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Since part of the house had been wired for electricity, I left the hotel and moved to the house a day or two after the party. It wasn’t nearly as glamorous as I had expected it would be, and I was thinking just that when Patrick arrived).
The doorbell sounded through the house, clean and clear and vibrantly, and I was shocked. How had the doorbell managed to survive the utter decay that had besieged the rest of the house? I scampered down the stairs, perplexed and delighted - though I could not have told you why I was so thrilled that my doorbell still worked – opened the door, and found myself face-to-face with Patrick.
“Patrick,” I …
How did I say it? Did I gasp or choke? Was I stunned, elated, relieved, confused? Even now, recalling the experience, I don’t quite know. I had not known Patrick was coming, and yet, somehow I don’t think I was surprised at all. Of course, Patrick had come.
He filled the doorway nicely: his frame tall and broad, his sandy hair reluctantly combed down, sunglasses propped carelessly on top, an overnight bag slung across one shoulder.
“Well,” he grinned. “No one had heard from you in so long, I thought I’d come up and see what was going on. You kinda owe me. If I hadn’t come, your parents were going to.”
I hugged him fiercely, surprised – and perhaps relieved – to find how much I had missed him, though I had not thought of him for days.
“So this is the house,” he murmured once inside. He traced a finger lightly along the plaster molding on the walls. His foot traced the outlines of the marble. He stuffed his hands in his back pockets, a gesture so characteristically his own, and surveyed the scene carefully.
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“It doesn’t look so sturdy,” he said gently.
“I think it’ll last,” I defended. “It’s been around this long!”
“That’s true,” he admitted, knocking against one of the pillars. “The frame, the foundation, all seem to be strong. I’m more concerned with the facade.”
“You think it will fall?”
He shrugged, “It could. Be easy to.”
“But you could fix it, couldn’t you?”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Wouldn’t that be the same as getting a new house?”
“I don’t know.”
He continued to wander around, surveying detail after detail.
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