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William rose very early the next morning. He hadn't slept well; visions of Marina's tears haunted him for hours. In a private conversation with Lizzy before leaving her apartment, William had made it clear that he was vehemently opposed to any notion of interfering in Marina and Richard's situation. Lizzy concurred wholeheartedly and promised that all she intended to do was offer Marina her friendship and support. Now as William sat on his terrace sipping coffee, he was having second thoughts about his declaration. He found himself sorely tempted to call up his cousin and give him a piece of his mind.
Richard could not possibly have any idea of the pain he'd inflicted on Marina, William was sure of it. And what on earth was he thinking, going out on a date with someone else at a time like this? It was inconceivable to William how Richard could be so dense as to start seeing someone else just as he was beginning to come to terms with his feelings for Marina. Was it denial? Was it insanity? William could not help but suspect some duplicity on his mother's part--or at the very least culpability, given her recent foray into matchmaking for his confused cousin. William checked his watch and reached for his phone. He dialed Long Island and smiled when he heard a groggy voice on the line.
"Hello?"
"Good morning, Gee," William said.
"Will? Call me back in an hour--no, two hours!"
"Gee, don't you dare--." William's eighteen-year-old sister had hung up. William sighed and called back.
"I really hate you, you know that?" Georgiana said when she picked up the phone.
"Shouldn't you be up, already?" William asked, blithely ignoring the insult.
"School doesn't start until next week, Will. And why are you calling me before eight o'clock anyway?"
"I need to ask you something, and I may not have time later," he said unapologetically.
"What?"
"You're always so charming in the morning, Gee."
"Grrrr..." William laughed at his sister's response.
"I wanted to know about the party on Saturday night."
"You woke me up for that? Why don't you call Richard? He was there, too, you know, and he actually likes being up before sunrise."
"The sun rose well over an hour ago," William said matter-of-factly. "And I specifically wanted to ask about Richard. I know mother was trying to set him up--."
"Hah! That's being too nice! I've never seen such a feeding frenzy! Dad and I agreed that she should have simply put him up for auction to the highest bidder in order to avoid potential bloodshed." William closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Was it that bad?"
"Mom must have invited every unmarried woman on the eastern seaboard. Seriously, there were women throwing themselves at him all night, poor thing," Georgiana replied through a yawn.
"Did you notice him paying attention to anyone particular?" William asked.
"Well, he seemed to hang out with Jane quite a lot, but he insisted that he was just making friends with her."
"What do you think?"
"I think Jane, being a healthy, normal, red-blooded woman was just as eager to jump his bones as anyone else. By the way, Diana made a rather blatant pass at him. Retch!"
"Did Richard seem interested in Jane, his explanations notwithstanding?"
"Well, I'd say that he was more glad to have company who could understand that technical mumbo jumbo he's always spewing than anything else."
"Translation?"
"I didn't know what the heck he was talking about. Ask him!" William shook his head again.
"No, no, I mean about Richard's behavior toward Jane."
"Hey! What's this all about? First mom tries to horn in on his love life, now you? The guy's a stud; let him find his own woman. It shouldn't be hard. All he has to do is go someplace where there are lots of women and breathe. And if he takes his shirt off, he can have his pick of the ones who don't faint dead away."
"Gee!" William sputtered, nearly spoiling his shirt with a mouthful of coffee.
"I'm only human, brother dear."
"If you say so; I often have my doubts."
"Well, I know hot when I see it."
"Am I hot?" William asked out of curiosity.
"Some people would think so; personally, I can't see it," Georgiana teased. "By the way, the next time mother chooses to exclude you from her guest list, I'm not going either. You know how many times I had to explain why that 'dear brother' of mine wasn't at the party? It isn't as though you're popular or anything. I can't imagine why all those women sounded so desperate while Richard was in the same room."
"All right, go back to bed, Gee," William sighed. Georgiana giggled.
"Thanks for the wake-up call," she said sarcastically.
"Any time."
"Oh, Will! Did you know that Grandma Bess is coming back to New York on Saturday? And guess what? She's bringing a boy toy!"
"What?" For a second time, William very nearly stained his shirt.
"Mom said she met someone in Italy and she's bringing him home to meet the family." William was nonplussed.
"Who is he?"
"Who knows? I suspect that we'll all find out soon enough. Ciao, fratello." William hung up the phone, slightly stunned by his sister's revelation. His grandmother had a boyfriend? He shook his head and went inside to prepare to leave for work.
Richard was also upset that morning and vented his frustration to his mother via a long distance call.
"So you haven't heard from her at all?" he asked anxiously.
"Richard, it's not as though she's required to check in with me on a daily basis."
"But she was upset. Time was when she would call me when she was upset; now she calls you. And if she hasn't called you--."
"Don't panic," Kathleen said. "She has other friends in the city. Perhaps she's with one of them."
"But we don't know that for sure. I'm really worried about her, mom. If anything were to happen to Emmy it would be all my fault," Richard said sadly.
"Richard, she's a grown woman and contrary to what you may believe she is perfectly able to take responsibility for herself," Kathleen said firmly.
"You didn't see the look in her eyes," Richard insisted.
"No, I didn't see her, and I'm really sorry about what happened, but it was her own decision not to call you. How could she blame you for that?" Kathleen reasoned.
"All right, I blame me, okay?" Kathleen sighed patiently.
"Richard, you just feel guilty about agreeing to go out with the other woman in the first place."
"Yeah," he replied as he attempted to button the cuffs of his shirt. "I don't know what I was thinking. I should have simply told Jane the truth over the phone. Had I done so, I might have spared everyone a lot of grief." He sat on the edge of his bed and sighed.
"You know Marina; she'll give you a call when she's ready to talk."
"I'm ready to talk now!" he exploded off the bed. "Or don't I count?" Kathleen resisted the urge to laugh.
"Of course you do, but you know who you're dealing with."
"I've got to speak with her, mom. I've been up half the night worried sick about her."
"Maybe she'll call you after her meeting at the museum today. Now that I think of it, I bet she spent the night with that woman from the museum. I remember hearing something about an invitation to stay with Lizzy, but Marina told her she would be staying with you."
"The museum! That's right! Thanks, mom! I've got to go."
"Go where? It's not even eight o'clock!"
"I've got to go to Marina, and now I know where to look. Love you!" Richard hung up the phone and rushed to the kitchen to scarf down a bowl of cold cereal. He picked up the phone again to call Tineke and let her know he'd be in late. He also briefly considered calling William to ask for Lizzy's address but thought better of it. As soon as he was done with breakfast, Richard fed the cat and reached for his briefcase. Minutes later he was headed for the northern tip of Manhattan.
"Your meeting isn't till eleven, Marina. Would you like to stay here for a while longer or go in with me now?" Lizzy asked as she cleared the breakfast table.
"I'd prefer to go in with you. I don't want to sit around and think anymore," Marina pouted.
"I understand," Lizzy said empathetically.
"I can't keep doing this, Lizzy. I've been on an emotional rollercoaster since I got back to this country and if I'm going to live in the same city with the man I've got to come to grips with reality."
"Marina--."
"Hear me out, Lizzy," Marina insisted. "I realized sometime in the wee hours of this morning that this whole thing was my fault. I blew it. I shouldn't have shown up on Ricky's doorstep unannounced and expected him to be waiting for me with open arms. He entrusted me with a key to his place, but I have no claim on him or what he does. He has every right to go out with whoever he wants whenever he pleases. I was wrong to get my nose out of joint. I should have handled this whole thing differently."
"In what way?" Lizzy asked. Marina looked away, uncomfortable under Lizzy's earnest gaze.
"I knew that coming back to New York meant revisiting all these old feelings. I should have just accepted that Ricky and I aren't ever going to be more than friends."
"Aren't you even going to try for something more?"
"There's no point," Marina shook her head. Lizzy sighed heavily, her heart breaking for the sad creature before her. She rose to her feet and went to collect her things. Marina cleared the last of the breakfast things and washed the dishes.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," Lizzy said when she returned. "I usually do all the day's dishes in the evening after dinner."
"It's no trouble," Marina said. "In fact, I'm about done."
"Good; it's time for us to go if we don't want to sit for twenty minutes on the DiMaggio Highway." Marina smiled and went to collect her portfolio and overnight bag. "Oh, you don't have to bring all that, do you? Are you planning to leave town right after the interview?"
"I haven't decided yet. At the very least, I want to stay in town long enough to see Ricky before I go," Marina said meekly. "I owe him an apology." Lizzy smiled and nodded.
"Why don't you leave your stuff, then. You can leave the car, too and pick it up later, if you want."
"I think I'll take the car; I still have to find an apartment and I may as well spend some time looking around today."
"Okay, let's go," Lizzy smiled. Marina followed Lizzy downstairs, where Lizzy complained about the fact that Marina's new Golf was parked right in front of her building while her own car was half a block away. Marina laughed at Lizzy's rant and started up her car. She followed her leader north to Fort Tryon Park and onto the grounds of the museum. Lizzy honked her horn and pulled over. Marina drew up alongside Lizzy's car and opened her window.
"You're going to have to use the visitor's parking lot. Let's head there first and then I'll give you a lift around back." Lizzy took off down the road and pulled into the visitor's parking area, where a single vehicle was already parked. She paid it no mind, but Marina immediately recognized it and came to a stop. When Lizzy saw her, she frowned.
"What's wrong?" Lizzy asked as she got out of her car and called to Marina, who pulled into a space and got out of the car.
"I'll meet you inside, Lizzy," she said softly. Lizzy followed Marina's eyes across the lot, where Richard was emerging from his Jeep. Lizzy was rather impressed.
"Is that--?" Marina nodded.
"Yeah," Marina muttered as she crossed the lot to meet Richard halfway. Lizzy gave in to her curiosity and stopped a short distance away to take a peek at the reunion. She was hardly surprised to see Richard rush forward to embrace Marina. They hugged each other tightly and Lizzy drove away shaking her head.
"It was very surreal, William," Lizzy said a few minutes later into the phone. "One minute Marina is saying it's all over and he'll never care for her. The next, she and Richard are clinging to each other like there's no tomorrow. How she could possibly come to the conclusion that Richard doesn't love her is beyond me."
"You scared me half to death, you know," Richard said as he held Marina to his heart. Marina looked up.
"What?"
"Where'd you go last night? I came back to the apartment and you were gone. I spent half the night lying awake wondering what happened to you." Marina pulled out of his arms and glared at him.
"I suppose the rest of the night you spent sleeping like a baby?"
"I won't dignify that remark with an answer," Richard said crossly. "You might have left me a note or called or something."
"I'm a big girl, Ricky; I don't have to check in," Marina said defiantly.
"I know you don't have to check in. I'm talking about showing me a little consideration. I came back about ninety minutes after I left and you were just gone. No word, no message, zip, nada."
"I was just being consistent. I didn't call before I came, either!" Richard looked at Marina for a few seconds before he saw the tiny smile betray her. He pulled her into his arms again.
"Emmy," he said and kissed her hair. "You really did give me a scare."
"I'm sorry," Marina said. "And I'm sorry I was so awful to you. I didn't mean it."
"You weren't awful and I'm sorry about the whole snafu. My friend was very sweet about it when I explained the situation to her. I came right home thinking we could finally have a little time together and you weren't there."
"I went to Lizzy's house and had dinner with her and William," Marina explained. Richard's expression changed. "Now what?" Richard stared at his shoes.
"Emmy, you can tell me it's none of my business and refuse to answer if you want to, but I have to ask. Are you--were you in love with William?" Marina's eyes opened wide.
"No! Whatever made you think that?"
"Your behavior after...well, you know."
"I was angry at you, you idiot! I...all right, I liked William a lot. I thought we had potential and I was disappointed when he fell for Lizzy. But I was never in love with him. I can't believe you asked me that." Richard colored and shuffled his feet sheepishly. "You really don't have a clue, do you? Amazing!"
"I don't have a clue about what?"
"Never mind; if you can't figure it out there's no point in even bringing it up." Marina turned to go back to her car and Richard followed.
"What time will your meeting be over?" he asked anxiously. Marina turned and he very nearly collided with her.
"My meeting isn't for another two hours or so."
"Good," Richard said, reaching for Marina's hand. "Let's take a walk."
"Shouldn't you be at work?"
"I'll go after we've had a little talk," Richard said as he gave Marina's hand an affectionate squeeze and led her toward the garden. Marina was suspicious, but she allowed Richard to lead her down the path, a bit surprised that he never released her hand. "We haven't held hands like this in a long time," Richard said as if reading her mind.
"No; why are we holding hands now?" Marina asked bluntly. Richard stopped and looked at her.
"Do you object to my holding your hand?" Marina pulled her hand away.
"What's this about?" Richard returned a pained look. "Ricky?"
"All right. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I've come to realize something I should have recognized years ago," Richard said in one breath. He paused and looked at Marina's dubious expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She shook her head.
"I'm not sure where you're going with this and I'm not sure I want to hear it."
"Emmy!"
"Please! I have a job interview in a little while and I can't deal with this now."
"You don't even know what I'm going to say!" Richard cried.
"Ricky, please--."
"I think I'm in love with you."
"Don't--."
"Correction: I know I'm in love with you. I'm can't say when or--." Marina turned away and wrapped her arms around her torso.
"You're a day late and a dime short."
"What?" Richard cried, startled out of his declaration. Marina turned back.
"Why? Why now?"
"Why now?" he echoed.
"Yes! All of a sudden you have an epiphany and it's the most important thing in the world. Big deal, Mr. Johnny-come-lately! Do you have any idea how long I've been in love with you?" Marina exclaimed. "Try half my life! Do you have any idea what it's been like? No, of course not! You have no idea of anything but your own feelings, so I'll tell you; it's been miserable." Richard stood gaping as Marina warmed to her topic, intent of venting long pent-up frustrations. "Do you know what it's like to be an adolescent girl whose constant companion was a boy who never understood or acknowledged her feelings? Or what it's like to never go to a single party or prom in high school because the only person you wanted to be with had his pick of girls to choose from but never even considered the possibility that you might like to be his date, just once? I mean, life must be pretty bad if you can't even get a mercy date from your best friend, right?" Marina said through her tears.
"Emmy..."
"If I tried to hide, you always knew where to find me, and you insisted on keeping me company when I was depressed, completely oblivious to the fact that you were the source of my depression. You always told everyone how wonderful, and talented and pretty and great I was, but never seemed to be able to believe it yourself. You were always willing to act on my behalf, but never quite able to understand my needs. You have always claimed to love me, but you have never once bothered to look into my heart. And now you wake up and smell the coffee? Now you come to realize that I'm a woman worthy of your notice? Well, I've got news for you, Ricky! I am so ready to be over you!"
"Marina..." Richard took a step toward her but she backed away, averting her eyes so as not to be affected by his bewildered expression.
"How would you feel if every female who called you 'friend' only did so because it brought her into closer proximity to your best friend? How would you feel if you had to watch my life through four serious relationships and listen to me mourn the dissolution of three of them in agonizing detail, or watch me engage in countless flirtations with other men? Why do you think I fled Massachusetts at my first opportunity? My only regret about my choice of college is that Philadelphia wasn't nearly far enough away. You had to come visit me, didn't you? You even came to see me after I fled to another continent! You're like a human rash, Ricky! No matter what remedy I try you keep coming back to plague me! I can't deal with it anymore. It's too little, too late. If it weren't for my career I wouldn't even consider living in New York right now." Marina strode away, leaving a stunned Richard in her wake. He blinked rapidly and charged after her.
"You're not being fair," he accused.
"No, I'm not. I'm going to try being the selfish one for once!" Marina spat. "I've been a miserable wretch since I've been back in the states and I'm sick and tired of feeling like a victim." A tiny smile flitted across Richard's lips. "And if you tell me I'm beautiful when I'm angry, so help me I'll slug you!" Richard dropped his head and lifted his hands in surrender.
"I'm sorry, Emmy. You're right; I had no idea you've been carrying a torch for me all this time. But how can you blame me for not falling in love with you when you fell for me? Life just isn't that simple, you know! Real people don't always discover their feelings for each other in perfect synchronization like characters in movies. I honestly didn't know how you felt about me and you never bothered to tell me. You just let me go on being completely ignorant of your feelings and now you're making me out to be the villain because I'm not a mind reader. That isn't fair, Emmy. I never meant to hurt you; you must know that in spite of what you just said. You're angry and frustrated and you want to vent years of anguish; I can understand that," Richard said as he gently placed a hand on Marina's shoulder. "I would do anything to be able to take back every injury I've done you, Emmy, I swear," he said earnestly. "But I can't, we both know that."
"I have to go pull myself together for my meeting," Marina said coolly as she turned away again.
"We're not done with this, Emmy."
"I'm done with this, Ricky." Marina continued walking toward her car.
"So that's it? I tell you I love you and you just walk away?"
"Yeah. How does it feel to be on the receiving end?" Marina got into her car and shut the door. She started the engine and pulled away before Richard could catch up with her. She had no idea where she was going. She still had well over an hour till her interview so she decided to take a brief drive to clear her head. Most importantly, she needed to put some distance between herself and the man she'd left standing in the parking lot.
Richard got into his car and headed back downtown. He left his car at his apartment and hailed a cab to take him to his office. When he arrived, Tineke took one look at his somber expression and reconsidered her intention to question him about his date.
"Your friend with the sexy voice called," she said.
"Huh?" Tineke dangled a slip of paper over the partition. He snatched it irritably and looked at it. "Oh," he said. He reached for the phone and dialed William's office.
"William Darcy."
"You rang, oh he of the sexy voice?"
"Richard?"
"Hello, Will," Richard said dully. "What's up?"
"I just called to say hello."
"Liar! You called because you saw Marina last night and heard about what happened when she unexpectedly showed up at my place." Tineke rose to her feet and peered over the partition. Richard bounced the foam ball off her nose and she sat down.
"Yeah, well, there is that," William admitted. "You had a date?"
"Jane Bennet called here yesterday and somehow," Richard said, emphasizing the last word for Tineke's benefit, "I was talked into taking her to dinner."
"What was Jane doing calling you?" William asked suspiciously.
"Aren't you a little too worldly to be asking questions like that?" Richard replied archly. "Anyway, you know what happened; I went home to change before I went to meet Jane and lo and behold, I find a woman in my apartment." Richard covered the receiver. "The wonderful, talented, incredible, special one," he explained to Tineke before resuming his phone conversation. "I met up with Jane and explained things. We had a nice chat and I returned home to find that Emmy had disappeared. Again."
"So why were you late for work today?" Tineke asked, even as William tried to put the same thing to him more delicately. William didn't want Richard to know that he'd already discussed with Lizzy the matter of his being at the Cloisters.
"I went up to the museum this morning to see Emmy," Richard replied with a warning look to his coworker. "I knew she was headed there for a meeting. We talked," he said hesitantly. William didn't need any details to tell him that things hadn't gone well. "Are you free for lunch?"
"Yeah," William said. "I think I can manage that. What time?"
"Your choice; my day is pretty much crap here." William suggested a time and Richard agreed to it. Richard hung up the phone and Tineke came around the partition to Richard's half of the office. "I'm sorry for being late and showing up surly," he said with a disarmingly remorseful expression. Tineke patted his shoulder and sat on the edge of his desk.
"Want to talk?" Richard shook his head. "Coffee?" Richard nodded and Tineke went off to fill his mug. She returned with his coffee and a slab of pound cake. "Allison baked." She placed the treat on the desk and went back to her own side of the office. Richard sat for a long time replaying Marina's words in his head. Finally, he rose from his desk to get the project file from Tineke and began to work.
Marina drove a short distance from the park and pulled into an empty parking space. She closed her eyes and just sat as she tried to calm herself. She knew that Richard had been right, that she'd vented her frustration with him and had refused to listen to his side of the story. She felt somewhat ambivalent about the whole scene. On the one hand, she had purged years of anger, pain and disappointment and felt a whole lot better for it. On the other she had hurt the person she loved most in the world. The man who had just spoken the words she'd been waiting half her life to hear. She shook her head as tears sprang anew.
"He loves me."
Marina began to laugh at the irony of her situation. She reached into her bag for a tissue and flipped down the mirror to look at her face. Dear lord! That's no way to go into a job interview. She got out of the car and walked a short distance to a little grocery shop and bought a bottle of water. She returned to her car and wet some tissues and placed them over her eyes for a few minutes while she took some calming breaths. Then she repaired her makeup and began to mentally prepare for her meeting. At 10:30, she drove back to the park. When she arrived at Lizzy's office she looked serene and confident. Lizzy was busy with a phone call from the downtown office, so the two women didn't have a chance to talk before the meeting. Marina was grateful; it wouldn't have been a good idea to dredge up everything again just before her interview.
The meeting went well and Marina emerged with an assistant curator position, a part-time apprenticeship with the studio (she conceded her artist-in-residence position to someone who was able to do it full-time in return for a chance to work in the studio one day a week and during her spare time), and a renewed sense of self-worth. She had spent an hour in a room with three people who had only recently met her and yet had come to appreciate her talent, skills and experience. It was hardly comparable with Richard's belated revelation, but it buoyed her spirits nonetheless.
"Welcome aboard," Lizzy smiled as she gave Marina a congratulatory hug. "I suppose I'll have to clean up this place and make some room for you," she said apologetically as she surveyed her cluttered office. "Since Lotte left I've been spreading my stuff across what will be your turf as of next Tuesday."
"May I stay and help?" Marina suggested. Lizzy readily accepted the offer, and the two spent the next hour clearing what was about to become Marina's workspace. Lizzy also took Marina around to all the other offices and introduced Marina to the staff. When the two were done, Lizzy ordered lunch and the pair went to sit on the lawn and eat.
"I suppose you're dying to know what happened this morning," Marina said. Lizzy put down her sandwich.
"I think I deserve a medal for resisting the temptation to ask about it for nearly three hours now," Lizzy said sarcastically.
"He told me he loves me," Marina said simply. She bit into her sandwich and chewed it. Lizzy gaped at her. Marina had spoken so matter-of-factly she might just as easily have told Lizzy the time.
"Well, I can't say I'm surprised, based on the way he came all the way up here looking for you and the way he hugged you in the parking lot," Lizzy said tentatively. She waited for Marina to say more; somehow, she seemed to intuit the fact that things had not gone well.
"I told him--," Marina broke off and laughed. "Oh, Lizzy! You should have heard what I said to him!"
"Why? What did you say?"
"She spared no effort to let me know every single way I've managed to fail her," Richard said glumly. William sighed empathetically.
"Did it never even occur to you that she might have had so much as a crush on you?" Richard shook his head. "You are an idiot," William said unapologetically. "I knew that within a half hour of meeting her! How could you be so blind?"
"I'm so glad I chose to call on you to console me," Richard said darkly.
"Well, I'm sorry but she hit the nail on the head. I'm not saying that you did any of it intentionally, of course, and I don't think she believes that you did, either."
"Don't you think she was just a bit harsh?" Richard asked gesturing over his forgotten sandwich. William shrugged.
"You had it coming, one way or another. I don't think there was an easy way for her to say it or for you to hear it. But the truth is out and now you two can deal with each other on a level playing field."
"Deal with each other on a level playing field? Were you here at the start of my little diatribe? I don't think Marina is ever going to speak to me again!" William shook his head impatiently.
"Fitz, you have a gift for ignoring the obvious, don't you? Didn't you learn anything this morning?"
"Yes; I learned that Marina Escher hates my guts. Thank you so much for reminding me!" William grabbed Richard's shoulders across the table and shook him before releasing his grip and sitting back.
"She loves you, stupid!"
"Oh," Richard said as he stared blankly into space. "Yes." He smiled for the first time in hours. William rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Eat." Richard picked up his sandwich and did as he was told.
"So, now what?" Lizzy asked as she sipped her lemonade.
"I haven't the foggiest."
"You can't just leave things as they are!" Lizzy cried. "Marina, the man of your dreams--warts and all--has just declared his love for you! You can't just walk away from that. Even if all you say is 'Thanks but no, thanks,' you have to say something to him."
"I think I already told him that." Lizzy snorted.
"And do you think he actually heard you? Trust me, dearie, if you think you've broken him you have a lot to learn about men."
"I do need help. Ricky's--." Marina blushed. "I don't have a lot of experience with men." Lizzy felt a pang of sympathy.
"You do have it bad, don't you? Well, you'll be pleased to know, in that case, that you've got Richard right where you want him. You've finally managed to drill a hole into that thick but pretty skull of his and made him listen to you. If I were you, I'd take advantage of the opportunity to stake your claim on his heart before it begins to scab over and he slips back into what some people laughingly refer to as normal male behavior." Marina laughed at Lizzy's use of words, but she got the message. "Swallow your pride and go for it. He'll be putty in your hands."
"Oh!" William said as he put down his glass and wiped his mouth. "Newsflash from Gee: Grandma Bess is coming home from Italy this weekend with a man," William said. Richard raised his eyebrows.
"Who?"
"I have no idea, but Gee referred to him as a 'boy toy.' I called the house, but I could only speak to dad and he didn't have a clue. He suggested that we all come out to the house this weekend to meet him for ourselves, though."
"I can't go to Long Island this weekend! My life is in tatters, thanks to you," Richard grumbled.
"Blame me if it'll make you feel better, but it's high time you faced up to the facts," William said as he signaled for the check. "One: you are in love with Marina. Two: she is in love with you. Three: she deserves better, but I'd rather see her happy with you than not. Four: if you don't do something about this soon, you stand an excellent chance of losing her for good. That little scene this morning was a very long time in coming and I don't think she's prepared to wait around while you take your sweet time putting two and two together. It's now or never, Fitz."
"What am I supposed to do? I went up there to try and fix things between us and got verbally decapitated for it!" Richard replied as he pushed his plate away. "As far as I can tell, the ball is in her court." William smacked his forehead and tired to remain calm.
"I cannot believe this is a man with an IQ of 165," he muttered. "All right; give her twenty-four hours to call you. If she doesn't, go after her. Don't let her leave town without speaking to you. Here," William said as he pulled out his notebook and wrote down Lizzy's home and office numbers. "That's where she's staying and that's Lizzy's office. She'll know where Marina is."
"Thanks."
"Don't blow this, Richard."
"I won't, trust me. I want this more than you can know."
"Good. Make sure you tell her that. Oh, and you are coming to Long Island this weekend. No way am I facing Grandma Bess and her boy toy on my own."
Marina ended up spending the day at the museum. After sorting out her workspace, she filled out forms for the personnel office and then used the rest of the afternoon to explore the museum. It had long been a favorite haunt of hers. She could still remember the first time she visited the museum with Richard, Kathleen and Hugh. The visit had been a special trip on the occasion of Marina's thirteenth birthday and Marina determinedly examined every piece of art and every artifact in the museum long after Hugh and Kathleen pleaded exhaustion and repaired to the terrace to rest.
Marina sighed as she recalled that trip to New York. It was at dinner at Tavern on the Green that she felt the first stirrings of what was to become a lifelong obsession with Richard. She recalled how Hugh informed his son that "Marina is now a young lady and ought to be treated as such." For the remainder of that evening, Richard was solicitous and gentlemanly. He held her chair and opened doors for her and for the first time in memory, didn't tease her. It was the best day of her young life, as far as Marina was concerned. Today, by comparison, should have been the worst. But Lizzy's advice at lunch had heartened Marina and she found herself strangely eager to speak with Richard again. But not too soon; she needed time to think. Lizzy offered to put her up for a second night and Marina gratefully accepted the offer. She would spend the next twenty-four hours deciding how to sort out the mess she'd made of things.
"Richard Fitzwilliam." He checked his watch as he spoke. It was very late for a business call.
"Hello, Richard Fitzwilliam," Jane said brightly.
"Jane! How are you?"
"Never better; how are things with you?"
"They could be better," Richard sighed.
"I take it that means that you haven't worked things out with Marina-slash-Emmy."
"Nope," Richard admitted. He gave Jane an abbreviated description of what transpired after he left her and the subsequent confrontation that morning. "We did manage to tell each other how we felt. Then reality hit us over the head with a sledgehammer and we spent the next five minutes yelling at each other. Then she walked out on me." Jane whistled.
"In all the books and movies I've ever seen, the 'I love you' part is always followed by lots of kissing and occasionally sex." Richard laughed.
"I always thought so. I have no idea how we managed to miss that bit, but there you go."
"You'll fix it, won't you?"
"I'll fix it. I have to fix it. I don't want to lose her."
"Well, it sounds far from hopeless. It seems to be that she was expressing a great deal of emotion there."
"Yeah, hostility," Richard said miserably.
"She was impassioned, Richard. And passion is passion. It just needs to be properly channeled."
"Interesting theory. So how are you spending the Labor Day weekend?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"I'm going out to Long Island to hang out with the folks," Jane replied.
"We may see each other, then. I'm being coerced into going out there again, myself."
"I look forward to seeing you, then. Rumor has it you look great in a Speedo." Richard groaned and Jane laughed as they said their goodbyes.
"What are your plans for the weekend?" William asked when he reached Lizzy by phone that evening.
"That would depend on my alternatives to spending the weekend lounging on my backside watching a movie marathon and eating my weight in popcorn," she replied.
"Is that how you're really planning to spend it?" William winced.
"Have you got a better idea?" Lizzy challenged. In truth she had no such intention but she thought a dull response would probably be a better prompt for whatever William was likely to propose.
"As a matter of fact, I do. How would you like to come out to Long Island this weekend?"
"Long Island; as in the parental homestead, you mean?" Lizzy said sitting up in her seat. "Don't you think it's a bit soon to be dragging me home to meet your parents?"
"No, I don't. Besides, it's just a long, lazy weekend and there'll be a lot of houseguests. No one will even notice you."
"Thanks, I think."
"I'm trying to convince Richard to invite Marina out for the weekend, too."
"Whatever happened to your pledge of non-interference?" Lizzy asked pointedly.
"I'm not interfering; he has to come out to this weekend bash, anyway. His folks are coming down, so Marina may as well come, too. It would be a great opportunity for the two of them to have some time together. They have a lot to talk about," William said.
"I know," Lizzy replied. "But back to my point: why me?"
"I'd like to spend the weekend with you. We can sail, or swim or play tennis or pool--."
"You were raised at a resort?"
"Very funny."
"All right; I'll go, but the minute your mother declares aloud that I'm not good enough for her precious boy, or anyone asks about my intentions or prospects I'm out of there." William laughed at Lizzy's remark, but long after the call was over a nagging thought, that Lizzy's concerns were valid, plagued him.
The next morning, Marina was sitting cross-legged on the floor of one of the larger galleries of the Cloisters. She'd decided on the previous day to come back with her art supplies to make a sketch of one of the sculpted heads in the museum's collection. She was making a study of the face on tracing paper and had laid it over a pencil sketch of the border design to be painted and gilded when the calligraphy was done. In the lower right corner of the page she had already drawn in her logo, a stylistic ME, interwoven with a sprig of ivy. As she worked, she carefully thought over what she would say to Richard when she called and arranged to see him. If Lizzy was correct, he would not refuse to meet with her. Marina knew that Richard would never refuse her, anyway, but she was so new to such romantic entanglements that she didn't want to take anything for granted.
Jane wandered into the gallery and began to look at the works on display. When she noticed the woman on the floor, she grew curious and walked over.
"Do you mind if I take a peek?"
"Not at all," Marina said. She held up the sketchpad so that Jane could get a closer look. Jane compared the face on the page to the sculpture before her.
"It's beautiful," she said simply. Marina smiled self-effacingly.
"Thanks, but it's just a preliminary sketch. It'll look a lot better when I get it cleaned up some and surround it with the borders and text."
"Text?"
"Yes; this is going to be a page of an illuminated manuscript I'm working on," Marina explained as she began to work again. Jane frowned and looked at the page again.
"Is your name Marina Escher?" Marina looked up sharply.
"How on earth did you--?" Jane smiled.
"A great admirer of your work told me about a book you made for him as a birthday present," Jane said. Marina averted her eyes.
"Richard."
"Yes."
"Are you a friend of his?"
"I'd like to think so, yes," Jane replied with a smile. Marina busied herself with an erasure.
"A close friend?"
"I wish!" Jane sighed. Marina lifted her eyes to Jane's. "I believe someone else beat me to it," she said with a sad smile.
"Oh," Marina said and Jane raised her eyebrows. It seemed as though Marina was oblivious to the fact that she was the "someone" about whom Jane was speaking. "What's your name?"
"Jane Bennet." Marina looked up and smiled.
"Oh! Are you related to Lizzy?"
"I don't think so," Jane said as she took a seat on the floor beside Marina. "I'm very glad to meet you, Marina. I actually came here today looking for you."
"You came to see me?" Marina said as a knot suddenly formed in her stomach.
"Yes; I heard that you were coming to work here next week and I stopped in to leave a note for you. Finding you in the flesh is much more than I'd hoped for. You see I have a little confession to make."
"Now I'm really curious," Marina admitted as she turned her large brown eyes on the stranger beside her. Jane smiled sheepishly.
"I won't keep you in suspense. I'm the woman who ruined your surprise for Richard the other night."
"You?"
"I called him at his office--we were introduced at a dinner party last weekend and exchanged cards, you see. I invited him out for a drink after work. He said no at first, but after admitting that he had no plans for the evening I kind of talked him into going out to dinner with me." Marina averted her eyes again and stared at the pencil in her hand. "He didn't know you were coming otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't have agreed to it."
"I realize that," Marina said softly.
"He said you weren't speaking to him and I feel kind of responsible," Jane said.
"Don't worry about it; I've never been able to stay mad at Ricky for as long as I'd like," Marina said with a pout. Jane smiled at the comment. "In fact, I've already forgiven him, though I doubt that he realizes it yet."
"Well, make sure he does. In fact, I think you'd better make up with him soon or I might just try and steal him from you again. He'd be quite a catch, if I thought I could ever manage to make him forget that you existed," she said archly, as she began to get to her feet. A hand reached out to help her up and she found herself looking into the eyes of Charles Bingley. "Thank you," she said.
"My pleasure; I thought you were going to be at the studio today, Marina," Charles said to his assistant, though his eyes never left Jane's face.
"I'm doing a little fieldwork first," Marina said as she rose to her feet unaided.
"And making friends, I see," Charles said hopefully. Marina took his hint.
"This is Jane Bennet--no relation to our Lizzy. Jane, this is Charles Bingley, the curator of the manuscripts department of the museum." Jane shook Charles' hand. "I was just about to ask you, Jane: Have you ever been here before?"
"I haven't been here since I was ten and still in my fairy princess phase," Jane said with a modest blush. "This was my idea of a castle in those days."
"Oh, well, I'm sure a lot has changed since then," Marina said slyly. "I'd offer to give you a personal tour, but I really should get down to the studio. Perhaps you can show her around a bit, Charles...if you have some time?" Charles' smile was radiant.
"I should be delighted." Jane's look told Marina that she was onto her scheme, but she nonetheless happily took the arm Charles gallantly offered and allowed him to lead her away. Marina watched them go, her sketchpad clutched to her chest. A tiny smile curled her lips and she bent to pack up her supplies. By the time she reached her car, Marina was smiling broadly.
It was well after midnight when Richard opened his eyes, awakened by the persistent sound of someone knocking at his door. Richard scrambled out of bed and blindly made his way to the foyer, muttering to himself as he went. He peered through the security peephole and was surprised to see Marina. He threw open the door, oblivious to the fact that he was clad in only a pair of boxers.
"Emmy?" Richard exclaimed. "Why didn't you use your key?" Marina averted her eyes as she stepped into the apartment towing her suitcase.
"I did...downstairs. I thought I should knock when I got up here. I wasn't sure I'd be welcome."
"I'm alone, if that's what you mean." Richard said grumpily as he regarded her from head to toe. Marina flinched at the comment. "And why are you soaking wet?"
"It's pouring outside, in case you haven't noticed, and I had to park a block away." Marina said testily as Richard yawned and walked away from her. Before she could speak, he returned with a large towel, which he carefully draped around her shoulders.
"I notice very little when I'm asleep, Emmy. You ought to try sleeping sometime; I hear you've become a regular night owl lately," Richard replied as he went into the bedroom. He returned again, this time with a tee shirt and a pair of shorts. "Here; go change before you catch something. You look like a drowned rat." Marina stuck out her tongue at him and headed for the bathroom. "And I'd like that shirt back, by the way. You have a nasty little habit of laying claim to every tee shirt of mine you get your mitts on." Richard stared at the bathroom door for a moment after Marina disappeared. Then he took a deep breath as though just realizing that he was awake and went into the living room and waited for Marina to change out of her clothes. He paced the floor, wondering why she'd suddenly appeared on his doorstep at that hour of night.
Marina emerged from the bathroom and timidly made her way to the living room. Richard turned and, instincts ruling over reason, he enfolded Marina into his arms. Relieved, Marina hugged him tightly. They were content to hold each other for a minute. Richard kissed Marina's damp hair and then unthinkingly moved to kiss her brow and then her cheek and eyes before he hungrily brought his lips to her mouth. But the kiss had barely registered in Marina's senses before Richard pulled away.
"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have...I'm sorry." Marina backed away and put what she considered a safe distance between them as Richard went in the opposite direction. "What are you doing here at this hour, anyway?"
"I was at an orientation session at the studio today," Marina said as she tried to get her bearings. Richard's kiss had left her slightly stunned. As surprised as she was by the kiss, she found it far more troubling that Richard had felt it necessary to apologize for it. She was even more convinced that William and Lizzy had been right about Richard and cursed herself for wasting her earlier opportunity to make peace with him.
"And that let out at midnight," Richard said as he crossed his arms. As he looked down he realized for the first time that he was clad only in his underwear. It certainly wasn't the first time Marina had seen him thus, but he felt oddly exposed.
"No, of course not! That was over hours ago."
"Then why weren't you here hours ago?" Marina shook her head.
"I went back to Lizzy's place for my stuff. I've been at Lizzy's place for the last couple of nights. She invited me to stay with her." She glanced up at Richard's face for a reaction, but he gazed back at her impassively. "I left her a while ago, but I had to go over to my friend Susan's place to get something I left there on my last visit."
"Where does she live, Cuba?" Marina rolled her eyes.
"And I did try and call you this time. I called you this afternoon at your office and they said you were out at a meeting. I called you at home a couple of times this evening and kept getting a busy signal."
"That's because I generally talk to people before midnight during the work week, Emmy."
"You know, you're very cranky in the middle of the night," she teased.
"I could have told you that. You needn't have come here at this hour to test your theory. Are you hungry? When was the last time you ate anything?" Richard asked as he went into the kitchen and put on the kettle.
"No, I'm fine. I ate a while ago," Marina said from the doorway. "You're probably wondering why I came..." Richard smiled for the first time since her unexpected arrival.
"No, I'm really just glad to see you," he admitted as he affectionately tousled her hair. "You still look like a drowned rat, by the way." Marina grabbed at his hand, but years of experience had taught Richard to elude her. He walked out of the kitchen and disappeared into his bedroom. Marina started to follow him, but decided against it. Richard came out of his room carrying a pillow. "Look who's here to see us, Squeaks," he said to the cat walking at his heels. He tossed the pillow on a chair and headed for the linen closet. "We need to talk, Emmy, but I have to work tomorrow, so I need to go and get my beauty sleep. Promise me you'll stick around till I get home?" Richard pleaded as he dropped a set of sheets and a second towel on top of the pillow.
"That's why I'm here. I think it's time we started communicating again," Marina said. Richard nodded silently. He reached out, gently caressed Marina's cheek and then very deliberately kissed her forehead.
"I'll see you in the morning if you're up. Want me to open the bed for you?" Marina shook her head. "Don't forget the kettle." He pulled her into another brief hug before he turned and went into his room. Marina made a cup of herbal tea and curled up on the sofa with Squeaks. She put her fingers to her lips and touched them, convinced that they still burned with the heat of Richard's kiss. His action had shocked her but she knew it was time to let go of her fears and learn to trust anew the man she once thought she trusted above anyone in the world.
Marina set aside the cup and stretched out on the sofa, too tired to bother opening it. Her hair was still damp and she felt a chill, so she rose and went looking for something with which to cover herself. Marina eschewed the sheets Richard had left for her, recalling that the quilt Kathleen had made Richard as a high school graduation gift lay neatly folded over its own rack in his room. She stealthily made her way to his door and peered into the room. Richard appeared to have returned to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but when Marina stepped into the room he immediately opened his eyes.
"It's cold out there," Marina said simply. Richard flipped the covers back and Marina walked over to the bed and slid under the covers without a moment's hesitation. Richard turned over onto his back, intent on falling asleep again, but after only a minute, Marina spoke. "I'm sorry, Richard."
"I know."
"You know?"
"You wouldn't have come otherwise, would you?" Richard said as he hazarded a look at his bedmate. Marina shook her head.
"You were right--about everything," she continued. "I was so used to being hurt by you, I decided to try and beat you at your own game."
"Emmy..."
"It was cruel and it was wrong and--."
"And I thought we were going to talk about it tomorrow," Richard said gently but firmly. "Take your icy feet off of me and go to sleep." He rolled away from Marina and resettled.
"Ricky..."
"Emmy, I'm trying to sleep."
"Kiss me again." Richard froze for a moment. The he turned over again and looked at Marina. She was calmly gazing at him and even in the dark he could tell that she meant it. "Kiss me."
"You are so playing with fire right now," Richard said. Marina didn't flinch and Richard reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. He brought his lips to hers and gave her a warm but relatively chaste kiss before he lay back, staring at the ceiling.
"That was terrible," Marina said.
"Excuse me?"
"That was terrible. The first one was much better."
"So sue me; I kiss better standing up," Richard deadpanned.
"Pity," Marina replied cheekily as she pulled up the covers and closed her eyes. Silence prevailed for a few minutes, save for the slight squeaking sound and the tinkle of a tiny bell that signified Squeaks' arrival on the bed. The cat calmly walked over first Marina and then Richard to find his favorite spot on the far side of the bed. Marina giggled at the sensation of being stepped on by tiny feet and then gasped as Richard suddenly rolled over and kissed her. She tensed for a second before she melted in his arms. This time Richard showed no restraint as he thoroughly kissed her mouth. He suddenly pulled away and lay back.
"Was that kiss to your satisfaction?" he asked. Marina nodded mutely, her senses reeling. "Are you warm enough now?" Again, Marina could only nod. "Good, then please do me a favor. Get out of here and let me go to sleep," Richard said sternly. Marina smiled and crawled out of the bed.
"Good night, Ricky."
"Goodbye, Emmy," Richard replied, his voice muffled and slumberous. Marina retrieved the quilt and went back to the sofa, where she opened the bed, made it up and climbed in. Within moments she fell deep asleep and dreamed, not surprisingly of Richard. When Marina opened her eyes again, it was morning and the phone was ringing insistently. She scooted over and reached for it.
"Hello?" she said drowsily.
"Morning, Emmy." She smiled at the sound of Richard's voice. "Glad to see you're still there."
"I was just lying here thinking about you."
"Were you, now? Is that why you answered on the fourth ring?" Richard teased.
"I refuse to be baited this morning, Ricky. I slept far too well."
"Glad to hear it. According to mom you've been up at all hours of the night painting lately."
"Yeah...I was working on something. You know how I am when I get an idea into my head."
"Oh, yeah, like when you suddenly decide to show up at a guy's apartment in the middle of the night, jump into bed with him and demand to be kissed." Marina felt her face grow hot as she blushed at Richard's depiction of her.
"I'm sorry--."
"I think we should try to avoid those two words in future, okay? I didn't say I was sorry that you showed up at my apartment in the middle of the night with cold feet and demanding lips, did I?"
"You were very gracious about my intrusion and I appreciate it," Marina smiled.
"Emmy, you were not and could not ever be considered an intrusion, you know that," Richard said softly.
"I know that now," Marina replied, suddenly feeling very emotional.
"Good. I called to see if you wanted to go somewhere for dinner tonight. We could--."
"No."
"No? You haven't even given me a chance to--."
"I'll make us dinner and we can eat here. We should talk, Ricky."
"Well, that was high on my agenda."
"Let me cook for you. I learned to cook really well while I was in France."
"All right; you cook, I'll eat, we'll talk."
"Sounds like a plan. Ricky?"
"Emmy?" Richard replied in a tone that matched hers.
"Thanks for kissing me again when I asked."
"Asked?" Marina blushed again. "Anytime," he chuckled. Marina hung up the phone, beaming.
"So? How are things?"
"You're prying, William."
"Yes, I am. Answer my question."
"Life is good. We got the CGI footage today. It's killer. Of course, it needs a bit of modification--."
"Fitz, you know what I'm talking about."
"Do I?"
"Marina."
"Yes?"
"How is she?"
"She was fine last time I checked."
"And that was..."
"Before I left my apartment this morning," Richard said simply.
"Where the two of you..."
"Parted company? What are you driving at, cuz?"
"Darn it, Richard, just tell me!"
"I don't kiss and tell."
"But you did kiss?" Richard rolled his eyes.
"William, is there a point to this inquisition, other than a blatant attempt to get me to give you a reason to say 'I told you so'? Why don't you just get it over with so I can get some work done?"
"Why don't you just stop being so annoyingly coy and tell me what I want to know?"
"What do you want to know?" William sighed.
"Have you and Marina worked things out between you?"
"Gee, you make it sound like a hostage negotiation, Will."
"I imagine that things were probably as delicate."
"No, not really; Emmy showed up at my apartment very late last night, soaking wet and looking like a kitten someone unsuccessfully tried to drown. I gave her a tee shirt, she crawled into my bed and demanded that I kiss her and--. Ooh, thanks, Tineke," Richard said, distracted by the arrival of his workmate with a bag of peanuts from the vending machine.
"And what?"
"I thought you had a love life. Why are you salivating over the sordid details of mine?"
"Are they sordid?" William asked in surprise.
"No, not at all. We kissed and we went to sleep--in separate rooms. End of story."
"Just kissing."
"You have a problem with that?"
"No, not at all; I guess I just thought...I mean, I imagined that--."
"Will, if you're going to confess to fantasizing about me and Emmy I may have to throw up." William chuckled.
"No, no! I just meant that I imagined that when the two of you got together --."
"Things would be very unlike the way they were before?"
"I guess."
"We don't usually kiss goodnight, if that makes you feel any better."
"So?"
"So, I guess we're all right," Marina replied.
"You guess?" Lizzy said impatiently.
"We didn't get to talk last night."
"Oh?"
"It was late and he had to work in the morning."
"Oh," Lizzy said, slightly disappointed.
"But we plan to talk tonight. We have a long way to go to set things right."
"Yes and a whole relationship to rebuild."
"If we decide to rebuild it," Marina said.
"I thought that's what you wanted."
"This is all too new for me to know what I want right now. We need some time to think things out. We didn't get here in one day. It'll take a while to resolve everything."
"Of course. Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
"Lizzy? Use both hands. I don't want to blow this."
"So are you bringing her out to the island this weekend?"
"Darn! I completely forgot about that! We made plans for dinner tonight. I guess she'll come, though. Are you sure your mom won't mind?"
"I'll call and double check, but I'm fairly certain she won't. It should be nice. The four of us can go out on the Sound and sail and maybe slip away to the beach for a little fun. I wonder if Lizzy has a bikini..."
"I wonder if Marina owns a bathing suit."
"What?"
"In spite of her name, I've never seen her swim. All the summers I was lifeguarding she'd just come down to the pool fully dressed and sit on the grass to write or draw pictures of me."
"Not your average teenager, was she?" William quipped.
"No, she's definitely one of a kind," Richard said with a wide smile. And she's all mine. "Look, I'll talk to you later and we'll organize something. Are we going out there tonight or tomorrow?"
"Tonight; I don't know about you, but I'm under orders."
"We'll go out tonight, too, then. I'll talk to you later" Richard hung up with another smile. He dialed his apartment and suppressed the tiny panic he felt when his call wasn't picked up till after the answering machine had kicked in. He explained to Marina that he'd forgotten about his weekend plans with the family and it took him some time to convince her to join him at his uncle's house for the weekend. "It's Labor Day weekend and William and Lizzy and my parents are all going to be out there. I'm expected to be there, too, and I'd really like you to come."
"Wouldn't I be intruding? I mean, it sounds like a family gathering..."
"Since when have you shied away from a Fitzwilliam family gathering? William specifically invited you. Besides, our grandmother is returning from her trip to Italy and my aunt wants to have a little celebration. You know my grandmother."
"Yes, of course. Did I ever tell you that she visited me in Paris last winter?" Richard said no. "I don't know how she managed to find me; I think she tracked me down through the American embassy. But anyway, I was working at a restoration site and this sweet old dear appears out of nowhere and asks for me. She said that you told her I was somewhere in Paris and she decided to look me up. We took a tour of the cathedral and then went out for coffee. After that afternoon I experienced my first genuine bout of homesickness, and I had been there for more than two years by that time. Your grandmother is the best."
"That she is," Richard agreed, trying to ignore the unintended jab. It was yet another reminder of how determined Marina had been to put some emotional distance between them. "I'm sure she'd love to see you again."
"There probably won't be any room for me with all those people," Marina said hesitantly.
"There'll be plenty of room. It's a very big house," Richard assured her. "And it would be an ideal opportunity for us to spend some time together talking. We'd have the whole weekend together. Please say you'll come, Emmy."
"I don't know--."
"Please, Emmy? I'd really like you to be there. I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself if I left you in the city all alone." Marina smiled.
"All right, I'll come."
"Great. You're going to need a bathing suit," Richard said with an impish grin.
"Why?"
"Because I said so. We'll leave this evening, so pack a bag. And don't bother to cook; Aunt Anne will insist on feeding us when we get there."
"You do realize that I've been cooking all afternoon."
"You have not."
"All right, I haven't but I was about to start."
"Good thing I called when I did, then. I've got to go, Emmy. I'll see you later. And Emmy?"
"Yes?"
"Don't forget the bathing suit."
"Right." Marina hung up the phone. "Bathing suit?" Marina closed the pad that was lying open on the dining table and securely fastened the lid on the bottle of ink she'd been working with. "I'd better go out and find one."