"Very well, Miss Georgia. Just call when you are ready."
Georgia nodded, remembered which staircase led to her room and went up. She paused outside Nick's room for a moment, passed it by, and opened the door to the next room. She set her purse on a table, admired the fresh flowers someone had placed there after she left, and then went to the indecently large walk-in closet.
Georgia laughed. The new clothes Jackie helped her buy took up less than a tenth of the available space. She changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and then walked out on the balcony again. At the end of the driveway, Bill was polishing the side of the…her limo, Martin was in the garden pruning rose bushes and the dog was rolling in the grass trying to scratch his back. It made her smile. In the middle of it all was the gigantic fountain - her fountain.
"Miss Georgia?" Kellie asked. "I knocked, but…"
Georgia turned to look back. "I didn't hear you. The fountain makes more noise than I realized. What is it, Kellie?"
"Well, we don't know what to do. I mean, we want to please you, but we don't know what you like and what you don't like."
"I see. Well, I like most everything except I am allergic to wool. I don't get really sick or anything, but I do get a rash." Georgia walked back to the bedroom door.
"You won't find anything made of wool here. Nick was the same way."
Georgia smiled. "Come, Clint has promised to take me on a tour and you might as well go along."
*
The grand tour consisted of an enormous backyard complete with a trampoline, swimming pool, tennis court, a swing set for visiting children, and a doghouse big enough for a whole family of dogs. As the tour progressed, Martin joined them, then Bill, then Silvia and of course, Muffin. Each time Georgia commented on liking this or not liking that, Kellie made a note of it. Most of all, she wanted the gardener to plant more lilac bushes so she could wake up to their sweet aroma. Martin was delighted.
Next, she toured every room in the house, from the bedrooms upstairs, to the sunroom, to the theater, the poolroom, the library, and the dining room. She had never seen so many bathrooms in her life, and was again relieved she wouldn't have to clean them.
It was not until they entered Nick's study that Georgia had reason to pause. Three life-size paintings hung on the far wall. "Is that my mother?" she asked, staring up at the woman in a royal blue gown.