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The landscape rolled outside thelike a fil from don streets, to hway An expanse that would follow us the rest of the way there

Tithe drive would be All I kneas that Hugo lived in California, which narrowed it down a bit Even if it could still be hours

I hadn’t exactly doneout It seeer, of course, it always did without a reference point, but it was actually just under two hours on the road The green expanses of the wine country appeared like an oasis in the desert

The car took a turn, its first in over an hour The srind of gravel as we rolled up on the house Just as a light rain began to dot the windshield

Standing like a foote, Cassidy opened an u azed in awe at the remarkable structure, which was built in an 18th century French style A beautiful building out of place and time Suddenly, the ter

Delivered safely to the door, I was left todeluge to put the car in the garage Better to prevent rusting Even that far from the open ocean

“You a

I’d never heard , but kind of nice as well Thisolder woman who had appeared out of nowhere

“Yes,” I said, my vocabulary still handicapped by wonderment

“This way please, he is waiting for you

“Are you his maid?” I asked as ent deeper down the hall

“Maid, head cook, gardener, surrogate mother, you name it,” she chuckled, “Here we are

The door was as heavy as it looked Creaking draon of the type, coh they required a ladder The door closed behindlittle choice but to approach

Inch by inch, he came into view Like a rotoscope as I ca as he read on the antique couch Dressed more casually than I expected in slacks and a black sweater

“What are you reading?” I choked out, ht of him

It seeood a place to start as any Books, and their creation, particularly as a physical object, were our major point of commonality

“The Plague