and pointed out the elegant solitaire.
“ It’s beautiful. It looks just like you, Susan,” he said warmly. He put his arm around me and gave me a light squeeze. “Maybe someday,” he said.
Sometimes I think Darby and I shared the same brain waves. He knew me so well and could easily tell what I was thinking most of the time. I leaned my head agains t him for a second before asking , “Are you ready? Do you know how you want to pitch this?”
“I’m definitely ready,” he said confidently. “Especially after seeing the showroom, I’m convinced I’m on track with what they want.” He looked at his watch. “Susan, you have a good day and stay out of trouble.” He kissed me on my nose. “I’ll leave my cell phone on. If you call, I’ll know it’s important, and I’ll answer; otherwise, I’ll see you back in the room no later than 6:30. Don’t forget, Bernardo and Armand have tickets for all of us to see Anything Goes on Broadway tonight.” Bernardo and Armand were the Angelo Brothers.
“I won’t forget ,” I said smiling . “ I’m sure I’ll find something new to wear in my travels today.”
He walked toward the office, and I noticed one of the clerks motioning for him to take a seat outside the door.
I con tinued to look around in the cases. I liked jewelry but didn’t usually wear more than simple earrings or an occasional bracelet. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to w ear jewelry, but playing racquetball as hard as I did didn’t lend itself to being adorned, and I disliked taking it off and putting it on all the time.
The cases of necklaces were next. Some of the pieces were stunning. I could definitely use a necklace or two to add style to plain winter sweate rs. The prices ranged from reasonable to off -the- chart unaffordable.
“I’d like to see this one,” I said to the clerk as I pointed to a pretty necklace in white gold with a swirled geometric shape for the pendant. Within the white gold swirl, following the same lines, flowed pink mother of pearl. It was lovely. I definitely wanted this piece. “I’ll take it,” I told her with a smile.
Another clerk brought a box to the counter and started removing more necklaces to be added to the case. Two pieces jumped out at me right away. One was an exquisite pink morganite with several dark, lime-green peridots worked around the gem and into the white gold chain necklace. It was vibrant and gave the effect of a flower and petals. There was nothing else like it in the case, and I wondered if it was custom-made and one-of-a-kind.
The other piece was a simple oval of black jade with a 24-carat gold symbol of an ancient Chinese musical instrument on the front. It was hanging on a multi-colored silk cord in dark shades of blue, green, and pu rple. My first thought was that my mother would love it. I placed it with the other two necklaces and said happily, “I’ll take all three.” I only flinched a little when I was given the final price.
Darby was still sitting by the office door when I was ready to leave. I gave him a little wave and a smile as I walked out the door and into the big city - by myself.
I walked one block south on Fifth Avenue and noticed a café on the corner. I entered , ordered a steaming cup of white tea with jasmine, and sat down to plan my day.
We had checked into the St. Regis hotel around 11:00 P.M. the night before and could barely believe the amazing suite we were ushered into. It had a spacious living room, a large bedroom, and a full marble bathroom. There was even a separate powder room off of the main entryway. The bedroom h ad one king-size bed. Darby looked at me and said, “Oops. I’ll sleep on the sofa in the living room.”
“Don’t be silly,” I told him. “We know each other well enough to share a bed, and it’s not like we haven’t ended up in the same bed before anyway.” I checked the closet and found extra linens on the shelf. I tossed a sheet and blanket to Darby and said,
“ It’s beautiful. It looks just like you, Susan,” he said warmly. He put his arm around me and gave me a light squeeze. “Maybe someday,” he said.
Sometimes I think Darby and I shared the same brain waves. He knew me so well and could easily tell what I was thinking most of the time. I leaned my head agains t him for a second before asking , “Are you ready? Do you know how you want to pitch this?”
“I’m definitely ready,” he said confidently. “Especially after seeing the showroom, I’m convinced I’m on track with what they want.” He looked at his watch. “Susan, you have a good day and stay out of trouble.” He kissed me on my nose. “I’ll leave my cell phone on. If you call, I’ll know it’s important, and I’ll answer; otherwise, I’ll see you back in the room no later than 6:30. Don’t forget, Bernardo and Armand have tickets for all of us to see Anything Goes on Broadway tonight.” Bernardo and Armand were the Angelo Brothers.
“I won’t forget ,” I said smiling . “ I’m sure I’ll find something new to wear in my travels today.”
He walked toward the office, and I noticed one of the clerks motioning for him to take a seat outside the door.
I con tinued to look around in the cases. I liked jewelry but didn’t usually wear more than simple earrings or an occasional bracelet. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to w ear jewelry, but playing racquetball as hard as I did didn’t lend itself to being adorned, and I disliked taking it off and putting it on all the time.
The cases of necklaces were next. Some of the pieces were stunning. I could definitely use a necklace or two to add style to plain winter sweate rs. The prices ranged from reasonable to off -the- chart unaffordable.
“I’d like to see this one,” I said to the clerk as I pointed to a pretty necklace in white gold with a swirled geometric shape for the pendant. Within the white gold swirl, following the same lines, flowed pink mother of pearl. It was lovely. I definitely wanted this piece. “I’ll take it,” I told her with a smile.
Another clerk brought a box to the counter and started removing more necklaces to be added to the case. Two pieces jumped out at me right away. One was an exquisite pink morganite with several dark, lime-green peridots worked around the gem and into the white gold chain necklace. It was vibrant and gave the effect of a flower and petals. There was nothing else like it in the case, and I wondered if it was custom-made and one-of-a-kind.
The other piece was a simple oval of black jade with a 24-carat gold symbol of an ancient Chinese musical instrument on the front. It was hanging on a multi-colored silk cord in dark shades of blue, green, and pu rple. My first thought was that my mother would love it. I placed it with the other two necklaces and said happily, “I’ll take all three.” I only flinched a little when I was given the final price.
Darby was still sitting by the office door when I was ready to leave. I gave him a little wave and a smile as I walked out the door and into the big city - by myself.
I walked one block south on Fifth Avenue and noticed a café on the corner. I entered , ordered a steaming cup of white tea with jasmine, and sat down to plan my day.
We had checked into the St. Regis hotel around 11:00 P.M. the night before and could barely believe the amazing suite we were ushered into. It had a spacious living room, a large bedroom, and a full marble bathroom. There was even a separate powder room off of the main entryway. The bedroom h ad one king-size bed. Darby looked at me and said, “Oops. I’ll sleep on the sofa in the living room.”
“Don’t be silly,” I told him. “We know each other well enough to share a bed, and it’s not like we haven’t ended up in the same bed before anyway.” I checked the closet and found extra linens on the shelf. I tossed a sheet and blanket to Darby and said,
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