some papers.
He looked over. “We’ll be…” And stopped. Stood. “Davidson, is it?”
“Derek. Hi, Paul.”
The man studied him. “You were with Ali.”
“I was.”
“Do you need legal help?”
“No, I was in the area and thought I’d stop in and say hi.”
He followed Paul back to an office. They sat. “Hayley’s your partner, right?”
“Yep. She’s out on business. Do you live around here?”
“Yeah, I have a condo.”
He smiled. “So do we. Where are you?”
“Colton Arms.”
“Us too. First floor.”
“I must be on the other end, because I’m first floor, too.”
“Now, that is a coincidence.”
“Hmm. How are the newlyweds?”
“Ecstatic to be married. Loved the honeymoon in the Caribbean.”
“I’ll bet.” He smiled. “It was a very nice reception.”
“Yeah.”
Paul leaned over. “So, how’s Ali. We haven’t seen much of her.”
He sighed. “Neither have I.”
The man’s brows rose. “That’s not the impression I got—that you wouldn’t be seeing her—when I walked by the alcove and saw you two locked together in its recesses.”
Derek actually blushed. He shook his head. “If I had my way that’d still be going on. Actually, Paul, she ditched me.”
“Why?”
“I’d need a half hour to tell you. I’m sure you have a busy day.”
“My next client isn’t for an hour. Let’s go next door and get coffee.”
They did, Derek told him everything, and when he said he found Alessia irresistible, Paul guffawed. “Been there, done that, buddy.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh. You’re not going to give up, are you? Because you seemed so into each other.”
“I thought that, too, until she ordered me out of her house last week when I told her the truth.”
“Make her think about you. Keep putting yourself in her mind.”
“I can’t stalk her.”
“There are other ways, my friend. Use your ingenuity.”
He thought of the mugs he didn’t buy. “You know, Covington, you made me feel better today.”
“Good. Now go and court Alessia.”
* * *
Alessia eyed the three laundry baskets in the corner. Each one contained a different kid’s dirty clothes. In order to force them to use the baskets and bring them down every Thursday morning, she designated it as a chore and, if not completed, she’d deduct money from their allowance. They learned quickly to participate. The washing machine was housed in an alcove off the kitchen. Originally it was a covered porch, but Billy had converted it so she wouldn’t have to go down to the basement when she was pregnant. Now, she filled the machine with white clothes, put in the soap, and pushed the start button.
Water slapped her in the face. Jeez, a hose had come loose and went wild like a caught snake. She froze. By the time she realized all she had to do was turn off the water wheel, she was soaking wet.
“Son of a bitch!” She didn’t need this. Every nerve in her body was scraped a little bit more each day from missing Derek. Now, she wasn’t sleeping well, which only exacerbated any problem.
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself.” Her drenched knit top and pants had to do until she got upstairs. She’d just finished cleaning up the room, and headed out when the doorbell rang. She looked through the window and saw the popular delivery truck. Pushing her hair back, she opened the door. The carrier bit his lip.
“Gone swimming?” he asked cheekily.
“Just deliver, will you?” She didn’t need a wiseass, either.
She signed for the package, which was marked fragile, and brought it back inside. When she looked in the foyer mirror on the opposite wall, she saw her hair all askew and wet and sticking up.
She set the package on the living room table, went upstairs and took a shower, re-dressed for the day in knit pants with a warm sweater, and came back down. She made herself a cup of tea and took it into the living room. She dropped down on the couch wearily.
The packaging was thick and almost impenetrable, so she got scissors, and finally was able to cut it off. Opening the cardboard box, she lifted out one of the loveliest mugs she’d ever seen. It was pink, black and blue, all swirling and shimmery, and made of thick ceramic. She looked at the bottom. Positano was painted on it. She knew of the city because she and her mother had been thinking about going on a trip to Italy and that was on their agenda.
Mom sent this? Why wouldn’t she just bring it over?
She dug in the packing and found a note. Her hand began to tremble. She had a feeling about this.
The note read: A lovely mug