Part 8 (2/2)
Nana took Jonathan by the arm. ”You go ahead, dear. Don't fret none about us. We'll just mosey around some.”
I settled on a nearby rock, my initial dread transforming into b.u.t.terflies. ”I'm back,” I said into the phone. ”But you have me really freaked out. How did you know that guy was on the kayak adventure with me? How did you know he had a cell phone? How did you get the number?”
”I'm a police inspector, Emily. I do things like that regularly.”
”Yeah, well --”
”Do you want to tell me why you're angry with me?”
I pinched my lips and stared dismally into s.p.a.ce. ”I was hoping we might have this conversation in person.”
”This is the best I can do for the moment. I'm working a big case that's just come in, so --”
”You're always always working a big case.” I heaved a despairing sigh. ”You're always...busy.” working a big case.” I heaved a despairing sigh. ”You're always...busy.”
Silence.
I watched Nana pop the cap off a Magic Marker and scribble something on Jonathan's cast. Aw, that was so sweet.
I heard throat clearing on the other end of the phone. ”Long-distance relations.h.i.+ps are the hardest relations.h.i.+ps to maintain,” Etienne said with well-practiced Swiss logic.
Okay, that was encouraging. At least he was thinking about the ”r” word. ”You've finally come to that conclusion, have you?”
”One of my coworkers just bought a satellite dish. He saw it on an American television show. Have you ever heard of Dr. Phil?”
Men! How How could they all be so clueless? What caused it? Testosterone? Beer? Drinking directly out of refrigerator milk cartons? could they all be so clueless? What caused it? Testosterone? Beer? Drinking directly out of refrigerator milk cartons?
”Am I ever going to see you again?” I pressed, my heart breaking. ”Because I feel as if you've put me on a shelf where all I'm doing is gathering dust.”
”Emily, darling, I --”
”No, don't 'darling' me! Just let me finish. I don't need a lot of glitz and glitter. I just want what my mom and dad have. What Nana and Grampa Sippel had. A simple life with each other. A shared future. Laughter. It's not flashy; it's not always perfect. But it's quiet, and steady, and in its own way, it's magical.” The line crackled with static. ”h.e.l.lo? Are you still there?”
”I want those things, too,” he said in a voice that could have melted wax. ”I love you, Emily.”
”I love you, too, but --”
”Don't give up on me, bella bella. Please.”
I watched Nana drag Jonathan toward the rock where the cheerleaders were digging, and thrust her Magic Marker at them.
”You mean everything to me, Emily. I want what you want, but mostly what I want is...you. Beside me. Naked, except for a ring on your finger.”
Ring? Ring was good. Ring was very good! I watched the brunette inscribe Jonathan's cast and hand off the Magic Marker to the blonde.
”Emily, will you believe me when I tell you this situation between us is going to change soon? Not months. Not weeks. But very soon?”
”What about the big case you're working on?”
”Perhaps big cases don't have a part in my life anymore. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting your parents yet, darling, but I want what they have, too. Especially if it includes you.”
”What about your family reunion? Does the 'naked' and the 'ring' part come before or after your Nonna Nonna Annunziata's approval?” Annunziata's approval?”
He laughed. ”You need no one's approval, bella, bella, but perhaps you'd set the date aside anyway. Sicily is beautiful at that time of year, and I know an out-of-the-way cove that no one visits, except for an occasional gull. We'd have the whole beach to ourselves, and we wouldn't even have to heat up the ma.s.sage oil.” His voice dipped to a husky whisper. ”The sun could do it for us.” but perhaps you'd set the date aside anyway. Sicily is beautiful at that time of year, and I know an out-of-the-way cove that no one visits, except for an occasional gull. We'd have the whole beach to ourselves, and we wouldn't even have to heat up the ma.s.sage oil.” His voice dipped to a husky whisper. ”The sun could do it for us.”
Oh, G.o.d. If I said no, would I be ruining the best chance I'd ever have for true love? What if he really was willing to change? Did I love him enough to give him one more chance? Was happiness waiting just beyond this hurdle, or was my life heading toward the ”Why Did This Relations.h.i.+p Fail?” section of some woman's magazine?
”Emily?” he prompted.
I watched the blonde slap the Magic Marker back into Nana's hand and return to her digging, never raising her head as Nana tried to strike up a conversation. After a few moments of being ignored, Jonathan clutched Nana's arm and a.s.sisted her around the pit. It was kind of sweet the way he held her forearm, guiding her to safer ground. The same way Grampa Sippel used to do when he'd take her ice fis.h.i.+ng with him. The same way Grampa Sippel used to do when he'd take her ice fis.h.i.+ng with him. I sat mutely for a heartbeat, wondering what she'd give to have Grampa back again. I sat mutely for a heartbeat, wondering what she'd give to have Grampa back again.
”Emily? Did we get cut off?”
”No...I'm here.” As I watched them amble toward the waterfall, I realized that my decision had been made for me. ”All right. I'll wait for you, Etienne, but --”
”Say no more. I love you, bella! bella! You won't be sorry. Thank the gentleman for the use of his phone. You won't be sorry. Thank the gentleman for the use of his phone. Sei piu bella d'un angelo. Voglio essere con te per eternita.” Sei piu bella d'un angelo. Voglio essere con te per eternita.” And then he disconnected. And then he disconnected.
”Etienne? Etienne! What does that mean?” d.a.m.n. I got goose b.u.mps when he spoke Italian to me, but I hated not knowing what he was saying. If I could remember any of the words, I could ask Duncan to translate; he was fluent in five languages. But how tacky would it be to ask the compet.i.tion to translate the sweet nothings of the front runner?
Nuts. What was I going to do about Duncan? What was I going to do about Duncan?
I boosted myself to my feet, a little unsettled about what might be in store for me, but feeling good about having gotten a few things off my chest. The muscle s.h.i.+rt guy was in the back forty, heaving chunks of moss over his head, so I headed off in that direction with his phone, making a detour along the way.
”Have you reached China yet?” I asked the cheerleaders as I hovered beside their ever-deepening hole. The blonde paused, sank back onto her haunches, and gazed up.
”What?”
”China. Didn't you ever see that Bugs Bunny cartoon where he dug a hole and ended up in China?”
She looked me up and down, her eyes pebble hard in her ultratanned face. ”Is that what you do in your spare time?” she asked condescendingly. ”Watch cartoons?”
I flashed her a benevolent smile. I wasn't the one who was going to look like a thousand-year-old raisin by the time I reached forty, so I could afford to be pleasant.
”My brother watches cartoons,” the brunette volunteered, still digging. ”He's actually done an a.n.a.lysis that draws a striking parallel between Elmer Fudd's relentless pursuit of Bugs and the path our current administration is taking in its foreign policy.”
Where else but in America could you watch Looney Tunes for a semester and earn credit toward a college degree? ”Where's your brother studying?” I inquired.
”Miss Clukey's Nursery School. He's five.”
My youngest nephew had attended nursery school. We'd been pretty impressed when he learned to count to ten. ”I'm Emily, by the way,” I said in introduction. ”And you are?”
”Sh.e.l.ly Valentine,” said the brunette, bobbing her head.
”Busy,” said the blonde, returning to her excavating duties.
”Dammit, Jen,” Sh.e.l.ly complained. ”Will you watch what you're doing? You're contaminating my quadrant.”
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