Page 73 of Two Chances With You

“What is this, a treasure hunt?”

I blush again, and I open it.In that case, at eight o’clock, I’ll be outside your house. I’ll be expecting you. Don’t be late. P.S. Bring money. You never know.

I smile inwardly.

The waiter has finally popped the cork. He lifts the bottle, quickly fills the champagne flutes, serves them around, and turns to go.

“Excuse me, one more thing…”

“Yes?”

He turns on his heel and looks at me.

“But if I’d told you no, did you have another note?”

The waiter smiles and shakes his head. “No, in that case, he told me I was simply to remove the bottle.”

Chapter 25

Comfortable and relaxed, I’m well-dressed like never before, or at least I think so. I look at myself in the rearview mirror, and I can’t seem to recognize myself. Hair still wet from the shower I’ve just taken, navy-blue blazer, white dress shirt, and tan linen trousers, with a pair of dark brown leather American shoes. A wide belt with a big buckle, a dark brown leather that matches the shoes. Ah, I almost forgot my shirt buttoned up to the second-to-last button and my cell phone in my pocket. Me with a cell phone. I still can’t quite believe it. I can be reached anywhere I go, any time of the day or night, and therefore am never free.

As if by magic, or maybe just bad luck, naturally, it rings. Fuck, now of all times. I open the phone. You want to bet that Gin is running late or can’t go out? If that’s the case, I don’t give a damn. I’ll go straight over to her house and wait outside.

“Hello?”

“Step, what a relief. I’m glad you answered.”

It’s Paolo, but of course, how could I have failed to think of him?

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Step, something awful’s happened. Someone stole my car.”

“Damn it to hell. You made me think it might have been Mamma or Papà.”

“No, they’re fine. I went downstairs, and my Audi A4 was just gone. Fuck, how the hell do you think they did it? There’s no glass on the floor, so they couldn’t have shattered the side window. But the garage was wide open, and no one had pried it open or anything like that. How do you think they could have done it?”

“Hey, Pa, by now car thieves have really perfected their techniques, you know? And garages with remote openers? Nobody uses crowbars on those anymore. They have frequency-hacking devices. They just keep trying new frequencies until the garage opens.”

“Oh, right. I hadn’t thought of that. Fucking hell!”

I like hearing my brother pissed off like this. It makes him seem alive and, finally, fuck, he gets worked up. But still, worked up over things that don’t really matter, like his car. What does that amount to?

“Now of all times they decide to steal it. Last week I paid the final installment on the financing. They could have stolen it a year ago, at least then I’d have saved all that money.”

Such a cynic. An accountant, right down to the bottom of his shoes.

“Oh, well, Pa, what are you going to do about it anyway?”

“No, I was just hoping…”

“That I might have stolen it from you?”

“No, what, are you kidding? I mean, the keys and the duplicates are still here.”

“Ah, so for just a second there, you did think it, didn’t you?”

“No, it’s just that, I mean…”

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