me. Five minutes later I swivelled my chair to face him. “Tell me about Francine’s hacker.”
Colin looked up from his smartphone. “You are like quicksilver.”
“We no longer say quicksilver. It is archaic. It is called mercury. Why would you compare me to mercury? People who have mercurial temperaments are emotionally unstable. I am not emotionally unstable.”
“No, you are not. But you must admit that you are quick to change focus.”
I thought about this. “That is true. Now tell me about Francine’s hacker.”
“I assume you are talking about the hacker she was ranting about yesterday while in and out of consciousness?” He waited for my nod before he continued. “After you left Francine refused to talk to me. She said that she would only talk to you.”
“Why? I know she trusts you implicitly. Why wouldn’t she tell you?”
“I don’t know. No matter how I cajoled her, she would not tell me about the mugging, who attacked her or what some hacker has to do with any of this.”
“And you are here to convince me to speak to her.”
“Can we please first clear the air between us?” He leaned towards me. “I know one can never go back to how things were before, but I would like for you to give me the benefit of the doubt. I didn’t contact you for almost four months because my mission was sensitive and because I didn’t want to put you in danger. I bought the apartment next to you because I really like your apartment building, the area and of course I wanted to make sure you were safe. I didn’t tell you because–”
“You wanted to protect me.”
He sighed. “Yes.”
“I don’t want to talk about this any more.” If this discussion continued, I would confess to him how I had thought it was something about me that had made him and then Vinnie avoid me. The words were pushing against my teeth, waiting to be uttered. I also didn’t want to admit exactly how much I had missed him. And Vinnie.
“I need to know that we are good, Jenny.”
“I’m not sure what you mean. I’m more than good. I’m an expert at what I do.”
Colin laughed softly. “What I meant was that I need to know that things are okay between us. That you might trust me again.”
“Trust is earned.”
“Granted. And as I did in the past, I will show you that I am worthy of your trust.”
“Agreed. Now can we please change the topic? Where is Francine?”
“She’s in my apartment. She refused to stay longer in the hospital and we took her home this morning. Vinnie is with her.” Regret flashed across his face. “I’ve already moved my stuff into your apartment. Before we argue about that, you know this is the best choice. I respect that you don’t like change and that you might not want me in your apartment, but with recent events, I think it is wiser if Vinnie stays with Francine and I stay with you.”
I closed my eyes and wrote three lines of the second movement, the Larghetto, of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27, one of the pieces I used when I needed calming down. There was something so restful about E-flat major. Once my cognitive, rational side was in control again, I processed my observations of Colin while he had been talking. My eyes flew open. “It’s not about keeping me safe. This is about you not wanting to be close to Francine. Why not?”
“Gods, you are good. Francine is, how shall I say, not an excessively tidy person. Vinnie doesn’t mind this, he likes cleaning up. I can’t stand the kind of mess she creates. Once we were on a…” He stopped. I suspected he had been about to reveal some criminal activity. “We shared a hotel suite once and after a week I wanted to strangle that woman. Her underwear was everywhere, on the sofa, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, for God’s sake. Why couldn’t she keep it confined to her room? I nearly broke a leg stumbling over one of her boots lying in the middle of the living room. I even found potato chips in the bath tub. How did she
Colin looked up from his smartphone. “You are like quicksilver.”
“We no longer say quicksilver. It is archaic. It is called mercury. Why would you compare me to mercury? People who have mercurial temperaments are emotionally unstable. I am not emotionally unstable.”
“No, you are not. But you must admit that you are quick to change focus.”
I thought about this. “That is true. Now tell me about Francine’s hacker.”
“I assume you are talking about the hacker she was ranting about yesterday while in and out of consciousness?” He waited for my nod before he continued. “After you left Francine refused to talk to me. She said that she would only talk to you.”
“Why? I know she trusts you implicitly. Why wouldn’t she tell you?”
“I don’t know. No matter how I cajoled her, she would not tell me about the mugging, who attacked her or what some hacker has to do with any of this.”
“And you are here to convince me to speak to her.”
“Can we please first clear the air between us?” He leaned towards me. “I know one can never go back to how things were before, but I would like for you to give me the benefit of the doubt. I didn’t contact you for almost four months because my mission was sensitive and because I didn’t want to put you in danger. I bought the apartment next to you because I really like your apartment building, the area and of course I wanted to make sure you were safe. I didn’t tell you because–”
“You wanted to protect me.”
He sighed. “Yes.”
“I don’t want to talk about this any more.” If this discussion continued, I would confess to him how I had thought it was something about me that had made him and then Vinnie avoid me. The words were pushing against my teeth, waiting to be uttered. I also didn’t want to admit exactly how much I had missed him. And Vinnie.
“I need to know that we are good, Jenny.”
“I’m not sure what you mean. I’m more than good. I’m an expert at what I do.”
Colin laughed softly. “What I meant was that I need to know that things are okay between us. That you might trust me again.”
“Trust is earned.”
“Granted. And as I did in the past, I will show you that I am worthy of your trust.”
“Agreed. Now can we please change the topic? Where is Francine?”
“She’s in my apartment. She refused to stay longer in the hospital and we took her home this morning. Vinnie is with her.” Regret flashed across his face. “I’ve already moved my stuff into your apartment. Before we argue about that, you know this is the best choice. I respect that you don’t like change and that you might not want me in your apartment, but with recent events, I think it is wiser if Vinnie stays with Francine and I stay with you.”
I closed my eyes and wrote three lines of the second movement, the Larghetto, of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27, one of the pieces I used when I needed calming down. There was something so restful about E-flat major. Once my cognitive, rational side was in control again, I processed my observations of Colin while he had been talking. My eyes flew open. “It’s not about keeping me safe. This is about you not wanting to be close to Francine. Why not?”
“Gods, you are good. Francine is, how shall I say, not an excessively tidy person. Vinnie doesn’t mind this, he likes cleaning up. I can’t stand the kind of mess she creates. Once we were on a…” He stopped. I suspected he had been about to reveal some criminal activity. “We shared a hotel suite once and after a week I wanted to strangle that woman. Her underwear was everywhere, on the sofa, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, for God’s sake. Why couldn’t she keep it confined to her room? I nearly broke a leg stumbling over one of her boots lying in the middle of the living room. I even found potato chips in the bath tub. How did she
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