Tales From a Broad (38 page)

* * * *

The next morning, as the sun crept into my
room and the sounds of Florence entered, I woke up with a smile on
my face—until I opened my eyes and saw my empty cup of gelato.
Memories rushed back from the night before.

After talking to Morgan, I had thrown myself
a gelato-fueled pity party, while reliving all of my moments with
Simon and wondering how I was going to move on alone in New York.
Finally, exhausted and out of gelato, I had dried my eyes with a
napkin, thrown it into the empty cup, and set the cup on top of
Simon’s sketch before passing out on top of the sheets. Now when I
focused on the cup, I nearly burst into tears again.

“Oh no.” I reached for the cup. As I lifted
it, a chocolate ring was left behind, circling the beautiful patch
of roses Simon had drawn. I couldn’t hold back the tears that
filled my eyes any longer, and I fell back onto the bed,
sobbing.

“I thought things were supposed to look
better in the morning,
Morgan
. This is all I have left of
Simon,” I yelled at the ceiling.

Tears slid off my cheeks and dripped onto my
neck. I jumped to my feet and rubbed my eyes. I just had to get out
of the room, even though my legs had returned to the
depression-induced lead-like state they were in before I had
embarked on the journey. I forced myself to get dressed and decided
to walk over to the piazza to grab a coffee. Maybe caffeine would
help.

Because it was a Sunday morning, the piazza
was fairly dead. I forced a returned smile at an older couple who
sat nestled on a bench with a shared newspaper splayed across their
laps. Church bells rang in the distance, and a pair of nuns
speed-walked down the cobblestone street, arms linked together. As
I watched them turn a corner I suddenly felt like a missing link
with no one to hold onto. There were a few other people passing
through, and as I looked for a good place to wallow, a familiar
face caught my eye.

I did a double take and confirmed I was
right. It was Mark’s friend, Chaz. As I looked at him stretched out
on a chair, with his backpack as a footrest, an alarm went off in
my head. If Chaz was here, then Simon must be, too.

I hurried over in his direction, causing my
just-purchased cappuccino to splash on my arm. I probably burned
off a patch of arm hair, but I didn’t care. I was too happy to feel
pain.

“Chaz? Do you remember me?” I said when I was
a few feet away. My hand shook as he turned to look up at me. I
grasped the cup more firmly with both hands to hold it steady.

Chaz’s face broke into a grin. “Remember
you?” He jumped to his feet. “How could I forget the hottest cougar
I’ve ever met in my life?”

In London he had offended me, but today, I
was too excited to be put off by his backhanded compliment. “I
thought you were in Rome? With Simon, no?” I wondered if my tone
sounded as light as I had intended.

“We were.” Chaz casually pulled up a chair
for me to join him. “Where by the way, I spent the entire night
listening to Simon go on and on and
on
about you. I told
him, ‘dude you should’ve tapped that...’”

My heartbeat quickened and I sat on my hands
to keep them steady. “He mentioned me?”

“That would be an understatement. You do
realize you were the reason he left Florence, right?”

“Um...”

“He couldn’t stand the thought of seeing you
and your boyfriend another day.”

“But he came back with you, right?”
Please
God, please, please, please
....

“No,” Chaz frowned. “He’s flying home
tomorrow.”

I closed my eyes in despair and swallowed the
lump that had risen in my throat. Unfortunately, my tear ducts
didn’t get the message. Before I knew it, tears rolled down my
cheeks. I looked at Chaz apologetically.

“I’m sorry.” I sniffed. “You must think I’m
crazy. It’s just that... I blew it. Big time.”

I buried my face in my hands. “I know I just
met the guy, and it sounds silly, but I felt more for him than I
felt for my ex. We broke up by the way.” I looked back at Chaz and
paused to wipe my running nose with my sleeve. “Of course, this all
becomes clear to me when it’s too late.” I sniffled and my nose
made an unattractive sound. “Still think I’m hot?” I said weakly
through my tears, trying to cover up my embarrassment.

Chaz handed me the napkin that had been
wrapped around his coffee cup. Showing more maturity than I would
have given him credit for, he seemed to know better than to respond
to my question.

I continued to babble. “Thank you.” I
sniffed, taking the tissue. “I was so afraid to put myself out
there that I tried to focus on the negatives, which weren’t really
so negative after all. I kept telling myself Simon was too young,
too unsettled... Like it really matters that he’s a camp counselor?
It all seems so silly now, and—”

Chaz held one hand in the air and the other
to his throat as he struggled to swallow the sip of coffee he had
just taken.

“Are you okay?” I leaned toward him.

Chaz nodded and drew in a breath. “Holy shit
balls, I totally thought I was gonna spit that all over you.
Simon’s not a camp counselor!” He laughed so hard his shoulders
shook.

I looked at him quizzically. “Yes he is. He
told me he works at a camp.” I used the tissue to wipe my eyes.

“He owns the damn camp. He started like three
of them for underprivileged kids from inner cities. I think he’s
opening two more in New York, actually.”

“What?” I gasped, unable to believe what I
heard.

How had I misunderstood something like that?
My mind raced as I thought back to all the conversations Simon and
I had had about his job. There weren’t many now that I thought of
it. Suddenly I was angry. I had certainly referred to his job as
‘camp counselor’ enough times. He could have corrected me. Had he
been laughing at me all that time?

“Why didn’t he tell me this?”

Chaz shrugged. “Who knows? The man’s a
mystery.”

Suddenly, Simon wasn’t who I thought he was,
and I felt stupid for not seeing him more clearly. Here I had been
beating myself up for not being truthful with him or with myself,
thinking he was a model of honesty and openness. But, it turns out,
he’d kept the truth from me, too.

“If you ask me, the man’s a liar,” I
accused.

“No,” Chaz said with a finger in the air. “I
don’t think so. Simon isn’t like that. Think about it, Lucy. Did he
lie? Or did you just assume?”

I thought back again to my conversations with
Simon. Oh God. Chaz was right. Simon had never said he was a
counselor. I had been so preoccupied with myself, I had jumped to
conclusions about his job. About him, really. I looked down at my
feet as confusion swept over me again.

“Yeah, I guess, but—”

“But nothing. You know what they say about
people who assume,” Chaz said in a know-it-all tone.

“They make an ass out of you and me,” I
mocked, looking up again. “That’s exactly what I feel like. A big,
fat ass.” I crossed my arms and sighed.

“Let’s not get carried away now.” Chaz winked
before peeking around my chair to get a glimpse of my butt. So much
for Mr. Mature.

I shot him a look in return and sat up
straighter. “I just can’t believe he allowed me to think that.
You’d think he’d be proud enough to say it.”

“I’d say, and I would probably use it as a
pickup line myself. But not everyone needs to walk around touting
their goodness.” He removed a pastry from his bag and held it out
to me. “Bite?”

I detected the faint smell of sugar and
cinnamon and paused to swallow. “No thanks,” I sniffed before
heaving another long sigh. “I guess you’re right.”

I watched him take a bite and had to admit
that those were pretty insightful comments coming from a perv named
Chaz. Everyone was just full of surprises. I stared absentmindedly
across the piazza.

“I can’t believe this,” I murmured after a
few minutes had passed. “Who is this guy? It’s like I don’t even
know him.”

“Please, that’s nothing.” Chaz looked both
ways and leaned towards me. “I’m assuming he probably didn’t tell
you how he made his fortune either, huh?”

My mouth dropped open. I stared at Chaz. I
was completely dumbfounded. Simon had a fortune? A fortune he had
earned himself?

“Of course he didn’t,” Chaz said hitting his
own head. “Two minutes ago you thought he was a camp
counselor.”

“So?” I drew in a breath, as I waited for
Chaz to elaborate. “Let me guess. He saved a child from a burning
building and got a handsome reward?”

“No, but that’s a good one,” Chaz said with a
laugh. “Nothing quite so noble. More along the lines of
intelligent.” I leaned my elbows on the table, eager to hear more.
“He invented some sort of gadget, so business travelers can work
wirelessly in flight. That’s all I know. The only reason I even
know that is because he has major pull with one of the
airlines.”

I massaged my temples and looked down at the
table. “Unbelievable,” I muttered. “I can’t believe he kept all of
that a secret. Why?” I was feeling completely offended. “You think
you know someone...” I trailed off and shook my head.

I jumped up and looked down at Chaz, who had
been staring at me curiously. “I’m sorry, but inventing something
was definitely worth a mention. That’s part of who he is, for
shit’s sake. He told me his summer job takes up so much time that
he likes to take the rest of the year off.”

“And?” Chaz shrugged his shoulder
nonchalantly.

I shook my head at Chaz’s ignorance. “Maybe
that would’ve been a good time to tell me about his little
invention? How it afforded him the opportunity to live like a
laid-back wanderer?”

Chaz scratched his head. “Yeah, you got a
point.”

“Thank you.” I smiled sarcastically. “Listen,
I have to go. I don’t mean to be rude.”

Chaz scratched his head and leaned back in
his chair. “Where are you going? Are you okay? I feel bad leaving
you like this.”

“You’re not leaving me. I’m leaving you.” I
attempted a smile. “I’ll be fine. I’m booked on a four o’clock
flight this afternoon, so I better go pack and all that fun stuff.
Plus, I’m going to spend the morning with Tess. One last fling
before I leave.”

I realized I was babbling, but my mind was
racing with everything I’d just heard. I wanted to get away and
think it through, on my own.

“Nice seeing you again, Chaz.” I cut off my
babbling with a short wave before starting to walk away.

“You too, Lucy.” Chaz kicked his feet onto
the chair I’d been sitting on and took another bite of his
pastry.

I turned around one last time as the scent of
his breakfast wafted toward me. My stomach grumbled. “Where did you
get that?”

Chaz pointed his finger towards a small
pastry shop tucked away in the corner of the piazza. “Get the
Torta di Ricotta
,” he said, once he finished chewing.

“Thanks.”

“Lucy?” Chaz waved his phone in the air. “I
have Simon’s email address if you want to get in touch. Or you
could find him on Twitter if that’s your thing.”

“Nah, I have nothing to say.” I turned around
and went in search of my last indulgent Italian breakfast.

I was too down and out to tweet. I needed to
eat. My mind wandered as I kicked a small rock down the cobblestone
street.

If only I could kick my thoughts of Simon to
the curb. I wished we’d never met. No, that wasn’t true
.
I
knew now that I wasn’t dead inside and I was capable of enjoying
another man’s company. Simon showed me those things.

If we hadn’t met, maybe I wouldn’t have
realized the type of man I could have. Hell, maybe I’d still think
Cooper was Mr. Right. Boy, had I been wrong. So maybe I was in a
better place than where I’d started from.

I’d spent the past three months mourning the
loss of Cooper. I’d completely glamorized who he was and how he’d
made me feel and embellished the relationship we’d shared. At least
my eyes had been opened, and I had a true sense of resolution on
that front. I kicked the rock hard and watched it disappear across
the courtyard. Closure.

* * * *

After I devoured my
Torta di Ricotta,
along with the one I had bought for Tess, I headed back to the
pensione. I was in the midst of a packing debacle when I heard a
knock at the door.

“Aunt Lu? It’s me.”

“It’s open,” I called out.

Tess walked into the room and eyed my
overstuffed backpack on the bed.

“Hi,” I said, cringing.

“You didn’t change your mind?” Tess wrinkled
her nose and plopped down on my bed. The white halter dress she
wore brought out her tan, and she looked fresh and clean with wet
hair that hung loose down her bare back.

I bit my thumbnail and shook my head. “I’m
sorry.”

“I totally understand, Aunt Lu. Really.” She
placed a hand on her chest and looked at me gravely. “I can’t thank
you enough for coming with me in the first place. Thanks to you, I
met Mark.” Her eyes shone as she beamed at me.

“I’m so happy for you, Tessie. And let’s not
forget your new career.” I forced a smile, hoping to mask the
sadness I felt inside. “Is he going to go with you to Venice?”

She nodded eagerly, and I blinked rapidly to
keep the tears from falling.

“Well, promise me you will wear that
beautiful dress,” I sniffed. “You look gorgeous.”

I paused to wipe my eyes with a knuckle. “I
only have enough room in my backpack to take home what I came with.
I think Burberry, Chanel, and Prada should see more of Europe.” I
thrust a neatly folded pile of clothes into Tess’s arms. The tags
were still on most of the gifts Cooper had given me.

Tess clicked her tongue and had a wistful
look on her face. “Aunt Lu, thank you, but I don’t want you to
leave.” She pouted as she placed the pile onto a wooden chair. “I’m
excited to be with Mark, but if I had a choice, I would still
rather you come with us.”