As soon as the elevator door closes, I want to call her and tell her to come back and share breakfast with me. When I opened my eyes and saw that the bed next to me was empty, I had a semi-heart attack. Surely, she wouldn’t just bail in the middle of the night. When I heard little footsteps going down the stairs, I knew she was planning to do exactly that.

I close the door softly and walk to the kitchen to start my coffee. Looking over at the clock, I see it’s a little after eight a.m. I got maybe two hours of sleep, I think while I rub my neck with my hand and wait for my coffee to brew. I take my shot of espresso black, sipping it, and then hear the front door slam and heels click on the tiles. “Morning,” Tracy says, putting all her bags on the table in the middle of the room. “Did you just wake up?”

“More or less,” I tell her while she opens the bag of food she brought with her. If she would have gotten here five minutes earlier, she would have come face-to-face with Vivienne, and although I don’t hide that I date, I also don’t flaunt it.

“You look like shit,” she says, going to get her own cup of coffee and starting the machine. “Was it a late night?”

“More or less,” I tell her, grabbing a strawberry from one of the trays she brought. “I’m going to go get dressed. I’ll be back.”

“Want to work outside?” she asks, and I look out and see that it’s another sunny day. “We might have to come inside, though, because the wind is picking up.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I say as I walk upstairs and go to my room. Closing the door behind me, I see the bedding on the floor and the sheet lying to the side. I walk to the bed and can still see where she held the sheets in her hands. I walk to the closet, and slipping off the robe, I hang it up and then grab boxers and a pair of khaki slacks with a white linen button-down shirt. Grabbing my phone, I open my texts and send her one.

Me: Let me know if you made it home.

I see the three dots come up.

Vivienne: Home and going to bed.

I smile, and then I call Amanda, and she answers on the first ring. “Are you sending flowers today?”

I chuckle. “Not exactly but I was wondering if you could help me.”

“You know I say this with much love, but you’re the biggest pain in my ass,” she says, and I hear her take a sip. “What now?”

“I was wondering if you can maybe get a fish or a little aquarium,” I tell her.