You Look So Good In Green, A Short Story
You Look So Good In Green
The car headed away from the paltry sunset as walls of trees steadily lined the road and came together behind them where it looked like the road met on the horizon. Eloise had contorted her body around so she could watch, she watched the sky and the few colored clouds but mostly she watched the trees, it looked like they were running away from the car, trying to desperately get away. They were vibrant spring greens but also had white and purple trees in their mix. It had been a couple of minutes since it had been too dark for her to read. She had stopped straining her eyes and asked how much time was left before turning around, uncomfortable because of her seat belt and suitcase that was almost on her lap, but she did it anyway. She couldn't face forward into the dark; she couldn't think anymore of how much longer there was left to go and how exhausted she was.
"We're here!" Her father yelled back.
"Ah!" She exclaimed, shot her head up, and hit it against her headrest. She had fallen asleep and he had startled her awake.
“Sorry,” he said, but Eloise wasn't mad. She rushed out of the car only to stare out into the night in what she thought was the direction of the cottage.
“It's behind you,” Father murmured before hopping in the car again to turn the lights on. *Part of the dark Subaru lit up, she flipped around so she was standing next to the massive dent in the bumper and looking towards the cottage. She couldn't see much, it was the cars inside lights that had turned on and the headlights were facing the other direction anyway. Still, the cottage wasn't far and the outline was visible. Here's what she could tell: it was small- at least upon first glance, trees almost formed a canopy over the roof and there were plants everywhere. Perfect. She felt like jumping even though she'd hardly see it. *The melancholy feeling that had stuck with her the entire car ride had dissipated.
Dad passed over her suitcase, draped a book bag across around her neck, and set her pillow on her head, allowing it to fall into her arms, before marching onward towards the cottage, the key ready in his hands. The real reason they are here is that Dan Iris, Eloise's father, or as you know him, Dad, is a painter. He had already set his suitcases and blankets and anything else, right inside, and was coming back out for easels, brushes, and paints.
Eloise hurried onward, up the few steps to the front door, and switched on a light bulb. The porch light went on and oh, what a porch it was. Extending out past the steps, it wrapped a couple feet around the corner of the house. Several lights were stuck to the ceiling, and she bounced to the edge of the porch, brushing against tree branches that jutted in on the sides. Hurrying back again, she flipped on the next light switch and a room and a hall inside the house lit up. The hall was short and ended a couple steps in at a door. The hallway was open to the left and a small room sat, a rectangular-shaped table in the center, and large windows opened to the porch that she hadn’t noticed before. The walls were swathed in a light green sage color. A couple of shelves, laden with books, sat around the room. On top of the shelves were trinkets, candles, miniature statues, jewelry, and other things that Eloise couldn't discern from a single glance. It made her giddy though. Now, all she wanted was to get the first glance of the entire cottage but she was excited to come back and examine each thing to find a piece of the person that had bought and loved it before.
It was not theirs really, they didn't own this place, but they were invited, well Dad was and she was allowed to tag along. He was invited to make art of the land around and of the cottage itself.
With luggage still piled in her arms, she shifted the pillow so she could open the door. It easily swung out revealing a small living room and kitchen. The living room was directly ahead and a little to the right, another door lay out to the side, and she would soon find that was where the bedrooms and bathroom were. The kitchen, a little to the left, was small but she could see them in here cooking with light pouring through the almost floor-to-ceiling windows that now looked almost black. She left the room, once again promising to come back and discover all its secrets once she had a peek of the whole home. Through the small door to the side, she found the bedrooms just like she thought. Four small rooms, placed evenly apart in a small hallway. The first room was the biggest, next was the bathroom and a slightly smaller bedroom after that.
Leaving the first room to Dad, she dropped her stuff on the perfect bed in the second bedroom. ‘Perfect’ because, to Eloise, it really was. Her book bag bounced on the fluffy white comforter, it was embroidered with green vines and little yellow daisies. It was a queen-size bed, she never had a queen-size bed before. *This room also had a great big window, placed just behind the just above the bed. There was a dresser, a shelf, almost empty but for a thick green book with the word ‘poetry’ on the front, and a diary. The room had a closet with a couple of hangers already inside. Lastly, this room too was covered in a sage green color, the entire house actually was painted the exact same green color, but Eloise didn’t mind, she loved the color.
Back in the hallway, she peeked into the bathroom. This little house was like all of her cottage storybook dreams. She couldn't wait to see what it looks like in the morning and she couldn't believe they were really staying here for the summer.
The door to the last room was the only one that was closed. . . and locked. Eloise grew strongly disappointed, maybe she wouldn't get to see the whole house after all. Just like the other rooms, she didn't stay long though, and she told herself that Dad probably had an answer.
*"Eloisa! " he called just as she left the green hallway.
It was a while before she found him, but she noticed the movement past the kitchen in a room that she hadn’t been in yet. It was the sunroom, the room that Father would be painting in most of the time. This room, also, looked like the walls were painted black from the floor to the ceiling, even though it was really just windows. The more she discovered the more excited she became for how the morning light would look through them.
He was in the sunroom, his painting supplies were stacked in the corner but he was laying on his belly on the ground, smiling up at her. Laying in front of him was the fluffiest cat, white with bits of orange on the base of its ears and scattered around its fur. She felt like squealing but didn't make a noise as she plopped down in front of the cat loaf.
"Aww," she stroked its head with a gentle pointer finger, "what's his name?"
"Umm..." The cat had a collar with a tiny tag showing its name. "Miss Foxy." he pronounced after a moment of squinting. "Something was briefly mentioned about a cat, I remember now."
"I can't believe we get a cat."
"Don't forget," he started to stand up, "we don't own any of this, really, it's just temporary so I can get work. It's what I am paid to do."
"Right," she nodded. "I won't forget."
"Okay," he started with his mouth full of food, "what do you think? Have you gotten a chance to look at everything?"
They were seated around a small table in between the living room, kitchen, and sunroom door. It was a round mosaic table and covered with tiles of green and blue hues.
Most of the lights were switched off, they left lamps on, and her dad had found a couple of candles. Two of them were placed in front of them, the others on the kitchen counter. A red clock placed high on the wall, ticked quietly and read 1:27. She had slept in the car much longer than she thought. If it's around bedtime, dad says they need to get in the mood for sleeping, which mostly entails dimming the lights and talking quietly.
"Yes!" she said too loudly, "I looked all around. But…” she said quieter, “there is one thing." She started hesitantly. "Back there, by the bedrooms, there are four doors, two bedrooms and the bathroom, of course, and there's another door. . . that’s locked."
Dad hadn't even gone back to the bedrooms yet, his stuff was dumped on the couch. He had come in, placed his art supplies in the sunroom, and got their leftover sandwiches out right after.
"Hmm," he set his sandwich down and took a swig of water from a glass he had found in the cabinets. It felt weird, taking cups, plates, and cloth napkins out of drawers and cabinets that they hadn't placed them in and that weren't theirs. She would have to live in the in-between of loving the cottage too much and feeling like she was trespassing and using someone else's cups and cloth napkins without asking. They were allowed to be here. Dad knew all of the details and for the summer this place was, technically, theirs.
"Well I haven't heard anything about that but I am sure there's nothing to worry about. It's probably just a couple of the Miller's things that they left here."
"But—"
"Eloise," he cut her off, "we're allowed to be here, if the door is locked there's probably a good reason. We're allowed to be here, I have paperwork and everything, I am here to do a job and there's nothing to worry about."
It's like he was reading her mind, like he knew exactly what she was thinking. One moment he was telling her not to get too attached and the other he was telling her not to worry about living in someone else's house. She knew he was right, but why would they leave all of their things out and all of the other rooms unlocked, except for that one?
"Alright," he stood, picking up each thing they had used as Eloise ate a tomato that had fallen out of her sandwich, and she joined him after, "don't unpack, just find some pj's and go to sleep. It'll make the morning come faster. It’s easier to get things done with light.
"Anyway, I am excited to see how this place looks in the daytime."
Eloise agreed.
She woke up with the sunlight. She had closed her curtains the night before, but it was a thin white curtain and wouldn't likely stop the sun. *Glancing over the clock it read and even 6:30 a.m. she sighed and rolled over, normally and Eloise has a hard time falling asleep and a harder time waking up and getting out of bed even in a bright room. But today she didn't care about staying comfy inside. Sitting up, she waited for a moment, enjoying the light dancing on the floor. It really was perfect, she was somehow well-rested and even if she wasn't she would still be excited to get up and look around outside. She already enjoyed the morning and she loved her room.
Using the bathroom before she left the hall, she smoothed her hair down with a little bit of water, as her shoulder-length hair was always so fluffy and out of place in the morning time, she brushed her teeth, and splashed water on her face, not yet taking the time to go through her suitcase and find some clothes to wear.
In the living room, light poured through the windows just like she had expected, but many of the windows were also open and the inside and outside spring air blended in the most fantastic way. Dad was moving around the kitchen already.
"You're awake!" he said.
"You're awake," she added and they both laughed.
"I know, the sun woke me up. I only got up a couple of minutes ago. Isn't it beautiful?"
"Me too, and yeah," she murmured, as she had been taking it all in while they talked.
To a certain degree, something becomes indescribable, and 'light poured through the windows in a beautiful way' can only be said so many times. The cottage, the windows, the trees and plants that surrounded the house, and the spring air, made it feel like she was in a storybook. Like it was magical and couldn't possibly be real. But it was.
Stepping into the sunroom she noticed that the door to the outside was already partially open, calling to her.
"I'm making pancakes," her dad called through the window. "I'll bring them out there when they're finished."
Outside there was a small brick patio with a mosaic table, like the one inside, and partially encompassing the area was a knee-high brick wall. Open on the side a path was slightly descending to a grassy area with several garden beds. A forest of dense trees surrounded everything. She had been told that a pond or lake was somewhere downhill and through those trees.
Finally, she sat against the brick wall and noticed Foxy, sitting like a loaf next to her. She reached over to pet her and as she did, Foxy got up and gingerly stepped onto her lap and resumed the same position, vibrating and smiling into the sun. Eloise hummed and cuddled her, feeling honored that Foxy chose to come to her.
*The Door creaked open and Dad came out holding two plates and syrup onto his arm.
"Look," she whispered, like talking too loudly would scare the cat away.
"Oh, well, hello Miss Foxy," he stepped over after setting the plates down to stroke her head. Standing up she gathered Foxy in her arms and pulled one of the chairs out so Foxy could sit with them as they ate.
"I found the ingredients for pancakes," Dad said mid-bite, "but we'll have to go to the market soon. There isn't much left. The market isn't too far though."
"I don't mind, maybe we can meet some people," she said, mopping up syrup with a piece of pancake.
"Oh, and I was thinking, maybe we should spend today exploring and go down to the pond and lake."
"Oh! Yes, yes!" She said it so loudly that Foxy sprang from the chair and dashed out of sight. Eloise hadn't realized that there was both a lake and a pond.
She stood as Dad picked the food up again, looking out to the land, into the trees. She couldn't wait to see what they would find, she knew surprises and adventures lay waiting for her to stumble right into them, and right around the corner, there were people to meet and places to explore.
A place like this wouldn't dare to be boring.
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This is such a charming story and your writing is so descriptive! I’d love to read more of Eloise’s adventures.
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