Lena squeezed her shoulder. “You’ll be okay.” When she let go she was smiling. “In fact, you’ll be more than okay. We’ll knock off early this afternoon and go shopping.”
Arie gave Lena a look of puzzlement. Leaving early in the middle of the work week? That was so not Lena. “Shopping?” she asked, her tone skeptical. “On a Wednesday afternoon? What about our clients?”
Lena shrugged. “Wednesday is always the slowest day of the week for us. I don’t have any appointments. Do you?”
Arie didn’t even have to check. She shook her head. “No, not a one.”
“Well, then.” It wasn’t a question but a declaration. Apparently they were going shopping. “I’ll tell Marilyn we’re leaving at three. Make sure you’re ready.”
It must have been that Lena-imposed deadline that did the trick. Just like that, Arie snapped out of her morose mood and before she knew it she was absorbed in the day’s task of planning the next eight events which would take place over the next couple of weeks. One of them included a Bar Mitzvah celebratory meal, the first one she’d been asked to cater in her four years of running the business. She wasn’t too familiar with Jewish cuisine so she had a lot of preparation to do for this one.
She was so absorbed in her task that when she heard a knock at her door she jumped. She glanced at the clock on her computer screen. Three o’clock already? Where had the time flown?
Lena peeped in. “Still at it? I haven’t seen you all day. Don’t tell me you worked through lunch.”
Arie swiveled around in her chair and gave her partner a guilty smile. “You did say I should make sure to finish by three.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t say you should starve yourself to do it.” She stepped inside then jerked her chin at Arie. “Come on. I’ll buy you lunch at the mall.”
Arie grinned. “Sounds good to me. I’m starving.”
“Says the woman who would have gone on until five o’clock if I hadn’t walked in.” Lena chuckled as she turned to go. “Be ready in five or I’ll drag you out of this office and lock the door.”
And she would do it, too. Arie knew Lena so well. They’d been roommates at Duke and had gone on to become partners in Talk Of The Town Catering. Ever since she'd known Lena her friend had been bold and direct, a real go-getter and a woman who knew how to take charge. Even better than that she had a solid business head on her shoulders and, utilizing Arie’s cooking skills and event planning expertise, they'd built their business until it was known and respected throughout all of Louisiana.
Every day Arie gave thanks for Lena’s presence in her life, not just as a business partner but also as a friend and mentor. If there was anyone who she could turn to for advice it was Lena. Always levelheaded and firm, she knew how to put things in perspective. And when you’d grown up in foster care and had no family to turn to, a friend like that was more precious than gold.
Half an hour later Arie and Lena were strolling along, browsing the shops at Lakeside Mall.
“I know a special little miss who’ll be joining you soon,” Lena said. “You’ve got tons of shopping to do.”
Arie laughed. “She’s the best excuse I ever had for playing truant. Let’s go see what the kids’ stores have to offer.”
They picked up a few pieces of baby gear in Gymboree and Mimi’s Kids Boutique but it was when Lena suggested they leave the mall and check Zuka Baby in the Lower Garden District that Arie really got her shopping groove on. There were so many cute little baby girl outfits that she didn’t know which to choose. In her excitement she ended up grabbing far more outfits than Maya would ever wear. Once again it was Lena, the voice of reason, who rescued her from herself.
“But this one’s so cute,” she wailed as Lena tugged a pink and white polka dot dress from her fingers.
“Yes, but you already have a polka dot one in that stack of yours. No need to deplete the store’s inventory.”
Arie heaved an aggrieved sigh. “All right. You win.” Then she gave her friend a fake frown and a crooked grin. “But don’t think I’m taking you along next time I go shopping.”
Lena put her hands up, palms facing forward, and shook her head. “Hey, after today you’re on your own.”
That evening Arie bid Lena goodbye and drove out of the mall with a car packed with baby gear and a heart that was happy and light. A shopping spree had been the perfect medicine to get her out of the doldrums. Now all she wanted to do was get home and go through the tons of baby girl stuff she’d bought. What better way to spend the evening?
She was still smiling and humming to herself as she pulled off the main road and drove the half-mile through the quiet neighborhood toward her home. Just as she’d done hundreds of times before, she swung off the tree-lined street and turned down the gravelly road that led to her home.
But this time as she turned into her driveway her heart did a little leap of shock. But it was a good shock, an unexpected and truly wonderful surprise.
There, parked in the middle of her driveway, was Rome’s black Maserati.
Arie’s face broke into a wide grin. Her beloved Rome was home.
***
Rome heard the soft rumble of the engine just before Arie’s BMW drove up the driveway toward the house. He shifted out of his slouched position, straightened and glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see her car rolling in behind his. As he watched, she waved and gave him an infectious grin that had him smiling back. With the mood he was in his half smile was a poor response to her joyful greeting but he was doing his best.
He was happy to see her, that was without doubt. The problem was, no matter how hard he tried he just could not shake himself out of his persistently pensive mood. It was no mystery why he was feeling so low. He’d been like this ever since that talk with his father, the one where he’d felt like punching him in the mouth or at least giving him a generous piece of his mind. But this was his father and he'd just suffered a stroke. There was no way he was going to do anything that could mess up his recovery.
But Vittorio had been so vehemently against Arie that Rome knew he had some serious decisions to make. But not now. He was back in the United States, far away from family and again with Arie, and all he wanted to do was forget about the conflict and lose himself in her embrace.