Dolce Giardino

By Philip Johnson

Prologue

Dolce Giardino. It means sweet garden in Italian, and that was the name of their estate, and an apt description. The year was nineteen twenty six, and Charles and Kathryn Philips lived on that estate, and in that new grand and sturdy looking brick home.

Charles and Kathryn loved the somewhat isolated location. They really weren't that far from town, maybe seven miles more or less, and besides, they had a fancy new Cadillac and a driver. Life was good for them. Oh, he had to go off on business ventures from time to time, but then he'd be back, and he and his bride would enjoy their home and often walk the grounds. Then it seemed that almost over night he discovered that he enjoyed being naked around the house on occasion, and even the housekeeper would see him, or the old cook would see him and quietly turn away. Though totally out of character for either of them, Kathryn didn't mind her husband's new oddity at all. In fact, much to his surprise in the beginning, sometimes she would join him. On those occasions when they walked the grounds naked, it never failed to cause the gardener to stop and star at them from the safety of a bush.

She was quite attractive in her own way. Long of leg and hair, and lithe and flowing in her movements. She was a pretty melody for the eyes, and she had a bearing that could only come from being raised in a moneyed home. It was Charles' money that urged her wealthy father to introduce his daughter to her now husband. Charles was lean and wiry, and much stronger than anybody might guess he could be. Clear blue eyes and a quick smile were his trademarks. But it was Charles money and potential for great success that made her father embrace Charles so early on.

The Philips had many acquaintances and friends of a sort, but only a few really close friends, so the walking around naked that they so enjoyed didn't cause any problems or consternation at all as far as they knew. That is until one day when they undressed while on the patio, and went for a long walk toward the back of the estate and lost track of the time. Henry and Mildred Potter, their expected guests were punctual, and the maid showed them to the patio just as she had been instructed to do. That patio, where unfortunately the naked couple had left their clothes. The maid disappeared to fetch them refreshments as the guests noticed the garments piled on a chair. It was then that Kathryn and Charles, the naked wanderers, casually walked out into the open. They enjoyed their meandering walk back as they made their way toward the patio as their stunned guests watched them. The Potters, who were to spend a few days at the estate, really didn't have any place to look except at their feet or at the naked duo. They could have turned away, but for some reason that option never occurred to them.

Then Kathryn noticed they were in full view of their guests and on display, and with their garments on the chair next to Henry. She was flustered and attempted to cover herself with her hands, which of course was futile, and had Charles attempted to cover himself with his hand, he was afraid it might have appeared that he was playing with himself. They had no choice but to walk up to their guests and beg forgiveness as they quickly dressed amid mumbled attempts at explaining how they lost track of time, and apologized repeatedly for their very unlikely actions. Mere nakedness in the open was so out of place for the moral standards and expectations of that period, and to be seen by others was a sinful tragedy of the first order. Things like that happened at Dolce Giardino on more than one occasion, but the Philips never wavered in their pursuit of their simple and, to them at least, their harmless pleasures. Charles enjoyed his work and he loved his wife dearly, and would do anything for her. They lost a few friends because of their determination to reject clothing on occasion, but the ones that learned to accept Charles and Kathryn's eccentricities enjoyed some grand days at the estate. One couple even adopted their penchant for nudity. No inappropriate displays of affection though. Oh no, that would have been in very poor taste. They never gave much thought to those two conflicting ideas. Holding hands was the extent of their demonstration of their love for each other in public, and that only in the privacy of their huge backyard, and only around their very dearest friends.

Dolce Giardino was a gift from Kathryn's father, and he expected many grand children in the coming years, but he wouldn't get what he wanted and expected. In fact, that home would be the last significant thing he would be able to do for his daughter and son in law.

Chapter One

It was two thousand six, and Dell and Carrie Philips looked at the tall grand brick home. "My god Dell, Dolce Giardino is huge."

"It's much larger than I had pictured in my mind, but isn't it stately and impressive."

"I guess, but it could stand some work."

"I expected that. In fact it's in much better condition than I ever expected."

"So this home was in your family how far back?"

"It was built in...I think nineteen twenty five or six. Not long before the stock market crash. Kathryn and Charles Philips, my ancestors, lived in it for less than two years."

"They were murdered right?"

"Right."

"Not in the house I hope."

"I believe the story is they were found quite naked and quite dead in the backyard someplace."

"How gruesome. And you said they never learned who killed them."

"They never did. Then the house was sold for, well cents on the dollar, and after that there's a long gap where I don't know much about the house. We'll find out more when we get all of the papers of course. Anyway, so now it's ours."

"Forgive me if I don't jump up and down with joy honey."

He smiled and said, "I understand, and no we will not do any of the restoration work ourselves. Before we even move in I'm having it painted inside, some significant updating of the wiring and plumbing, and they'll sandblast the brick to bring back the rich color."

"When can we at least go through it?"

"A couple of weeks. Eager to see it?"

"I'm not sure eager is the word I'd use. Let's go with curious instead."

"When I look at it, I think personality, grace and of course grandeur."

"Well I hope so, because we're stuck with it now."

"Oh, and we're adding a garage and leaving the carriage house as it is, because I want to preserve what I can. We'll be very twentieth century honey."

"That's nice, but this is the twenty first century."

He smiled and said, "Then we'll just have to catch up won't we."

She kissed his cheek and said, "I can see in your eyes just how thrilled you are to own this and have it back in the family again."

"I really am. Are you sure you won't go with me to see Aunt Mary?"

"I'm sure. If she can remember anything about this old place, you take notes okay?"

"Of course honey."

Aunt Mary was the only relative old enough to remember the old home, and she had actually spent some time living there as she recovered from a fever and some complications, all from an undiagnosed ailment.

Aunt Mary now lived in an assisted living community, and she certainly hadn't lowered her standard of living. No, her new apartment, though small, and especially so by her standards, but she had many amenities, and all the comforts that could be provided for her.

"Good morning Aunt Mary," Dell said as he spotted her in the public area of her adopted home.

She squinted and studied him for some seconds, and he smiled and gave her all the time she needed. Then she smiled and said, "My word, it's you Dell, come sit next to me honey."

He kissed her cheek and handed her a small box of chocolates. "I'm told you're not to have a lot of these, but I smuggled them in just for you," he lied. True, her sugar consumption was monitored, but he had cleared those few chocolates with the nurse.

"You're a darling and thank you. My, I haven't seen you in so long, how are you?"

"I am well thank you."

"And Carrie?"

"She too is well and thanks for asking. She sends her love and apologies for not being able to come with me."

"That's sweet of her. Okay, so something brings you here and for you to bribe me with sweets," and she smiled as she sampled her selection from the fancy little gold foil box.

"You always could see through me love. Okay first of all, to be fair to myself, I'm so glad to see you again, and that alone is worth the hundred mile drive."

"Liar," she said and almost laughed.

"I want to see how well you can dust off your past and share some memories with me."

"That will be a challenge for me, but okay, test me."

"Do you remember Dolce Giardino?"

"I'm older than the first sin, but I'm not senile just yet. Of course I remember that grand old place, what about it?"

"We just bought it."

She smiled and leaned forward as she said, "How wonderful, but whatever for, for heaven's sake?"

"It went on the market and I just didn't want to see it go into some uncaring hands yet again. I felt it needed to come back to the family."

"If you need help with the costs, just say so. I know just maintaining all of that will be horrendously expensive."

"Thank you Auntie, but I think we'll be okay."

"Well if it's still in your hands when I die, I'll put something in my will for the old place whether or not you approve."

"You're a force to be reckoned with and you always have been."

"Okay so what do you want to know? Let' see what I can remember."

"Anything you can think of that might be interesting or helpful. Let's start with Kathryn and Charles, what do you remember about them?'

"Well Charles was tall and wiry and he had penetrating blue eyes. He was devoted to Kathryn, and of course she felt the same for him. He was quite successful in business, or he was until he died. Both of them were very caring and..." and then she smiled and said, "Well I was going to say proper, but they did have their own way of living."

"Now you're going to tease me with that aren't you."

"Let's come back to that. She was quite pretty and happy and outgoing, and she always had a long row of planters about waist high that she would fill with all sorts of flowers. It was her version of a garden, made that way by the gardener, because she didn't want to get down on her knees. She saw that as being not at all lady like."

"So did they entertain a lot?"

"Not a lot as I remember it. They would occasionally have guests stay a night or two, or one of their local friends might spend an evening with them, but on the whole, they were fairly private. Of course on occasion, they would have to entertain for business reasons, but that was infrequent."

Chapter Two

A young smiling aide in her pressed mint green and white uniform served them tea. She moved a small table close to them, and then served the tea and vanilla tea biscuits, and Aunt Mary thanked her before telling Dell, "I do love how they spoil me. I have tea and these biscuits every afternoon."

"You deserve to be spoiled. Your memory amazes me Auntie, please keep going."

"Well I remember their nineteen twenty six Cadillac three fourteen. Oh, what a grand vehicle that was. It was a sedan with a big engine and it seated seven. Even a full one piece windshield, and that was a pretty big thing back then. By the standards of the day that Cadillac was very comfortable, and so much fun to travel in. If I'm not mistaken, their gardener was also their driver. Oh my, I think Elmer was his name. Now I wonder why that that has stayed in my aging mind."

"This is wonderful, but let me know if I'm being insensitive and tiring you out."

"I'm fine, but thank you." She tasted her tea and then said, "There was a large carriage house, but with the Cadillac that wasn't used for much more than a place for the Cadillac and storage."

"That's still there and won't require a lot of effort to preserve it."

"Send me pictures periodically."

"You can count on that."

"Okay Dell, I'll let you in on their intimate secret. Kate and Charles developed a certain attachment to wandering the estate sans clothes."

"No, really? Back then, that would have been seen as scandalous and dangerously sinful."

"True, but sometimes more went on behind the scenes in those days than the history books would like you to believe. On the surface everybody, including Charles and Kate, were quite proper. But in the privacy of their home or the grounds behind the house, they would sometimes stroll quite naked."

"Now tell me the truth, did you watch Charles parade the grounds in the buff?"

She smiled and said, "Well of course I did, and I got quite an education."

"I'm sure."

"Kate was a blond from head to toe too," and she showed him a devilish smile.

"Auntie you do surprise me."

"I was considered pretty progressive in my day."

"I'm sure."

"Be sure to look through the attic. I was never up there, but I seem to remember hearing something about little places where they could hide things. What they would hide and why I have no idea, and maybe they never did. Subsequent owners have probably found and disposed of everything, but there's always a chance you'll find something to help you with the history of the house."

"Fascinating. So tell me what you can about them being murdered."

"Oh, such a tragedy. My heart is still heavy from that. Her father never recovered from that, and he had to go to his grave not knowing who the guilty person was. They said it was a crime of opportunity, because Charles and Kathryn were killed with a shovel. Beat to death with a common shovel, what a horrible way to die."

"And they never even determined why they were murdered?"

"Never. In todays world of course, they would have likely solved it. It was my thought that Elmer did it and I say that simply because Elmer had access to the gardening tools."

"And the reason?"

"That's a problem. Kate mentioned once that she thought Elmer and their housekeeper were having an affair, but what that would have to do with anything is speculation at best, especially with it happening so many years ago."

"So they would go to the back and just to be alone and to walk the grounds naked."

"Oh yes, and they were naked when their bodies were discovered. Elmer may have lived in the loft of the carriage house for a time, but I'm not certain of that. He was a poor but very proud and proper man."

Aunt Mary sipped her tea and selected another biscuit and said, "If you could ever locate them, they...oh shoot, what was their name. I'm talking about one of the owners of Dolce Giardino toward the end of the depression. Give me a minute to think about that and tell me why you and Carrie have no children."

"Well as you remember I'm sure, I had that terrible accident and I almost died."

"I do remember that. Your mother, rest her soul, aged ten years from that mess."

"Well not to embarrass you, but, though quite functional, I'm not able to produce the..."

"You're riding an empty wagon."

He laughed and said, "Oh Auntie I've missed your quick mind." She smiled at her own little attempt to shock him and nibbled on her biscuit. "Canter, that was their name. I believe they were Jewish, or that's how I remember it anyway, not that it matters. Now his first name. It starts with a J, I'm sure. I may not get that into my mind for you, but I'll work on it and e-mail you if I'm successful."

He smiled and said, "You're the only ninety plus year old I know that uses a computer."

"Mostly for playing cards and using e-mail though. You know, if I were to die tomorrow, I'd leave feeling much better just knowing the estate is back in the family."

"Why do you suppose that's important to you?"

"I don't know, and I guess I'm not going to fret about that. It is as it is, but don't worry, I have no plans to check out just yet."

"I'm sure you don't."

"As I sit here I have to say that I'm surprised that you, as young as you are, would put so much importance and money into that old place. That's what old people do."

"I don't understand it either, but like you just said, I'm not going to fret about it."

She smiled and accepted that answer. "That's not to say I won't put a swimming pool in the back some day."

"Good for you. Water is good for the soul. To touch it or to watch it is therapeutic."

"Fire and water. So opposite of each other, and both can be deadly, entrancing and hypnotic, and as you just said, soothing and good for the soul. Okay Auntie, I'm going to leave because you're just too polite to tell me to get out of here."

She smiled and said, "Don't wait so long to come back okay?"

"I promise Auntie."

Going home a little later, Dell had to smile. Even if he didn't learn a lot from Aunt Mary, he thoroughly enjoyed their brief visit, and he intended to keep his promise to her about going to see her again, but without waiting so long to do that.

Chapter Three

Dell shared with Carrie what Aunt Mary had told him, and he did indeed have notes to help keep him accurate.

The restoration of Dolce Giardino was in full swing over the next weeks, but just before the end of the third week, the two of them went out to the old home and went exploring. They had to step around a few things because the electrician and the plumber were deep into their projects, and painter's cloths covered what furniture there was along with the old aged hardwood floors, and holes in the floor were in evidence from the crew installing air conditioning as well.

They stood in the archway to the kitchen and he asked her, "Well, what do you think?"

"I think it's too big, but it is very nice, and more modern than I expected."

"They said it had been updated a few years ago."

"And to think you bought this place without touring it."

"Well I did hire somebody to give it a thorough inspection. I knew that what we didn't like or couldn't live with, we could change as long as the home was solid."

"Well that is true."

"Plus I did have a drawing of the floor plan."

"Which you didn't study very much."

He smiled and said, "You got me with that one."

They moved on and Carrie stopped and said, "I do love that grand staircase. So beautiful and in such wonderful condition."

"It's a jewel in the crown."

"It really is, and that stained glass window above the front door. Wonderful. I'm not even a big fan of old, but I'm going to like it here."

They went upstairs and explored a little, and then took the narrower and steeper steps up into the attic. "It sure is dusty and gloomy up here," Carrie said as she stood in the center and looked around. "What a huge and almost empty space."

"Junk all around the perimeter that we can poke through at some point."

"And we can look for those little secret hiding spots."

"That I doubt exist."

"Well I do too, but it's fun to think about that."

"I'll have the electrician put some lights up here for us."

"There's an old painting over there," and she walked over and picked it up. She blew off the loose dust and said, "It's in pretty good shape. Do you suppose this could be Kathryn?"

"It certainly could be. She looks like she could be about the right age, and they would have had the money to retain an artist for her."

"But photography wasn't all that new by then."

"No, but a lot of people still preferred paintings so they would have color, or just because, I'm sure, it was something of a status symbol."

Carrie looked out through the dirty and dusty window and said, "Nice window. Or it could be if it wasn't filthy. It might let a lot of light in."

"Well, have you seen enough until we move in?"

"Sure. Two more weeks right?"

"Right. Thanks to you, the movers are lined up so all we have to deal with are our personal things, and disconnect our computers and that sort of thing.'