Chapter Sixteen
Dani
“Sometimes you have to fall to find your way.” —Tanya
MARRIED. MARRIED? TANYA WAS MARRIED TO someone we didn’t know about? How could that be?
If she did, I’m happy for her, but Tanya only ever talked about George. He hung the moon in her eyes. I don’t see anyone coming close to that for her.
“Is it just me, or did Victor sound even drier than normal when we told him we were headed to Chicago?” I ask Micah. After we finished with Janine’s garden last night, we called him to let him know we found the next clue and were headed straight for the Windy City.
“Yeah, he sounded sort of sad.”
The flight to Chicago is short and sweet. This constant travel reminds me of the height of my modeling days, but I’m enjoying the time.
Traveling with Micah is nice. When he’s not trying to get under my skin and shoving pillows into my back, we mesh well together.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Micah mumbles when Victor’s face is the first one we see as we make our way to baggage claim.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were meeting us? How’d you get here so fast?” He must’ve hopped on the first plane out as soon as we called.
He greets us with the poise we’ve come to expect. He’s like a royal palace guard. I’m determined to see him break character. I know Tanya must’ve accomplished it.
“I go where I’m needed.” Dry as ever. “I hope you had a good flight. Your baggage claim carousel is this way.” He leads us to our assigned belt, which spits out our bags soon after.
As we’re walking to Victor’s car, Micah speaks. “Since you’re here, maybe we can squeeze in that game of chess you owe me.”
Victor smirks. “This will be a short trip for me, but my office is open to you anytime.”
Tanya tried to teach me how to play chess a couple of times. It didn’t interest me, but I loved how much she enjoyed it. I can’t say I’m surprised that Victor is also a fan.
Victor is subdued as we drive to the bank that was on the deposit slip clue. He shows the woman at the front desk the proper documentation to gain entry, and then we’re escorted to the back room.
“You’ll need this,” he says, handing us a laptop.
“You’re not gonna stay?” I ask.
“Like I said, I go where I’m needed. You don’t need me for this,” he confirms. He and the bank employee close the door behind them to give us some privacy.
“What do you think is in here?” I ask once the door shuts. It feels like whatever it is has the power to send us both flying into orbit.
“Only one way to find out.” Micah puts his hand on top of mine and we open the box together.
There’s a flash drive that makes the reason for Victor’s laptop clear. And then there’s a deed to a house and a copy of the marriage license we saw in Richmond.
“I’m almost scared to watch this one.” The flash drive feels like it weighs a ton in my hand.
We connect it to the computer and Tanya’s face appears.
I can see her only from the waist up, but I can tell she had lost a ton of weight. Her fingers are bony and her skin is slightly paler. We are watching her wither away right before our eyes.
My stomach flips.
“Hi, my loves. You must be very confused because the name on that marriage license is not George Holden. I met Roger Lucas exactly one year after George died. I was still a wreck. I had taken about all I could take. I was offered a job here in Chicago and I considered taking it.”
Her words are interrupted by the harshness of her cough. Her chest rattles with every move. Still, she’s determined to push past her obvious pain.
“Excuse me. Where was I? Oh yes, I considered taking the job in Chicago, but I also didn’t want to give up the home I shared with George.
It was the last place he had touched, you know?
So I decided I’d go to Chicago for a visit.
See if it felt right before I committed.
I stayed at the Lennox Bed and Breakfast, and that’s where I met Roger.
His sister owned the place.” She smiles mournfully before continuing.
“He was so like George in a lot of ways. It was like talking to his ghost. I let that coincidence tell me it was something more and I became swept up in all that was Roger. Within two months, the man had proposed and bought us a house. I said yes when I should’ve said no.
I knew it didn’t feel right. I knew when I saw our names side by side on the marriage license that I had made a mistake.
I cried in my bathtub for hours at the thought of getting rid of the last name Holden. ”
Coughs overcome her body once again. It takes her a solid minute to recover. A familiar hand presents her with a cup of tea from behind the camera.
“These coughing fits really do disrupt the power of my story, huh? I’m sure you were on the edge of your seats until I hacked up a lung.”
Micah and I laugh at that.
“I’m getting to the point now, I promise.
As you probably guessed, Roger and I didn’t get married.
I hated breaking his heart, and like the kindest man he was, he didn’t get angry with me.
He even insisted I keep the house. I left the reminders of Roger in Chicago because that place belonged to him.
Everywhere else belonged to George. So now, when I said I was leaving you everything, I meant everything.
The house is yours. I always wanted to do something special with it, but I never figured out what that was. Maybe you’ll have better luck.”
Her mention of luck sends my hand up to the necklace lying around my neck.
I’ve never even been to Chicago for anything longer than a layover, and now I co-own a house here.
What is life?
Not having the energy to face the house yet, we decide to visit the bed and breakfast Tanya mentioned. Maybe Roger’s sister still owns the place, and we can ask her some questions.
Victor is quiet when we meet him back outside the bank. This part of Tanya’s story seems to be greatly affecting him. I’m not going to voice my thoughts on the situation. As Micah loves to point out, I run from my feelings, so I’ll be damned if I call someone out for doing the same.
When we ask him if he can take us to Lennox Bed and Breakfast, his GPS shows that he was already headed that way. A lucky guess, he claims.
After we pull up to the building, he lets us know he’ll have a car sent our way for the remainder of our trip.
The man flew all the way here just to turn back around the same day.
That’s a level of dedication I don’t think all clients get from their lawyers.
It’s a level of dedication I doubt all of Victor’s clients get from him.
I’ve been hard on him, and I haven’t been considerate of how Tanya’s death must have affected him on a deeper level.
“Hey, Victor, are you okay?”
He gives a single nod and says, “I’ll be just fine.”
I can’t help but notice he didn’t say he is fine.
Walking into Lennox feels like walking into your grandmom’s house. The smell of cookies wafts through the air. The furniture looks inviting. The couch looks like it makes for a great nap while the TV stand appears handcrafted.
A woman walks into the foyer with long twists pulled up into a bun. “Oh, hello. Welcome to Lennox. Have you booked a stay with us?”
“We haven’t. But do you have any rooms available?” Micah inquires.
“Absolutely. Come with me.”
We follow her to a desk that looks a bit more modern than the rest of the decor. “And would that be one or two rooms?”
“One,” I say.
“Two,” Micah says at the same time.
Heat rises up my neck. How fucking embarrassing. “Right. Two.”
“I just thought you’d be more comfortable that way,” he explains.
I don’t meet his eyes. He’s right. I just figured that after we survived sharing a room in Richmond, we’d be fine. This is why you shouldn’t assume. “Please let me wallow in my humiliation in peace,” I jab.
He runs his hands down his face, a hint of a smile peeking through the slits of his fingers.
To her credit, the woman doesn’t acknowledge the blunder and instead types furiously on her computer. “We happen to have two rooms left, so I’ll go ahead and book you if that’s okay.”
We give her our information so we can complete our check-in. A man a few inches taller than her, with a low-cut Caesar and a tattoo of a bird on his neck, walks down the steps. He’s got a bit of a baby face, but he stands with all the confidence of a man who knows exactly who he is.
“I’m Kelly, by the way. And this is my son, Slater.” She holds her arms out for the man, and they half hug. “We run this place together, so we’re happy to help with anything you need.”
“Ahh, nice to meet you. Your last name wouldn’t happen to be Lucas, would it?”
“It was once upon a time. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I believe your brother, Roger, and I had a friend in common.”
“Oh really? Who?”
“Tanya Holden.”
Her smile falls into a deep frown while Slater’s eyes widen. “Tanya. Yes, I knew her. She won’t be joining you, will she? She’s not welcome.”
“Mom,” Slater chastises, and she brushes him off.
This is the first person we’ve met on our journey that didn’t have the utmost respect for Tanya. My claws want to come out in her defense, but I know Tanya would want me to swallow my pride to carry out her wishes.
“She’s dead. So, no. She won’t be joining us.” The snark in my voice can’t be helped.
“Tanya’s dead?” Slater whispers. Whatever his mom thinks of Tanya, he clearly doesn’t share her sentiments.
Micah steps in to tell them who Tanya was to us and how she mentioned Roger, so we just wanted to see the place they met. He seems to think that would soften Kelly up a bit, but if you ask me, that only makes her more frustrated that Tanya even mentioned Roger’s name.
“Yes, well, she broke my brother’s heart. I hope she doesn’t think sending you two here will somehow grant her Roger’s favor in heaven.”