Heart of Stone

Field & Florals

Alexander awoke the next day with thoughts of that woman in his mind. He realized he'd never even asked for her name. He must have been dreaming of her. He didn't know why she continued to infiltrate his mind; he'd never experienced that with a woman before. He shook the thoughts of her away as he got up and dressed for the day. Perhaps it was just because it'd been a long time since he'd shared his bed. He had some digging to do into his 'wife'. He wanted to know what she did with all of the money he gave her.

His grandfather didn't think she was a bad person, but Alex himself had never met her. He had no idea what she was like. Could she have given all of the money to her family, as he first thought? Could they have run through the money his family had given them already? Or did she spend it frivolously on lavish things, thinking he would give her more when she ran out? But she had never asked for more, as far as he was aware.

He opened up his laptop after making himself a coffee and sat down at his grey marbled counter. Thinking back, he tried to remember what the bank account was. Going to his banking site, he sat staring at the log in screen for a few minutes. He tried a few different combinations, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember.

Sighing heavily, he made a phone call to his power of attorney. After exchanging niceties, he got straight to the point.

"You know that bank account I set up for Eloise Winter?"

"Yes, I remember." The lawyer replied.

"Do you still have the information? I'd like to check it and after all this time, I can't remember any of the info." He said.

"Ah, just give me a moment to find it. Are you considering withdrawing the money now that you've returned to the states?" The lawyer ventured.

"No, I want to see how much she's spent of it." He said.

"Ah, here it is." The lawyer provided him with the username and password, along with the account number and Alexander wrote it in the notes on his phone before thanking him and ending the call.

Almost eagerly, he punched in the information on his keyboard and pressed "login." He was simultaneously surprised and disappointed when the numbers on the screen loaded before him. There was still a massive amount of money in the account. The activity showed no recent transactions.

He frowned as he realized he was looking for reasons to dislike her. After all this time, he still resented the fact that his partner had been chosen for him and forced on him. Perhaps she felt the same way, and this was the reason why she hadn't touched most of the money. He decided to check the bank statements and was pleasantly surprised to see she received them electronically, so he was able to view all of them right there.

He had to go back a few years before he was able to find anything of import. Then he started to see the transactions she made. As he followed them backward, they began to make sense in his mind. He rested his elbows on the counter before him and folded his hands in front of his face, contemplating as he stared at the last bank statement. Perhaps he'd underestimated the type of person she was. It was clear she'd used the money to buy herself two properties and a business license. She then used some of the money to open another bank account and keep herself afloat for about a year or two, and then the transactions stopped completely. She had been smart.

Eloise started her day early, packaging all of the dried herbs and harvest she had collected yesterday. Every other day, she liked to visit her shop. Most of the time, she liked to bring something with her, but there were other times where she arrived with nothing. She liked to lay eyes on her shop frequently. It was the only way to ensure things were running smoothly and to her standards.

She loaded everything into the back of her suburban and pulled out of her driveway, heading towards the store. It was situated on a corner, a small beige stone construction with a large window front. The overhead sign read, "Field & Florals", the name of her business. A chalkboard A-sign out front stated the daily deals and fresh baked goods.