employees. That kind of betrayal was difficult to get over. He wished Jim and his wife good luck.
He slept the entire flight and awakened only when the plane was touching down. It was dark in the city. The November air was chilly but nowhere near as cold as it had been in Minnesota.
He went directly to Ana’s loft in Greenwich Village without having phoned ahead. It was around eight in the evening, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if she were out. But he wanted desperately to see her.
He could use some comfort and when he needed comforting he automatically thought of Ana. The best part of his job was helping save people’s jobs. The worst part was seeing someone emotionally devastated as Jim Olsen had been this afternoon.
She swung the door open and let out a scream of delight. She was in his arms in an instant and kissing him a second after that. She pulled him inside, her dark eyes shining. “You’re just in time for dinner.”
* * *
It snowed on Thanksgiving morning. The flurries were light, but by noon when Erik and Ana pulled onto the driveway of his parents’ house in New Haven, there were two inches on the ground.
In the car, Ana removed her engagement ring and carefully placed it inside a zippered compartment in her handbag. She smiled at Erik who was behind the wheel of the SUV. “Here we go.”
They got out and Erik firmly clasped her hand in his as they walked to the house. The door was opened by Isobel who looked smart in navy blue pants and a cream-colored, thick cable-knit sweater. Erik’s stepmother hugged him first, then Ana. “We’ve been wondering when you two would get here.”
Erik had noticed Nick and Belana’s car in the driveway, so he and Ana were the last of the out-of-town relatives to arrive. Isobel helped them out of their coats and put them in the foyer closet. “Everyone’s in the den,” she said. “Come on. Belana and Nick say they have news for us and wouldn’t tell us until you got here.”
The den was huge with a very high ceiling, crown moldings and furnished with lovely understated contemporary pieces. It was a room designed for the family’s comfort and entertainment. A large-screen television was tucked away in a handsome cabinet alongside every other conceivable electronic gadget. Hundreds of DVDs and CDs were shelved next to it. Photos of the family lined the walls and sat atop the grand piano near French doors that led out to one of the gardens.
When Belana spotted Erik and Ana she sprang from her seat on a couch beside her husband, Nick. She hugged Ana. “I haven’t seen you in ages, you look so happy!” she said for Ana’s ears only.
She was five-four to Ana’s five-ten and though Ana towered over her, Belana possessed a quiet strength that belied her size. Initially Belana had taken it upon herself to befriend Ana when Ana had moved to New York because she was her best friend Elle’s sister-in-law. However, now, she loved her like a sister of her own.
“So do you,” Ana whispered. She let go, so Erik could hug Belana.
The men in the room, John and Nick, stood and kissed Ana on the cheek and shook Erik’s hand. Nick’s mother, Yvonne and his teen daughter, Nona, were also there.
They also received hugs. Finally, when she could not stand being ignored any longer, Drusilla, who was sitting in a stately Queen Anne chair near the fireplace cleared her throat and tapped her cane on the hardwood floor. “Get over here and give your grandmother some sugar. You, too, Ana Banana!” she demanded.
Ana burst out laughing and hurried over to Drusilla. No one else called her that. She gently kissed Drusilla’s soft cheek and let her cheek linger a moment on hers. She loved how Drusilla smelled, like peppermint and pine needles. It was probably something Drusilla rubbed in her joints to combat arthritis, but it reminded Ana of Grandma Renata, and she breathed in deeply. It was funny how smells took you back in time. “How are you, darling?” she
He slept the entire flight and awakened only when the plane was touching down. It was dark in the city. The November air was chilly but nowhere near as cold as it had been in Minnesota.
He went directly to Ana’s loft in Greenwich Village without having phoned ahead. It was around eight in the evening, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if she were out. But he wanted desperately to see her.
He could use some comfort and when he needed comforting he automatically thought of Ana. The best part of his job was helping save people’s jobs. The worst part was seeing someone emotionally devastated as Jim Olsen had been this afternoon.
She swung the door open and let out a scream of delight. She was in his arms in an instant and kissing him a second after that. She pulled him inside, her dark eyes shining. “You’re just in time for dinner.”
* * *
It snowed on Thanksgiving morning. The flurries were light, but by noon when Erik and Ana pulled onto the driveway of his parents’ house in New Haven, there were two inches on the ground.
In the car, Ana removed her engagement ring and carefully placed it inside a zippered compartment in her handbag. She smiled at Erik who was behind the wheel of the SUV. “Here we go.”
They got out and Erik firmly clasped her hand in his as they walked to the house. The door was opened by Isobel who looked smart in navy blue pants and a cream-colored, thick cable-knit sweater. Erik’s stepmother hugged him first, then Ana. “We’ve been wondering when you two would get here.”
Erik had noticed Nick and Belana’s car in the driveway, so he and Ana were the last of the out-of-town relatives to arrive. Isobel helped them out of their coats and put them in the foyer closet. “Everyone’s in the den,” she said. “Come on. Belana and Nick say they have news for us and wouldn’t tell us until you got here.”
The den was huge with a very high ceiling, crown moldings and furnished with lovely understated contemporary pieces. It was a room designed for the family’s comfort and entertainment. A large-screen television was tucked away in a handsome cabinet alongside every other conceivable electronic gadget. Hundreds of DVDs and CDs were shelved next to it. Photos of the family lined the walls and sat atop the grand piano near French doors that led out to one of the gardens.
When Belana spotted Erik and Ana she sprang from her seat on a couch beside her husband, Nick. She hugged Ana. “I haven’t seen you in ages, you look so happy!” she said for Ana’s ears only.
She was five-four to Ana’s five-ten and though Ana towered over her, Belana possessed a quiet strength that belied her size. Initially Belana had taken it upon herself to befriend Ana when Ana had moved to New York because she was her best friend Elle’s sister-in-law. However, now, she loved her like a sister of her own.
“So do you,” Ana whispered. She let go, so Erik could hug Belana.
The men in the room, John and Nick, stood and kissed Ana on the cheek and shook Erik’s hand. Nick’s mother, Yvonne and his teen daughter, Nona, were also there.
They also received hugs. Finally, when she could not stand being ignored any longer, Drusilla, who was sitting in a stately Queen Anne chair near the fireplace cleared her throat and tapped her cane on the hardwood floor. “Get over here and give your grandmother some sugar. You, too, Ana Banana!” she demanded.
Ana burst out laughing and hurried over to Drusilla. No one else called her that. She gently kissed Drusilla’s soft cheek and let her cheek linger a moment on hers. She loved how Drusilla smelled, like peppermint and pine needles. It was probably something Drusilla rubbed in her joints to combat arthritis, but it reminded Ana of Grandma Renata, and she breathed in deeply. It was funny how smells took you back in time. “How are you, darling?” she
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