All of It (10 page)

“My dreams are really vivid though, you always seem very real in them.” I’m slightly embarrassed at having divulged this highly personal information.

His hand tightens around mine. “You dream about me?” His voice is filled with shock and disbelief.

I look away, pause, and then say, “Yes, almost every night since we met.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are the dreams about?” His grip is surprising.

“They’re strange … and short. In all of the dreams we’re meeting each other for the first time, but each dream is set in a different place and time.” My voice is distant as I try to recall them all.

“Can you tell me about one of them?”

“Well, last night I dreamt that I was a nurse and you were a wounded soldier that I was tending to.”

“World War Two.” It isn’t audible, but I see his lips move.

“Yes, World War Two, good guess. It was so real: the images, the sounds, the smells … the pain …” My voice trails off at the memory of it. “It was awful … a nightmare really, until I saw your face and you spoke to me.” I smile and look at him. His eyes look glassy, like there are tears in them. “What’s wrong?” I whisper.

He takes a deep breath and blinks a few times. “Nothing.” It’s quiet for more than a minute and I assume he’s dropped the subject. “I guess I was hoping for something a little less … dramatic and more …
pleasurable
.” The corner of his mouth turns up into a devious grin.

I blush. “Sorry to disappoint you.” I hesitate, then ask, “Do you dream about me?”

He looks out his window and then back to me. “Yes, for what seems years. And there’s
no
drama.
Strictly
pleasure. Last night involved you and me, a cramped supply closet in the art building at school, and lots of paint creatively applied.” He sighs faintly. “God, your body makes a beautiful canvas …”

I clear my throat. My face burns and my skin tingles. “Um, yeah …”

“What? You asked, I answered.” He glances at me again and takes in my blush through the darkness. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”

“You certainly don’t hold anything back, do you?” I have to shift the attention away.

“Why should I? I’ll always let you know exactly how I feel.”

“That’s very admirable of you.” There’s a touch of sarcasm in my voice. “If you’re only sixteen, how did you get so good at seducing women? You’ve obviously had a lot of practice.”

“Seducing? Did you just say
seducing
? You haven’t seen anything yet.” His hand touches my thigh. “And there’s been no
practice
, as you put it. I save this all up for you.”

I laugh. “You expect me to believe that? You’re too good at this. You’ve probably dated dozens of girls.”

He smiles at me thoughtfully, but his eyes are completely serious. “I’ve never dated anyone else but you.”

Life is sometimes … like a dream.

Dimitri’s house, I soon find out, is located in a very exclusive neighborhood that’s many miles from mine. We’re not in the suburbs anymore. The neighborhood itself has always been somewhat of a mystery to me. It’s a gated community surrounded by high walls, so access is limited and I’ve never known anyone who lived inside … until now. We pull up to the security gate and we are greeted by a short, stocky, balding, middle-aged man who says politely, “Good evening, Mr. Glenn.”

“Good evening, Charlie.”

“How was dinner?” Charlie asks Dimitri with a sly smile. He’s bent down peering at me through the driver’s side window.

Dimitri is clearly amused by his direct curiosity. “Excellent. Charlie, this is my friend, Veronica Smith. The one I was telling you about.”

Charlie raises a hand to wave. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Smith.”

“Likewise, Charlie,” I say.

Charlie taps Dimitri on the shoulder. “You sure were right, she’s a beauty. How’d she fall for a guy like you?” he adds with a deep chuckle.

“Just lucky, Charlie … I’m just lucky.” He smiles. The banter is easy between these two. It seems Dimitri can get along with just about anyone.

Charlie hands a small handheld device to Dimitri. Dimitri pushes a few buttons and places his index finger firmly against the small screen and hands it back to Charlie. The security gates begin to open slowly.

“Have a great day off tomorrow, Charlie. You going fishing?”

“Of course! We don’t have much good weather left—have to get out there while I can. You two enjoy the rest of your evening.” He bends down again to look at me through Dimitri’s open window. “Nice to meet you, miss.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Charlie.”

We roll slowly through the gate and into Dimitri’s mysterious neighborhood. There don’t appear to be many houses. The ones I do see all sit on very large lots, which is kind of a necessity because these homes are huge … no, not huge …
gargantuan
. And they’re all different—some old, some new, but all of them are statuesque and meticulously well kept. Even in the dark I can see how immaculate they are. Each one looks as if it’s been torn from the pages of
Home & Garden
magazine.

“All these years, I always wondered what kind of homes were behind those walls,” I say quietly to myself. “And now I know.” I look at Dimitri. “Do you realize how fantastic this neighborhood is?” I’m in shock.

“If you’re asking if I realize how fortunate I am to have a roof over my head, the answer is yes. But, they’re just people’s homes, Ronnie. Just like your home. No better. Ordinary people live here.” He points to a brick mansion on my right. “Well, except maybe them. They’re pompous assholes.”

I laugh humorlessly. “Well, these
ordinary
people have
extraordinary
homes.” I continue gawking out the window. “Which one is your favorite?”

“My favorite is the house at the end of the next street.” Dimitri turns the corner and drives down a dark street. As he rounds the bend, he points at the end of the cul-de-sac. “That’s my favorite.”

He stops in the middle of the road and before us stands the most incredible, grand-looking home I’ve ever seen. It’s dark outside, but strategic lighting in the yard allows us to take in all of its detail and glory. The home is all stone and looks more like a castle than someone’s house. It stands three stories tall and looks European—old, but perfectly preserved. The front yard is manicured to perfection.

“Wow, I can see why it’s your favorite. It’s beautiful. Are you sure it’s a house though? It looks more like a hotel?”

We sit in silence for a minute, admiring like a couple of sightseers.

“Do you know the people that live there?” I ask, still in awe.

“Yes, they’re a very nice family.”

“Not pompous assholes?”

He smiles. “Not at all.” The car starts rolling slowly down the street and stops just in front of the driveway. He looks at the house, his smile widens, and he points to the window next to the front doors. “And I think they’re very anxious to meet you.” There’s a woman holding the curtain back waving at us through the window.

“That’s your mom, isn’t it? This is
your
house?” I’m dumbfounded.

He takes a deep breath and eases the car up the curb and down the driveway. “Yes, that’s Sunny. And unless she sold the house today and didn’t tell Sebastian and me, which knowing her is a possibility, this is still our house.”

Then it dawns on me how far Dimitri lives from our school. “Don’t get me wrong, I really love that we ended up in the same high school, but you are like,
way
out of district boundaries living here. Why don’t you go to West Hills?”

“This life is all about choices, Ronnie, and this particular choice was imperative.”

I wait for more, but nothing comes. “That’s it?”

He smiles. “That’s it.”

The driveway is long and winds down behind the house and ends in front of a six-stall garage. One of the doors farthest from the house begins to open just as Dimitri raises his hand to push the garage door opener on his visor. He shakes his head. “Sunny must really be excited; she’s not even going to let me open the garage door myself.”

He pulls the Porsche into a very brightly lit and very clean garage. It reminds me of my dad’s, but kicked up a few notches.

Dimitri takes my hand. “I really hope you like my family, because I know they’re going to love you.” His voice is gentle, hopeful, and reassuring.

I pat our interlocked hands. “If they are anything like you, I’m sure I’ll love them, too.”

He smiles that beautiful smile of his. “Wait there.” He exits his door and comes around to open mine. I take his offered hand anxiously.

“This must be the Volkswagen,” I say, pointing to the car in the next stall.

He looks at me tentatively. “This is it. What do you think?” He seems to be holding his breath.

I walk over and peek inside. “It’s great, very cool. I love the red interior. What color are you going to paint it?”

He shrugs. “Black. Is there any other color?”

I look back at his Porsche, and at the Mini Cooper, Mercedes, and SUV parked in the stalls on the other side of it, all of which are black, and raise my eyebrows. “Apparently not.”

He squeezes my hand. “We can’t put this off any longer or Sunny will have a stroke, and I’d hate for that to happen. I’m rather fond of her.”

He leads me across the garage and into a breezeway that’s connected to the house. The door opens suddenly and there stands a tall, slender woman with blond hair and big blue eyes. It strikes me how young and pretty she is. Of course she would be pretty, I think to myself. Look at her children! I tense up, which Dimitri senses immediately. He rubs my arm with his free hand and whispers in my ear, “She won’t bite. She’s completely harmless, I promise.”

Sunny positively beams. Her smile is so friendly and warm that my nerves calm down immediately.

“Mom, this is Veronica. Veronica, this is Sunny.”

Sunny closes the gap between us quickly and pulls me into a hug, as if I’m an old friend. Stunned, I stand there with my arms hanging at my sides. She doesn’t seem to notice. She tightens her grip and then releases me. When she places her hands on my shoulders I realize how tall she is—Dimitri’s height. I have to tilt my head up to see her face.

“It is so good to meet you, Veronica.” Her voice is warm, tinged with a Texas accent, and flooded with excitement. “Welcome to our home. Won’t you come inside?”

“I’d love to. Your home is beautiful, Sunny.”

“Thank you.” Sunny steps aside and gestures for us to enter. She falls in step behind Dimitri squeezing his shoulders. She’s trying to whisper, but her excitement makes it impossible, “She’s so pretty, D. You two look precious together.”

I step inside the back door and the loveliest feeling sweeps over me. Not only is the air filled with the aroma of freshly baked chocolate cookies, it’s also filled with love. It feels like my parents’ home. I’ve always thought that you can get a pretty good read on a person by visiting their family home. The house itself tells a story. Houses can be happy, sad, calm, angry, peaceful, or cold. This home is filled with love.

“Can I get you something to drink, Veronica?” Sunny offers.

“No, thank you. I’m okay right now; we’ve just come from dinner.”

Sunny looks at me expectantly. “How was it? Did you love it?”

“Love it? It was perfect, like a fairy tale.”

Sunny looks to Dimitri, her eyebrows pinched together. “Were the candles too much?”

Dimitri laughs. “I don’t know how he got away with it without burning the place down. You should’ve seen it.”

Sunny pulls her cell phone out of her back pocket, presses a button and holds the screen up for us to look. The phone displays a photo of the room we ate dinner in. “Oh, I saw it. You didn’t think Pedro actually pulled it all off by himself, did you? Do you know how hard it is to round up 200 candles and ten dozen pink lilies in two hours?”

Dimitri hugs Sunny. “Thanks Mom.”

She kisses him on the cheek and ruffles his hair. “Clearly it was all worth it.” Sunny turns toward me and takes my hand in hers. “My D. is a very particular young man. He knows what he wants and he’s very driven, much like his father was. He’s extremely selective about the company he keeps. I knew that you must be very special for him to have become so taken with you in such a short time. And after getting to meet you, I can see that you are. Please know that you are welcome in our home anytime you like, and I look forward to seeing you often.” She smiles warmly and her blue eyes glitter.

“Thank you so much, Sunny.”

“Well, I’d better get to bed now. I need to play piano at church tomorrow morning. Sebastian’s watching a movie in the theater. Good night you two,” she says. And then, to Dimitri, “I love you, D.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

“Make sure he shows you the gallery, Veronica,” Sunny says over her shoulder as she disappears into the adjoining room.

“Mom,” Dimitri groans, his voice tinged with embarrassment as he shakes his head.

She reappears around the corner for a split second, winks and disappears.

“She’s great,” I say.

“She is. Sebastian and I have been blessed this time.” He’s still looking in the direction Sunny has disappeared with a smile on his face.

“This time?” What an odd thing to say, I think.

He dismisses it airily. “Nevermind,” he says, and turns to face me. “What would you like to do?”

“How about you show me around? Judging by the size of this place that may take the rest of the night and some of the morning. Apparently there’s a gallery I’m supposed to see, too.”

He takes my hand and leads me through the massive kitchen and dining room to a room near the front of the house. “This is the music room.”

He turns on the lights to reveal a large room with very high ceilings. Everything in the room is bright white—the walls, the carpet, the drapes, the furniture; the only exception is the shiny, black grand piano sitting at the far end of the room. It’s striking. He stands quietly just inside the room watching me as I look around. “You can come in, Ronnie.”

“I don’t want to get the carpet dirty,” I say, looking down at my shoes.