On Friday afternoon, Marcus slid a heavy, black aluminum briefcase across his desk. I popped the latches. Inside was a certified check for $400,000 and the remainder of the buyout in neatly banded stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
“The heavy machinery is staging tonight,” Marcus said, looking at me with a mix of awe and concern. “The demolition starts at 8:00 AM sharp tomorrow. Are you sure you want to be there when they get back?”
I turned my laptop around to face him. The screen displayed a live flight tracking map. The small, digital airplane icon representing Miranda’s return flight was steadily inching across the Pacific.
“Her plane lands at 7:00 AM,” I said, snapping the briefcase shut. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Saturday morning broke with a crisp, cloudless sky. The sun rose over the manicured lawns of the suburban street, casting long, golden shadows across the asphalt. I sat on a simple canvas folding chair on the sidewalk, the aluminum briefcase resting by my boots, a single, scuffed rolling suitcase standing beside it.
Behind the chain-link construction fence, a massive, yellow Caterpillar excavator sat idling in the driveway, black exhaust chugging from its stack. The house was already half-gone. The roof had been caved in the night before, the pristine white columns snapped like toothpicks. It was a jagged, gaping wound of splintered timber, twisted plumbing, and pulverized drywall.
At 8:15 AM, two yellow airport taxis turned onto the street, riding low under the weight of excessive luggage.
They pulled up to the curb. The rear door of the lead taxi swung open, and Miranda stepped out. She was wearing a new, $3,000 silk wrap dress, oversized Celine sunglasses pushing back her sun-bleached hair. She was laughing at something the driver had said, turning to look at her kingdom.
She stopped dead. The laugh died in her throat.
Her mother and brother piled out of the second taxi, laden with shopping bags from international duty-free shops, looking exhausted but smug. They bumped into Miranda’s back, then followed her gaze. Their mouths fell open in unison.
