Roberto slipped out the door. Almost seventy, his back bent and fingers crooked from his lifetime devotion to classical piano, he pulled the door shut behind him.

“Roberto,” Simon said.

The old man startled and dropped his slim leather bag with a thud onto the hardwood floor.

“Sorry,” Simon said and placed his hands on the man’s shoulders for reassurance. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Roberto turned around, relief washing over his face as he pressed one hand to his heart. “You got me good, son.”

Simon bent down to pick up the man’s bag. “I’m so sorry. I was just wanting to quietly slip in as you were leaving.” He motioned toward the still-open door and handed Roberto his satchel back. “How’s she doing?”

Roberto adjusted his glasses and took a moment to think. “Quiet, I suppose. But she’s always quiet when I play. Today, though, I guess something felt a bit different, maybe a bit off,” he finished in a whisper. “Everything okay?”

Simon bit the inside of his bottom lip then scratched his chin. He’d need to shave before they left, assuming he could get Clare to come with him. “She had some not great news this morning, a bad review from another author.”

Roberto nodded. “Usually, she sits on the couch, looks out at the ocean when I play. Lost in her thoughts.” He shrugged. “Barely said hello when I came in today and was poring over some books most of the time, then on her computer for a bit. I imagine she’s pretty distracted by the news.”

Simon furrowed his brow and nodded, suddenly worried Clare had gone back on her earlier promise to stay off of social media until the news about Donna’s review could blow over. He reached out to shake Roberto’s hand. “Thank you,” he said as the old man placed his gnarled, knuckled hand in his own. “Until next week?”

Roberto smiled and nodded before he turned to leave. “Oh, one more thing. It’s probably getting about time to have Her Majesty tuned. She’s not too far gone just yet, but I can hear her starting to go wrong.”

“I’ll call the piano tuner tomorrow, see if she can get out here in the next week or so.” The piano tuner and the pool guy. All Simon needed now was to find a leak in the damn roof. He thought again of how much he missed the simplicity of their two-bedroom New York apartment.

“No rush, when she can get to it.” Roberto raised his hand once in goodbye and started his slow and careful descent down the wide staircase.