“You have to, if you want a working body,” he advised.

“I know, and I will.”

“How’s your mom doing?”

“Not as well as I. Her drugs don’t work anymore. Her doctor won’t tell me how long she’s got, but a doctor friend tells me only a few weeks. As he put it, ‘Life is a river, and your mother has hit a waterfall.’ All they can do is keep her out of pain. It looks like I’ll be well just about the time she goes.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I lost both my parents a long while back. They pretty much took care of each other, until Dad died, then she didn’t last long.”

“She’s still trying to take care of me,” Rocky said. “She’s making soup right now.”

“Do you miss work?”

“Funny you should mention that. Lance called me yesterday, told me to take my time and then . . .”

She didn’t finish the sentence. “And then, what?”

“He offered me a new job, running a department.”

“Good! What department?”

“Legislative affairs—liaising with Congress, both houses.”

“That sounds like a great leap forward,” Stone said, but he was feeling less enthusiastic than he was trying to seem.

“It’s a D.C. job, of course. I couldn’t handle it from New York. I don’t suppose you’d like to live in D.C.?”

Stone didn’t hesitate. “Good guess.” He’d already been offered a very nice position in D.C. and turned it down, in spite of the free house and limo service. And he couldn’t imagine living in the same city with both Holly and Rocky. “Are you going to accept his offer?”

“I already have,” Rocky said, “if with some big regrets.”

“I appreciate the compliment.”

“Mom still has the family apartment in Dupont Circle, so I’ll redo it and move in there when . . . when we’re done here.”

“So you won’t be coming back to New York?”

“No. I’m listing my apartment with a broker today.”

Oh, the finality of it, he said to himself.

“I’m going to work very hard at not missing you,” she said. “Goodbye, Stone.”

“Bye-bye, Rocky.” She hung up first.

Stone decided to feel sorry for himself until noon, then shake it off.

The phone rang again. “Good morning, Dino,” he said. “A little early for you, isn’t it?”

“I got a speech to make in L.A., and Viv is going to fly in from Hong Kong to meet me there.”

“Use my house,” Stone said.

“Hey, there’s an idea! I wish I’d thought of that.”

“I’ll call the Arrington and tell them to staff up. You can have Ben and Peter and the wives over for dinner.” These were their two sons.

“Why don’t you and Rocky fly out and meet us?”