“I objected all I could.”
“That’s true, Mr. Covington,” the judge said. “You went at a rapid pace.”
“I’m sorry if Ms. Casella couldn’t keep up, but I have a client to defend.”
“Don’t you feel at all bad about what you did to that boy?”
“Why should I? I did my job.”
“Still, Mr. Covington,” Judge Larson put in. “I expect better behavior from you the rest of the afternoon.”
Paul pretended not to care that he’d been scolded by the bench. But it stung. He was just doing his fucking job!
* * *
That night, around six, Hayley and Finn went to Washington Square Park to a local food-tasting festival. They strolled around in companionable silence. “Are you hungry?” she asked her brother.
“Yeah. Let’s try some of those spring rolls.” They headed to the Asian booth and Hayley purchased two of the rice-papers filled with mixed vegetables and meat. She handed Finn one and he took a bite. “Ouch…it needs to cool, so let’s sit.”
They slid onto a bench at a long picnic table filled with people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. She looked down the row. “I love this mixture of cultures that come to these kinds of things.”
“Me, too.” He gave her a knowing glance. “Are you going to talk about it?”
“About what?”
“About court today and what it was like to argue against Paul again?”
“No.”
“Your feelings won’t stop, you know. If you talk to me about what’s going on, you might be able to find some way out of this.”
“Hell. Being near him, even in court, widened the hole that’s been in my stomach since Saturday.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know what I have to do. I’ve been sad before. With every day that passes, I’ll be better.”
“Sadness like this is different. Loss like this is hard.”
“Maybe.” She eyed him carefully. “I had a date for lunch yesterday.”
“That should help. Tell me about it.”
“He’s a lawyer, and he was smug and self-absorbed. He talked about himself for the entire meal. Afterward, he had the gall to say he wanted to get to know me better.”
“The jerk.”
“I told him in essence to go to hell.”
“Good for you.”
Sighing, she took a tiny bite of the spring roll. “At least I handled him well.”
“Still thinking about Saturday?”
“I’m trying not to. That’s why I don’t want to talk about Paul. I can’t change my feelings overnight, so I need to put him out of my mind.”
“All right.”
“Now, when was your last date, buddy?”
“Hmm. I did hook up with Emma after her book signing. I wouldn’t exactly call it a date.”
“More of a booty call?”
“Not only that. I like her. She’s so smart, and talented. I can hardly keep up with her.”
“I doubt that. You’re the smartest man I know.”
“Why thank you, Sis. All those years of reading books, I guess.”
Hayley knew she shouldn’t ask. He got upset when she did. But damn it, he had talent. “Instead of writing them yourself.”
“Man, you haven’t asked about that since last year. A long time for you.”
“I’m sorry, but I read all the short stories you’ve written. You’ve got so much to offer the literary world.”
“I’m already offering the literary world a lot. As a matter of fact, the New York Times is printing an article in the Arts Section next Sunday designating the best independent bookstores in Manhattan. Guess who’s number one?”
“Fitzgerald’s? Talk about burying the lead. You should have told me right away.”
“I never brag.”
“Telling me isn’t bragging.” He talked more about his work as they finished their spring rolls.
She asked, “Still hungry?”
“Yeah, I read that they have an Italian booth that has the best lasagna in town.”
“I’m in.” She hooked arms with him. “I’m enjoying myself, Finn.” As much as she was able. “Thanks for suggesting this.”
“You’re welcome. I’m enjoying myself, too.”
* * *
In a little bistro in Brooklyn, the lobster was firm and fluffy. The couscous was cooked to perfection and the green beans crisp. But Paul was bored to death by his companion.
“So, my little fourth grader said, ‘Ms. Cameron, I got a nice uncle you should meet’.”
He smiled perfunctorily. He had to try hard to focus on Sara Cameron. She was kind, honest and solicitous. She wore her hair very short, but the style was flattering on her. He’d met her at a party one of his golf buddies gave, and found her entertaining then. That was before he got involved with Hayley.
Well, maybe she wasn’t boring. She just wasn’t the one he wanted to be with.
Tuning back in because he owed her that, he heard her say, “I’m shocked you asked me out, Paul.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re still a hero in New York. You can probably date any woman you want.”
So, I’m any man.
And I’m just another woman.
“Paul?”
“I wanted to ask you out.”
“Really?” she said. “You seem completely bored. Which is okay, because I don’t think you’re my type anyway. But I’m a good listener. Want to tell me about her?”
“Her, who?”
“The woman you’re preoccupied with.”
A chuckle. “Is it that obvious?”
“It is to me.”
If she could be this honest, so would he. “I recently got out of a relationship, and it still stings.”
“I’m sorry.”
“But I can’t talk about her with you.”
It was then that reality slammed into him. The only person he had to talk to about Hayley was his first date with another woman? What did that say about him?
“I understand. But cheer up, will you? It’s time for dessert.”
Her jovial attitude indeed cheered him up. He was glad for it. And hoped Sara Cameron found a man worthy of her.
Paul was restless as he walked back to his condo after he saw Sara to her car. Unable to bear going inside to an empty house, he headed to the garage, and in twenty minutes, he arrived at Little Poland in Greenpoint. This time, though, he parked right in front of his parents’ home and studied it. The place so small he couldn’t believe that five children were raised there. And he remembered
