Page 4 of Grounded (May Hollow Trilogy #1)

“Isn’t it strange how falling in love is so easy for some people?

” Annie said. “They meet, they fall in love, they get married and have babies and live until ripe old ages. Others struggle all their lives and never find that right person. Or maybe there’s too much baggage they can’t let go.

Or maybe they love someone they can’t have. ”

“I think it has to do with the person and whether or not they are ready for it. Some people are ready at eighteen. Some people are never ready.”

The waiter appeared smiling. “Un altro cappuccino?”

“Sì, grazie,” Janice said. “Due per favore.” To Annie, she said, “Speaking of love, when do you change addresses?”

“Tomorrow.” Annie reached for her ear and felt the stone between her fingers.

“Are you crazy? You don’t get home from work until late afternoon.”

“There’s not much to do. I’m leaving my furniture with the girls until I need it.

I’m just taking my clothes, toiletries and a few books.

Prema will be in my bedroom by the time I get home.

Kate is taking Prema’s room, and Evie has invited one of her friends to move in.

We’re trying to get it done by the end of the month, which is tomorrow, so there’s a clean break. ”

“Don’t you want that antique corner cupboard? I love that piece,” Janice said.

“Stuart’s not really into antiques. Besides, I don’t think we’ll be there long. We’ve talked about getting out of the city soon, and there’s no sense in moving furniture twice.”

“You mean you suggested it last week, and he didn’t shut you down right away?”

“Janice, sometimes I regret telling you everything.”

The waiter brought the cappuccinos. Annie picked up the cup with both hands and breathed in the aroma.

“I’m your best friend. You’re still a fresh-faced farm girl who happens to be ten years wiser for living in New York. I don’t want you to get hurt. What if he never marries you? Isn’t marriage what you really want? I want you to be as dysfunctional as me and Jimmy,” she joked, “and happy at it.”

“I do want marriage but Stuart was badly hurt when his mother abandoned him as a little boy. He needs to take things a step at a time and I understand that. He’s committed to me.”

“Let me tell you a family story.”

“This is not another of your grandmother’s Sicilian curse stories, is it?”

“No, no. This is what happened to Maria. My little sister dated this guy seriously all through college. He told her from the beginning he didn’t think he would marry until he was older, but she thought he would change his mind.

At graduation, she expected a ring. Graduation came and went.

No ring. At Christmas that year, he gave her a beautiful set of diamond earrings.

They were smaller than yours, but expensive for a kid fresh out of school.

That night, my sisters and I knew he would never marry her. ”

“Why? Men don’t go spending that kind of money on someone they don’t care about.”

“Exactly. He cared for her, but he didn’t want to marry her. It was a way to give her something of value without committing. Five months later, they broke up.”

Janice’s voice softened. “I’m sorry, Annie. I can be too hard. Jimmy says I think I know what’s best for everybody. But you’re my best friend, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Annie drained the last of her second cappuccino and pushed it away with a sigh. “I understand. But trust me, I trust Stuart. I think we’re going in the right direction. It may take a little time, but we’ll get there.”

Janice was quiet. Annie heard the wistfulness of her own voice hang heavily in the air. Needing to break the spell, she said, “Are you ready to go?”

“Mi può portare il conto?” Janice called to the waiter. She dug through her purse and left euros on the table.

“My treat today.” She stood up and stretched her back. “I’ve been cleaning the house, getting ready for Mama DeVechio’s visit, and I’m beat. I think I’ll head back and relax a bit before dinner.”

“When is she coming?” Annie stood and gathered her purse.

“This weekend. She’s staying for a month. The visits get longer and longer. I think she might be sizing up the place to see if she could live with us eventually. She keeps saying it’s to spend time with the grandkids, but I’m not sure.”

“You’ll do fine. And you’ll be gone half the time.”

“Unless I lose my job, then things could get really interesting. See you at eight in the lobby.”

In the small alleyway off the piazza, sunlight was hidden by the ancient buildings.

Passing the Italian Senate, Annie watched as dark Lancias whizzed in and out of the heavily guarded gate.

The street was filled with people. Scooters motored between cars and pedestrians, their horns beeping a warning to anyone in the way.

A couple walked a few paces in front of her, and Annie watched as the man pulled the woman to the inside of the sidewalk as a car zoomed by.

That is the nice thing about having someone, she thought.

Stuart was there to pull her out of the street when danger was too close; at least he would if he was with her.

Annie pushed her sunglasses on top of her head, using them to keep her fine straight hair off her face.

Like a grain of sand in her pantyhose, Janice’s questions about Stuart irritated her.

Janice had no motive other than concern, but she could be opinionated and didn’t mind at all telling anyone who would listen whatever she thought.

It was part of why they were such good friends.

They were different in that way. Annie had opinions but her Southern upbringing kept her from voicing every thought in her head.

Annie tucked her purse in front of her, holding it like a small pet. My situation is different from Janice’s sister, she thought. Stuart wasn’t a kid out of college. He was a successful adult who could buy her a set of diamond earrings and a ring on the same day if he wanted.

She felt the stone again in her ear, fingering the cuts of the solitaire and the metal setting.

Stuart had commitment hang-ups. Who wouldn’t if his mother abandoned the family while the children were so young?

But as they had grown closer, things had changed.

They were taking a big step in the relationship.

Stuart said it was huge for him, something he had never done with another woman. It was certainly big for her.

A chaperone, looking pale-faced and out of breath, chased along behind a group of teenagers, calling out in a British accent, “Stay together, please!”

She moved down a narrow alley, then suddenly the great Pantheon was in view.

The stunning, ancient structure with a columned porch and the great bronze doors nearly two thousand years old stood majestic, as if holding court in the piazza.

Annie knew from previous visits the Pantheon stood on the site of a former temple.

The architecture was famous for the rotunda having a dome in equal height to the diameter of the circular interior that gave a sense of harmony.

She didn’t walk inside today, instead choosing to admire it from the center of the piazza.

Cafes surrounded the perimeter of the piazza, and a fountain in the middle near where she stood added background noise to the bustling center of activity.

“Scuzi, dove …,” a man asked for directions in Italian.

“No Italiano, sorry!” Annie said.

The question was a compliment, she thought, due in part to her dark hair and the fact that she never wore sneakers like most other tourists.

Annie considered taking Italian lessons, but she was never sure how long she would keep the flights to Rome she bid for every month.

For international flights, giving up her weekends was a small price to pay for the experiences.

Annie had always wanted to see the world, even from her roots in a small Kentucky town.

She didn’t always get the Rome flights; sometimes it was Munich or Amsterdam.

Janice, much higher in the line and a dual language speaker, preferred weekends so she could be home during the week with her children when Jimmy had to work second shift.

Despite Annie’s effort to be optimistic, the airline’s prospects were disturbing.

She tried to imagine herself working for another company, learning new service policies, perhaps having to go through the entire training process again.

Ten years of seniority was not a lot in an industry where flight attendants worked up to and more than thirty years.

Would there even be jobs available with other airlines in New York, or would the market be too flooded?

A cloud of questions hung over the whole mess.

But for now, she had this moment in Rome. She needed to enjoy it, soak it in and not worry about the future. Her grandmother always said today had enough trouble of its own, and that was true.

She walked up the Piazza della Rotonda with the decorative iron light posts with mustard buildings and brown shutters and onto the Via delle Muratte.

Annie heard the roar of the fountain mixed with voices calling to one another, shrieks and laughter, before she actually saw it.

The small piazza was dwarfed by the Trevi Fountain, eighty-five feet high and sixty-five feet wide.

Salvi’s famous creation incorporated the space of the piazza and the backdrop of the palazzo into the design.

She paused to sit on a stone bench and watch.

Around the sides of the piazza, vendors hawked their wares. A policewoman blew her shrill whistle anytime someone stepped into the water. To her right, a Japanese tour group listened as the guide talked about the fountain, or Annie assumed since it was in Japanese.