The Surrogate

Chapter 11

Stepping out of the bathroom and descending the stairs, Esther found Archie with her coat in hand at the back door. Even though he looked tired, Archie’s eyes looked bright and alive. Helping with her coat, he took her to the garage parked behind the house where the typical black mammoth of a vehicle sat next to something very new.

“Is this what you wanted to show me? This Tesla? This did NOT take an hour.”

Archie laughed. “No, but I did get it for the baby. I had my secretary do a lot of research on luxury vehicles for new parents.”

“You could not just get a minivan?”

“Isn’t this beast for that kind of thing?” Archie asked pointing to the sport utility vehicle next to them.

Esther shrugged, going around to her side of the car. “They are your cars, Archie.”

“Ours.”

“Okay, sure.”

“I just thought it would be nice to have a sedan for trips like this. It’s electric you know. It’s much better for the environment.”

“Yes, well, I am glad you got it.” Esther slid into the passenger’s seat, looking at the black interior and admiring the perpetual night inside of the vehicle. “It’s very nice, Archie.”

“Thank you, dear.” Archie grinned. “I got it just this afternoon. I bought it months ago, but I had to special order the rear-facing child safety seat in the back.”

Starting the car, it erupted to life in silence like a supernova. The lights came alive on the dashboard, and the engine let out no more than a soft purr as they pulled out onto the quiet city streets heading north. They passed through the Bronx and Mount Vernon, and city lights dissipated into tree-lined highways. They weaved in the darkness, blending into the night. The snow on the ground was still clean and bright out here, and it was a treat to see snow in a way other than piled up on the corner of city streets.

They drove much faster than most people. Archie did not care, but neither did Esther. Instead, Esther’s curiosity grew as they headed up toward her hometown. She knew the signs and exits well and very much like an old friend. Still, she had no idea where they could be going.

Archie filled the silence with his thoughts saying, “You know, I have been thinking about our December together recently. With us going ice skating and spending this much time with your family, it made me remember how much I loved it.”

“Me too,” Esther admitted with little thought as she stared out fondly at the passing towns.

“Really?” Esther heard him ask.

“Yes, it’s been haunting me in my dreams.”

“Haunting?”

She looked back to see his nose scrunched up and explained, “It’s not always a bad thing to be haunted.”

He relaxed his face as he finally agreed with, “I guess you’re right.”

Esther looked back out at the roads, not terribly interested in where he was going with his conversation. Archie kept talking, a nervous habit of his.

“Anyway, I remembered that you talked a lot about your major that holiday. It was the first time we had ever talked about your career. I was stupidly surprised back then that you chose interior design.”

“Why?” Esther encouraged him, still paying attention only partially.

“I guess I never thought about careers. I never considered other options myself. It was either charity work with Mother or taking over the family business like Father, and it seemed a waste to give the company over to my first cousins from California. They’re so awful, even now. They own a winery and marijuana farm in Colorado, and they complain about everything when I see them.”

“You’re getting off track. Why was it stupid to be surprised?”

“Because you are so much smarter than I ever was, Esther. You had the world at your feet. You were ready to take the world, even if they hated you for it. Nothing was going to hold you back, and you dreamed of making your home your greatest masterpiece.”

She was not quite sure where they were going until they pulled off toward the state park, and drove up a country road. She knew its name well, and her heart began to race as they sped up the lane. The minutes felt like hours as Esther finally knew where Archie was taking her.

He was taking her home. Archie for some reason was driving to back in time to where her life and their friendship began. It was where they kissed for this first time, and it was where she kissed him goodbye after their whirlwind romance. He began talking about that holiday together, but it was a seemingly random facet of their young affair as he drove onward.

“I save the sketches on the napkins you made that winter. You doodled all the time back then. If you had a pen, you drew. You drew out bedrooms and kitchens and houses. I never knew why I kept them in the first place, but I guess when you did not come with me back to Europe… it felt like part of you did. It was a pretty lie to tell myself. I memorized to the best I could about how you would renovate the space. I wrote it all down and kept it, just in case.”

They turned up the old driveway. Its gravel had been replaced for smooth cobblestone, mimicking the bottom of the nearby lake. Esther could see the waterfront peeking through the trees in the backyard. Looking up, her childhood home had been painted a navy blue, replacing the chipped white paint she remembered. The wood deck that wrapped around the house had been bleached and re-stained with the lighter shade and polish glowing in the moonlight.

Archie pulled the car into a new garage separate from the house, designed to blend in with the scenery. Esther could not wait for him. She jumped out of the car into the cold. Her breath made clouds around her as she whisked herself up to the place she had not been able to touch in years. She passed all the tall windows, letting the main floor of the home look out and see the view that laid before her.

“How, Archie?” Esther called back, still heading to her destination.

“I heard about some development plans through the business grapevine. I made the owners an offer they just could not refuse,” Esther heard Archie say somewhere behind her.

“Did you kill them? Oh, I don’t care if you did!” Esther exclaimed, bursting at the seams with excitement and sheer joy.

She finally made it to the back of the house. A line of rocking chairs sat perfectly still looking out past the snow-covered lawn, the shrouded herb gardens, the boat shed, and the old maple tree with her favorite swing toward the wide and beautiful lake. Braced against the wooden railing, Esther closed her eyes and heard the faintest lapping of the gentle waves. She left the faintest icy breeze nip at her cheeks.

“I didn’t kill anyone, Essie. I bought this and several properties off some developers. They were going to make it a series of condos with a golf course.”