taking them down, she placed them on the coffee table. Then she went back into the dining room and removed to look for more silverware. After looking behind and in every dish in the closet, she took the items she found back into the living room.

Daniella stood by the phone for a few minutes, then she reached down and attempted to open the desk drawers. When she found them locked she went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, reached in and removed a warm can of soda. Taking the soda into the living room she opened it and took a sip, 'Not bad, but it would taste better cold.' Then she sit down on the couch and picked up a book up off the coffee table. She opened it to the first page and read, 'Memory Journal of Amity Shupe'.

"Now why," she said, "would Mom keep a memory journal." She turned the page and read the title August 31, 2013 and below that was a entry in her mother's handwriting.

Dear Dairy or perhaps I should address you as Dear Memory Journal,

I just finished a conversation with Emily and it seems I forgot we were going shopping yesterday. I don't know how that could have slipped my mind because I needed to purchase some spoons at the dollar store. I can't seem to find the spoons to my set of everyday flatware. I have a lot of knives and forks, but I'm down to only two spoons. How could I have forgotten such an important shopping trip. Anyway, Emily and will go shopping again tomorrow and I can purchase the spoons then.

I don't know what happened to all my spoons because I used to have a dozen soup and cereal spoons. I suppose someone could be coming into the house and stealing my spoons, but I don't know why anyone would want to do that. The everyday flatware isn't worth stealing, unless of course one doesn't have any spoons and can't afford to purchase any. I guess that would be a good reason to steal the spoons. Maybe I'd better check the silver in the china closet. I haven't checked those since Dolly was here a couple of days ago asking to barrow them for some sort of party she was having. I told no, of course, but then she got angry and said she had a right to barrow Grandma Hattie's silver.

She thinks Grandma Hattie should have left her the silver, but that isn't true. I mean if Grandma had intended for Dolly to have the silver she would have said so in her will, but she specificly said the silver was to go to the oldest Shupe male. She and Grandpa Clay inherited it from his parents; it's been handed down in the Shupe family for at least three generations. So it's only right that it go to the oldest son and then to his oldest boy. Since Larry and I had only one child, that silver should go to Ethan; after all Ethan is named after his great great great grandfather and that was the Shupe who purchased the silver for his bride.

I'm going to pause this entry and go check on Grandma Hattie's silver. I hope that Dolly didn't steal any of it while she was here, but she can't be trusted. She would do anything to get that silver and she'd do anything to make me look like a fool. I'm not foolish enough to trust her or for that matter any of her bastard offspring; especially, Frank.

I just checked the china closet and some of the antique silver is missing. The set is two spoons short, so Dolly did steal a couple of spoons when she was here. It's also possible that the youngest son of her's broke in here while I was away and took the spoons. I don't know why they would take only a desert spoon and a soup spoon, but maybe they are trying to drive me crazy. I wouldn't put that past Dolly or that youngest brat of her's. The only one of her bastards that can half-way be trusted is George and that's only because he takes after his father and not Dolly. I don't know how she ever managed to marry such a nice person as... what was her husband's name. Was it George? It must have been because I think their oldest son is called George Jr.

I'll have to get a locksmith in here to change the locks on the front and the backdoor. If Dolly has a key to the house, then she can get in anytime and take more of t he silver. I can't let her steal Ethan's inheritance. There must be some way I can keep Dolly out of this house; I'll just have to have the locks on the doors changed. Perhaps I should call Ethan or Daniella and see if they have any ideas on keeping Dolly out of the house.

I'll have to continue keeping this journal to document what is going on and the way Dolly treats me. I swear she threatened me when she was here the other day. I think she said that I'd be sorry if I didn't loan her the silver, but if I loan it to her then I'll never get it back because possession is 9/10 of the law. I can't let Dolly take Ethan's inheridance through a legal technocality.

'Odd entry,' Daniella thought, marking her place in the journal and closing the book. She took another sip of the warm soda and then went back into the kitchen. Looking around the room, she tried to think what could have happened to the spoons. She knew the most logical explanation was that her mother had inadvertently thrown them away. However, that did not sound like her mother; Amity was always careful with place settings and it did not matter whether the flatware was for everyday use or special occasions.

Going to the dishwasher, she opened it, but the racks were empty. Closing the dishwasher, she went to the junk drawer and looked in it only to find it in chaos, something else she knew the Amity would never let happen. She remember the way the drawer looked last Thanksgiving, it was neat with each item placed in a specific location. Taking the drawer out, she carried it to the dining room and dumped it out on the table. As she went through the contents, she put two silver antique spoons and two daily use spoons aside. Taking the spoon, she went back into the living room and placed them on the coffee table with the other utensils.

"Hello," came a man's voice from the half-open front door. "Anyone home?"

"Yes," Daniella said as she rushed from the living room into the foyer. "Hi, Uncle Rodger; hi, Ralf. Please come into the living room and sit down."

"What happened," said Rodger following Daniella.

"A kitchen fire on Wednesday and Mom was unable to unlock the door, so the fire department had to bust it in."

"How'd the fire start," ask Ralf as he and his father sit on the couch.

"Mom left a turkey in the oven when she went shopping and when she returned it had burned and..."

"That doesn't sound like Amity," Rodger frowned.

"It's not, but from what I can tell Mom hasn't been acting like herself since August."

"Did you bring me anything to eat, Uncle Rodger?"

"Of course, Daniella," he laughed. "Ralf, go out to the car and bring the food in for Daniella." Ralf got up and left the room.

"What's the problem with Amity?"

"I don't know for sure," Daniella picked Amity's journal and handed it to Rodger. "I know she's having memory problems, but I think there is more to it then that."

He opened the book and glanced at the first few pages. "Could Dolly be stealing the silver?"

"I don't think so, because I've found several piece hidden in the house, but I still haven't found the box containing all of Grandma Hattie's silver."

"I'm relieved that it isn't Dolly," he sighed. "However, if Amity does have a problem then she can't remain in this house; at least, not alone."

"I know," she looked up when she heard footsteps in the foyer. "I think Ralf is back with the food."

Ralf walked into the living room carrying a microwavable container and a thermus of coffee. He placed the items on the coffee table and then headed toward the kitchen. "Need to get some cups," he said as he paused at the exit from the living room. "Be back in a few minutes."

"Uncle Rodger," Daniella opened the food container, picked up a silver knife and fork from the coffee table. "I'm going to see Mom's doctor next week, so I'll ask her what she thinks is going on."

"I thought you Mom had an appointment in September."

"I believe she forgot that appointment, so I'll have to pay for that missed appointment." Daniella cut a slice of turkey and began eating. After swallowing she said, "I'm thinking of taking Mom back to Las Vegas with me. What do you think, Uncle Rodger?"

"That's a good idea, but someone needs to stay here and close the house."

"I'll ask Ethan if he and Alice can stay here for a while otherwise..."

"Don't worry about it, Daniella," said Ralf coming back into the room with three coffee cups. "I'm on a couple of weeks vacation, so Dad and I can stay for a while."