It frightened her to bruise his ego but erring on honesty was always best. “I’m sorry if I should, but I don’t. I thought at first that your name sounded familiar, Anthony Rawlings, but I have tried for over two weeks, and I admit I don’t know.”
He leaned back on the loveseat and offered a brief synopsis of himself. He called himself a businessman who had built his fortune from nothing. The beginning of and bulk of his success came with the Internet, he and a friend created one of the first Internet search engines. He later bought out his friend’s part of the company, had diversified his holdings, and has done pretty well.
Claire chuckled. “You made your fortune, because this,” looking around the expanse of his mansion, “is more than doing pretty well, with the Internet? And the only technology in your home is in your office?”
“Perhaps I want my home to be an oasis from my business life.”
Claire pondered that for a moment. “I understand. My grandfather and my father were both in law enforcement. They saw things that people should never have to see. Sometimes my grandfather would be gone for months at a time doing undercover work. Actually, I remember a story from when I was young where he was gone for around two years. My father was home each night. But anyways, my dad didn’t want home to be anything like work. I couldn’t even watch COPS on TV. I think it was like you were saying, an oasis.”
Anthony went on to ask about Claire’s family. She said her grandparents passed away before she graduated high school. Her parents were tragically killed in a car accident during her junior year of college. She did have a sister and brother-in-law in New York State. Fleetingly she wondered when she would talk to Emily again. With the breeze and the sound of birds, Claire casually went on talking. She asked Anthony about his family. As soon as her question left her lips she saw his eyes darken. She calmly added, “But if you don’t want to say anything, I don’t need to know.”
Perhaps it was her quick observation or the realization that she could read him, but his eyes lightened. “My parents are also gone. It was an accident when I was twenty-four. I have no siblings, and my grandparents are also gone.” The serenity returned as they both offered each other sincere sympathies at their loss. Claire’s coffee was gone and she didn’t know what else to say or discuss. She could see Anthony watching her as she stared out to the pool area. Beyond the pool was the backyard. The corner of it could be seen from her room but not the pool or porch. Past the yard were trees. From the second story she knew they went on forever, but from this vantage they created a gray veil around the yard. Soon little starts of green would transform the bleak veil into a colorful curtain. Claire really enjoyed spring.
Anthony excused himself and said he needed to prepare for his trip. She was welcome to stay on the porch or go elsewhere in the house. He would look for her before he left. He smiled what appeared to be a real smile. “I am pleased that the glitches have been resolved. I have plans for our agreement.”
The smile seemed right, the unspoken portion of his statement made Claire shiver. After he left, she looked down at her arm and saw the goose bumps that rubbed her sleeves. She told herself the cause was the breeze.
Claire returned to her suite recognizing that with the ability to roam she didn’t feel the need. Besides, she was tired. Sleeping late can do that to a person. However, her gut told her that yesterday’s glitches were more likely the cause of her fatigue. Her body felt stiff, and she thought about a nice long bath in the beautiful garden tub as she entered her room.
On the bed, laid out so she could see each one, were multiple bathing suits: one-piece suits like she wore in high school swim class and bikinis that would be perfect for the sun. She liked the styles but wondered if they would fit. Of course, they would, hadn’t everything else? She had to wonder how a promise made Saturday morning could be so quickly fulfilled on a Sunday, seemingly far away from anywhere. He told her that she would have bathing suits tomorrow. Apparently, he is a man of his word. That earned him one on the positive column. The negative column had more tallies than Claire could count.
Peeking out from under the white cover up was a wrapped gift. It was a small box wrapped in white paper with a gold foil ribbon. Claire always liked gifts but she didn’t feel good about this one. What did it mean? Was it because of how he had been or because of how he would be? She picked it up and decided she didn’t want to know. She sat the gift on the corner of the bed and wearily entered the bathroom to soak in the tub.