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Chapter One

As I walked through the crowded airport towards the baggage claim, my mind was swimming with unorganized thoughts. I was finally starting my new life in the real world, after five years of culinary school abroad in Europe. I was understandably excited to be finally returning home. I was also anxious to see my parents and two sisters.

My eyes searched the endless amounts of suitcases, rolling past me on the charcoal conveyer belt, searching for my own brown luggage. At last, after to long of a wait, I spied my four suitcases. I pushed past a rather large man, who was arguing with some poor creature on his cell phone, in a loud voice, that wasn’t appropriate if you didn’t want anyone to hear your conversations.

“I don’t care how you do it, you idiotic cow, just make sure that the Bell gets there! I will not allow it to be late; the Grasper will punish not only me, but you, if the Bell isn’t there on time. Juan, it’s a great and prestigious honor to handle the Bell, do not shame me, make sure that the Bell gets to the Acceptance Ceremony!” the man huffed, impatiently.

As I finally reached my bags, I pondered over what this man said, though I knew it wasn’t any business of mine, I was curious to know what this Bell was, why it was an honor to handle it, and what an Acceptance Ceremony was. I decided I would ask my father about the matter, when I arrived at my parents’ house.               Walking through airports was always a hectic time for me; I felt rushed even when I had plenty of time to get to where I was going. The enormous hordes of people overwhelmed me, and their excited, unintelligible chatter, seemed to only fuel my frustration with the airport.                   

When I was finally settled into a cab, on my way home, I breathed a sigh of exhausted relief. The ride to my parents house lasted about twenty minutes, due to traffic, it frustrated me to be moving only inches as the minutes passed by , but I was grateful to be finally alone (not counting the taxi driver, who was exceptionally quiet, and let me be.) with my thoughts. I again wondered what an Acceptance Ceremony and Bell was. I hadn’t been home in months, not since last Christmas, and I didn’t recall anyone mentioning an important Bell. I decided that this Bell and Acceptance Ceremony must be a recent thing. I only wondered why my mother, father, or one of my sisters didn’t mention anything about it, over the phone, or even through e-mail. Perhaps the large man at the airport and Jose (whoever he was) must’ve been employees of a museum, and that they were moving some rare bell, to another museum, which would explain why he said it was a great honor to move it, and it would also explain the Acceptance Ceremony. Of course there would be an acceptance ceremony, when museums loaned artifacts to one another. It must be a difficult process to move ancient and very valuable artifacts, from place to place.     

This conclusion seemed to be an acceptable explanation for the mystery, but I couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t the right answer. The way the man at the airport, angrily, frustratingly, and somewhat anxiously spoke on the phone, to Jose, didn’t support my theory. No, what this man spoke of was something far more important than moving around old bells. But what could it be? I asked myself. I knew I shouldn’t be prying my nose in other peoples' affairs, but I couldn’t help but wonder. My curiosity was aroused, and I promised myself I was going to get to the bottom of the mystery.

            As I was thinking this, the cab was little by little, pulling out of the traffic jam, and I was pulled away from my thoughts, when I realized that we were at last, entering my neighborhood.

            When the cab driver, pulled to a stop in front of my parents’ tan house, I vaguely noticed that every light in the house was on, due to my excited squeals of delight as I impatiently payed the cab driver, and lugged my enormous bags, out of the trunk of the car.    

              “She’s here! Daddy, Mom, she’s here! Kelly’s here!” one of my sisters yelled through out the house. I ran up the drive, hauling my four bags behind me, not letting them slow me down. Before I had the chance to ring the doorbell a thousand times, my mom opened the door.              

“Mommy!” I cried, instantly dropping my luggage, up until that moment I hadn’t truly realized how much I missed my mother. I sobbed into her chest, and I felt her silent tears, fall into my short, ash blonde hair. I breathed in my mother’s sweet perfume, and gladly let it envelop me, in its soothing familiarity. Sometime during our hugging my father pulled my mother away from me, and crushed me into one of his tight bear hugs. When I saw my father, I started another fit of sobs. My dad didn’t cry, and this upset me for half a moment, but then I pushed this feeling aside, and told myself that he was crying on the inside.               

“I love you kiddo.” He told me.

“Love you too, Dad.” I replied.

I carefully pulled myself away from my father; I wanted to take a good look at my two sisters. My older sister, Melissa had flown over here with her husband Matt, the week before for my homecoming; the couple were living in Indiana. The two living so far away from California, was a great pain to our mother, who wanted her family around her at all times. Unfortunately, Melissa needed to be away from Mom, or she would be driven to the point of insanity, by Mom’s persistent nagging. Cheyenne, was constantly urging her oldest daughter to start a family, and to clean her house more often.                                 

I was pleased to see that Melissa’s appearance hadn’t changed much, since last Christmas. Her hair was still brown; her eyes were unchanged, still the same muddy brown, only now they were filled with tears and had laugh lines around them. Melissa impatiently shoved past our parents and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re back.” She whispered in my ear.

“Me to.” I whispered back.

After too short of a time, Melissa let me go, so that I could greet my little sister, Eleanor, or Ella, as we all called her. “Alright my turn!” she said.

She hugged me quickly, and let go. I was startled at first that our embrace was abruptly short, but she quickly chattered. “Let’s go inside Kelly, Matt should be getting here in a few minutes, he went to the supermarket, to get something ‘to celebrate’ he said.” Ella told me in a rush, as she shoved me inside. “I don’t know what he’s getting, but I hope it’s something to eat cause Melissa the Pig here, ate everything.”

I glanced at Melissa who muttered to Ella an indistinct “Did not.”, and wondered something. “No,” I told myself, “that couldn’t be it.”

When Ella, Melissa and I were gathered in the living room, (I perched on my dad’s armchair), I was immediately hit with a series of rapid fire questions from my sisters.

“How was your flight?”

“It was fine.”

“Do you miss Europe?”

“Not Yet.”

“Are you hungry?”

“I will be”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing…I’m tired that’s all. You know jet lag.”

 “Don’t tell me nothing happened Kelly, something’s made you upset. What’s wrong with you?” Melissa inquired. Why I didn’t want to talk to my sisters about the incident at the airport, I’m not entirely sure of. I think a part of it had to do with the simple reason that I was too tired, to do but celebrate.      

“Nothing there was just some guy talking real loud at the baggage claim. I just have a small headache that’s all. Nothing worth mentioning, or complaining about.” I half lied.                   

Thankfully Ella seemed satisfied with my answer and turned on the television. Melissa sensed that I was keeping some part of the story from her, but she too, dropped the subject. I turned my attention to the TV, Ella was watching an old re-run of Frasier. That was her favorite TV show, I remembered, when she was little. She always had an obsession with that dog.                                   

 I was playing with a loose string of fabric on the armchair, breathing in the lavender scented air combined with the smells of food being made, when the doorbell rang.                                    

“Girls,” my dad called out to us from the kitchen, “get the door!”

None of us made a move for the door, though we all knew it was Matt.                                    

“Oh, well allow me, to get that.”  Ella said with sarcastic venom in her voice. With a wave of her hair she was up. About two minutes later we heard Ella using her ‘impatient voice’ coming from the door.               

“Ugh!” Ella complained, “All you brought was champagne? You know I can’t drink yet? What am I supposed to do now? Oh and look you didn’t even get cider so I could at least feel like I’m apart of the celebrations! Why my sister ever married you is beyond me!”

Melissa and I exchanged an annoyed glance with one another and went to the door. We were met with a loud commotion.

"Oh, hey Kelly!" Matt distractedly greeted me. He was attempting to avoid Ella's desperate attempts to get at his car keys.

"Hey yourself Matt." I said. "Ell, what's the problem? Why are you freaking out?"

"Freaking out?" She practically yelled waving the champagne bottle she had undoubtedly wrestled from feeble Matt’s hands, "Freaking out! I tell this oaf to go get something to celebrate you coming home and all, and he brings champagne! I can't drink champagne. Meaning I can't celebrate anything!"

"Over-reaction much?" Melissa muttered beneath her breath.

"I heard that!" Ella exclaimed.

Melissa turned to her husband, "Matt. You know I love you right? Well I hope you don't take it to heart if I ask you why you can sometimes be completely clueless!"

"What?" he said dumbfounded.

"I'm pregnant! I can't drink alcohol! Why would you get champagne?" she half screamed.

Ella and I stared open mouthed at our sister. Pregnant? Melissa wasn't ready to have children! She was much too quick-tempered to be having a kid! Unfortunately our parents chose that moment to walk in to see what the fuss was about.

"Pregnant?" my mother cooed. She walked over to Melissa. "You're pregnant? Oh honey, that's wonderful!"

Matt turned an awful shade of scarlet and looked like he was going to pass out. Melissa untangled herself from our mother’s arms and went to stand by her husband. Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulders though she was the one supporting his weight. Melissa looked at Matt with sheer annoyance, and turned to the family. “Yeah, Matt and I are going to have a child.”

Our father clutched his left arm and collapsed.