"I was never long without a boyfriend," she bragged. "My father used to say he should have named me Honey because there were so many boys buzzing around our house."
"Bees aren't attracted to honey. They make honey," Wade said.
"Whatever. Don't be so pedantic," she chastised, and then turned to me. "Wade and I met at my coming-out party, but I didn't fall prey to his charms immediately. He had to work on me, but he was persistent, no matter how difficult I made it for him," she said. "And I did make it difficult," she said, raising her voice.
"Difficult's her middle name," Wade quipped.
"Very funny. He had to do a lot to win my hand in marriage, and even more to win the rest of me," she added with another giggle.
I saw the back of Wade's neck turn crimson.
"Stop it, Ami," he warned.
"I will not stop it. I'm going to begin giving her the benefit of my experience immediately." She turned to me, her face very serious. "You must never let a man think you're easy, no matter how much you want him. Once a man takes you for granted, he forgets all his promises."
"Oh, brother," Wade moaned. "Celeste, I don't know what you know about men and what you don't, but you better get a second opinion on everything she tells you. Consider it the same as a medical problem. You need a second opinion."
Ami laughed. Then she leaned toward me to whisper.
"He'll never admit it, but I was his only real girlfriend."
She sat back, smiling.
"Where are we going?" I asked, the realization striking me that I didn't know the name of the town or city. I wasn't even paying attention to what direction we were heading. "I mean, where is your home?"
"Our home, Celeste. From now on, call it our home. Peekskill. We live outside of Peekskill because that's where Wade's company is located," Ami said. "The school you'll attend is just south of us about, what, Wade? Five miles?"
"About," he said.
"How will I get there every day?" I asked. From the orphanage, I just walked to the public school. "Is there a school bus?"
"There is, but I'll take you every morning," Wade said. "Drop you off on my way to work. Ami will either pick you up or arrange for a pickup."
"Maybe we'll get you your own little car to use. We can do that, Wade, can't we?"
"We'll see," he said.
She patted me on the arm and winked.
Was this all a dream? After all these years, how could they just come out of nowhere and present me with this exciting new opportunity and all of this luxury? Surely, they'd been sent, and my future was truly beginning.
I really had to pinch myself when I saw their house. Ami was not exaggerating, I thought. This was truly a mansion. The driveway looked like it was a mile long. First we approached the ornate gates with seven-foot-high pilasters, each capped with a large square light fixture. Wade pressed a button over his visor, and the gates began to open very slowly.
"It's like entering heaven," Ami said. "It always gives me chills when I drive in, even after four years."
"Hardly heaven," Wade muttered.
"It is to me," Ami countered. "Wade's father actually owns the house, although he doesn't live here anymore. He doesn't want us knowing his comings and goings. He bought it years ago and had it renovated," she continued as the house and grounds came into better view. The landscaping was elaborate. There were flowers and bushes and trees, fountains and benches, spaced perfectly everywhere I looked.
Off to the left, I saw a large swimming pool, a cabana, and a large gazebo. Just to the right of that was a tennis court. I was like a little girl in a toy store. My eyes were going everywhere, until finally I settled on the house, which seemed to literally rise up before me, looming over us. It was as grand as any house I had ever seen.
"It's what is known as a Second Empire Victorian," Ami continued, assuming the tone of a guide as she talked about it. "It's two stories with a large attic. It's the only house in the area that has a cupola."
On the left side of the house was a one-story porch, and on the right I could see bay windows. Ami pointed at them.
"That's our dining room, so we can look out at the gardens when we eat. Your bedroom will be on the second floor, just across from ours and above the bay windows. Those two windows on the right are yours. The house has four bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs in the rear. We keep one bedroom for Wade's father whenever he has the inclination to stay over, which means whenever he's here and he drinks too much," she added.
"Which is almost every time he's here," Wade added.