Come Fly With Me (86 page)

"In
that
case,
I'll
leave
you
to
it,"
she
said.

As
Michael
and
Allison
walked
down
the
hall,
he
turned
to
her
and
said,
"I
can't
thank
you
enough.
The
painting
is
truly
a
work
of
art.
I'd
never
have
thought
her
profile
with
her
eyes
closed,
with
four
variations
would
be
so
engaging.
You
captured
her
poise,
her
spirit,
her
youth,
I
can't
thank
you
enough."

"I'm
glad
you're
pleased
with
the
portrait.
I
know
it
was
a
risk,
but
I
went
with
my
instinct.
And
don't
worry,
things
will
work
out
with
her.
Just
give
her
some
space
and
be
patient!"

****

Allison
felt
so
delighted
that
Kaitlin
and
Michael
were
pleased
with
her
unorthodox
portrait
that
she
walked
right
past
Alex
as
he
lounged
against
the
wall
in
the
hallway
of
her
apartment
building.
He
came
up
behind
her,
and
she
jumped
when
she
realized
she
was
no
longer
alone.

"Into
stalking
now,
are
we?"
she
bit
out
as
she
fought
to
steady
her
quickened
pulse.

"I
don't
like
how
we
left
things,"
he
said.

She
began
to
walk
up
the
stairs,
"We
left
things
just
fine.
Go
home,
Alex."

"Go
home
to
my
apartment?
Or
go
home
to
Georgia?"

When
she
ignored
him,
he
jumped
ahead
of
her
and
blocked
her
path.

"You
don't
want
to
do
this
with
me,
Alex.
I'm
not
the
vulnerable
woman
you
met
eight
months.
I've
got
my
mojo
back."

"Now
that
sounds
like
a
drink
they
serve
over
at
Starbucks,"
he
smiled.

"Oh,
you
Southerners
are
so
cute
when
you
act
afraid
of
being
citified.
Why
don't
you
give
daddy
a
call
and
see
if
he
has
some
room
for
you
at
any
of
the
twenty
different
companies
that
he
owns."

"I
think
I'll
just
wait
around
until
you
reveal
the
new
CEO,
if
that's
okay
with
you."

"Suit
yourself,
but
move
out
of
my
way."
She
continued
up
the
staircase,
then
stopped
and
came
back
down
two
steps
to
face
him.
"You
know
what
your
problem
is?
You
can't
believe
when
a
woman
tells
you
no.
Your
mother
and
sisters
have
you
up
on
some
mighty
pedestal
and
you've
believed
everything
they've
told
you."

She
continued
up
and
when
she
was
almost
at
the
top,
she
turned
again
and
looked
down
at
him.

"Tell
me
something,
Alex—was
it
always
only
about
the
job?"

"At
the
beginning
it
was.
Then
after
a
while,
I
thought
maybe
we
had
something."

"Well,
I'm
not
a
happy-endings
kind
of
girl.
I'm
sure
your
mother
will
be
relieved."
She
disappeared
into
the
upstairs
hallway
and
felt
Alex's
eyes
sear
a
hole
into
her
back.
Her
hand
was
shaking
as
she
put
her
key
in
the
lock.
Mojo
wasn't
all
it
was
cracked
up
to
be.

"Emily,
I
was
just
thinking
how
the
weekend
is
going
to
be
so
stressful
with
the
unveiling
for
my
father
on
Sunday,
would
you
be
okay
if
I
took
the
day
off
tomorrow
and
gave
myself
a
small
treat?"

Emily
nodded,
"Absolutely.
I
think
that's
a
good
plan.
I'll
be
coming
to
the
cemetery
on
Sunday,
it's
at
noon,
right?
But
a
little
tutorial,
please,
I'm
not
clear
on
what
happens
at
an
unveiling
ceremony."

"Well,
since
religious
Jews
bury
their
dead
right
away,
there's
no
time
to
prepare
a
headstone."
She
studied
her
hands.
"At
any
point
during
the
first
year,
the
monument
gets
erected
and
there's
a
small
gathering
and
prayer
service
at
graveside.
A
thin
covering
is
traditionally
placed
over
the
stone
and
it's
removed
and
thus
unveiled
for
the
first
time.
The
first
eleven
months
after
a
parent
dies,
the
sons
say
Kaddish,
which
is
a
prayer
to
have
the
soul
accepted
to
heaven.
Jeremy
tries
his
hardest
to
say
it
every
day."

"What
happens
the
last
month
of
the
year?
It
doesn't
sound
right
to
skip
out
on
the
last
month."

"That
part
I
found
interesting.
It
seems
that
the
last
month,
all
the
prayers
of
the
previous
eleven
months
are
meant
to
sustain
the
soul.
We'd
like
to
think
that
no
one
needs
beseeching
to
get
into
heaven
for
all
of
the
twelve
months.
Hopefully,
they
have
some
merits
accrued
from
their
years
on
earth,"
Allison
concluded
as
she
gathered
her
bag
and
shut
down
her
computer.