Tales From a Broad (25 page)

Tess browsed through the shops while I leaned
over an opening that was midway across the bridge. From where I
stood, I could see the colorful wooden shutters hanging from the
bridge on either side of me. Each shop had their shutters open,
probably to enjoy the glorious view of the river.

I watched a young couple fasten a lock on the
bridge. Ah. I recalled reading about the legend of the Ponte
Vecchio padlocks in one of the guidebooks. Apparently, so had many
others before them. Several thousand locks had been fastened all
over the bridge. The couple looked around and giggled. The man
kissed the key and tossed it into the water.

Once they’d locked in their love and thrown
away the key for eternity, the couple walked off arm in arm. I
couldn’t help but wonder if they really would be together forever.
I slumped down and wrapped my arms around the railing.

I used to be such a romantic. What had
happened to me? I clung to the bridge and almost wished that
I
were locked to it forever. If only. What had I been
thinking when I accepted Cooper’s invitation to talk? What could he
possibly have to say?

A headache was coming on, and I massaged my
temples when Tess joined me to snap pictures of the sun glistening
on the Arno. She agreed we had seen enough when I suggested taking
a break, so we walked back over the bridge and headed to the
pensione.

It was a short walk, and I shielded my eyes
from the setting sun to give the pensione a once over as we
approached it.

“Only in Europe would affordable lodging be
housed in a place fit for a king,” I observed. Cornice molding
lined the top of the building and looked like eyebrows over large
semi-circular arched windows. “In New York, the only places that
look like this are the multi-million-dollar apartments that line
Central Park.”

“Well, Landon did say that this place is
quite popular with American travelers.” Tess pulled open the front
door and grimaced from its weight.

“Gee, I wonder why.” I chuckled and pointed
my chin to the left toward the common room where a flat screen TV
hung front and center. An X-box console was positioned directly
underneath and shared a shelf with dozens of game choices. There
was a vintage looking Coca-Cola sign resting on a mini-fridge, and
I was so thirsty from the walk back that I could actually taste the
sodas that were lined up behind the glass door.

“It looks like the owners really do know the
American way,” I murmured as I headed toward the fridge to grab a
soda.

“Either that or they got the memo that Landon
was coming to town. He may have played the professional part this
morning, but according to his email yesterday, he’s already logged
in an awful lot of hours playing X-box. I think he wishes he was at
a video gaming convention instead of the boring architect’s
round-up.”

“Well, I’m glad we’re here. You did good,
kid.” I looked over at Tess, who beamed back at me.

“Ciao
, may I help you?” called a woman
from behind the front desk.

“Ciao
. We would like to check in. My
nephew already dropped off our bags.” I looked at my watch and felt
a sinking feeling in my stomach. I had only two hours until it was
time to meet Cooper.

“Ah,
si
.” She traced her finger down a
list of paper. “McNally and Banks?” she said.

I nodded and smiled.

“Un momento, por favore
,” the woman
said holding a finger in the air. She disappeared into a room
behind the desk, and I leaned against it.

The scent of cappuccino wafted through the
room, and I wondered if having a cup after finishing my soda would
be caffeine overload.

My eyes darted around the room and went from
the soft, fluffy couches to the colored photographs of Florence
hanging on the walls. All sorts of books, travel guides, candles,
and ceramic dishes filled the shelves.

“This place has an interestingly cluttered
vibe,” I murmured. “Pottery Barn meets Grandma Maria’s living
room.”

Tess stifled a laugh as the woman reappeared.
She wrung her hands and leaned on the other side of the desk.

“All of our doubles seem to be
occupate.
Mi dispiace
. Is a double bed okay? Or we could give you two
rooms, one for each of you?” The creases on her forehead deepened
as she waited for our reply.

“I guess a double bed is fine,” I replied.
However, after the words left my mouth, I wondered how true they
really were. I needed to pull out all my best beauty tricks.
Quickly. How was I going to get ready for my date in front of Tess?
Would I be able to pull this off?

“Well, what do you think?” I raised an
eyebrow and looked at Tess. She seemed to be lost in thought and
shifted uneasily.

“I don’t know, what do you think?”

I exhaled impatiently. I held my palms up and
shrugged. “Your call. Do you want to go solo or not?”

“Sure.”

“Oh.” I was momentarily taken aback.

Tell me what you really think. That answer
rolled off her tongue a little too quickly. Was she getting sick of
me? Hell, I was getting sick of me. I got what I wanted. Let it go.
This must be the sign I had prayed for at the church.

“Okay,” I said to the woman. “We’ll take two
rooms.”

She gave us the keys to our rooms, and we
headed up the creaky stairs and stepped onto a carpeted
landing.

“Three oh one, three oh two, three oh
three... Looks like this is my stop.” I put the key in the door and
turned the knob. Tess followed me into the room.

“This is...” I paused and gave the room a
quick once over. “Kind of plain, no? The owners must’ve put so much
effort into making the common area an inviting place that they gave
up on the bedrooms.”

The room was Spartan in style with just a
simple bed and wooden wardrobe. A tiny table by the bed held a lamp
and under the window was a ladder-back chair, like one used at a
desk. There were no extras. Not even a cushion on the chair.
Outside I heard bells from one of the churches, and I wondered
briefly if the monastic look was all the rage in Florence.

I placed my backpack on the bed and looked
down at my watch for the hundredth time. Tess was prowling around
the room looking at the non-decorations, her backpack waiting in
the open door. She looked over at me and suddenly I couldn’t take
it anymore. I hated secrets.

“Tess?” I took a breath to steady my
nerves.

“Yeah?” Tess walked over to the window. She
opened up the shutters and threw her hands in the air towards the
street. “Ahhhhhh!” she sang loudly in a soprano voice. She
immediately turned around and sat on the window ledge, facing me.
“I’m sorry.” Her cheeks had turned slightly pink, and she looked
down at her feet.

“Sorry for what? Being happy? That’s hardly a
crime. I noticed how euphoric you seemed today. It must be nice for
you and Landon to be together.” I smiled and looked at my niece.
“Your mom may be a wackadoo, but she did some job raising a tight
knit family.” I nodded in approval.

Tess raised an eyebrow. “Oh ... yeah, it was
so nice to see him, but I’m just happy in general.” Tess smiled and
lowered her head.

I couldn’t help but wonder why. It had only
been a few days since Mark had crushed her hard. “What are you up
to?” I narrowed my eyes.

“Nothing.” Tess giggled and quickly shifted
her gaze back to the street. “This room just makes me happy. It
reminds me of one of those Italian movies with the shutters, where
the guy calls up to the girl from the street,” she said
wistfully.

I walked over to the window and looked down
at the cobblestone street. There was a man selling chestnuts out of
a pushcart and a woman sitting on a bucket, peeling fruit. The air
smelled like lemons.

“It kind of does.” I drew in another breath,
hoping to bring the conversation to this evening’s plans. “I wonder
what it’s like at night.”

“It’s so nice to have a good view,” Tess
said, completely ignoring me. I momentarily closed my eyes in
despair. “God, the last view we enjoyed was when you officially met
Simon. Doesn’t that feel like a lifetime ago?” She looked at me
searchingly.

I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.
“Tess,” I said, clasping my hands together. “I really don’t want to
think about Simon. Not today.”

“Sorry.” Tess cringed. “The other night you
chased his twin, so naturally, I assumed he was on your mind.”

“Okay, that pimply post-teen was far from
Simon’s twin. Let’s be honest. Simon was hot. His olive skin, his
hair...” I sighed. “That’s water under the Ponte Vecchio.”

“It doesn’t have to be. Aunt Lu, you could’ve
told me how into him you were. We didn’t have to flee Paris on my
account.”

“I wasn’t into him,” I suddenly snapped. “Can
you please stop talking about Simon? I’m not that desperate that I
need to date a kid from the middle of nowhere.”

Tess gave me a sideways look. “Thirty-two
isn’t a kid, and Chicago is hardly in the middle—”

“Tess,” I said sternly. “Enough. I barely
know the guy.” From the corner of my eye, I saw her look away.

“I’m going to see if Landon’s back,” she
said, jumping down from her seat at the window. “I’d like to go out
with him for a quiet bite and catch up. Do you mind?”

“No, of course not.” I felt taken aback for a
moment that her plans didn’t include me. But my insecurities were
immediately replaced with a gust of relief. Now I didn’t have to
explain myself.

“Enjoy,” I said with a smile.

She left, and I perched myself in the same
seat where she had looked so happy, only minutes before. I looked
up at the sky and clasped my hands together in prayer. Please God,
don’t let meeting Cooper be a mistake. Please do not let this sick
feeling in my gut be another sign.

I made my own sign, one of the cross, and
slid from the window to the floor. When my feet hit the ground, I
walked over to my backpack and pulled out the one date night option
I had packed, a short black dress.

After I tried it on, I decided it was too
sexy, and since I really didn’t want to send that message, I opted
for my uniform as of late: black leggings and a long, loose-fitting
tank. It was far from sexy, but it was a dressier version of what I
wore on my night out with Simon, and he’d seemed to find that look
perfect. Anyway, I didn’t really have many other clean options from
which to choose.

I hopped in the shower, blew out my hair, and
after an hour of the up-do, down-do game, I settled on leaving it
loose. When I was finished, I looked in the mirror and gazed into
my eyes.

“Hi Cooper!” I exclaimed, while flipping my
hair. My eyes bulged and my phony grin made me look somewhat manic.
No way. That wouldn’t be a good hello.

But I did notice a stray hair on my chin
during the hair flipping process. There’s a reason for dress
rehearsals, I thought as I yanked it out with tweezers. I applied a
light pink gloss to my lips and cleared my throat.

“Hi,” I said quietly and flashed myself a
tight-lipped demure grin.

I shook my head in disgust. We weren’t
meeting at a funeral. Take three.

“Hello there,
dick
,” I said coolly.
The tone of my voice seemed to evoke a tiny feeling of confidence.
My eyes lit up as I giggled in the mirror. “What’s that, jackass?
Oh, I’m doing great, thank you.”

I smiled at myself like a proud mother.
“Yeah, baby.
You’re
in the driver’s seat. You’re a strong,
beautiful woman.” I puckered my lips and blew myself a kiss.

I started to walk out of the bathroom before
I popped my head back in to take one last look at myself.

I narrowed an eye and pointed a finger at the
mirror. “Listen bitch, do
not
cave,” I commanded.

I retreated the finger that shook back at me
and formed a tight fist. With fingernails digging into my very
sweaty palm, I grabbed my purse and headed out the door.

Chapter
Thirteen

Never judge a person on the first date.

Facebook Status June 12 at 9:30pm

Cooper’s hotel was only a few blocks away, so
I chose to walk, hoping my nerves would calm down in the process.
Unfortunately, they only ended up making me walk faster. I got to
the Four Seasons in record time and wasn’t surprised to see that it
was, of course, top notch. If there’s a luxury hotel in any city,
leave it to Cooper to find it.

I arrived ten minutes early, so I set myself
up in a comfy chair to deep breathe and hopefully calm down. I
found it hard to meditate since the people-watching was so
spectacular, but at least the view gave me something other than
Cooper to think about. I focused on a small group of businessmen
who must’ve been in a meeting. They were yelling at a laptop in
Italian, hands flying passionately in the air.

A pack of beautiful women clipped past them
in their stiletto heels and even in the midst of the men’s debate,
all of them turned their heads to check out the women. The men
actually had a moment of silence, smiled knowingly at one another,
and then resumed their wild gesturing.

I smoothed my hair, feeling suddenly frumpy
and self-conscious as I thought about the Italians and their candid
appreciation for beauty. Why hadn’t I interrupted their meeting
when I walked by moments earlier?

The ding of the elevator doors opening
interrupted my soliloquy of insecurity. My heartbeat quickened, and
a feeling of relief washed over me when I realized Cooper wasn’t in
it. A couple walked off, hand in hand, lost in a world of their
own. Even their shiny gold wedding bands screamed happiness. I
watched them disappear through the hotel doors and I wanted to run
out after them.

What was I doing? My anxiety was in
overdrive, and I suddenly wished I could just shit-can the whole
thing. What if he saw me and decided I wasn’t worth the trek? Would
he regret coming? What would we talk about? Where would we even
begin? I sat on the edge of an antique chair and firmly planted my
hands on my knees to keep them from knocking.