odd dining alone. Some people might choose to bring a book or a Kindle e-reader, but she preferred to people watch. She sipped her coffee and it wasn’t long before her food was delivered by a beautiful older woman with a short shock of white hair, tanned skin and beautiful teeth. Her nametag simply read “Jan.”
The salad was delicious, and Justine quickly cleaned her plate and then left a good tip. She walked back out onto the sidewalk. She had the card for the carpenter, found the street, two blocks to the south of the marina, and saw a sign for the shop.
The building was a ramshackle place with dirty windows, a gravel drive off to the side, and some landscaping that could use a little, or a lot of, maintenance.
If this was a sign of the guy’s quality of work, Justine figured she might not have the right man for the job.
A big Closed sign hung in the door.
Well, she had the phone number; she would call first thing in the morning, although at this point, her hopes were pretty low.
3.
The bang exploded in Justine’s ears and she nearly leapt from her bed. She sat bolt upright, her heart racing, totally disoriented. For a moment, she thought she was back in Manhattan, in the penthouse apartment and one of her husband’s associates-
She pushed the image from her mind.
That was her old life.
That was gone.
Justine realized the sound had come from the damn window in the reception office that refused to stay shut and flew open every time there was a strong gust of wind. She had slept with her windows open and even though her condo was past the office, she could still hear the sound in all of its obnoxiousness.
That damn carpenter better be able to at least fix that, although judging by the state of the man’s squalid shop, even that might prove to be too monumental a task.
Justine swung out of bed, started a pot of coffee, waited for it to finish, then took her cup out onto the patio facing the ocean.
It was a beautiful morning, with a hint of orange above the water’s horizon. ‘Red sky at morn, sailors be warned,’ Justine thought. It was a phrase her father often said, along with ‘red sky at night, sailor’s delight.’
Her parents were both gone, her mother from cancer and her Dad less than a year later from loneliness. Oh, there had been some other symptoms–blood pressure, irregular heart beats, etc., but Justine knew that her Dad had lived and breathed for his wife, and that once she was gone, it had robbed him of any will to keep going.
What a thought , she mused, the sarcasm coming through strong. A man who cherishes his wife. Those kinds of guys are long gone, she thought. Her ex-husband, case in point.
Oh sure, when she’d first met Daniel Giovanni he’d certainly played the part of a man who knew how to put a woman first. This had been after her parents died and she didn’t know any better, was looking for someone to spend her life with. She had never been so lonely.
Daniel was an up-and-coming stockbroker (or so she thought) in Chicago and he swept her off her feet. They were married within six months of meeting and only after they’d returned from their honeymoon did she start to get an inkling that something wasn’t right.
For instance, he was hardly ever home, always working, he said. When she wanted to visit him at his office, he always found a reason to say no. It wasn’t until much later that she realized why.
Literally shaking her head to rid herself of even the tiniest thought of the despicable man, she finished her coffee, went back inside and showered, changed her clothes and went up to the office.
It was going to be a busy day. The first of her guests were arriving, and the young woman who was going to be her full-time employee and man the office would be starting today.
The cleaning service (Justine made a mental note to meet with them as soon as possible) had already gone through but Justine double
The salad was delicious, and Justine quickly cleaned her plate and then left a good tip. She walked back out onto the sidewalk. She had the card for the carpenter, found the street, two blocks to the south of the marina, and saw a sign for the shop.
The building was a ramshackle place with dirty windows, a gravel drive off to the side, and some landscaping that could use a little, or a lot of, maintenance.
If this was a sign of the guy’s quality of work, Justine figured she might not have the right man for the job.
A big Closed sign hung in the door.
Well, she had the phone number; she would call first thing in the morning, although at this point, her hopes were pretty low.
3.
The bang exploded in Justine’s ears and she nearly leapt from her bed. She sat bolt upright, her heart racing, totally disoriented. For a moment, she thought she was back in Manhattan, in the penthouse apartment and one of her husband’s associates-
She pushed the image from her mind.
That was her old life.
That was gone.
Justine realized the sound had come from the damn window in the reception office that refused to stay shut and flew open every time there was a strong gust of wind. She had slept with her windows open and even though her condo was past the office, she could still hear the sound in all of its obnoxiousness.
That damn carpenter better be able to at least fix that, although judging by the state of the man’s squalid shop, even that might prove to be too monumental a task.
Justine swung out of bed, started a pot of coffee, waited for it to finish, then took her cup out onto the patio facing the ocean.
It was a beautiful morning, with a hint of orange above the water’s horizon. ‘Red sky at morn, sailors be warned,’ Justine thought. It was a phrase her father often said, along with ‘red sky at night, sailor’s delight.’
Her parents were both gone, her mother from cancer and her Dad less than a year later from loneliness. Oh, there had been some other symptoms–blood pressure, irregular heart beats, etc., but Justine knew that her Dad had lived and breathed for his wife, and that once she was gone, it had robbed him of any will to keep going.
What a thought , she mused, the sarcasm coming through strong. A man who cherishes his wife. Those kinds of guys are long gone, she thought. Her ex-husband, case in point.
Oh sure, when she’d first met Daniel Giovanni he’d certainly played the part of a man who knew how to put a woman first. This had been after her parents died and she didn’t know any better, was looking for someone to spend her life with. She had never been so lonely.
Daniel was an up-and-coming stockbroker (or so she thought) in Chicago and he swept her off her feet. They were married within six months of meeting and only after they’d returned from their honeymoon did she start to get an inkling that something wasn’t right.
For instance, he was hardly ever home, always working, he said. When she wanted to visit him at his office, he always found a reason to say no. It wasn’t until much later that she realized why.
Literally shaking her head to rid herself of even the tiniest thought of the despicable man, she finished her coffee, went back inside and showered, changed her clothes and went up to the office.
It was going to be a busy day. The first of her guests were arriving, and the young woman who was going to be her full-time employee and man the office would be starting today.
The cleaning service (Justine made a mental note to meet with them as soon as possible) had already gone through but Justine double
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