Southern Lights: A Novel

She sat down in the large, comfortable chair and looked around the room. Everything was pale blue silk and satin. There were heavy curtains pulled back with blue tassels, a beautiful antique dressing table and mirror, and a little sitting area with a bookcase and two small couches. The room was warmly lit and elegantly decorated. It was much more elaborate than anything she was used to, and there was a large four-poster bed hung with heavy silk curtains as well. It was certainly a lovely room, even if it didn’t feel like home. She had known that her father lived well, but hadn’t realized that he lived in such grandeur. She had been taken aback by it when they walked in, and still felt daunted by it now. It didn’t feel like a home where you could walk around in jeans and bare feet, or an old flannel nightie with holes in it. It was a house where you got dressed up and sat up straight on silk chairs and never relaxed or let your hair down. It was hard to imagine living here and feeling at ease. Even harder to imagine a child living here, and she had seen no sign of one yet. Like her mother, her ten-year-old half-sister was nowhere to be seen when they arrived, and the house was deadly quiet, as Savannah stared at her bags and tried to get up the courage to unpack. Instead she took out her cell phone and called her mother. It was ten o’clock, and there was no time difference in New York. She knew her mother would still be up, and was surprised to realize she’d been asleep. Alexa had fallen into a deep sleep after crying for hours but didn’t tell Savannah that.

“How is it, sweetheart?” Alexa asked her quickly, and Savannah sighed.

“Strange. The house is amazing, and Daddy’s been very nice. I’m in some big fancy guest room all done up in blue.” Alexa knew it well, as it had been called the Blue Room in her day too, and she had always stayed there when she came to visit before they were married. And now Savannah was in it. Alexa could visualize it perfectly. “It just seems so fancy and uptight, like a museum.” And it felt so far from home, even if she had lived there as a child.

“There’s a lot of history in that house. Your father is very proud of it. Your grandmother lives in an even bigger house nearby, or she used to. It’s an old plantation that her grandfather bought when he got married.” It was too much for Savannah to absorb. She missed her mother and her familiar room, and her life in the city. It was all she cared about now, not the elegance and history of the South.

“I miss you, Mom,” Savannah said sadly. “A lot.” She was fighting not to cry, and so was Alexa.

“Me too, sweetheart. You won’t be there long, I promise. And I’ll come down as soon as I can.” She wasn’t looking forward to it, but she would have gone to hell and back to see her daughter. And as far as she was concerned, Charleston and all she’d lived through there at the end was hell. “How was Luisa?” Alexa held her breath as she asked. She knew what she was capable of, and hated having Savannah in the front lines exposed to it.

“I didn’t see her. Daddy said she had a headache and had gone to bed.” Alexa held her tongue and didn’t comment. “I didn’t see Daisy either. She had gone to bed too. Everything seems to roll up early here,” contrary to New York, where the city was alive all night. “Daddy says he’ll give me a car to drive.”

“Be careful,” her mother warned her. “You don’t have a lot of experience yet.” But the city was small and the traffic light. It was nice of Tom to give her a car. It would give her some freedom, particularly once she started school. “I can’t wait to see you,” she said sadly, wishing she were there with her.

“Me too. I guess I’d better unpack. We’re going sightseeing tomorrow.”

“It’s another world there. You’ll see. The Confederacy is still alive and well. For them the ‘War Between the States’ never ended. They still hate us and hang on to every shred of their history. They don’t trust anyone but southerners. But there are a lot of wonderful things about it too, and Charleston is a beautiful place. I loved it when I lived there, and I would have stayed forever if…well, you know the rest. I think you’ll like it. It has everything, beauty, history, gorgeous architecture, lovely beaches, nice weather, friendly people. It’s hard to beat.” It was easy to tell that she had once loved it no matter how she felt about it now.

“I just want to be home with you,” Savannah said sadly. The scenic and historical aspects of Charleston didn’t interest her at all, or even the school. She wanted to be with her old friends in New York to finish senior year, and now she couldn’t because of a bunch of stupid letters written by some freak. It wasn’t fair. “I guess I’d better organize my stuff. Did you pack my music?”

“Of course.” Alexa was glad she had thought to do it.

There was no sign of a stereo in the room, but her mother said she had packed her Discman and iPod too. She was all set. And she wouldn’t disturb anyone, which seemed like a good thing.