Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Letting go of Ada’s arm, I bolted over. Apparently, he’d found an anthill. “No,” I said, picking him up and tucking him against my chest. “We don’t know what kind of ants those are. What if they can kill you?”
“I don’t think we have mutant ants here, darling.”
I wasn’t convinced. I steered Misha in a different direction, and off he went, getting the zoomies now. Until a few days ago, I’d had no idea what those were. Gale had to explain, having had cats when he was growing up that did laps around the house at three in the morning. It was one of the many things we’d discussed on the phone late at night since he’d been gone.
There had been a law-enforcement training with the ATF that he had to attend in Denver, and then a similar one at Langley right afterward. He’d originally scheduled them back-to-back to get them done and to have a vacation from Rune. Being back in a city would have been fun for him especially since he might have even met someone to spend time with while he was there. But now, everything was different. He didn’t want to be away from Rune. Or more precisely, me. He wanted to be home. And now, coming up on two weeks, he was climbing the walls. I was too. I missed him, more than I thought I would, and was counting the days until his return.
“Anyway,” I told Ada, “you need to give the house some thought. The architect is coming tomorrow, along with a landscaper to take pictures and give us quotes.”
She nodded.
“Then on Friday, the new temporary roof is going up, since we don’t need water damage, but I don’t want to put on a whole new one if the architect can put in a widow’s walk.”
“That makes sense.”
“We had all the paintings moved, and I found a Chagall in the blue salon.”
“Oh, I’m glad it’s still there. Oscar loved him.”
“Also, there are a lot of closed boxes on the third floor, and if there’s no mold or bat shit on them, you’ll be able to look through them. But if they’re compromised, they’re all going in another dumpster trailer, and that’s off-limits, okay?”
She nodded. “How do we feel about Chinese food?”
“Will it be delivered, or are we going to get it?”
“Delivered, of course. And speaking of, I had my regular grocery delivery put in your refrigerator and cabinets, so we’re all stocked up.”
“You mean your new delivery that I made you set up?”
She waved her hand dismissively.
I knew if I didn’t say it was time for lunch, she wouldn’t eat. It was the same with breakfast. If she made it for me, she’d eat too, but for herself she’d say she wasn’t hungry. Only when I made a point of reminding her did she eat. I couldn’t imagine a time when Gale and I wouldn’t be sharing meals with her. Not that I was complaining. You couldn’t ask for a more entertaining breakfast, lunch, or dinner companion than Ada Farley. The stories were simply amazing. She knew everyone. It was like breaking bread with Diana Vreeland, whom my mother had known back in the day.
Later, waiting for the food, I was dozing on my bed when Gale called.
“I was worried you were blowing me off tonight.”
“No,” he grumbled. “I was going to surprise you that I was home, but I’m stuck sitting out here in front of some kind of Addams Family gate!”
I lost it.
“It’s not funny, Maks! The hell is this thing?”
“It’s a wrought iron, and that’s Ada’s potter’s mark in the middle.”
“What is it supposed to be?”
“A sun, of course, for Summerland Drive.”
“Well, in the dark it looks like a giant scary mask.”
I chuckled.
“Could you stop laughing at me and open the gate so I can drive down and see you?”
“You have your own fob. It’s here on my nightstand, waiting for you.”
“I don’t want it on your nightstand. In fact, I want you and Misha to meet me at my house right now.”
“We just ordered Chinese food, so you’re going to have to wait.”
“No, no, I don’t wanna wait. And I’ll cook for you instead.”
“You’re not cooking your first night home,” I said, smiling into the phone.
“Fine, I’ll have Chinese too, but I want to see you.”
“That can maybe be arranged,” I baited him.
“Oh, honey, please,” he said, his voice cracking. “I’ll be right there, but I’m dying to see you. A lot of the guys I was there on the training with, they’ve known me a long time, and they said they’d never seen me so excited to go home.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes,” he ground out. “Dying to see you.”
“Same for me so…yeah. I’ll meet you at your place.”
He was silent.
“What?”
“Can you open the goddamn gate?”
I groaned. “It’s been opening. It just takes a minute. The guy’s coming back tomorrow to reset it.”