BIRTHDAYS AND FAMILY MEETINGS
After Tyler’s visit and the solving of the murders of Boyd Winters and Tina Namara, George put Andi back on the couch. He could sense his partner was upset though not exhausted, which meant some distraction was in order. And George knew exactly what he wanted to talk about.
“I went through the photos of all the furniture your gran has in storage. It’s quite the collection.”
“Mm-hmm. She loved flea markets and old things.”
“Sooo, I thought maybe we could not just do my new room but also make a few changes around here? I found a chest of drawers I would love to have in the hall and did you know your gran had an entire set of bathroom furniture? We could change the guest bath on the ground floor. Maybe even get new tiles down there. Some of them are broken as you know.”
“Yes to the chest of drawers, yes to the bathroom, but only if I don’t have anything to do with the renovation process. I do want a say regarding the tiles.”
That was actually a more concise comment than George had anticipated. “You’re fine with switching things up?”
“Gran did it regularly. She wanted her pretties on display.” Andi shrugged. George had gotten good at reading his lover’s silent cues.
“You barely had the energy to function normally.”
Andi sighed and leaned his head against George’s shoulder.
They spent the rest of the day on the couch, watching sports and discussing interior design, going through the photos of the furniture together and looking online for tiles. The next day, they drove to the storage unit where Andi’s gran had kept her furniture, which turned out to be a barn forty-five minutes outside Charleston. The owner of the barn had also passed away a few years ago, and his daughter welcomed them on the property.
“Hi, Andi, it’s good to see you.” She held out both her hands, which Andi took, much to George’s surprise.
“Wilma, it’s been some time.” Andi held her hands for a moment before he turned his head. “This is George, my partner. He has decided to redecorate the house.”
Wilma smiled at him. Her fiery red hair seemed to glow under the summer sun, and the freckles on her skin made her look younger than George thought she was. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, George. Please, follow me.”
She led them across the driveway to the barn that was situated to the left of the huge back yard. When she saw George’s look, Wilma started to explain. “This used to be a farmhouse about a hundred years ago. Granddad Toby started his antique repair business when it became clear that farming wasn’t his future.” She winked. “Andi’s gran was his business partner, aka partner in crime. She had a knack for finding rare and precious antiques at low prices, and he was a gifted handyman. The best pieces they kept for themselves, switching them out regularly to give them the room they needed to shine.” She unlocked a heavy chain from the barn doors, tapped in a code at the side and then swung the doors open. From the outside, the building might have looked like a barn, but inside it was like a museum designed to keep the valuable pieces in perfect condition. Not a speck of dust was to be seen. The temperature was cooler than outside, and everything was covered in muslin. Wilma flicked a switch and strategic spotlights turned on. “You said you already know what you want to take?”
Andi started to nod, but George lifted a hand. “Technically yes, but can I take a look around first?” He lifted the muslin on the closest item, which turned out to be a secretary in a light honey tone with a beautiful inlay pattern at the sides. “I might change my mind. Seeing them in person is so much better than on screen.”
Wilma laughed. “That’s right. I can’t tell you how often I come here thinking I only need a specific piece and then end up with something else entirely. It’s the magic of the barn.”
George was too busy marveling at the beauty of a knee-high trunk with an intricate flower-drawing on the lid. Andi and Wilma found a place near the entrance where they held a soft conversation, Andi for once not being standoffish. It took George almost two hours to get through the barn, and at the end he decided to take the furniture he’d initially selected after Andi and Wilma assured him he could always come back for something different. Wilma told them the furniture would be delivered the next morning and that the service would also take the bed, dressing table and chest of drawers from Gran’s room back to the barn. They said their goodbyes and went back to the Escalade. On the way home, George couldn’t help but ask.
“You seemed to be on good terms with Wilma.”
Andi shrugged. “She’s not insufferable, and her grandpa and my gran were—friends.”
George grinned. “The gentleman friend?”
“One of the gentleman friends.”
“Uh-huh. So your gran was a bit of a wildcat?”
“Bit of? Try full-blown. I don’t know much about her marriage to my granddad, just that it was stifling her. She once said the best thing he ever did was die early and leave her all the money. She lived like she wanted without giving a crap about people’s opinions. My father was mortified. He seems to be taking after my granddad, though I can’t say for sure.”
Sensing that the conversation was veering into difficult territory—Andi’s father was even more of a sore topic than his mother or his oma—George decided to change direction.
“I know it’s none of my business, but how do you pay for the storage of all the furniture? That barn was big.”
Andi chuckled. “By talking to Wilma.”
George shot Andi a questioning look before refocusing on the road.
“Fine. Wilma’s granddad was a very special gentleman friend of my gran. They both loved antiques, and they made good money with the business. Wilma still does. She inherited the company. It belonged to my gran and Wilma’s granddad. Gran knew I had zero interest in taking over her part, so she made a deal with Wilma and her granddad. Gran left her part of the business to Wilma, making her the new partner of her granddad. The stipulation was that Wilma would take care of her most precious pieces and help me exchange them at home whenever I wish. It’s a golden deal for everybody involved.”
“That company must be worth quite a lot.”
