isn’t up to anything.”
She terminated the conversation as quickly as she could. “I’ll call you in a day or two, Father, and let you know what I can do.” Why hadn’t she told him no? That he could hire someone to help with her mother. Wasn’t she ever going to stand up to her father, stop begging for his approval? She closed her office door, kicked off her shoes, and began analysis of her financial situation to determine the effect of a move to Frederick, Maryland. Her father was insensitive in some ways, but she’d never known him to lie. Maybe her mother didn’t want to worry her by admitting that she was ill. She thought for a while. Yes, that would be consistent with her mother’s personality. Three hours later she walked down the corridor and knocked on the door of two lawyers who’d just begun their practice. If they agreed to her proposal, she’d move her business to Frederick. Later that afternoon she telephoned Burke’s Moving Managers and set a date.
* * *
Melissa entered her apartment that evening and looked around at the miscellaneous artifacts that had eased her life and given her pleasure for the five years she’d lived there. She loved her home, but she could make another one, she rationalized, fighting the tears. Ilona’s phone call saved her a case of melancholy.
“Melissa, darling, come down for a coffee. I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“You saw me yesterday when I was hailing a taxi. Give me a minute to change.”
Ilona hadn’t indicated that she had a guest, and Melissa winced when she saw the debonair man. A boutonniere was all he needed to complete the picture of a Hungarian count. Melissa had dressed suitably for one packing to leave town with all of her belongings, but not for the company of an old-world gentleman. At times she could throttle Ilona.
“You and Tibor remember each other, don’t you?” Ilona asked with an air of innocence that belied her matchmaking, as she placed three glasses of hot espresso and a silver dish of chocolates on the coffee table. They nodded. Melissa suppressed a laugh. She was glad he didn’t click his heels, though he did bow and kiss the hand that she’d been tempted to hide behind her. After a half hour of such dullness that not even Ilona’s considerable assets as a hostess could enliven, Tibor bowed, kissed Melissa’s hand once more, and left. Ilona turned to Melissa.
“He is crushed, darling. He has been begging me to invite you down when he is here, so last night I promised him that if he came over this evening, I would ask you, too. I couldn’t warn you to wear something feminine, because then you’d give me an excuse not to come down. But Melissa, darling, you could have showed him a little interest.” At the quirk of Melissa’s eyebrow, Ilona added, “Just for fun, darling. A real woman is never above a little harmless flirtation.” The more Ilona talked, the stronger her accent became.
“Ilona, you spend too much time thinking about men. I’ve—”
Ilona interrupted her, clearly aghast at such blasphemy. “Melissa, darling, that’s not possible. Ah...wait a minute. What happened with that man?”
“Nothing happened. He built a fire, and he’s going away for a couple of months. Before you ask, the fire is still raging.”
Melissa looked with amusement at Ilona’s open-mouthed astonishment. “You mean he didn’t take you to bed? What kind of man is this?” Both shoulders tightened in a shrug, and her palms spread outward as if acknowledging the incredulous.
“He’s your kind of man, Ilona, believe me.” She grinned as Ilona shrugged again, this time in disbelief. “Anyway, that’s irrelevant now. I’m moving back to Frederick.”
“You couldn’t be serious, darling. The town doesn’t even have a ballet company—you told me so yourself. Who could live in such a place?” Ilona would have been a wonderful actress, Melissa decided, grinning broadly, as she took in her friend’s mercurial facial
She terminated the conversation as quickly as she could. “I’ll call you in a day or two, Father, and let you know what I can do.” Why hadn’t she told him no? That he could hire someone to help with her mother. Wasn’t she ever going to stand up to her father, stop begging for his approval? She closed her office door, kicked off her shoes, and began analysis of her financial situation to determine the effect of a move to Frederick, Maryland. Her father was insensitive in some ways, but she’d never known him to lie. Maybe her mother didn’t want to worry her by admitting that she was ill. She thought for a while. Yes, that would be consistent with her mother’s personality. Three hours later she walked down the corridor and knocked on the door of two lawyers who’d just begun their practice. If they agreed to her proposal, she’d move her business to Frederick. Later that afternoon she telephoned Burke’s Moving Managers and set a date.
* * *
Melissa entered her apartment that evening and looked around at the miscellaneous artifacts that had eased her life and given her pleasure for the five years she’d lived there. She loved her home, but she could make another one, she rationalized, fighting the tears. Ilona’s phone call saved her a case of melancholy.
“Melissa, darling, come down for a coffee. I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“You saw me yesterday when I was hailing a taxi. Give me a minute to change.”
Ilona hadn’t indicated that she had a guest, and Melissa winced when she saw the debonair man. A boutonniere was all he needed to complete the picture of a Hungarian count. Melissa had dressed suitably for one packing to leave town with all of her belongings, but not for the company of an old-world gentleman. At times she could throttle Ilona.
“You and Tibor remember each other, don’t you?” Ilona asked with an air of innocence that belied her matchmaking, as she placed three glasses of hot espresso and a silver dish of chocolates on the coffee table. They nodded. Melissa suppressed a laugh. She was glad he didn’t click his heels, though he did bow and kiss the hand that she’d been tempted to hide behind her. After a half hour of such dullness that not even Ilona’s considerable assets as a hostess could enliven, Tibor bowed, kissed Melissa’s hand once more, and left. Ilona turned to Melissa.
“He is crushed, darling. He has been begging me to invite you down when he is here, so last night I promised him that if he came over this evening, I would ask you, too. I couldn’t warn you to wear something feminine, because then you’d give me an excuse not to come down. But Melissa, darling, you could have showed him a little interest.” At the quirk of Melissa’s eyebrow, Ilona added, “Just for fun, darling. A real woman is never above a little harmless flirtation.” The more Ilona talked, the stronger her accent became.
“Ilona, you spend too much time thinking about men. I’ve—”
Ilona interrupted her, clearly aghast at such blasphemy. “Melissa, darling, that’s not possible. Ah...wait a minute. What happened with that man?”
“Nothing happened. He built a fire, and he’s going away for a couple of months. Before you ask, the fire is still raging.”
Melissa looked with amusement at Ilona’s open-mouthed astonishment. “You mean he didn’t take you to bed? What kind of man is this?” Both shoulders tightened in a shrug, and her palms spread outward as if acknowledging the incredulous.
“He’s your kind of man, Ilona, believe me.” She grinned as Ilona shrugged again, this time in disbelief. “Anyway, that’s irrelevant now. I’m moving back to Frederick.”
“You couldn’t be serious, darling. The town doesn’t even have a ballet company—you told me so yourself. Who could live in such a place?” Ilona would have been a wonderful actress, Melissa decided, grinning broadly, as she took in her friend’s mercurial facial
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