I headed back down stairs and through the kitchen to the side door that led out to the second building on the property. I unlocked the door and went inside.
The entire room was still outfitted as a doctor’s office. All of Dominic’s father’s things were still here. It made my heart ache. I really did not want to disassemble his father’s office and would need to call Dominic to ask him what he suggested. I didn’t even know if Dominic knew any of this stuff was still here.
I left the office and locked the door behind me. Once I got back into the house I pulled out my cell phone and called Aria.
“Hello?”
“Hey, my friend.”
“Hey Mel! Did you make it okay?”
“I did.”
“And… what do you think of the house?” she asked.
“I could not have asked for anything more perfect. It’s beautiful Aria and even that doesn’t seem like the right word to do this place justice.”
Aria laughed, “I’m glad you like it Mel.”
“I love it Ari… but I do need to talk to Dominic about his father’s office.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Ari, all of Daniel’s things are still there. It’s still setup as if he never left and I’m not sure what to do with it all. I’d feel horrible getting rid of everything.”
“Ahh… hang on a sec and let me get Dominic.”
“Thanks Ari.”
Aria set the phone down and went to fetch Dominic. He came on the line a few minutes later, “Hey Mel!”
“Hey D.”
“Aria said you wanted to talk to me about my father’s old office?”
“I do but first… thank you so much for letting me use this place. It’s gorgeous!”
He laughed, “You’re welcome.”
“So, I was doing my walk through and when I went into your dad’s office… I found that it was still completely set up as a doctor’s office. It’s almost like your dad never left. His desk, exam table, book shelves… everything is still there and I felt horrible taking it apart with out telling you first. I wasn’t sure you even knew it was still there.”
Dominic sighed, “I did know that, actually, but I didn’t have the heart to disassemble it myself. It’s been years since I’ve been there and the thought never even occurred to me to clean it out before you got there. I’m sorry Melissa.”
