Hunter stood in the shower. He scrubbed the oil from his hair and off his skin. Words could not express how much he wanted to join Arabella on the couch or in bed, but he knew that once her work started getting busy again, he would go back to being invisible. Hunter sighed as he shut off the water. He wished that he had taken a break from the cars this night and been here. Maybe they could have made an entire night of it. He left the bathroom in a towel and stepped into his room. He changed into his pajamas and slid into bed. He was tired from his long day and the upcoming long days. After a few minutes of restlessness and trying to get comfortable, he finally managed to fall asleep.
He woke up at his regular time and got dressed. He was excited for his last day of paperwork with Elliot. He made it to the office and walked right in. "Hunter, we're almost done here, I think." Elliot said, shaking his hand. "We've got some personal items of your mom here. These were tough to get released considering they were evidence in a cold case. However, I called in a few favors. It's all yours." He slid the file across the desk to Hunter. He caught it and opened it. There were a few miscellaneous knick-knacks, but there were two things that stood out.
"This pendant. It belonged to my mother?" He asked pointing to a picture in the file. It was a crescent moon that seemed to have a pool of water in the middle. A circular pendant hung on a thin sliver chain. Elliot nodded and took a drink of coffee. "I think I'll keep it." He said with a nod. Elliot took another sip of coffee and walked over to his filing cabinet. He hunted around for a few moments before pulling out a small bag filled with jewelry. He handed the bag to Hunter who opened it an peered in. He pulled out the pendant and held it in his hand. It felt odd being without the pendant that he had had for as long as he could remember. He ran his thumb across the face, wiping away a thin layer of dust. He slipped it on his neck and let the pendant hang against his chest. It was perfect. He looked into the bag of jewelry. "You know? I'm going to keep it all. I might find something I like in here." Hunter said with a smile. Elliot shrugged.
"Well, if that's your judgment, then we're pretty much done here. I just need you to sign...here...and here....and initial here." Hunter did as directed and signed 'Hunter Reed.' A name he was only starting to get used to. Legally he would need to recognize it, but personally, he hated it. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Hunter." Hunter nodded as he stood up.
"I can't thank you enough for all of this." Hunter said shaking his hand. "I thought that this would be painfully unbearable, but to be honest I sort of enjoyed it." Hunter said. Elliot patted him on the shoulder and grinned.
"I enjoyed it too. Maybe we'll grab a cup of Joe sometime and you can finally explain to me your survival." He said with a chuckle. "Take care, Hunter." Hunter nodded and excused himself before walking out of the office. It was turning out to be a good day. He had finalized the paperwork that made him very wealthy. He got a new pendant. Things were looking up. Hunter checked his watch as he approached the apartment. Marina was going to pick him up in a couple of hours. Hunter wasn't sure if he would have time to make dinner for Arabella tonight. He also wasn't sure how he was going to tell her about everything.
"Oh, did I mention that I have money now? Not only that, but I own a house and not one car, but two cars." He said quietly to himself as he stepped onto the elevator. Something felt off. He stepped off of the elevator and took the stairs. Hunter never takes the elevator. Hunter walked into the apartment and plopped down on the couch. "What if I just don't tell her? If she asks, I'll just tell her that there wasn't anything. It had all gone to legal fees." Hunter said quietly. He heard the phone ring and he answered it. "Hello?"
"Hunter. Outside. Now. I have got to tell you something." Marina said frantically. Hunter furrowed his brow and shrugged.
"Should I be worried?" He said jokingly. He heard Marina sigh into the phone and Hunter laughed. "I'll be right down. I just need to take care of something." He said with a chuckle. Marina told him to hurry and just as Hunter was hanging up, he heard the door open. Hunter stood up and smiled at her. He walked toward the door and he saw her smile back. "I was going to leave a note." He said before kissing her on the forehead. "I didn't have time to make a casserole, tonight. I'm sorry. I need to go though. Don't wait up for me!" He shouted as he slipped out the door, down the stairs, and out of the building. He got into Marina's car. They drove out to his house and started to work on the cars. It was increasingly cheap, because whatever Marina couldn't fix she would make.
"So, are you done, now? Paperwork-wise?" She asked with her head under the hood of the 1948 Tucker. Hunter pulled his head out from under the hood of the Bel Air and nodded.
"I had to take care of some personal effects, today. They uh...They belonged to my mother." He said quietly. Marina looked at him for a second before letting her eyes float down to the pendant around his neck.
"Is that a new pendant? Did it belong to your mom?" She asked quietly. Hunter nodded and grabbed a socket wrench. "What happened to your old one?" Hunter stared into the car. He couldn't remember. He wanted to find it, but he had no idea where to begin to search.
"I don't know. I lost it, I guess." He said with a shrug. "I think the Bel Air is done. Let me start it up." Hunter grabbed the keys and got into the front seat. He put the keys in the ignition and turned them. The car grumbled for a moment before starting and idling pleasantly. "Yes!" Hunter said with a smile. He turned it back off and got out. The only thing he could think of was how much Arabella was going to love it. "What's left to do on the Tucker?" Marina shrugged.
"I think just some finishing touches. You can probably take care of those after what I've taught you." She said with a smile. Hunter nodded and went to work. After about 20 minutes and one or two times of Marina correcting him, Hunter was done. he got in and the car started without a hitch. He laughed to himself and got out after shutting it off.
"Marina, I honestly can't thank you enough for all of this." Hunter said, leaning on the car. Marina shook her head.
"It was just good to see you again. I'm REALLY glad you're alive, Hunter." She said with a nod. Hunter looked at her with a smile before something occurred to him.
"When you called me, you said you had something you needed to tell me." Hunter said with a head tilt. "And then I kind of got off topic with car stuff. What was it?" Immediately, Marina smiled and giggled softly.
"Well, Kyle took me out on a date last night." She said with a sigh. "We went to a movie and he gave me flowers and we went to dinner and then we went on a walk through the park." Hunter looked at her quizzically.
"I never pegged Kyle for a romantic." Hunter said with a chuckle.
"Shush, let me finish." She said with a giggle. Hunter couldn't recall her ever seeming so girly. "Well, on our way through the park he made this arch of glowing flowers and it was kind of a tunnel. It was absolutely beautiful. Anyway, we were walking through it and we were in the middle, when suddenly he stops me." She bit her lip and Hunter could see tears welling up in her eyes. "He said, 'Marina, we've been going out for a long time and I know that I love you. Tonight, I wanted to show you that. I wanted to show you that I never wanted to be without you.' And then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring and then got on one knee and proposed!!" She said, excitedly. Hunter laughed before waiting for a moment. "I said yes, you dummy!" She laughed and ran toward him and hugged him. Hunter laughed and spun her around.
"That's great, Marina! This still leaves one question, though." He set her down and looked at her. She had an infectious smile on her face. "Who is the-" Hunter stopped when he saw her smile drop and he looked behind him. Hunter raised an eyebrow and turned around. What he saw made him feel awful. Arabella with tears running down her face.