Part 17 (2/2)
”Ma, Gina is my a.s.sistant, not 'my girl.' I left town unexpectedly, and only got back late last night. I still haven't had my coffee. Is there something you need?”
”Rosalie, what are you doing with your life? You had a good man who wanted to take care of you, to marry you, to make babies with you. And what do you do? You break his heart and take up with a good-for-nothing cafone. cafone. Do you want I should die of a heart attack before I ever hold a grandchild?” Do you want I should die of a heart attack before I ever hold a grandchild?”
”Ma, isn't it a little early to start planning your heart attack? You're barely middle-aged.”
”Your sainted grandmother, she died at sixty-two.”
”Yeah, but she got hit by a bus. That doesn't count.”
”Her vision went with age. She never saw it coming. G.o.d rest her soul.”
”So make an eye doctor appointment. Think of it as preventive medicine. Besides, Annabelle is getting married. You'll have grandbabies before you know it.” Then maybe you'll stop bothering me. ”Why don't you call Richie and ask him when he's going to start producing the next generation of Ronaldis?”
”Men can have babies anytime. Look at Charlie Chaplin. Women, the eggs get stale and then they don't work so good.”
Rosalie couldn't believe she was having this conversation. But then, most conversations she had with her mother left her asking one question: Why?
”Ma, why don't you and Papa take a vacation? You can go down to Florida and visit with Aunt Anna, go on a cruise or something. Get out of the cold.”
”What? So you can run your life into the ground? No, I stay where I'm needed.”
”Driving me crazy is not a necessity. It's an option.”
”Besides, your father, he's working late a lot. He's got a big project, and well, he's busy.”
”What do you mean, he's busy? He does home remodels. No one works late on a home remodel. Owners don't want to listen to hammering while they're eating, not to mention when their children are sleeping. Are you sure you heard him right?” By now, the mask was flaking off her face, and pieces were floating around her like green snowflakes. Her skin felt so tight, it hurt.
”Look, Ma, I've got to go.”
”Okay, Rosalie. I'll see you on Sunday. Are you going to bring the cafone!” cafone!”
”His name is Nick, and he's not a cafone. cafone. But no, I'm not bringing him.” But no, I'm not bringing him.”
She didn't argue, which was unlike her, and she let out a plaintive sigh.
”Watch yourself with this Nick character. He's a good-looking man, but he's got the devil in those eyes.”
Her mother would be singing a different tune if she knew who the cafone cafone with the devil in his eyes actually was. ”Ma, we're only dating. It's nothing serious. I'll see you Sunday.” with the devil in his eyes actually was. ”Ma, we're only dating. It's nothing serious. I'll see you Sunday.”
Rosalie went to chisel the mask off her face, hoping there would still be skin left when she finished, and couldn't help thinking about Nick. At first, Nick keeping his ident.i.ty under wraps had seemed okay. She understood that he was protecting himself by not telling her who he was. He didn't know her then, but it wasn't as if he didn't know her now, after everything they'd been through. You can't spend twenty-four hours a day together for an entire week and not know each other. Rosalie was sleeping and having the most intense, incredible s.e.x with a man who didn't trust her enough to tell her his real name.
Nick had meetings, signed contracts, and worked with his accounting department, the sales manager, the service manager, the parts manager, and the auto body manager. He felt as if he was hyperaware, hypersensitive, and moving at hypersonic speed.
Lois kept shooting him strange looks, but she hadn't said anything. What was there to say? She couldn't complain that he was too productive, when she'd been giving him a hard time about not working enough. He didn't know how he could have been expected to work while Rosalie was sick. He hadn't been able to think of anything else. Now that she was back in town and healthy, who could blame him for trying to finish up early? All he could think of was going home and making love to her again.
Dave groaned and rolled over with all fours in the air. Nick had learned that was a sure sign Dave wanted a belly rub. He slipped off his loafer and rubbed Dave's stomach with his foot while he finished making notes about the year-end reports. As the numbers stood, this had been his best year and that was saying a lot. Previous year earnings had been up almost ten percent over the year before.
His phone vibrated. He checked the caller ID and recognized Rosalie's number. It was after eleven. At least she'd slept in.
”Hey, you're up.”
”I am. Thanks for breakfast.”
”You're welcome.” He had to bite his tongue to keep from asking how she was feeling.
”My dog is missing. Do you happen to know where he is?”
”I brought him to work. He likes it here, and I didn't want you to have to get up and take him out.”
”Are you going to bring him back, or is he to become a permanent resident of Romeo's, like my car?”
”Think of the ha.s.sle parking is when you don't have a driveway. The savings in tickets alone-”
”Fine, I give up. As long as it's safe, and I can get to it.”
”It's safe, and I can guarantee you access twenty-four/seven.”
”And Dave?”
”What can I say? He likes coming to work. I like having him around, and Ty likes walking him. He's getting good exercise, and he loves Ty.”
”Fine, but you'll bring him home later, right?”
”Of course. Besides, I have unfinished business with you. I'm going to be here another few hours, but I should be back by four. Are you up to taking a run to Chinatown? We can walk around and grab dinner. I promise to have you home and in bed early.”
”You do, huh? Well, okay. I haven't been to Chinatown in eons. Maybe we can stop in Little Italy for dessert.”
”Sounds good. We'll see you in a few hours.”
Nick ended the call with a smile on his face and tackled the rest of the pile that filled his in-box.
”Lee? We're home.”
”Hi, big boy! Come to Mama.”
Nick let Dave off the leash, and the dog ran to Rosalie. If only she greeted him the same way. Nick waited for Dave to get his fill of kisses and ”Did you miss me's?”
Rosalie gave him a shy smile. ”Hi.”
All he got was a ”Hi?” What's wrong with this picture?
Nick shrugged out of his jacket, threw it on the couch, and moved within touching distance. ”Try to contain your excitement. No need to gush all over me.”
Rosalie held his gaze, tipping her head back until they were a hair's breadth away from touching. ”I wouldn't want you to get a big head.”
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