Page 9 of Beg, Borrow, or Steal

“Good! You’re still in town!” she says while walking at such a sharp clip that her bouncy, very fluffy hair bobs with every step.

At the sound of Carol’s voice, Emily’s head whips in her direction and she snaps her laptop shut.Guilty indeed.

“Did I forget something in your office?” I ask when she approaches the table.

Carol does a double take between me and Emily sitting here together and seems to be pleasantly surprised. Actually, hesitantly happy might be a better way to put it. I haven’t been in Rome very often outside of school hours, but I’ve attended enough community events to have made an impression where Emily and I are concerned.

“Emily, hi, hon! Good to see you.” And oddly, I know she means it. Everyone around here likes Emily for reasons I’ve never been privy to. Her gaze swings to me as she sets a piece of paper and a pen in front of me. “Jack, you left this page in your contract unsigned.”

“Oh—sorry about that.” I pull it to me and click my pen open. It’s a struggle sometimes to remember to sign my real name and not my pseudonym. Which sounds like a douchey thing to say, but it is what it is.

Emily is watching me closely—her blond bangs, the same color as melted gold, curling up tighter and tighter on the edges with each passing second. “What contract?”

Carol smiles at her. “For his new house here in Rome. We just closed this morning.”

Emily looks like she might be sick, and that thought gives me far too much joy. “Here? In Rome? You’re moving…to Rome? Permanently?”

“Correct.” I hand Carol the paper with a smile that makes her blush. “And Carol, you’ve been incredible to work with. Thank you for your attention to detail.”

Emily butts in again. “Are you sure you didn’t mean to move to Rome, Italy? No one would fault you considering your IQ,” she says, batting her eyes with over-the-top innocence.

“Why would I move to Italy? My favorite corner table is right here.”

Carol’s shoulders are growing more rigid by the minute. She would rather be anywhere but here. “I guess this is going to be interesting for you two, isn’t it?” Carol asks, gesturing between me and Emily.

“Oh no…there’s noyou twowhere Jack and I are concerned.”

“Well, no, I meant with you two being neighbors now and all.”

Both my and Emily’s eyes zero in on Carol. I lean forward slightly. “Come again?”

The longer she looks between us, the less I like the expression on her face. It’s slowly melting—like a realization is dawning that she doesn’t want to share. “Wait. You didn’t know?”

I shake my head at a loss. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

“Oh god.” Carol grimaces.

Emily seems to reach an understanding first. She sits back heavily in her seat. “Carol…don’t tell me…”

“He bought Old Pete’s place.”

“No,” Emily whispers hauntingly.

“Yes.”

I look at Carol and then Emily. “Who’s Pete?”

No one acknowledges me.

“Carol! You’re joking! That place is half-rotten and falling down.” Well, now I know we’re all talking about the same place at least.

“Who is Pete?” I ask again, this time getting Carol’s attention.

She looks at me with sympathy. “I’m sorry, Jack. I thought you knew.”

“Knewwhat?”

“The house you bought…it’s directly next door to…” Her eyes slowly trace a line to the woman who would like to scoop me out of her life with a melon baller.

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