ask me for details, and trust me — this isn’t me being evasive. It’s beyond my control.”
Emmy’s mind was racing — an accident? No, that wouldn’t require secrecy. Maybe Owen had been involved in criminal activity? Was he in jail somewhere? She desperately tried to imagine what could trigger such a reaction but she was drawing a blank. Still, it didn’t stop her wanting to be supportive. She reached a hand out to Eric and touched his thigh.
“I’m here for you, whatever happens,” she said, and she was gratified when he took her hand and squeezed it.
“Thank you. I wish I could share more but — honestly, this situation is so far out of my reach as to be a joke, actually. And I am really sorry but I have to deal with it urgently.”
“You do that,” Emmy said gently. “I’m going to brush my teeth and shower, and then sleep for about ten hours. All that walking and sex is absolutely exhausting.”
When she came out of the bathroom Eric was back in the other room, speaking urgently on the phone. He reappeared briefly in the bedroom, just long enough to kiss her goodnight and pick up his laptop, and Emmy fell asleep alone in the big canopied bed for the first time since they had arrived in Venice. It felt surprisingly wrong.
◆◆◆
The next day was their last, and although Eric was making every effort to be attentive, Emmy could feel that his heart wasn’t really in it. When the phone rang, again, as they were strolling along the back streets of the Giudecca for a last fix of the city, he pounced on it. Emmy made every effort not to eavesdrop but in the quiet echoey street it was all but impossible to avoid hearing snatches of the conversation.
“With the best will in the world. I can’t get my hands on this sort of cash without resorting to… extreme measures. I’d like to avoid that… Yes, I understand, urgent. Of course I will if I have to. It’s a no-brainer.”
He was quiet for a while evidently listening intently to what the other party was saying, and Emmy had walked further away, when Eric’s voice cut through again.
“You’re kidding me. Are you sure? It seems… unlikely. No, I’m sure you’re wrong — it must be a coincidence. I can’t imagine… seriously, Randall, she’s not like that, I would bet anything — yes, I’m sure you have but trust me, I know what I’m doing. You stick to that other business, I can look after myself. And that outfit better be trustworthy. We’ll speak when I’m back in New York.”
He looked preoccupied when he strode back towards her and she stared stupidly at the map she was holding, wondering whether to say anything, and whether that last exchange referred to her or it was just paranoia talking. Eric didn't mention it and she didn't want to sound like she’d been listening, so she went along with it.
No matter how dismissive he’d been with the mysterious Randall, she could see the call had rattled him, because a certain stiffness crept back into his manner, and while he was still courteous and charming, they seemed to have lost the easy complicity of the past couple of days.
She almost had an opportunity when his phone beeped several times in a row and whatever he was reading seemed to make him even tenser than he was, the furrow between his eyebrows deepening as he sifted through the messages. He threw her a look, suddenly, and Emmy was chilled by the naked doubt in his eyes.
"You didn't ever mention that you knew..." he started, and then caught himself.
"Knew what?"
"Forget it," he said, shaking his head, just as his phone started ringing, and she could tell he was relieved by the interruption.
"Sorry, I have to take this," he grimaced, but she was left jarred by his tone.
Work was reasserting its priorities, and Eric's iPhone, which had been buzzing on and off for the past day or so, was now ramping up its efforts to intrude on the last remnants of their holiday.
By the time they were in the airport that afternoon, they'd both given up the pretense that they were still on vacation — Eric was on the phone to Hong Kong for twenty minutes while Emmy fired off a few emails, and they only set their devices aside for takeoff. The sight of Venice shrinking in the distance under the rays of the setting sun made