Page 25 of Words Unspoken

“No,” he said. He was surprised at his voice. It felt rusty. He cleared his throat.

Ann looked at him in confusion. “What is it?”

“No,” he repeated calmly. He pointed to the road ahead.

“Michael, it is okay. We will go back to the condo and get you settled in,” Ann said, trying to comfort him.

He shook his head. He didn’t want to go to the condo. Michael had been looking forward to going to the beach house. That was where he wanted to go. He could take walks at the beach house. He could see and smell the ocean, listen to the sound of it from his room. He could fish off the pier if he found his old rod back. He could sit in his sailboat, even if he could not sail it. He could listen to his housekeeper FenLei chatter as she worked. It would be far better than sitting in the condo downtown doing nothing. He wanted the beach.

“I don’t understand,” Ann was upset. “What do you want?”

Michael grimaced then motioned for her pen and the day planner that she kept toting around. He could not do the words but perhaps a picture. He turned to the back of the book and began with clear strokes of the pen. There was the house, the deck, the sand, the waves, the sun in the sky. He even put a boat in the water for effect.

Ann is eyes were clouded in confusion. “A boat?”

He motioned for her to keep guessing.

“I don’t get it. You are not going on a boat.”

Michael sighed, handing back the planner and pen. She studied the picture some more. “Why would you draw this?”

Because I want to go there, he thought. He reached into his overnight bag for his housekey to the condo. Right there beside the key was another one. The one to the beach house. He turned to Ann and held up the key ring.

She stared at them then looked at him. He held up the key to the Beemer.

“That is your car key,” she said, wondering what he was driving at.

Michael nodded. He held up the condo key.

“The key to the door of the condo,” she guessed.

He nodded again. Please let her understand this. He showed her another key.

“The key to your office,” she grabbed the key ring from him. “Your safe, your desk.”

There was one more key left. The beach house key. She looked at it, trying to remember what other property he might have since it was obviously a house key.

“The beach house,” she guessed. “You want to go to the beach house?”

He nodded, pleased that she finally understood.

“Michael, are you sure that is wise? The condo is much closer to the hospital. If anything goes wrong…” she looked at him with worry.

He was willing to take that risk. He gently took the key and held it up.

She wavered indecisively. “I don’t think it is a good idea. We should stay near to the hospital.”

Michael took both her hands in his and held them up between them. He silently pleaded with her until she sighed. He smiled.

She informed the driver of the new address, and they were on their way.

Michael leaned back and kept hold of one of Ann is hands. He contentedly watched the city go by. It took an hour to reach the beach house. Michael could feel his tension go away. The ocean had always helped him to relax. He didn’t even wait for the driver to open his door but got out and lent a hand to help Ann out. She looked up at the large three-story home on prime beachside property and he realized this was the first time she had ever been here. Ann had never been to his condo either even though he had been to her apartment to escort her to various business functions that the company required his presence at.

“Wow,” Ann said. It was beautiful. She had no idea that he owned such a property. Well, she had known he had a house on the beach, but she had not thought it was this large or in a cape cod style. She thought it would be glass and maybe two stories. She loved it instantly. From the front she could see that the backyard was the beach, just sand leading to the ocean. She knew that it had been David and Rachel Ramesly is vacation home for years before Michael bought if from them. He went to the house on the weekends when he was not working, which had become fewer and fewer as the years went by.

Ann could see why he wanted to be here. She just hoped the distance from the hospital was not going to impact his health should anything go wrong. Michael took her by the hand and pulled her up the walk to the front door. It was obvious he was happy and so she shoved her worries away, letting him show off the house to her. He was proud of the place. Everything was beautiful, up to date. The kitchen was marvelous, huge with a breakfast bar and all the brand-new appliances anyone could want. The living room, one of two faced the water. The next one had a fireplace and an enormous television with cushy leather recliners. There was a study full of books with an old, scarred desk and a sea chest that looked at least a hundred years old. There were throw blankets on beautiful armchairs. The guestrooms each had their own spa bath. The master was simply huge with a walk-in closet that was nearly the size of her own bedroom in her apartment. There was both a spa bathtub and large glass shower in the bathroom. There was a rec room with a pool table and a small bar. At the back of the house, each floor had sliding doors looking out to the water. There was a structured deck for the second and third floors.

It was amazing. They stood on the deck and watched the waves gently push at the sand. Gulls soared overhead.