I woke up to the smell of breakfast and sunlight shining through the sheer curtains. I felt excited, knowing what today had in store. David decided to take me to a family summer home in Florida. I knew David's family had properties, but when I think about it, I've never really seen any of them. The thought of seeing another one of David's family homes made me smile, I wonder if we'll be alone. I quickly pushed the thought away as I remembered the night before. I felt my cheeks heat up as I lay there flustered.
After I took a shower and got dressed, I headed to the dining room for breakfast. The dining room was huge, big enough for a three-generation family, of course, exaggerated. The table was made of solid wood, hand-carved by the best artisan in the country. The chairs were also solid wood with immaculate little detailed carvings, cushioned in a shining gold velvet fabric that just brought the entire piece together.
David sat in one of the chairs on the side of the with a cup of coffee, a croissant, and a small dish of room-temperature butter in front of him. He was reading a book, looking up when he saw me approaching.
"Good morning, how was your sleep?"
"Fine, thank you, and yours? Do you have a hang-over; after all that drinking, I wouldn't be surprised."
David got up from his seat and walked over towards me. My mind started racing with thoughts but I couldn't concentrate. He pulled me into a hug, pressing my face into his chest. He smelled like he'd just come out of the shower, the scent of his masculine body wash filling my nostrils. He tilted my face upwards so that I was looking up at him as he looked deep into my eyes. He stared at me for what seemed like minutes before pulling away and going back to his seat.
I felt somewhat disappointed, honestly, expecting more, wanting more. I saw his eyes, he wanted to say something but was too afraid to, too unsure. Taking into account my own state I decided not to push it.
After breakfast, David sent some of the servants to help me pack my clothes, and tell me to not bring any other essentials. He wanted to be on the road by noon so that we could get to the train for the second half of the travel, by evening. At noon we set out for the train. The ride there was tense since all I could think about was the reason why we we going to the summer home in the first place. The sunset was beautiful beyond the horizon, it glowed in the dark pink sky as the moon started to rise for the evening.
It was about 9:00 p.m. when we finally made it to David's summer home. It was enormous. There were windows decorating the entire building and the garden, the garden was beautiful. When you walk through the front door, there is a large hall. The walls were decorated with art from the Renaissance, with famous art from Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Giorgio Vasari. Some art was more recent as it looked like they were paintings of the family. Once you have made it through the hall you enter the living room. It had big couches and sofas. The table in the center of the room, in my opinion, was too big to be a coffee table, but too small to be anything else. The walls were decorated with art and there were different elegant decorative touches all throughout.
"M'am, Sir, you have mail." a servant gave me and David each an envelope. The red stamp gave a sick feeling in my stomach. The letters read as follows:
Dear Ms. Dean,
I heard about your unfortunate loss. To have your entire home thrown into such a gruesome state is just horrible. I hope you can accept my condolences. I know you are in good hands though, and I don't have to worry as much.
But, getting off such upsetting topics, I hope to see you at our meeting tomorrow, and in good health. I know that you may be distraught but, being your father's daughter, I know you won't disappoint.
See you soon and always, your dear friend,
John Willis.
I looked at David, I could see the anger seething in his eyes. If he could, I'm sure he would have killed Willis by now and this makes him even more angry. I didn't say anything and he didn't either. We didn't have to, didn't want to. We didn't speak for the rest of the night. David showed me to my room and later, we ate dinner, in silence. David decided to head to his office to do some work and told me to get some rest. Not knowing what to expect or how to prepare, I finally decided to go to sleep. God knows I would need the strength.