Chapter 10 - A New Chapter
The new house in Lake Forest was a beautiful, sun-drenched colonial home surrounded by tall pine trees and a wide green lawn. There were no high stone walls, no security cameras mounted on the roofline, no armed guards standing by the front gate.
Inside, the rooms smelled of fresh paint, vanilla candles, and cedar wood.
Lorenzo spent the afternoon assembling a white wooden dollhouse in the corner of Sophie’s new bedroom. Sophie sat on the floor beside him, diligently handing him wooden screws and plastic furniture pieces from a cardboard box.
“Mr. Lorenzo?” Sophie asked, holding up a small plastic armchair.
“Yes, Sophie?” Lorenzo replied, tightening a screw on the dollhouse roof.
“Is your big house all gone now?”
Lorenzo paused, looking down at the little girl. “The old house is going to be a park now, sweetheart. A place where children can play and read books.”
Sophie thought about this for a moment, nodding her head with serious approval. “That’s better. The old house was too dark. And the books were dusty.”
“Yes,” Lorenzo agreed softly, kneeling down on the carpet beside her. “They were very dusty.”
Clara stepped into the doorway, holding a tray with three glasses of lemonade and a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies.
“Take a break, you two,” Clara smiled, setting the tray down on a small wooden table. “Sophie, go wash your hands.”
Sophie jumped up excitedly, grabbing her stuffed lion from the bed and scampering out toward the bathroom.
Clara walked over to the window, looking out over the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood.
“It feels so quiet here, Lorenzo,” she said gently. “In a good way. Like we can finally breathe.”
Lorenzo stood up, dusting off his jeans. “That’s because there are no ghosts here, Clara. Just a new beginning.”
“Are you staying in Chicago?” she asked, turning to face him.
May you like
“No,” Lorenzo said, looking out at the golden afternoon light. “I purchased a small sailboat and a cottage in Door County, Wisconsin. I’m going to learn how to build wooden boats.”
Clara smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling with genuine happiness for him. “You’ll be wonderful at it. You’ve spent long enough fixing things that were broken.”
