Conversation over dinner was amiable and easy. Jonas proved to be quite charismatic and more than capable of carrying most of the exchange with stories of his travel, architecture he had seen and liked, architecture he had seen and disliked, what he thought of the state of the city, and on and on. As the night was winding down he broke from his narrative to ask Aldo how long he had owned the lake house.
“Not for long.” Aldo replied. “It is a recent inheritance. From my wife.” He paused for a moment as that thought had crashed in to him. He had done well, for the most part, without relating the lake house to his deceased wife very often and the reminder that this was supposed to be theirs together hit hard. “And she inherite it not long before from her father. We hadn’t known about the house prior to my father in-law’s passing.”
Jonas frowned at the news. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. And doing his all to keep the mood from souring further he deftly steered the talk elsewhere. “It’s a beautiful property. I’ve been renting my spot every year for the last few years, late summer into fall. There is just something about this place that, that, I don’t know. Believe it or not, I have a hard time expressing it in words. There is just a presence up here that resets me. Whenever I leave, whether I spent a day or three months here, I feel confident that whatever I touch when I go back will turn out right. If that makes sense?” Aldo understood ful well the feeling Jonas was describing.
The two cleaned up after dinner and Kahn did his part by licking the plates. “I leave next week. Jonas informed Aldo upon his departure. “I’ll be back next summer and will be sure to come say hi and check in on your project.”
They shook hands and Jonas patted Kahn on the head. Aldo thanked him again for the help and they parted ways, for the time being.
A Page a Day 