After my third pickle of the day, I watch as John speaks to a lovely older woman as they barter for jars of John’s honey and her canned apples. It’s intriguing to watch the two haggle back and forth. In the end they settle on a deal, two jars of honey in exchange for eight apples. I feel like she got the better end of the deal, but John seems happy with the trade.
The afternoon passes quickly, and soon the sun has set. People begin to pack up their booths to head home for the evening, while we do the same.
“Since we got here so late in the day, I’ll need to set up again tomorrow,” John says as I help him load two crates of canned tomatoes in the back of the wagon. “But, once we get loaded, I’ll go ahead and take you to TheCastle.”
Wait, what? There’s a castle? How is that possible?
When I ask him that, he simple chuckles, “You’ll see, hun”
***
ANNA
It was well after dark as we wound our way through the twists and turns of an old dirt road leading away from town. After we had loaded up from the market, we’d stopped in at Midge’sDiner for a quick bite to eat, Luke’s treat as repayment for John feeding us and putting us up last night. I’d loved that little diner. The food was amazing, and I prayed we had the chance to eat there again someday.
On our trip to this so called castle, everyone laughed and joked, no doubt a result of the full bellies and good company. I wasn’t sure how late it was when we came across a building rising before us, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so surprised. I had assumed John was kidding about it being a aastle, or that it was named that in irony, but no. In front of me stood an actual castle, complete with turrets. It didn’t look like a castle from hundreds of years ago, this looked modern.
John sees me gaping and with a laugh, he explains, “I actually knew the family that built this place. Maybe back in two-thousand four or five. If memory serves me, they put it on the market back in twenty-twenty, and no one ever bought it. The family had already moved, but I heard they all died from the virus. Then just shy of a couple decades ago, the leader of Diablo at the time, took it over and turned it into their headquarters. Been that way ever sense.”
With his last word he dismounts in the grass near what Luke just referred to as a
porte-cochère, which I’m pretty sure is a fancy word for drive-thru. The rest of us follow as the large wooden front door opens and a beast of a man steps through.
“Well, it’s about damn time!” The man bellows, arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture.
Luke laughs before making his way over, the two embracing in a friendly bear hug. As they separate and engage in small talk, I take the time to check out the stranger. He has a deep brown complexion, his head is shaved bald, his face is clean shaven too, and his deep nearly black eyes are warm and friendly. He’s a good four inches taller than Luke, towering over him as they visit, and every part of his body is covered in bulging muscles. It’s very clear he works out, a lot. From his complexion and his accent, I would guess he’s Hispanic, slipping in a few words now and then I know to be Spanish. Overall he seems friendly, laughing at something Luke said too low for the rest of us to hear, and he seems young, maybe in his mid to late twentyies.
While the men talk, the rest of our group cautiously makes our way to the covered drive, waiting to be introduced. As the man lets out a roar of a laugh at something Luke just said, his eyes catch on mine.
“Well, Luke, is this the girl?” He asks, slapping the man in question on the back.
That actually looked like it hurt, but Luke just shakes it off motioning me to join them. “This is Anna. Anna, this is Lord Mateo.”
I extend my hand out for a respectful shake, but he swats it away, pulling me in for a full body hug. Clearly he isn’t worried about boundaries, but I guess this is his house, and I assume he’s about to put us up here for the next few days, possibly weeks, so if the man wants a hug, then who am I to refuse.
“Luke’s told me a lot about you, and I must say, you’re even more beautiful than he let on.”
He gives Luke a playful shoulder punch, obviously giving him a hard time, and I feel my cheeks heat as I mumble a thank you and Luke introduces everyone else.
When the introductions are complete and Lord Mateo tells us to drop the Lord part, we’re all friends after all, he ushers us inside. Once again I’m blown away with my surroundings. Through the front wooden doors, we find ourselves in a great room with a massive fireplace to our right and a beautifully ornate staircase ascending to the second floor on our left. Pillars are spaced periodically throughout the room, and the ceiling boasts multiple wrought iron chandeliers. The floors look to be marble, but I think it’s possibly concrete stained to look that way. The furniture is no less exquisite, with two crimson settees facing the fire place in an L-shape, a large oval mahogany coffee table between them, as well as a few matching side tables. Along the wall is a grand bookshelf, with every shelf filled, and a dark wood credenza to the right of the fireplace, adorned with a large deep red vase. Above it on the wall is a painting in a gilded frame, although it looks modern. The people depicted wear jeans, t-shirts, and various other modern day
