“What do you mean the life you created for her? I don’t understand.” This time she emphasizes the word ‘you.’
“Well, I hired a housekeeper… her name is Conchita. I figured she could help Val with chores, help her get acclimated and all.”
Dead silence on the other end.
“Cindy? Hello? Are you still there?”
“Yeah, I am just wondering why you hired a housekeeper for a nine hundred something square foot house.”
“It’s different down here. It’s not about the size of the house; it’s about helping the community.” I hesitate for a second. “Besides,” I add, “Conchita is teaching Val to speak Spanish.”
“You do know you can take lessons online these days. There’s a bunch of sites that offer language courses free of charge.”
“As I said, I enjoy helping the local community here. I’m providing a job to someone in need.”
“So, has Val made any friends? Other than what’s her name… Conchita?”
“No, she doesn’t go out that often. She pretty much stays close to home but she does have Max.”
“Max?”
“Our dog.”
“Oh, that’s right, Maximilian. She told me about him but I had forgotten his name.” A long pause ensues before she pipes up again. “Hey, I have an idea.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ll come down and visit. I’m sure that will cheer her up. I miss my Val and I desperately need a vacation from hotel hell.”
I mute the phone to air my grievance. Honestly, I don’t know what to say to her self-invitation. As I ponder the thought, I hear clicking sounds over the line as though someone is typing in the background. I unmute.
“So, I just checked the airlines and found a smoking deal. There’s a flight that will put me there on Friday. I’m gonna grab it before it’s gone.”
“Sure, Cindy,” I unwillingly relent, “go grab it and then text me your arrival time. I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
“I can take a cab if it’s a bother.”
“No, I don’t want cabbies or strangers knowing where I live.”
“Okay, then I don’t want Val knowing that I’m coming down. I want it to be a surprise.”
“Sure thing, Cindy, let’s surprise her.”
“Promise?”
“I promise,” I sneer.
“See you on Friday,” she squeals and ends the call.
I put Val’s phone back in the exact place I found it next to the lamp on the nightstand where it is always setting. I keep telling her she shouldn't sleep with her phone by the bed. I read that it's not safe to be so close to your phone when you sleep—something about radiation and brain cancer. I really wish she’d listen to me more. It would be horrible if anything ever happened to my Val.
As I wander into the kitchen, I wonder if Cindy knows the size of other things in my life in addition to my house. Clenching my teeth, I can only imagine what Val tells her when they chit chat on the phone.
Val knows I'm a private guy. I don't like sharing information with people I don't know and don’t want my dirty laundry aired. I tug on the refrigerator door and swipe a Ginger ale off the shelf. Pulling the tab, the soda hisses at me. I take a quick gulp, the bubbles tickling the back of my throat on their way down. I’m hopeful it will help soothe my sudden upset stomach.
While sipping my soda, I gaze around the house. I have no idea where Cindy is going to sleep when she arrives. With Val being the kindhearted gal she is, I'm sure she'll offer Cindy our bed. But if she thinks we’re going to sleep on the futon in the living room, she's nuts. That thing is somewhere between a twin and a double. Maybe I’ll sleep outside with Max in the doghouse. Nah, forget that idea. I’ll sleep on the deck in the hammock under the stars.
I think back to when we took our little vacation to our last night as we strolled along the beach. The night I wished upon a shooting star and asked Val to do the same.
The wish I made that night miraculously seems to be coming true. My only hope is that I don’t mess things up this time. Otherwise, it would be all for naught, a terrible waste.
29
Valerie
I hate playing games; I find them a complete waste of time. But I felt like I was involved in a murder mystery, a puzzle waiting to be solved. The puzzle pieces included insurance papers with my name on them, a box buried in the garden, and a handwritten letter from David's ex-wife. Well, one of his ex-wives… a probable missing or possibly dead ex-wife. I felt the hair rising on the back of my neck. What other pieces of the puzzle was I missing? I was determined to figure it out.
Marching into the living room, I headed straight for the box. Back to square one where I began. The key had to be hidden somewhere, maybe stashed away inside a file. I pictured David’s keychain and tried counting the number of keys on it from memory. Too many, I thought, shaking my head. But it would be the first and most logical place to keep a key.
I removed each and every folder, flipping them open, and searching inside. Nothing. There were no keys tucked away inside the box. Biting my lower lip, I sighed. Maybe I should have told him about my concerns. I had so many questions accumulating in my head that I was surprised they weren’t spilling out my ears.
David hated being questioned and loathed confrontation. He easily became defensive and sometimes took things the wrong way, twisting them around. At times he even went as far as putting words in my mouth. That particular trait of his drove me batty.
I heard a tap on the window and glanced over and saw a yellow bird flapping its wings, hopping around in circles. Sliding the door open, I
