Page 21 of Paradise Found
When he printed photos off his phone, it was to provide himself proof—physical and tangible—within his grasp. Being with Oleanna was fleeting, but it was real when it lasted. He needed to relish the realness of it in the palm of his hand.
Suddenly, his hopelessly foolish ritual was disrupted.
It was gone.The photo of them together was gone.
He shot out of bed and patted around him to see if it dropped. Maybe it fell to the back of the dresser. Axel pulled the drawer right out.
“No, dammit, no,” he mumbled frantically.
He could print another copy, sure, but that wasn’t the point.
Losing the picture was a bad omen. Like he would lose her a little at a time. As if the days away from her would steal his memories as cruelly as fate let her slip away.
Maybe the cleaners knew something about this. He would call first thing in the morning.
He lay awake in bed, waiting for morning to come.
She was six minutes late to open the office, and the phone was already ringing off the hook. Who called at seven on a Friday morning?
“Hello, Valdez Cleaners, how can I help you?”
Silence on the other end.
“Hello? Is someone there?” Oleanna prompted.
“This is—” The man cleared his throat before continuing. “This is Axel Talstad. Cleaners came yesterday and I… Who is this?”
She was having a heart attack. There was no other way to describe the explosion in her chest, shrapnel made of excitement and terror demolishing her from inside.
She lowered her voice and pulled the landline away from her face. “How can I help you, Mr. Talstad?”
“There were items in my bedroom dresser. One of them is missing,” he spoke slowly and clearly. “Can I talk to the maid who cleaned my room? Areyouthe one who cleaned my room?”
Cold realization shocked Oleanna because was she this unlucky? The one thing she grabbed to remember their time together was going to get the company in trouble.Really?
“Yes. I mean no. I mean, of course, Mr. Talstad, I’ll let Mrs. Valdez call you as soon as she arrives. I’m sure we can recover the missing photo. Have a great day!”
She dropped the phone like it was hot coal. Oleanna pulled out the photo from her purse and snapped a picture with her cell. She would make sure it was returned as soon as possible, maybe even before the next cleaning.
At least she had a picture of the picture.
Listening to herself rationalize such a depressing consolation, Oleanna tore at her hair. She released a frustrated yelp just as two staff members entered the office.
“You alright, hon?” Malia asked, concerned.
“I just… Ugh! Hey, I need to go for a walk. Give me five minutes, please? Can you cover the phones before everyone drives out?”
“Sure, of course,” her cousin answered. Oleanna barely heard her.
She ran down the street till her heart hurt from effort instead of from the awful sense that everything was terribly, terribly wrong.
Having Axel on the other end of a phone line and not acknowledging him was awful. Stealing their picture like she was a common thief was ridiculous. Lying to him and to herself was unforgiveable. Finally, denying the depth of her feelings was a delusion she could no longer sustain.
Oleanna stumbled before grabbing the wall of a building. Leaning her forehead against the unyielding cement, she let her tears fall.
She was so tired of hopelessness. Of regret.
It took a lot longer than five minutes to stop sobbing.
