Tarnished Gold (Landry 5)

replied with a wink.

"But why?"

"Why? Just to be close to you whenever I want

to be and when, I hope, you want me to be," he said.

He took my hand. Feeling swept along, I could only

follow him up the path to the shack. It was never

anything when the Daisys lived in it, but it had fallen

into some ruin after John Daisy's death. Pierre had had

the floorboards repaired, the holes mended, the

windows recovered, the tin roof restored, and the

furniture replaced. He had a new rug in the sitting

room.

"I brought that in from New Orleans myself,"

he said, nodding at the rug. "The shack has none of the modern conveniences, but I think that's what gives it all it's charm, don't you?" he said as I wandered through it. "The lamps have oil; there's something to eat and drink and the bed has new linens. What else could we ask for?" he said, and opened a cabinet in the kitchen to take out some glasses and then some

wine from a cool chest he had filled with ice. "I can't believe you did this," I said.

"I'm a man of action," he replied, laughing. He

uncorked the wine and poured two glasses. "Let's

make a toast," he said, handing me my glass. "To our

dream house in our dreamworld. I hope I never wake

up." He tapped my glass and brought his to his lips.

After a moment I sipped my wine, too. "So? What do

you think?"

"I think you're a madman," I said.

"Good. I'm tired of being Pierre Dumas, the

sensible, brilliant, respected businessman. I want to

feel young and alive again, and you make me feel that

way, Gabriel. You wipe the cobwebs out of my brain

and drive the shadows from my heart. You are all

sunshine and cool, clear water.

"Didn't you think constantly of me these past