“And too much money, I might add. Well, he’s newly single. And he noticed more than your art.”

Eliana grinned incredulously. “Marsha . . .”

“Don’t kill the messenger, Ellen. Besides, this is a good thing. You can get a lot of work out of it.”

Just then the waiter walked up and refilled Eliana’s glass with ice water from a carafe. “Is everything okay, ladies?”

Marsha pointed to her bread plate. “What are these?”

He looked at the black pile of olives. “I’m sorry, ma’am. You didn’t want olives, did you? I’ll get you another salad.”

“Don’t bother, I’ve already picked them all out.”

The waiter held his hands out in surrender. “I’m sorry. Dessert’s on me.”

Eliana smiled sympathetically. “Mine’s great, thank you.”

The waiter smiled back at her as he took the bread plate and walked away.

“These waiters are all ski bums. This one’s hit a few too many moguls, if you ask me.” She turned back. “Give Boyd a call, Ellen. He thinks you’re gorgeous. And he’s right, you know. If I had your figure, girl . . .”

Eliana looked at the card but made no move toward it. “I don’t know.”

“Listen, girl, divorce happens. I’ve had three myself. It’s not the end of the world. It’s time you got back on the field and put some points on the board.”

“Points, huh?” Eliana glanced down at her watch. “I better get back over to the gallery.”

“Oh, go on. I’ll get the check. I’m still going to have coffee. And I’ve got a dessert coming. I hope this guy doesn’t expect a big tip.”

Eliana lifted the napkin from her lap and stood. “I appreciate you watching out for me, Marsha. I’m just not ready. I’ll come around someday.”

Marsha’s cell phone rang over the last of her words. “Just a minute,” Marsha said. She dug through her handbag and pressed the receive button as she lifted her Nokia to her ear. “Hello. Oh, hi, Boyd. We were just talking about you. Ellen and I. Well, I’ll let you ask her.”

Eliana shook her head emphatically.

“No, you’ll have to wait, Boyd—she was just running off to the ladies’ room. Listen, hold on just a moment, my waiter’s here. No, don’t go, I need to talk to you. You can wait, honey, I’ll only be a second.”

She looked up at Eliana, shaking her head. “Someday doesn’t always come, sweetie. I’ll see you before I go. I’m coming up to the gallery to talk with Carolyn about your next show.”

“Ci vediamo,” Eliana said.

“Whatever that means. Ciao.”

Marsha lifted her cell phone. “I’m here, honey, talk to me.”