Chapter 30

Miranda and Columba seemed to feel the need to help me out of the lovely Mercedes and up the front steps. They bracketed me like I was eighty-five years old and feeble. I let them because they seemed to think it was so important.

At the front door a woman met us with a motherly look on her face. Columba greeted her and said, "Audrey, this is David Everett. He is the one who saved our lives and got shot to pieces for his bravery. While you are on the premises, remember that anything David needs or asks for is your second priority, right after Leah's safety."

Turning to me, Columba said, "David, meet Audrey. She is one of Leah's nurses and has been with us since about three months before the baby was born. She supervises our other staff nurses, and she will supervise the extra nurses we hired for as long as you need a little help." There was no denying Columba when the topic was how she ran her house, so I didn't bother to try.

Audrey smiled and said, "David, it is a pleasure to meet the man who saved my bosses and Leah. Francine is upstairs making your room ready, but I sent word, and she will be down very soon."

Turning to Columba, she asked, "Mrs. Maines, would you like me to show David to the solarium, where he can rest until things are ready upstairs?"

Columba considered that for a minute, then turned to me and said, "David, how about we go to the kitchen and have Cook make us an early lunch? Would you like that?" Her smile said all I needed to know. Columba was ordering me to the kitchen and making sure I ate like a good boy.

The kitchen was just what I would have expected. The equipment shined brilliantly, and the staff had lunch fully in hand. Columba swept in – there was no other word for the way she arrived in her kitchen – and announced, "Cook. This is David. He will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. We've talked about him, and I know you will do everything in your power to make sure he is comfortable and well taken care of."

Instead of playing the rich kid, I offered my hand and said, "I am very pleased to meet you, and when I know your name, I will be even more pleased." She smiled for the first time and said, "I'm Carolyn. Mrs. Maines loves to call me Cook, because that's what everybody around here calls me. I was called Cook in the Navy for twenty years, and now I prefer it to my real name.

David, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir. Thank you for what you did for the Maines family. It was very brave and noble if you ask me."

Cook was in her early fifties, stout with a friendly smile, and a strong grip. Something told me she was here for more than her culinary specialties. Unless I was mistaken, she could break a prowler in two with her bare hands without working up a sweat. I needed to ask Reginald about her.

When we walked through the center of the house, Columba and Miranda pointed out rooms and their intended uses. There was the dining room, the foyer, the living room, the music room, the library, and two small bathrooms off the main hall. The kitchen dominated the back of the house, but I could just see what was obviously a large pantry, off to the left, and what looked like a dishwashing area off to the right. The back door was straight ahead and opened onto some kind of screened porch. That was all I could see.

Miranda supervised me sitting down, while Columba gave orders for a selection of lunch foods that would be fit to populate the menu of a mom and pop diner. Cook got busy and very soon plates hit the big table where we three sat. It wasn't too long before Joseph appeared. Apparently Columba had called and alerted him that we had arrived and lunch would be ready shortly.

Joseph appeared very distracted, and I watched to see how the women in his life would respond to it. They took his lack of social interaction in stride and concentrated on talking with me.

Eventually Joseph had worked through whatever was on his mind and joined the mundane conversation.

"So, David, you like our house? It's a good house. You will be healthy here. Back in Moldova, we never saw such a house or even imagined such a thing to exist. My mother raised all five of us in two rooms and one small bath. It was good." He looked around the exquisite kitchen and said, "This is better."

That was the extent of his conversation, and very soon after he left for the plant. Columba saw him to the front door, and when she returned, she said, "Joseph is making progress, but he is not all the way through a new process he's been working on for months. He wakes up, rushes off to the plant, drags himself home for a meal, and is back to work until bedtime.

"We don't see much of him when he's in one of these states..." I could feel the loneliness in her voice. It was so clear.

She shook off her sadness and announced, ", Miranda, let's get David upstairs and see how he likes what you've been working on for him."

We left Cook and her assistant, whose name I didn't get, to clean up after us and went back through the hallway to a door I hadn't noticed. Behind it an elevator waited to take us up. The ride to the third floor was slow but a big improvement over trying to walk up three flights in my weakened condition.

Miranda was excited to show me the suite of rooms she had been getting ready for me, ever since the family decided to bring me home to recuperate. We hadn't discussed the length of my recuperation, so I had no idea what they intended. To please Reggie, I needed to go along and get along, so I did.

The suite was marvelous.

Miranda had every reason to be proud of her work, because I sure was. Upon entering I found a wonderful, light and airy sitting room with a view of the west side of the estate. Through the door in front of us was a spacious and beautifully decorated bedroom, capped off with a super king sized bed. The furniture was new and all matched, just like the bedding and bath towels.

I felt like I was back in Sweden, enjoying my stay with Rebecca and Colleen.

Rather than get maudlin about losing my two loves, I swept Miranda into a hug and kissed her, thanking her for making me so comfortable. She melted into my arms, and I noticed Columba watching me closely as I hugged and kissed her little girl.

Leah just up from her nap, took that moment to join us, carrying a cute stuffed frog by the back leg. I knelt down and made over her, got introduced to her best friend, Mr. Froggy, and got another, albeit sleepy, hug. Columba was quick to pick up her grandbaby and carry her with us as we continued the tour.