In addition to the entertainment aspect of the home, they had a garage full of cars. “Didn't you make arrangements to make sure we'd have a car?” I asked Anthony. “Are we not allowed to use these?”
“I didn't know they were here. These used to be stored in a garage in Knoxville. They're mostly Michael's.”
My jaw dropped. “Oh, wow. Really?” We struggled. Our car broke down frequently. We'd had all those financial problems. He could've pretended to come from money, so we didn't have to spend so much time worrying over bills. “Was Michael's time with me a joke to him? Like a test to see if he could make it as a lowly human?”
“We wondered the same thing a few times,” Anthony said sadly, looking out over the vehicles. “Michael, as a kid, and even toward adulthood, he loved his material objects. His cars, the houses. He's got guitars, collectibles, a lot of... stuff.”
“We used to give him a hard time about it. Everyone has a thing, you know? Everyone has a vice. He had a bit of a shopping problem.” Elias walked toward the closest car, which I was pretty sure cost more than I'd earned my entire life.
“So, we wondered if maybe he was living like he was paycheck to paycheck to prove a point,” Anthony said. “Until we got to know you.” He smiled at me, love in his eyes.
“Once we knew you, we knew why he did it.” Elias turned back to me. “He gave all this up. He gave up his material things, the things he loved. Because keeping them would mean giving you up.”
My heart beat faster and my gut ached with missing Michael. “If we'd only known I was Unseen.” I didn't know if I would ever stop blaming myself for his death.
Axoular walked out of the back door. “Well, the kids gave me the grand tour. Anyone want to swim?”
I nodded enthusiastically, ready to shove my grief into the back of my mind. “Are Stephen and David coming?”
“I think they’re already out there.”
I turned to go change to join them and realized I had no idea where our bedroom was. “Uh, I need a guide to get to the bedrooms, please.”
Anthony laughed, and all three of them followed me inside, then showed me where we'd be staying.
They weren't kidding when they said the Supay were prepared for poly relationships. Our bedroom had two separate rooms with large beds. “For when we need space?” I asked.
Anthony nodded. “Sometimes people don't like to all sleep together.”
I shook my head. “I never want that. But for now, can Axo stay there so he's still close to us?”
He laughed nervously. “My stuff's already in there. We didn't think you'd mind.”
“I don't.”
Someone had already unpacked my clothes. “Who do I thank for this?”
“Tammy,” Elias said. “But don't be too appreciative. She was hiding from Delilah.”
I snorted and changed into a maternity bathing suit I'd ordered online, along with a slew of other maternity clothes. They'd come to our PO box the day before we left, and Elias had picked them up for me.
On our way back down to the pool, we were stopped by Delilah. Suddenly, I was thankful I'd put on a cover. I had no desire to be mostly nude in front of a woman that I barely knew that happened to look like a supermodel.
“I'm going to head out tonight since you're mostly settled in. I'll spend some time with the kids then sneak out. This will be our goodbye.”
I hugged her, surprised. “You're leaving?”
“Yes, it'd be best if I'm not home. I'm going to let myself be seen out and about shopping in Milan and stay at the Supay flat there. If you were here, they'd expect me to be here with you.”
She hugged Elias and Anthony and shook Axoular's hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes, thank you for allowing us to be here.”
She waved him off. “Pooh. It's as much their place as anyone, and as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome wherever they are.” Apparently, she’d been given the low down on who Axo was.
She left in a flurry of perfume and high heels, off to say goodbye to the kids.
***
