Greta stood near the window and slowly reached for the curtains. She took a deep breath and let the daylight inside the living room.The storm had calmed down a little, but the rain was still showering in the European sky. She turned around and took a good look at the room.
The dust on the tables and shelves was a clear sign that Danny and his family hadn't come here in a very long time.
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"I actually thought that my mother had sold this place by now." Danny stated sticking his head in the kitchen.
"Why?" Michelle asked walking towards him.
"I came here only twice as a child with my father. I've actually never seen my mother here or even talk about this cabin. Mick and I always thought it was too painful for her to talk about so we never mentioned it. And we never came back here until now...." Danny continued, looking inside an empty fridge.
"How old were you when you came here?" Michelle asked curious.
"I was young....My father died when I was still a kid. The last time he brought me here I must have been 10 years old. It was a few months before he died."
"I'm sorry...." Michelle whispered wrapping her arms around Danny's shoulders.
"It's ok. We could see in his eyes how much he loved the place. It was clearly very important to him. He rarely smiled but smiled at his best here." Danny added remembering his father in this same kitchen only a couple of years ago.
"Why do you think this house was so important to him?"
"I never really knew but he said he found true love here." Danny answered placing a soft kiss on Michelle's lips.
"I still find it hard to imagine Carmen being madly in love with anyone...and vice versa." She confessed.
"Well she was a very different woman back then. Nothing like what she has become." Danny answered with a glimpse of sadness in his voice.
"It's probably why your mother never got rid of this cabin. It's probably very important to her as well...." Michelle said a little distracted by the view through one of the windows.
"Probably..." Danny replied. "What are you looking at?" he asked walking towards her.
"Nothing just this shed in the back of the backyard...That's all. Looks so old...." Michelle whispered.
"I built that with my father and Mick." Danny replied.
Michelle turned around slowly and placed a small kiss on Danny's lips. She could see in his eyes that he missed his father.....even Mick, and Michelle could see it. The three people who had built this shed together, had turned out to be totally different people with the years. Danny missed the people he remembered here, but feared the ones they had become.
Later on, in the kitchen, Danny and Eric tried to fix the pluming to put the water back on, ignoring every tip Greta was trying to give them. Cassie sat on the counter, looking through a paper bag she had just found in the top drawer of the counter.
"Oh my God!" Cassie exclaimed as she looked inside the bag.
"What is it?" Michelle asked coming into the kitchen.
"Look at this...." she answered taking a huge pile of hundred dollar bills out of the bag.
"What is it?" Eric yelled from behind the counter.
"Very big money!" Greta answered him.
Danny tried to stick his head out but when Greta tried to tell him to be careful a huge wave of water came hitting Danny and Eric in the face. Cassie looked down from the counter as Michelle burst out laughing. Danny got up and looked at her straight in the eyes.
"That'll teach you guys not to listen to me." Greta giggled, seeing Eric and Danny soaking wet.
"Haven't you ever repaired pipes before?" Michelle teased.
"Well at least the water's back on." Eric said with an innocent look on his face.
Michelle was hiding behind Cassie as Danny slowly walked to them. Cassie jumped off the counter when she saw his devilish grin on his face.
"Oh no...." Michelle let out while stepping back with Cassie.
"You girls are having way too much fun...." Danny whispered.
"Don't come near me...." Michelle laughed but Danny did and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her a few inches in the air.
He kissed her on the lips as Michelle's clothes became all wet. Eric looked over at Greta but she and Cassie quickly stepped away from him.
"Oh no you won't get me!" Greta smiled.
"Alright cease fire!" Danny shouted taking his lips off Michelle.
"Good! "Greta laughed. "Now if you'll let me I can fix this thing properly."
"You should have listened to us..." Michelle whispered with amusement in her voice.
"Tools please..." Greta asked as Eric obeyed.
Greta smiled when Eric handed it to her. He looked like a little puppy dog, all wet, with his very short hair flat on his head.
"And where have you learned to fix pipes?" he asked.
"A girl has her mysteries..." she winked and bent down on the floor.
Eric and Danny looked at each other as Greta repaired the pipes and put the water back on Cassie and Michelle left the kitchen and headed to the living room with Jason. When they came back, Greta was finished and Michelle was ready to eat.
"Am I the only one hungry?" she said sitting at the table.
"You're always hungry!" Danny said looking outside.
"Well we'll have to go in town to get some more food because some people ate a lot for breakfast!" Jason teased looking at Greta, Cassie and Michelle.
"Hey! it's not my fault if I'm hungry!" Michelle jokingly replied.
"Well we'll have to wait a few more hours for the rain to cease before we can get on the road...Why don't we start to search this cabin while we're at it?" Jason added.
"That's what we're here for isn't it?" Eric replied.
The guys left the kitchen first, heading upstairs followed by Greta. Cassie and Michelle were the last ones leaving the room. Cassie was smiling at Michelle in a funny way.
"What?" Michelle whispered.
"What's with all the eating?" Cassie asked in a bare whisper.
"Come on I'm not THAT bad!" Michelle defended herself.
"Are you pregnant?" Cassie asked with a smile.
"No....Why does everyone always think I'm pregnant?" Michelle laughed as the two girls got out of the room and followed the others upstairs.
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Cassie, Eric and Greta were walking on the second floor of the house. It was still a bit dark up there, so they had to be careful where they were going. Danny, Jason and Michelle soon joined them in a small room at the end of the long corridor.
In there, were undreds of boxes and bags. They all looked surprised when they saw the old room filled with old belongings. Danny looked inside a box only to discover that these things were not all his father's but also somebody else's.
"What's all this?" Jason asked looking around at what seemed to be hours of searching.
"Those are not all my family's. There are things I've never even seen in my life....And that is definitely not my mother's." He said picking up a flask of perfume. "My mother is allergic to this fragrance...." he added as he read the inscription on it.
"What is it called?" Cassie asked.
"Happiness." Danny answered hiding his smile.
"Definitely not your mother's....." Michelle said with a chuckle.
"Whose is it then? I doubt your old man had a thing for perfumes..." Eric said opening another box.
"I have no idea...." Danny muttered to himself.
They spent the next few hours searching this room, opening boxes and going through bag full of male and female clothes. then Michelle found a framed picture in a small box and showed it to Danny. It was a picture of Danny's father, holding a little baby in his arms.
"That's my father...." he whispered to Michelle, before she handed Danny the picture.
"Who is the baby?" Michelle asked.
"It must be Pilar...." Danny said uncertain.
He looked at the picture closely when Greta came to see them. When she saw the picture, she first smiled then asked Danny where this picture was taken. Danny said he had no idea so Greta took the picture and took a closer look at it.
"No....That can't be..." she muttered to herself.
"What?" Michelle asked.
"This is my house....I mean this is my mother's Paris home. This picture was taken at my mother's home." Greta said.
"How is that possible?" Danny asked. "I never knew that my mother and father knew Princess Gina...They never talked about your mom." he said.
"I'm positive. This is my backyard....I would recognize it among thousands. Your father took this picture at my mother's home."
"Now the question is why?" Michelle said as everyone stayed silent, lost in their thoughts.