To lighten the mood, Lilian suggested giving us a tour of the house.
Everyone agreed right away, going, “Sure, sure.”
She led us around, opening door after door-but she always seemed to head the wrong way.
She opened a bedroom door, then backed out right away.
She opened the storage room, paused, and looked a little lost.
Erica held back her annoyance, but couldn’t help snapping. “Lilian, do you even know this house at all?”
Lilian looked embarrassed, paused, and said, “I’m actually not familiar with this place. I don’t live here.”
Everyone’s eyes went wide.
She blushed a little and said, “After I graduated, Vince got me an apartment in the city. He bought and renovated this villa six months ago. He’s real protective of this place-hardly lets anyone else come here. I’ve only been inside twice, for work stuff.”
No one said a word for a second.
After all, when she invited us, she kept calling it “my place.”
Someone mumbled, “Then… Mr. Hamden knows we’re here, right?”
Lilian forced a smile and explained, “Of course Vince knows. I told him I wanted to invite my coworkers here for my birthday, and he said yes right away.”
Lilian nodded, speaking soft. “Vince has always liked being alone, even as a kid. He doesn’t like getting too close to people, but he’s always been really good to me.”
Doesn’t like getting close to people…
For a second, I couldn’t tell if she was lying or not.
The Vincent I remembered? He craved physical touch all the time. I even joked with him, asking if he had that so-called “skin hunger.”
The mood lightened back up after that.
We walked into a big, spacious room.
Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making the room bright and fancy.
The walls were covered with all kinds of photos of Colorado and every type of cycling gear you could think of.
“Mr. Hamden actually cycles?” someone exclaimed, shocked.
Lilian stared at those photos, like she was really looking at ’em closely for the first time. When she spoke, her voice had a little emotion in it.
“Vince went through some rough stuff a while back. His half-brother showed up out of nowhere to fight him for the inheritance, and he got real depressed for a bit. Later, he got into cycling and slowly pulled himself together. He had to go through stuff most people can’t even imagine before he finally took over the company. These past few years, he sets aside time every year to drive the desert highway.”
Something tightened up inside me.
“He’s weird. Every year, he insists on taking the same route-never changes it. He says it’s his pilgrimage.”
Lilian’s voice was real soft, with a faint hint of heartache and sadness.
I stood there, my mind going totally blank.
That evening, the party was in the garden. They even hired a band and a singer. Everyone dropped their work personas and had a blast-laughing and messing around.
I went back to the collection room alone.
My eyes landed on the wall full of photos.
Wilderness, rocky beaches, snow-capped mountains, prayer flags… all of ’em felt weirdly familiar.
A figure, backpack slung over his shoulder, stood in the wide-open wilderness, face into the wind. His face was blurry, but I could see his wind-tousled hair and his straight back.
After I got married, I’d deliberately avoided thinking about a lot of things. Dwelling on stuff that was too far away and too shiny would make me lose sight of the present.
Slowly, it felt like my mind really had forgotten.
Like it had all just been a dream.
Dreams aren’t real.
They’re meant to be forgotten.
But right then…
The familiar sound of the wind, the thud of my heart, the faint, breathless voices from the past.
Suddenly, everything felt as clear as yesterday.
Memories hit me like a tidal wave.
“Ari.”
A low, gentle voice suddenly came from behind me.
