Dana, Mom, and his sister were organizing it.
"Stop by to see me before then," Mom said. She winked. "Maybe I'll have some of that peach cobbler, just for you"
"I'll be there"
Chapter 6
f 1 ome sweet home. C
Gabriel lived in Glenwood Mills, a golf community of spacious brick homes with well-tended lawns. An eighteen-hole golf course wound throughout the fringes of the neighborhood. Gabriel's own house was a four-bedroom, two-story model sitting on a half acre of verdant Bermuda grass that overlooked the fairway for the sixth hole.
He'd lived there for three years, and he and Dana planned to stay there after they wed in October. Due to traffic congestion and high real estate prices on the northern rim of metro Atlanta, the south side was booming, and he wanted to keep the house for a while longer to enjoy the increase in equity.
True to form, Pops had offered to give him the down payment on the property, but Gabriel, in a rare display of independence, had come up with the funds on his own. This place was his, purchased with his own money, and that made him especially proud.
He unlocked the door and went inside.
Perhaps it was due to his close call with death, but he looked around his house as if he were a first-time visitor. It was tastefully furnished with contemporary furniture, in earth tones. Hardwood floors. Stainless-steel appliances. Granite countertops. Cathedral ceilings. Colorful, jazz-themed prints on the walls. Lots of framed photographs filled the rooms, many of them showing Gabriel and his family, others featuring him and Dana.
He truly had been blessed. Even a collision with an eighteen-wheeler and a vicious tumble down an embankment had failed to ruin his good life. It was as though a magic spell had been cast on him at birth, to ward off misfortune.
As he walked to the master bedroom on the main level, the house seemed unnaturally quiet. He felt out of place being home on a Tuesday morning. He'd rather go to the office. But his physician had advised him to take the day off and rest, and Dana would chew him out if she found out that he'd ignored the doctor's orders. He would have to stay home all day.
A cool breeze had been blowing outdoors, so he opened several windows to let fresh air circulate. He leafed through his mail. Turned on the TV and channel surfed; saw nothing of interest. Dug inside the refrigerator, only to discover that he had no appetite. Logged on to the Internet to check his e-mail and found nothing but enticements for porn sites and online casinos.
This isn't going to work, he thought. Like his father, he was a chronic workaholic. He was happiest when he was engaged in productive activity.
He called his insurance company to follow up on the claim for his wrecked vehicle. But after sitting on hold for twenty minutes, he hung up and decided to call back later.
Out of ideas, he decided to simply do some cleaning. Dana was coming over that evening to cook a birthday dinner for him-something she'd planned to do last night until his accident intervened-and while the house wasn't a pigsty, it could use some straightening up. He got a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels, and he went to the master bathroom to start cleaning in there.
The wind, blustering through the opened bedroom windows, slammed the bathroom door behind him. Startled, he almost dropped the window cleaner.
Gabriel laughed, a little uneasily, at his jumpiness. Relax, Gabe.
He approached the large mirror. Last night's vision-or hallucination-flashed through his mind.
But he was the only person reflected in the glass. As expected.
He looked away, and then quickly turned back to the mirror. The same baby-faced mug, a little more gaunt than usual, a bandage on his head, stared back at him.
"You're nuts, man" He laughed at himself.
Realizing that he needed another cleaning solution for the toilet, sinks, and garden tub, he turned away and walked to the bathroom door. He reached for the knob.
The knob twisted.
"Stop by to see me before then," Mom said. She winked. "Maybe I'll have some of that peach cobbler, just for you"
"I'll be there"
Chapter 6
f 1 ome sweet home. C
Gabriel lived in Glenwood Mills, a golf community of spacious brick homes with well-tended lawns. An eighteen-hole golf course wound throughout the fringes of the neighborhood. Gabriel's own house was a four-bedroom, two-story model sitting on a half acre of verdant Bermuda grass that overlooked the fairway for the sixth hole.
He'd lived there for three years, and he and Dana planned to stay there after they wed in October. Due to traffic congestion and high real estate prices on the northern rim of metro Atlanta, the south side was booming, and he wanted to keep the house for a while longer to enjoy the increase in equity.
True to form, Pops had offered to give him the down payment on the property, but Gabriel, in a rare display of independence, had come up with the funds on his own. This place was his, purchased with his own money, and that made him especially proud.
He unlocked the door and went inside.
Perhaps it was due to his close call with death, but he looked around his house as if he were a first-time visitor. It was tastefully furnished with contemporary furniture, in earth tones. Hardwood floors. Stainless-steel appliances. Granite countertops. Cathedral ceilings. Colorful, jazz-themed prints on the walls. Lots of framed photographs filled the rooms, many of them showing Gabriel and his family, others featuring him and Dana.
He truly had been blessed. Even a collision with an eighteen-wheeler and a vicious tumble down an embankment had failed to ruin his good life. It was as though a magic spell had been cast on him at birth, to ward off misfortune.
As he walked to the master bedroom on the main level, the house seemed unnaturally quiet. He felt out of place being home on a Tuesday morning. He'd rather go to the office. But his physician had advised him to take the day off and rest, and Dana would chew him out if she found out that he'd ignored the doctor's orders. He would have to stay home all day.
A cool breeze had been blowing outdoors, so he opened several windows to let fresh air circulate. He leafed through his mail. Turned on the TV and channel surfed; saw nothing of interest. Dug inside the refrigerator, only to discover that he had no appetite. Logged on to the Internet to check his e-mail and found nothing but enticements for porn sites and online casinos.
This isn't going to work, he thought. Like his father, he was a chronic workaholic. He was happiest when he was engaged in productive activity.
He called his insurance company to follow up on the claim for his wrecked vehicle. But after sitting on hold for twenty minutes, he hung up and decided to call back later.
Out of ideas, he decided to simply do some cleaning. Dana was coming over that evening to cook a birthday dinner for him-something she'd planned to do last night until his accident intervened-and while the house wasn't a pigsty, it could use some straightening up. He got a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels, and he went to the master bathroom to start cleaning in there.
The wind, blustering through the opened bedroom windows, slammed the bathroom door behind him. Startled, he almost dropped the window cleaner.
Gabriel laughed, a little uneasily, at his jumpiness. Relax, Gabe.
He approached the large mirror. Last night's vision-or hallucination-flashed through his mind.
But he was the only person reflected in the glass. As expected.
He looked away, and then quickly turned back to the mirror. The same baby-faced mug, a little more gaunt than usual, a bandage on his head, stared back at him.
"You're nuts, man" He laughed at himself.
Realizing that he needed another cleaning solution for the toilet, sinks, and garden tub, he turned away and walked to the bathroom door. He reached for the knob.
The knob twisted.
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