Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Checking the cabinets, there are pots and pans, plates and glasses. The pantry however, is empty, same with the fridge. While someone could eat here, should even be eating here, apparently they don’t. There isn’t even salt in the salt shaker.
Questions swirl. Is this a second home? Where is his wife and daughter? Why aren’t they here? Why does he say he doesn’t live here?
He said three people have the code, two of them are on the Harley-Davidson. That is me and him, the third is dead. Does that mean his wife is dead? Where is his daughter? Is she dead? Is that why he doesn’t stay here? I don’t want to make assumptions and quickly turn my questions off. That isn’t fair to him or his kindness to bring me here.
Going down the hallway, there is a room to the right. I enter it to see it’s an office. Two bookshelves, a desk, and chair are the only furniture in the room. It’s the walls though, every wall has pictures or awards. All of them for military service.
Moving down the hall, there is a bathroom on the left, then another room on the left. Entering it, I see letters on the wall spelling out Dominiks. Stepping into the space, there is a twin size bed with a rail for a smaller child but a sheer canopy style covering with tiger lilies and butterflies attached. As I turn to the wall that the door is on, I gasp.
There is a full on, hand painted mural of tiger lilies from floor to ceiling.
The tiger lilies are for his daughter.
Where is she? Why isn’t she here?
Being in this space, his private environment, I’m learning things about my customer, things I probably shouldn’t know. How he lives his life isn’t my business. His wife and child certainly aren’t my business. Moving from that room, across the hall is another bedroom, this one though is set up with a day bed, and the rest of the space is filled with toys. There is a pretend kitchen, a play store set up, and baby dolls galore.
I don’t enter that particular room, but I do leave the doors open as I exit each room. I don’t know why, but I find comfort in being able to hear more around me. There are two more rooms at the end of the hallway. I go to one and I’m astonished to see a vanity, two dressers, and yet no bed. Walking into the space, I go through one door to find a walk-in closet filled with women’s clothes and shoes line the floor. Backing back into the room, I open the other door inside it and find the master bathroom. It is stunning with a shower that has double shower heads, a separate bathtub that is bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. Another door leads to a private area to use the toilet and the final door in the bathroom leads to a smaller closet filled with Naval uniforms.
Well, he was or is in the Navy. However, where we are I don’t know of a base nearby so I think he’s no longer in service. I wonder what he did in the Navy?
Exiting what is apparently the master suite, I go to the last door across the hall and find a laundry room that leads to the back yard.
I don’t bother going out back. I won’t be here long enough for any of this to matter.
Back in the kitchen I take a seat at the table. I don’t know why but sitting on the couch doesn’t seem like the right thing to do in someone else’s house. My phone rings before I can think on what my next moves will be.
Looking at the caller ID, I sigh in relief. It’s my cousin and best friend from back home.
“Hello,” I answer trying to decide how much I should share.
“Chelle-Belle, I’m sorry this isn’t a casual call and I don’t have much time.” She explains, her Jersey accent prevalent in the way it only gets when she’s hyper or anxious. “Have you heard anything from him?” she asks and my heart sinks.
What do I say? “Maybe,” I mutter.
“Yes or No, Michele?” She is serious. “It is a yes or no.”
The tears pool behind my eyes. “I think possibly.”
“What happened, and don’t leave out one detail? I’m making arrangements to come to you as we speak.”
“Giulia, you can’t leave everything you have there.”
“Michele, what happened?”
This is Giulia, straight to it. As the head of the Bianchi Holdings, she has to be firm at all times. A business, she inherited from her Italian father. Our mothers were sisters. I was raised by our grandparents because my mom died in a car accident when I was three. While her mother wanted to raise me alongside Giulia, our grandparents wouldn’t allow it due to her husband. He was a hard man and very dedicated to building his business. While I don’t know exactly what the company does, my grandparents never approved.