A few days after wrapping up the funeral, I was moving along smoothly in the process of moving on with my life. It had been almost a week, but I haven’t made up my decision regarding what to do with my life in relation to the mafia. It was a very difficult decision to make and no matter how hard I thought about it, the answer did not immediately come to me.
Perhaps, I already had an answer in mind, but I was just too scared to admit it even to myself.
While I was on break from teaching my art class, I got a phone call from the building manager’s office of the penthouse where I used to live with Hayden. For some reason, I still had the number saved so I knew who the call was from right away. I wondered what they wanted after all this time. It had been many months now since we’ve moved out.
"Hello. Miss Malissa, sorry for calling out of the blue," a woman’s voice said.
"It’s ok. How can I help you?" I asked.
"We were in the middle of clearing up the room as the rent contract had just expired and we think you left something important in the penthouse," the woman explained.
"Umm...I don’t think that I forgot anything..." I said with confidence.
I did not forget anything. I definitely checked when I moved out.
"Well, the penthouse had been closed since you moved out so I’m assuming that it must be yours," the lady said sounding a little confused.
"Didn’t the rent contract expire the day that I moved out?" I asked, not quite understanding what she was saying.
"Not exactly. The contract just expired at the end of last month. So, although you have moved out, no one has entered the room due to the contract. Of course, rent was being paid in a timely manner," the woman explained politely.
Ok...I didn’t know that...
It can’t be. My eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat at the sight of the 300-million-dollar painting still hanging on the wall. Had it been here all this time?
"Maybe Hayden forgot it? You should contact him or whoever rented this penthouse for them to come and collect it," I suggested.
I watched as the woman picked up a small paper card and handed it to me. Feeling slightly confused, I reached out and took the card from her.
’Cheer up, Malissa’
The note written on the card was short, but I could feel his intentions so clearly that it brought tears to my eyes instantly.
"You’re Malissa, right? So, this must have been left here for you," the woman said with a kind smile.
"Thank you..." I whispered as I tried to hide my tears from her.
"That’s not a problem. It’s quite big so let me know when you’re available. We can get it delivered to your new place," the woman quickly suggested.
"Ok. Thank you again," I replied as I tried to hold in my tears.
The woman quietly left as if she wanted to give me some time alone and I highly appreciated her considerate act of kindness. My eyes were blurred by tears, and I quickly wiped them away. Standing in front of the building, I felt that the colors of the painting looked dull and a little depressing today.
Although I knew that it was just the result of what I was feeling, it still saddened me to see one of my favorite paintings looking so sad.
I re-read the note from Hayden again and suddenly the colors of my world seemed brighter then before.
--To be continued...