Chapter Four

Lori awoke the next morning to sun peeking in through her hotel room windows. She groaned and rolled over, burrowing deeper under the blankets and pillows. She’d been dreaming all night of Tony. She could feel his arms around her, his lips on hers. She could hear his voice whispering sweet words in her ear.

“Tony, where are you?” she asked out loud, throwing back the covers and sitting up. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

It was time to start the day. She showered and dressed within an hour, then grabbed her purse, making sure she had the card for the real estate office inside, and left the hotel. Instead of calling a cab, she decided to walk, it wasn’t far.

Things hadn’t really changed much since she’d left. She remembered this area well. A few new businesses had popped up, but it had mostly stayed the same.

She almost walked right past the place she wanted, tucked between two other real estate offices. She pushed open the door and stepped inside, a bell ringing to announce her arrival.

“I’ll be there in just a minute,” a male voice called out to her. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Lori looked around at the simple and yet elegant furnishings and decided to take a seat on the sofa. She noticed several pamphlets on the coffee table and picked one up. The condos looked large and comfortable, very airy and bright.

A dark-haired man emerged from an office and smiled at her.

“Hello, I’m John. How are you this morning?”

She stood up and shook his outstretched hand.

“I’m fine, thanks. My name is Lori. How are you?”

“A little sore,” John said, rubbing his shoulder. “I helped my brother move yesterday, didn’t realize he had so much heavy stuff.”

Lori laughed and the two sat down, her on the couch and he in a chair across from her.

“So you’re looking for a condo?” John asked. “We’ve got several new buildings, just finished. Actually my brother moved into one.”

“Are they expensive?”

“Compared to a lot of other neighborhoods in this area, no, we’re not. Do you know what you’d like? Number of bedrooms, location, any type of preference?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. I’m only here for a couple of months, doing business for my father.” She looked down at her hands. “He recently passed away.”

John nodded sympathetically. “I’m sorry. I lost a sister not long ago. It was really hard to accept.”

“Yeah. But anyway, um, preferences. I really don’t have any. Just someplace I can live in for awhile, maybe a yard, some trees. Of course, a pool would be nice,” she laughed.

“I think we’ve got just what you’re looking for.” He reached over to a small table beside him and picked up a binder. Flipping through pages, he found what he wanted. He turned the book around and showed her. “This one was vacated a month ago. It’s got a big yard, and a pool. It’s rather large though, a family of five lived there.” He paused and looked at her. “Will you be living alone?”

“Yes. I’m by myself. Does that matter?”

“Oh no, of course not. Would you like to see the place first?”

Lori shook her head. “I don’t need to. I’d like to move in as soon as possible though, is that all right?”

“Sure, sure. There’s just some paperwork to go through, the usual. Come on into my office and we can get this settled.”

They walked into one of two offices and Lori sat down at a large desk.

“Do you run this place alone?” she wondered.

John pulled papers from a filing cabinet and sat down. “Oh no. Actually, this is my brother’s business. He leaves it in the family’s care when he’s not around.”

“That’s nice of him, to leave you in charge. He must trust you an awful lot.”

“He does. He’s a great guy.”

Lori thought about another great guy she knew and wondered again if she would able to find him.

“So, here’s the breakdown of what’s included, furnishings and stuff like that. And of course, dadum! The price!” John said, pointing to a figure.

“Wow, that’s less than what I pay for my apartment.”

“Really? Hmm, maybe we’re being to nice,” John grinned.

“Where do I sign?”

“Don’t you want to read this over first?”

Lori shook her head. “I trust you. You know, you remind me of someone I used to know.”

“Really? Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good, very good.”

John insisted on explaining everything to her though, before she signed. After he finished, she wrote her name on all the necessary lines.

“Lori Haberlan,” John read. “That’s a pretty name.”

“Thanks.”

“I just need to see a major credit card and a photo id then, please.”

She took her wallet from her purse and pulled out a credit card. Then she flipped the wallet over for him to see her driver’s license.

John nodded at them, satisifed she was who she said she was. He read her license, and then his gaze drifted to the picture above it. His eyes widened.

“Um, excuse me, I don’t mean to sound rude, but. . . who’s that guy?”

Lori looked at the picture, her eyes taking on a wistful appearance. “Oh, him. He’s a guy I once knew, a long time ago. Actually, I’m anxious to see him again. He used to live around here.”

John swallowed and asked his name.

“Tony Donetti,” Lori answered. “He did a lot of stage performing. Have you heard of him?”

John tried not to let the pen in his hand shake as he nodded slowly. “Name sounds familiar. When was the last time you saw him?”

“Oh, about eight years ago. Does he still live here?”

“Er, um, actually, yes, I think he does.”

Lori’s face lit up. “Do you know how I can get in touch with him?”

John busily placed all the papers into a folder and wrote her name on the little tab. “He’s kinda hard to catch. How ‘bout I do some digging for you?”

“Would you? That would be so nice.”

“Sure thing. Um, your place will be ready in two days, we like to clean it up, make it presentable and all. You can come pick up the keys Wednesday morning, is that all right?”

Lori nodded and rose from her chair. “That’s fine. I have business to take care of anyway. Thanks so much for your help, John.”

John stood up too and escorted her to the door. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Nope, I’m fine. Again, thanks for your help. I’ll see you Wednesday then.”

They said good-bye and he watched Lori walk down to the corner and flag down a cab. Then she was gone.