“No.”
I shook my head.
“He was trying to spare himself from watching me be disappointed.”
That felt true.
“He may have believed both.”
“Probably.”
“Would you want him back?”
“No.”
Immediate.
Certain.
That surprised even me.
“I want Mia to know him someday if he becomes someone safe and consistent.”
“But not you?”
“I already had my relationship with David.”
I looked through the kitchen doorway.
“It ended.”
For the first time, saying it felt calm.
Not bitter.
Ended.
Alessandro nodded.
“That sounds clear.”
“It took ten months.”
“Still.”
Then:
“What do you want for yourself?”
I laughed.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”
“Maybe because you answer every other question.”
I thought.
“I don’t know.”
“That seems inconvenient.”
“It is.”
For the last year, everything had been immediate.
Pregnancy.
Bills.
Rent.
Work.
Mia.
No horizon longer than seventeen days.
Wanting things required time.
“I used to work in hotel operations.”
Alessandro looked surprised.
“Not housekeeping?”
“Before Mia.”
“Where?”
“A boutique hotel in SoHo.”
“What did you do?”
“Guest services supervisor.”
“Why leave?”
“Hours.”
“Pregnancy?”
“Yes.”
“Did you like it?”
“Some parts.”
“What parts?”
“Solving problems.”
He almost smiled.
“Dangerous.”
“Different kind.”
“What did you hate?”
“Guests who thought money meant physics didn’t apply to them.”
He laughed.
Actual
laugh.
“You still chose to work here.”
“I needed money.”
“Fair.”
Then he said:
“We are hiring an operations coordinator for the residential division.”
I immediately held up a hand.
“No.”
“I have not offered you the job.”
“Good.”
“I was going to say you could apply.”
I paused.
“That’s different.”
“Independent hiring panel.”
