Broken

The ride to their country estate was nearly three hours, the last one through a scantly populated area of mostly hills and trees. We pulled off the main road onto what was obviously a narrow graveled driveway, and drove for another mile. Suddenly, a tall rock wall rose right out of the forest to our front. Darius stopped at the gate and spoke a few words to he guard, and we drove through.

Through flickering Christmas lights lining the driveway, I saw two large dogs sitting in the trees. Guard dogs? They looked to be over a hundred pounds each, with short ears and alert eyes. They made no sound or movement as we drove past – just watching our vehicle with total alertness. I’m scared of dogs and was glad to be inside the vehicle. It was fully dark by the time we arrived at the circle drive, but holiday lights in front lit-up a lodge-like structure that was nearly as large as the other one the couple owned back home. Though rustic, it was beautiful.

Susan hugged my arm, smiling up at me. “We made the right decision, Darling. It’ll be like a vacation.” That night we dined on quale in wine sauce and other exotic dishes too delicious to describe.