Page 40 of Waves of Time

After they landed at San Francisco airport, Hilary and Aria collected their bags, grabbed a taxi, and headed off to the hotel Aria had begun to think of as their second home. Once there, the woman behind the front desk greeted them by name and asked the bellhops to take them to their typical suite. There, Hilary disappeared into her room for more than thirty minutes without a word before she re-emerged and said, “All right. Let’s go.”

Rodrick awaited them in his apartment, his little white dog yapping in his arms. “Darlings!” he cried as he opened the door, exuberant, and kissed them both on the cheek. Behind him, the apartment was, indeed, inching closer to Hilary and Aria’s vision. Aria had never seen something so dreamy. The golden wallpaper felt regal along the walls, and the exposed wood on the floor, which had been there since the historical building had been built, glinted with fresh shine. Curtains had been hung along the beautiful windows, and the old cabinets had been removed and replaced with wooden ones that brought the kitchen back to its historical origins.

“I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the work so far,” Rodrick said as they walked from room to room so that Hilary and Aria could investigate what still needed to be done. “I wanted to come over almost every day to see how it was going, but I find I’m much happier with the results when I wait for a week or so before I stop by.”

Hilary blinked strangely as she moved through the space, and Aria wondered if she could actually see everything. For this reason, Aria paid extra attention to every detail, hoping to pick up the slack for her mother.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if Hilary would ever be able to do a redesign like this again. Her heart shattered at the very thought.

In the living room, which was mostly completed, they sat on the beautiful vintage green couch, and Rodrick sat across from them on a chaise longue, where he chatted about all things San Francisco, the closing-out of the month of August, and how excited he was for autumn. Aria thought she’d never met a man as chatty as him.

“Oh! Hilary. I hope you don’t mind I say so,” Rodrick said, leaning toward the mother-daughter team, “But Frank called me several nights ago and told me, well, that he’s smitten with you.” Rodrick’s eyebrows bounced.

Hilary shifted on the green couch, seeming not to know what to say. “He’s been a wonderful client so far. We’ve only had a few meetings regarding the future of his home, but…”

Rodrick waved his hand. “Pardon me, Hilary, but I’ve had about enough interior design talk. I want the real gossip! Are you falling in love with him, too? Tell me you are. Frank is just about the most handsome man on the east coast, and you deserve someone who’s successful. Think of the life you could have together!”

Hilary’s face was difficult to read. If Aria had to guess, Hilary was probably awash in fears about what her eye diagnosis meant not only for her career, but for her dating life.Would Frank actually want to date someone with vision problems?

“Of course, Frank’s a remarkable man,” Hilary finally agreed, her voice wavering.

“A brilliant businessman,” Rodrick agreed. “He’s helped me out so many times. I call him the money wizard.”

Aria laughed, but it sounded false in her own ears. Hilary didn’t bother to laugh at all.

Over the next forty-five minutes, Hilary and Aria were professional, discussing the next steps in the redesign and what Hilary and Aria needed to do, including meetings with various contractors, during their current trip to San Francisco. Aria was impressed at how Hilary handled it, scribing notes to herself on her little notepad just like always and trying her best to get to the root of Rodrick’s vision for the place.

“This is why she’s the best,” Rodrick said to Aria, pointing to Hilary as he added, “She knows what the client wants even more than the client does!”

Aria nodded as she collected her things, trying to smile. “She really is the best.”

“It’s a privilege to work with you both. Now, all I have to do is buy another property so you two can flip it for me!” Rodrick said as he led them to the door. “I hope you have a brilliant evening out in my gorgeous city. Bundle up. It might drop into the fifties!”

Aria and Hilary promised him they would, then stepped into the elevator and rode toward the first floor, neither of them speaking.

“Maybe we should cancel on Dad tonight?” Aria suggested, her heart burning with worry. “I’m sure he’ll understand that we’re tired. That we traveled a long way.”

But when the elevator doors opened onto the first floor of Rodrick’s building, none other than Marc stood before them, again with a bouquet of flowers, this time peonies. He opened his arms to them and smiled that sinful smile of his, then said, “My girls are back. Welcome!”

ChapterFifteen

“This is a surprise.” Hilary did not sound pleased, proof that Aria had been right in her assumption that they needed to just go back to the hotel and rest.

Marc bent to kiss Hilary on the cheek, then turned to wrap Aria in a hug. Aria melted against her father, again overwhelmed at how complicated it was to see him, as it always filled her with a sense of loss for the years she would never get back with him.

“We were thinking about skipping dinner and going back to the hotel,” Aria said, watching as her father’s face crumpled up with surprise.

“Oh? Really?” Marc glanced at Hilary. “Are you okay?”

Hilary waved her hand. “We’re just fine. I don’t need to go back to the hotel. Do you, Aria?”

Aria’s lips parted. She tried to communicate with her eyes how worried she was, how much she needed her mother to be okay, but already, Hilary and Marc walked toward the front door, chatting about their flight, about the dinner reservation Marc had made that night.

At the door, Marc turned and looked at Aria, asking, “If you need to go back to the hotel, honey, we can drop you off there. If you don’t feel well, or…” He trailed off.

“I’m fine,” Aria assured him. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”

Marc took Hilary and Aria to a downtown Greek restaurant called Zorbas, where they lit everything on fire at the table before they served it to you. It was quite a show. Their waiter, a Greek guy named Kostos who couldn’t speak English very well, tried to explain the menu but just ended up saying that everything was “divine.” Apparently, that was the only English word he’d mastered so far. Eventually, they learned that Kostos had only moved to the U.S. three weeks ago and had been plunged into his grandfather’s famous restaurant as both a cook and a server.

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