Chapter 36 – Passing Time

Glancing upon the photos on the mantle of the times of happiness and joy, her heartbeat grew louder in its cavity. A sense of emptiness laid inside her from the wreck of the past few days. She had lost the only lover that she had known. She stood there, for some time, before moving forward and out of the quite lonesome house. 

They gathered the rest of the paperwork and any personal belongings. The bags were packed. For the foreseeable future, Mrs. Aquitaine would live with her daughter. They had a fighting chance in numbers.

“Mom, are you ready to go. The car is outside.” She yelled from the foyer. “We can’t reminisce on the past.” 

“Yes dear, I’ll be right down,” she said as she zipped in the last of her belongings. The mantle was the last thing to visit before vacating the estate. Mrs. Aquitaine grabbed a family photo and made her exit. 

The two proceeded into the cab. “I guess we should try to make our own assessments of the others on the list.” She said as she pulled the paper out of her purse.

On the other side of the city, laid two men basking in the afterglow of what had been a terrific night. 

“I can’t believe you drank that entire bottle.” He said as he began to giggle. “Gin doesn’t grow on trees.” Duncan’s remark was only to tease the guest of his apartment.

With a swift turn back into the other room, he laughed. “Yeah I suppose you are right, but at least you had the pleasure of my company.” The two stood in the living room and sipped their coffee.

“You really know how to dance after a few drinks,” he smiled. “I am glad that I met you.” 

Those were words that Emerson had not heard in a while. Usually most people who had the opportunity to cross paths with him met an untimely demise. With everything that had gone on the past couple weeks, he had re-evaluated the proposition. It was a new day and another chance at happiness. 

As the sunset, over the picturesque skyline, some had made their way to a quiet night in. There was one who was looking for action, Topher Crawford. He had money to spend and time to kill. 

Alone in his urban palace, he proceeded to pour a glass of pinot noir into a stemless glass. With no guests to entertain, he made his way to the sofa and began to go through his wallet.  Several cards fell from the folds, one of which was the beautiful Avery Aquitaine. 

He pondered one this new prospect. Perhaps he could use some of what she had to offer. The phone dinged at that exact moment. It was Avery. What good timing he thought to himself.