Eden (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Entering the house together, Nick and Amy were in awe of the opulent design. Nick set everything down in the hallway by the garage entrance and they proceeded to take a tour.

The main foyer was grandiose to say the least. It was big enough to park a fleet of buses and was adorned with two magnificent marble columns, large canvas paintings, and exquisite woodwork. Most of the fixtures appeared to be cast in solid gold. In the centre was a massive marble sculpture that looked as if it was hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

"Who was this guy?" Nick asked. "I don't know too many people back home who lived like this."

"Maybe a sultan or something," Amy ventured a guess.

"Are there even sultans in Serbia?" Nick asked.

"I have no idea. Maybe he's the president, or some big-shot oil tycoon."

They casually inspected the rest of the house, but were most excited to check out the master bedroom. For that, they had to walk up a winding row of stairs.

"You know, I'm tired of walking, let's take the elevator."

"Forget it, no more elevators!" Amy quickly shot back.

"Remember, Amy, us being trapped in that elevator is what saved our lives."

Nick conceded, and they walked up the staircase. The master bedroom did not fall short of being impressive. The entire room was bigger than their apartment in Canada. There was a four-poster king-sized bed, a desk, a large flat-screen TV on the wall, and a full-sized sofa.

"I can't wait to check out the bathroom," Amy said eagerly as she ran toward the ensuite. Nick was close behind.

The bathroom was as equally exquisite as the rest of the house. It too may have been bigger than their old apartment. Everything was polished white marble and gold. The bathtub may as well serve as a Jacuzzi because it could fit at least nine people. There was a separate shower area that was a semi-open concept. It was made of stacked stones and was open at both ends. They walked inside for a peek and saw six separate shower heads.

"Cool shower," Nick said. "Can't wait to use that!"

Adjacent to the bathroom was a grand walk-in closet with a sofa and large floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The rich mahogany shelves gave order to the space as well as a sense of affluence. Even the carpet felt thick and plush. Attached to the closet, through a doorway, was another room.

"How many rooms does this bedroom have?" Amy asked.

Nick continued through the closet to the far end. By relative size, it was a small haberdashery room equipped with a wall-mounted flat screen TV.

"Well, what do you think?" Amy asked.

Nick spun around and said, "I'll take it!"

"Nice place, huh?"

"That's an understatement. I would be happy to just stay here for the rest of my life."

"Trust me, Monaco will have houses twice the size of this."

"With Lamborghinis in the garage?" he asked.

"One in every colour."

"Fine. We can stay here for a few days and get rested up. Then we'll plan the rest of our trip."

Nick walked over to the computer and began snooping. On the desk was a stack of papers. He picked it up and studied it inquisitively. It was the house owner's financial statement from the bank.

"Hey, Amy, check this out."

"What is it?"

"This guy bought thousands of dollars' worth of food last week."