Sunsets (13 page)

“We can last another day,” Rosie said. “I wouldn’t mind one more gondola ride.”

“Well then, you take one more gondola ride, and I’ll get you back home as soon as I can.”

“Thank you! What’s that?” Rosie said, apparently listening to Chet in the background. “Oh, Chet says,
‘Ciao
, baby.’ He likes to practice his Italian words.”

This time Alissa did laugh. “Tell him
‘Ciao
’ from me. Good night.”

“Oh, goodness! Is it night there? I suppose I didn’t think about that. I called the travel agency, and no one was there.”

“It’s okay,” Alissa said. “Bye, bye.” She hung up and thought how Brad was going to love it that Chet and Rosie liked riding in the gondola. She would never live that one down. She didn’t even want to ask if they had made the pigeons flutter at St. Mark’s Square.

It took nearly three hours the next morning to work
through all the arrangements for their flight home and to cancel their hotels in Florence and Rome. That Friday afternoon they arrived in LA. Alissa arranged for a limo to pick them up and to take them home to their love nest.

Even though she was dying to check on them, she waited until Sunday morning to give them a call. No one answered, and she began to be concerned. She tried again that afternoon. Chet answered the phone.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” Alissa said. “I tried this morning but didn’t catch you.”

“We were at church. How is everything with you?”

“Fine. I wanted to make sure you arrived okay and to see if you had a good time.”

“Wonderful! Simply wonderful. Here, say hi to Rosie.”

“Hi, Rosie. It’s Alissa. How are you doing? Are you getting settled in?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you for calling. We’re so tired, though.”

“That’s normal. The jet lag will take a few days to wear off. I’m glad you had a good time. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“I don’t think we’ll be taking another trip for a while,” Rosie said.

“I didn’t mean just travel arrangements. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.” Alissa wondered if she was being condescending. She meant it as a friendly gesture. But then, she realized, even though they were elderly, this couple had just been halfway around the world and back. They probably wouldn’t call her if they were running low on milk.

“We’d love to have you over in a few weeks,” Rosie said. “I’ll give you a call.”

“Wonderful,” Alissa said. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Right after Alissa hung up, Shelly stepped into the living room. She had changed from her Sunday dress into shorts and
a T-shirt. “Genevieve and I are going for a walk. You want to go with us?”

“Sure.”

Alissa and Shelly met Genevieve at her front door, where she was watering her potted plants. “Hello,” she said when she saw Alissa. “I was hoping you would join us. How are you doing? Getting settled in okay?”

“Yes. I really like it here. Your garden is so beautiful; I love looking out my window at it.”

“Did you put your desk there like you thought you would? Under the window, I mean,” Genevieve asked as the three began to walk down the sidewalk with Alissa in the middle. It startled her how fast a pace they set. This wasn’t a leisurely afternoon stroll; these women were serious about walking.

“Yes, it’s perfect.”

“And did Brad come over to fix the electrical wiring?”

“Yes.” Alissa decided the less said about that incident, the better.

They turned east at the corner and headed uphill. Alissa was already breathing hard and felt frustrated that she was so out of shape. Genevieve and Shelly seemed to be able to keep talking, with their breathing only slightly elevated as they hoofed it uphill. Alissa listened and answered in monosyllables when necessary. She kept up with them, feeling the perspiration beading up on her forehead.

The neighborhood was beautiful. Their walk along the tree-lined streets was lovely, and the conversation delightful. At the end of their forty-five-minute trek, Alissa made a decision. She needed to do that every day. Her mind felt clearer, not to mention her pores. Genevieve had said along the way that she took this route four times a week, and anytime Alissa wanted to join her, she was welcome to.

Before the inspiration of the moment could give way to
sore leg muscles, Alissa said she would like to walk with Genevieve the next morning.

“I’ll see you at 6:30 then,” Genevieve said on her front lawn. “And did Shelly tell you about our picnic on the Fourth?”

“I don’t think I told you yet,” Shelly said. “We’re going to barbecue in the backyard. What did we have last year? About thirty people?”

“At least that,” Genevieve said. “Steve will be home on Thursday this week and off for the whole weekend. Isn’t that a nice change!”

“I’ll be working that weekend,” Shelly said. “Sorry I’m going to miss all the fun.”

“We’ll save you some cake,” Genevieve said. “Last year the girls and I made a big flag cake. I had red, white, and blue sprinkles everywhere in the kitchen for weeks.”

They went their separate ways, and after she washed up, Alissa meandered back into the living room. Instead of curling back up with her book on the couch, she walked into the kitchen where Shelly was unloading the dishwasher.

“Would you like to do something tonight?” Alissa asked.

“I’d love to, but I already have plans with some of my friends from church. I usually work Sundays, you know, so this is sort of a vacation day for me.” Shelly put the last plate in the cupboard and said, “You’re welcome to come with us, if you’d like. We’re just going out for dinner.”

“No, thanks anyway. I have some things to do.” Alissa opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of peach-flavored iced tea. “Was this mine or yours?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Shelly said. “I’m not that picky about stuff like that. Whatever you find in there, any time, help yourself to it. The guys sure do.” She leaned against the counter and pulled the clip out of her ponytail, shaking out her long, silky hair and letting it fall freely down her back. “You know what I
just realized? The guys have hardly been over since you moved in. I wonder if they feel they don’t have to keep checking on me all the time now that I have a roommate.”

“Or it could be they’re afraid of me,” Alissa said, opening the bottle of tea and taking a drink.

Shelly laughed. “Right. You’re such a threatening person.” She laughed some more. “I’m glad you moved in, Alissa. This is working out better than I had hoped. I don’t think you scare anyone, especially Brad and Jake. Don’t they feel like brothers to you?”

Alissa shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t have any brothers.”

“Sisters?” Shelly asked.

Alissa shook her head.

“Lucky you! I have three sisters, and we were all two years apart. Makes for constant cat fighting around the house. No offense, Chloe,” she said to the cat, who had come wandering into the kitchen to see what was happening.

Alissa picked up her cat and massaged the back of her skull.

“Where do your parents live now?”

“They’re both dead.”

“I’m sorry,” Shelly said.

Then a familiar awkwardness set in. Alissa knew it well. It was that moment of shock when people realized Alissa was a bona fide orphan. They always felt compelled to somehow fix it. She expected Shelly to now extend an invitation that, for every holiday from here on, Alissa was welcome to join her family.

Instead Shelly perched herself on the counter, took a cookie from an open bag beside her, and said, “Tell me about you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, I want to know you.”

No one had ever wanted to know her before. She felt all
her defenses rise up around her.

“There’s not much to tell. My dad was in the air force. We lived a lot of places. My mother …,” she hesitated. Knowing that Shelly came from a long line of ministers, she didn’t want to bring up the alcoholism. “My mother used to like to sing.”

“Do you?” Shelly asked.

“I used to. I don’t any more.”

“I can’t carry a tune unless it’s in a Walkman,” Shelly said, smiling at her own humor.

“You have a really soothing voice,” Alissa said, glad for a chance to take the attention off herself. “That’s one of the first things I noticed about you. Are you sure you don’t sing?”

“Positive! Every Christmas they made me the narrator in the church play. My three sisters were always the angels, and they got to sing and wear the halos.”

Shelly popped another Chips Ahoy in her mouth and said, “I believe I can blame all my adult trauma on never getting to wear the white robe and gold halo. Instead, I had to say, ‘There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus,’ and ‘There were shepherds abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night.’ ”

There was a knock on the door, and Shelly hopped down to greet her friend, who stood at the half-opened dutch door. “Come on in, Lori. I want you to meet Alissa. Alissa, this is Lori.”

The two exchanged polite nods and hellos.

“I was trying to talk Alissa into coming with us. Why don’t you finish convincing her while I get ready.” Shelly disappeared into her bedroom, leaving Alissa alone with Lori.

“You’re welcome to come,” the tall, fair-skinned woman said. “It’s not a real big deal. We’re going to Mi Piace. I’ve been craving some of their pasta all week. We always have a good time.”

Alissa smiled courteously and said, “Thanks, but I really have some things I need to do.” The last thing she wanted to do was break into an established group that always had a good time when they got together. Party crashing may have been her style in her younger days but not anymore.

They talked about how nice the duplex looked with Alissa’s furniture in it and some of the plants outside. Lori asked Alissa what she did, and when Alissa said she was a travel agent, Lori asked for the name of the agency, saying she would be in to arrange a flight for her family’s big Thanksgiving reunion in Oklahoma.

Shelly entered the room, looking bright and ready for some fun. “So, did she convince you?” Shelly asked Alissa. “Are you coming?”

“Not this time. But thanks for the invite.”

“Next time then,” Shelly said, grabbing her keys from the basket on the counter.

As soon as they were gone, Alissa felt sad. Part of her wished she had gone with them. That part of her coaxed her to believe it wasn’t too late to revive her social skills. She needed to change. She couldn’t live the life of a hermit forever.

In an illogical compromise, Alissa took herself out to the movies. She ate popcorn until her stomach hurt. She regretted it the next morning when Genevieve showed up at 6:30, ready to walk.

Alissa did her best to keep up with Genevieve, and at the end of their loop, she felt as if she had definitely had a workout. They agreed to meet again on Wednesday morning, and Alissa spent the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday complaining to herself about her sore leg muscles.

As Genevieve and Alissa rounded the corner on their way back home Wednesday morning, Brad came out his front door and stood watching them. He had on slacks and a short-sleeved,
casual shirt. Alissa hadn’t seen him since the wedding and was surprised that he was kind of dressed up—for Brad, anyway. He didn’t look grungy, but he wasn’t formal either; he looked like a normal person.

“Brad!” Genevieve greeted him. “Haven’t seen you around. How are you?”

“Doing fine. I’m off to a sales breakfast.” He walked past them with only a glance at Alissa. “Hope you ladies have a wonderful day.”

“You and Jake know about our Fourth of July barbecue, don’t you?” Genevieve asked.

“Yeah, Jake told me we’re going to do a rerun of last year. Sounds great. We’ll bring the ice cream.”

“Good. See you around four then.” Genevieve waved good-bye to Brad and Alissa at the same time and kept up her long stride on the way to her house.

As Alissa stepped into the shower, she enjoyed the soothing water pouring over her. It felt good. And so did she. Business had been exceptionally good in June, and she expected a bonus this week. She was down another pound on the scale, despite all that stale popcorn. And Brad had treated her like an average person. True, he hadn’t said much to her, but she decided that was better than the verbal fencing that had marked their first few encounters. Life was good, and she was looking forward to this barbecue more than a person who had a normal social life would.

T
he travel agency was closed on the Fourth, so Alissa slept in—or at least she tried to. But her body was used to waking up early and wouldn’t let her fall back asleep. She finally gave in at 8:10 and climbed out of bed. Instead of showering, she decided she wanted to go for a walk. Genevieve wasn’t planning on walking this morning, but Alissa felt fine about going by herself. She liked the way she felt after exercising.

As she took off on the familiar uphill route, she discovered it was warmer than when they usually walked. She wished she had brought along some water. To distract her thirsty thoughts, she played her favorite mental game, thinking about Rosie and Chet. She tried to decide who Hannah was and how she had managed to capture Chet’s heart. It could have happened like Meg had said: people change, and it had been a long time since Chet had had any contact with Rosie. Maybe he had given up hope of ever being with her.