Love Thy Neighbour, Annecia Ellies [readict txt] 📗

her off at home since she needed to pass in the supermarket to pick up some things to prepare for Saurelle’s visit. Seems like it’s going to be a fun night, with lots of old talk and no sleep. She thought.

When Morgan arrived home she prepared a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. Afterwards she made a quick check to ensure she had enough snacks for the night, eyed the cheesecake in the freezer wondering if she should take it out, then proceeded to take a long soak in the tub. Flynn had furnished her bathroom with a range of scented bubble baths. She loved fruity soap, she choose the strawberry pleasure and sat back to enjoy herself. She heard her cell phone ring but did not rise to answer it. She closed her eyes and her mind ran on Filipe. What will happen when he returns? She wondered, he told her he may want her to go shopping with him for furniture for his penthouse. She said she wasn’t sure she will be able to. She told Flynn and he had said nothing but nodded. She knows by the way he responds to her when she talks about Filipe, that he wants to ask her what really going on with her and him. He never did ask though, she wondered if it’s because of the argument they had about two months ago about settling down. He is nowhere close to wanting to settle down he had said, they are young why not live and let live, even though she had told him she hoped to settle down and be married by age twenty five.

She opened her eyes when she heard the doorbell chime. With a sigh of frustration, she got up and dried of a bit then wrapped her robe around her and went to see who it was. She looked through the peephole and realized it was someone from the Postal agency TT Post so she opened the door.

“Good afternoon. A special delivery for Miss Morgan Andersen.”

“Thank you, that’s me.”

She signed the pad and took the box from the young man. While closing the door with her foot she noted that the stamps were from France. She set the package on the coffee table and went looking for a scissors to cut open the tape. The first thing she saw was a note from Filipe, it said “Surprise Ma Cherie, I wanted to get you something special for your new home. I saw this French horn and thought of you. It’s in solid brass”

It was gorgeous; it came with a stand to mount it on. She mounted it and looked for a place to put it. She decided to leave it on the middle of the coffee table for now and went to finish her bath. As soon as she came out of the bath the doorbell rang again. Peeping through the hole, this time it was Saurelle. She quickly opened the door and almost dragged her inside.

“Hey, gorgeous in a robe” Saurelle said to her laughing and pretending to grab her butt.

She grinned and nodded towards the living room. Saurelle went in and stood looking around. Took her about two seconds to see the French horn on the table. She looked at Morgan and smiled as she took it up.

“Wow, let me guess, Filipe?”

“Yes, I just received it actually; a house warming present.” She gave her friend the note to read. Saurelle read the note and winked at Morgan, “It’s quite lovely.” She said.

“Come put your things in the bedroom” Morgan said to her.

Saurelle did as Morgan ask and they went towards the bedroom. Morgan hurriedly slipped on a track pants with a tank top. They then went back to the living room afterwards. Morgan went into the kitchen and got two Shandy Carib drinks for them with two glasses of ice. They sat and talked about the wedding as they sipped their drinks. Morgan, on finishing her drink said to Saurelle, “I have something to run by you. It is just an idea, well more like an offer ok. I haven’t responded as yet.”

”Carry on.” Saurelle said

“Filipe asked for you and me to visit him in France.”

“Eeek! Are you serious?” Saurelle got up from where she sat and joined Morgan on the couch. She jumped on and doubled her legs under her.

“Yes, I am. I told him we will discuss it I didn’t tell him yes.”

“I will love to, but I can’t take any vacation until December this year. I already took time off twice, once to go to Saint Lucia in January and then when I went to Miami with Gemma in March.”

“Ok, well that gives enough time to plan because if you’re not going with me I won’t be going.”

“Oh, come on. Think about what can happen if you go by yourself.”

“Exactly, that is why I’m not going by myself. Besides, what will I say to Flynn? Hey Hon, I’m going to spend some time in France for two weeks, oh, by the way. I will be staying with Filipe in his house.”

Both girls laughed at Morgan’s antics. She then grabbed Auri’s hands and pulled her along to see what she did to the apartment so far. They walked through the house analyzing and commenting on the decor. Shared ideas on what was missing and what can be improved. Saurelle promised to bring her some things to sprite up the place. Afterwards they both settled down and prepared for a night of movies and junk food.

 

Chapter Sixteen

 

Filipe sat in his living room with some documents Joanna handed him yesterday evening. He also had some designs with shelving patterns, wall paper and some photos of ceiling lights on the coffee table in front of him. A list of qualifications for the staffing was included in the melee.

His mom, Sophie Le Mar even though she was in her late fifties, her beauty had yet to begin fading. Her dark hair is still natural without color. Being of a small built, she moves gracefully and prides herself in the care she takes of her home. Being a Decorator herself, she has decorated many homes, work spaces, events; she has created and decorated both at home and abroad. Being well known in the country as the wife of the late Gage Le Mar, she has maintained her reputation and many still call for her because of the magazines and as her fame precedes her. She is still a colorful, vibrant woman.

She approached him and sat down in the opposite sofa, looking at him intently. Her son, her one and only child, she remembered the day her second son was born, stillborn, as if it was yesterday. It tore her apart; he would have been twenty four years old on this very day.

Sitting here, she wondered if Filipe remembers him, she had named him Maloi. Would he have been as driven to continue his father’s businesses as Filipe was or would he have done as her niece did, and found a career to follow on his own. Filipe of late has been very distracted she noted. He had a phobia about being alone and had gotten married at a very young age, twenty three. Eliza was a lovely girl and fit in the family nicely, but after three years was diagnosed with late stage stomach cancer. She got the best care they could give her but still died. It tore Filipe apart, but time and another girl called Genevieve helped heal him. She doesn’t know the reason they are no longer together but she sensed a change in her son. He went through some tough times in his teenage years because of the haunting dreams about the kidnapping, but he is much better today. Actually has been for some years as he continue to bury himself in his work, always the perfectionist just like his father. She realized he was looking at her and she smiled at him. He arose from where he sat and kissed her cheek.

“Today is his birthday mama, I know.”

She nodded her head and smiled. “I thought you forgot,” she said

“I always remember. How are you today?” he asked her, looking a bit concerned. Times past on this day she became somewhat depressed. With some prodding from Joanna she eventually started to mark the day with charity work at a nearby Hospice instead of moping around all day thinking about Maloi. She would donate baked goods from the bakery and a sizeable sum of money in her son’s memory. She also decorated the lobby and sitting area to make it as cherry and homely for the residents and visitors.

“Do you want me to take you today?” he asked her

“No son, I can manage. Besides I see you are very busy.”

“Yes, I’m just deciding on the wallpaper and lighting for the Café in Trinidad.”

“Who are you chasing in Trinidad son? I know you, you know. What is it that’s pulling you to that country?”

‘It’s a beautiful country mama, it will be the first Café of its kind too.

“What else? Is it a girl? There must be something else.”

Filipe smiled. He held nothing back from his mother. She was as sharp as a tack.

“I met someone, yes. But I’m not putting a café there because of her. I fell in love with the place, it is a lovely vacation spot. You will love it there. I remember you once had a pen friend from there.”

“Yes I did. She passed away some time back though.”

“Yes you told me, everything is here though, I just have to ship these across and send some staff to train the workers. I already advertised some vacancies and got a startling response. I asked Paul if he can re locate for a while to help with the baking and he said he will. So it’s more or less set up. We are opening the café in Trinidad, in a place called Hibiscus Towers in Belmont.”

“That’s great son; will you be staying for a while also?”

“Yes I’m renting an apartment close to the location so I will be back and forth. I worry about you being lonely in this big house mama.”

“No son, I’m fine here. You stop worrying about me. Glenda keeps me company and besides, I like me solitude at times. Let me see what you have there, I can help.”

“Ok then, thanks mom, you are a gem.”

They sat and mentally decorated the Café for about an hour, after which Sophie left for the Hospice. Filipe was putting away the papers when he remembered the second file Joanna gave him yesterday. He opened it to find some information on Emmie Andersen with a photo inside.

He was from Sigtuna, Sweden. A brilliant architect by profession, his work was known both locally and overseas. He kept a rather low profile and was a quiet but friendly man. Coming from a big family, he never married but was said to have had quite a few ladies at any given time. No children were recorded to date. His life came to a sudden end on August twenty seventh two thousand and five when he died by vehicular accident, killed on spot. He was buried at a local cemetery in the village he came from. His brother Hugo lives in Maine, USA and another brother Viktor resides in Canada, his two sisters, Marseille and Elsa both are said to be alive but their location has not been identified.

Filipe looked at the photo again and his breath caught in his chest. If it wasn’t for her curly hair and brown eyes, Morgan would look just like her father. There’s no denying he had found Emmie Andersen, now he wondered how he is going to break the news to Morgan that the reason they had not heard from her father all those years is because he is dead. He went into his rooms and put the file in his dresser. He is due back in Trinidad at the end of