Untraceable (8 page)

“
Where do you think, son?
You go visit with him; Leese and I will join you after I take her
on a tour of the house.”

Micah smiled and then disappeared as
she began to lead me, room by room, showing off what she was so
very proud of. When we moved to the upper floor, I was stopped in
my footsteps as I stared at the huge gallery of family photos. The
first pictures were pictures of Celeste and Giorgio when they were
very young. I didn’t realize how strongly Micah resembled his
father until I saw the picture of Giorgio at twenty years of age.
But, it was the pictures of the Gavarreen children that held me
spell bound.

“
Is this Micah?” I asked
as I stared at the face of a cherub who looked to be about five
years old.

“
Yes, he was such a
stunning little boy,” Celeste sighed.

I reached over and squeezed her hand.
“I think he’s still pretty stunning,” I said with an easy
laugh.

She smiled, “Yes, I have a feeling you
do.”

“
Is there any way I could
get a copy of some of these pictures?”

“
Of course. Which ones do
you like the best?”

“
There all wonderful, but
I’d love to have this one,” I said pointing to the picture we had
just been discussing. “And this one,” I said as I pointed to a
youthful family portrait. “A baby picture of Micah would be
fabulous. They’re all so beautiful. The photography is
superb.”

“
Thank you,” she said with
a light blush.

“
You did
these?”

“
Yes. I use photography in
what I do, but it’s one aspect of my work that I really enjoy. Come
on, Leese, we’ll go into my office and I’ll print out some photos
for you.”

What a shock it was to go from a home
that was completely filled with antiques and then to have her usher
me into her office. It was as if I had stepped into the future. She
had computer equipment, laser scanners, printers, and some machines
that I had no idea what they did, but it was all ultra modern. The
counters, cabinets, and desks were simple and sleek, like something
you might find in a medical office. “No antiques in here,” I
mused.

“
No, I’m afraid they would
distract my eye from my work. Have a seat here,” she motioned to a
roller chair in front of a large flat, touch screen monitor. There
were numerous folder items on the screen. She touched on one and
suddenly all the pictures from the gallery were in front of me. I
simply had to touch the pictures I wanted, answer a few questions
on size and quality, and then touch the printer feature. The
pictures printed moments later from a complicated looking printer
not far from me. Celeste already had a large manila envelope ready
to place the photos inside.

“
Your office is
impressive,” I stated as she handed me the package.

“
Thank you. Are you sure
these are all you want? It’s no problem to print more.”

“
As soon as Micah and I
get our house built, I’ll be begging for more, lots more,” I
laughed.

“
You’ve decided to
build?”

“
Yes, but it’s actually a
secret, so don’t tell him. He found a beautiful piece of property a
couple hours away from my mother’s house. He doesn’t know it, but
I’ve already called my attorney and he’s working on putting an
offer on it. It has a huge lake surrounded by ancient oaks and
cypress trees; he said it reminds him of Louisiana.”

“
Well, let me know when
it’s no longer a secret. We’d love to come down and see
it.”

“
Actually, that’s why
we’re here today; we wanted to invite you both to come down for
something special on Sunday.” I wasn’t sure if Micah wanted me to
broach this subject or to let him do it, but it felt like I had an
opening to make the invitation so I took it.

“
What’s happening
Sunday?”

“
Two things actually.
Micah is getting baptized and…” I observed the slight rise in her
eyebrows, but I continued, “We’re renewing our vows.”

“
I’m afraid I’d all but
forgotten that I talked him into an annulment.”

“
You mean it wasn’t
Micah’s idea?” I couldn’t help but to be surprised.

“
Oh no, Leese. He
staunchly refused the idea of divorcing you or annulling the
marriage after you ran away, but… Well, it made better business
sense to disentangle his assets from yours.” She gave a nervous
laugh, “But a short time later he was practically a pauper
anyway.”

“
Yeah, the missing hundred
and twenty million—David assumed I had something to do with that
and I guess, in an abstract way, I actually did since he spent it
to get me back in his arms.”

“
It was a huge gamble,”
she confirmed. “Not about getting you back, but risking his fortune
on that show, but he certainly proved his business
skills.”

“
I know this is completely
off topic, but how was he at math when he was in high
school?”

“
They wanted him for a
national merit scholar finalist, but he had no intentions of
college after high school because he already had millions in the
bank. He didn’t even want to bother with finishing high school
since he was already involved in—in his career, but Giorgio told
him there was no way, even if he was different, that he was going
to drop out.”

“
What do you mean by
different?”

She gave me an odd look, “I don’t know
what you and he have discussed about his life before he met you,
Leese. Did he tell you how old he was when he became a
soldier?”

“
Fourteen,” I answered
softly.

“
Yes, that’s right, but
that’s not normal for a soldier. David was nineteen when he became
one and we thought that
he
was a little too young. But Micah was so focused
and—and empty that there was no doubt that he was ready.” She
almost looked ashamed to be telling me how she viewed her son, but
then she reached out and squeezed my hand. “And then nine years
later, you come along and—and, my God, there was a real person
inside my son after all. It’s like you woke him up, Leese. Like
he’d been unconscious all his life until he met you.”

“
But when he was small, he
wasn’t that way, was he?”

She looked to be very deep in thought
for the moment as she tried to recall a time when her son wasn’t
different from other children his age. It worried me that she was
struggling with it, but then she smiled softly. “He was an angel
when he was little, but even then he was such a deep thinker and
then at some point, and I don’t know when, the angel disappeared
and all that was left was a young man who thought, planned,
analyzed, and calculated his existence.” She quickly wiped a tear
that barely escaped her eye before it was caught. “But he’s changed
so much since he’s been with you that sometimes I wonder if I even
know who he is anymore.”

“
Please,” I asked,
suddenly feeling so desperate to show her who her son had become.
“It would mean so much to him to have the two of you witness his
baptism. He really wants you to know that his life has changed.
He
is
someone
different; he’s the grown up version of that little angel that got
lost along the way. Please, Celeste,” I asked again, squeezing her
hand firmly in mine.

“
If I can talk Giorgio
into it. You have to understand, Leese, he and I were both raised
Catholic and, even though we drifted away from our upbringing, it’s
very difficult for Giorgio to see Micah making this change that
you’ve begun in him.”

“
It wasn’t me,” I plainly
stated. “God has been changing him—I was just the
catalyst.”

Her mouth pulled back in that wide,
sweet smile that she rarely exposed, “You were certainly that. I
think you may have even rubbed off a little on David.”

I knew who the catalyst was for David
and it wasn’t me, but it left me wanting to ask a few questions
while the opportunity presented itself. “Has David ever been in
love?”

Celeste rolled her eyes, “Sweetheart,
you can ask some really tough questions. The answer is maybe. When
he was seventeen he started dating one girl from his high school
almost exclusively for about a year. I was pretty sure he was
falling for her, but he kept his emotions well hidden—well, at
least he did until he found out that she had been seeing another
boy.”

“
What did he do?” The only
thing I could possibly imagine from David was him killing both of
them.

“
Absolutely nothing. Those
hidden emotions vaporized and he was empty. He broke it off and
acted like it didn’t even faze him, but it wasn’t long after that,
that he became a soldier. I often wonder if her betrayal was what
triggered his decision. He hasn’t had a woman steady in his life
since.”

I was standing there with what I know
had to be a puzzling expression as I considered that those emotions
were back, and had been for nearly a year. All I could think was
what would his parents do if they knew who David had finally fallen
in love with? Would they be happy for him or would they think he’d
lost his scruples?

“
Why?” she asked with a
funny lilt.

Evidently my expression was causing
her some concern. “Everyone deserves someone to make them happy—I
hope he gets that chance.”

“
You’re a very sweet girl,
Leese. Come on, let’s go find the men and see if we can convince
Giorgio to go to Florida this Sunday.”

We started down the grand staircase to
the first floor when I asked where they were.

“
You didn’t see the whole
house—Giorgio has his room and I don’t usually bother him while
he’s in it. But, I’d say it’s high time we disturb the
‘boys.’”

We walked out the back, past the
incredible kitchen that looked like something that came right out
of the early 1900’s and into a huge herb and vegetable garden, down
a path that led to a long extension from the southern wing of the
house and in through the French doors into a room with the
unmistakable aroma of cigars and pipe tobacco. There was a full
size, old-fashioned, wooden bar, numerous high backed leather wing
chairs around smaller tables, and sports memorabilia everywhere.
The only thing modern in the room was a massive flat panel
television which had a boxing match playing, but the volume was
turned way down. To my shock, there sat Micah with a cigar stuck in
his mouth! Giorgio was puffing on a pipe and smiling broadly at the
two of us.

“
Well, you ladies decided
to join us for a boxing match?”

I couldn’t say anything as I gave
Micah an annoyed look concerning the cigar. He just smiled and
arranged two more wing chairs for his mother and me.

I wanted to be rude and say I wasn’t
staying in the room because of all the smoke, but I knew that would
offend Giorgio. And, I could tell he was tickled that I had ended
up in his ‘bar.’

“
So, do the ladies get
cigars, too,” I said in teasing.

Micah’s former grin drooped to a
frown.

Giorgio only laughed, “I’d offer you
one, Leese, but I’m afraid Micah wouldn’t approve.”

“
Have you invited your
dad, yet?” I asked innocently.

Micah removed the cigar from his mouth
as Giorgio looked at him expectantly.

“
Invited me to
what?”

I reached out and took Giorgio’s hand,
watching the grin spread over his face, “We’d like you two to come
down Sunday for something special.” I looked to Micah to see if he
wanted to take over, but he appeared to be comfortable in letting
me make the invitation. “We’re renewing our vows…” I began. Giorgio
was already starting to nod his head, but I had to finish. “…right
after Micah is baptized.”

The nodding paused.

“
Please,” I started to say
when Micah Junior woke up and started rolling around. “Oh…” I
gasped, pulling Giorgio’s hand against my stomach. I felt him
hesitate and then suddenly the grin was a big smile. “It seems your
grandson would like for you to be there as well.”

Giorgio was laughing as he placed his
other hand on the opposite side of my stomach. “It’s been
twenty-four years since I’ve felt this sensation. “Hello,” he said,
his face blushing a little as he leaned low. “So you think your
grandma and I should come to Florida, huh?”

Little Micah kicked right on cue and I
burst out laughing, “How’s that for an answer?”

Giorgio looked to Celeste and asked if
she had any other plans for Sunday and she said no. “What time do
we need to be there by?”

Now it was Micah’s turn to smile as he
put out his cigar in an ashtray. “It’ll be right after the 11:00
a.m. service, so somewhere around noon, but I’d like you two to
come for the service—if you don’t mind.”

“
I think we can manage
that,” he said as he reached over and patted Micah’s
shoulder.

When we finally got back in the car to
head for the airport, Micah was quiet, but obviously happy that his
parents were going to be with us on Sunday. “Thank you,” he finally
said as he pulled out onto the interstate and headed
north.