Page 53 of One Last Step

“You’re welcome to stay here, of course,” Elena says.“I can give you a job at the museum, and you can keep your room.Sophie is very fond of you.She’d love for you to stay.”

I smile at her.“Thank you, Elena.That’s very generous.But I’m afraid I have to decline.I have a fiancé in Boston who’s been waiting far too long to become a husband.I think it’s time I gave him the chance.”

She laughs.“We only live once, right?”

“Yes,” I agree.“Just the once.And we must make the best of this one life that we can.”

She nods.“Well, I really hope you’ll visit us.”

“I will,” I tell her.“And I promised my soon-to-be husband Christmas in Geneva, so I won’t be leaving immediately.”

“Oh, wonderful!I get to meet the lucky man, then.”

I laugh.“Well, I don’t know about lucky, but you’ll get to meet him.”

“He is lucky,” Elena says.“He’s got a strong woman.That means a lot to a man.That was the last thing my own husband said to me.”

I squeeze her hand again.“I’m sorry for that too.”

She smiles sadly.“I lost him when my son was nine.I don’t think about him as much anymore, but he was a good man too.”She sighs.“So much death in this world.So much pain.Why do we keep fighting?”

The elevator door opens, and the two kids rush out, giggling.They stop in front of the table, their mouths dropped open in adorable O’s of surprise.

“Oops,” Sophie says.“I pressed the wrong button.”

They run back to the elevator and press another button.Sophie leans to the side and calls through the closing doors, “Sorry, Grandma!Sorry, Mary!We love you, we’ll talk to you later!”

The elevator door closes, and I turn to Elena.“That’s why we fight.”

She laughs.“Yes.I suppose that’s a good reason.”

“It’s the best reason.”

My phone buzzes, and my heart starts to pound when I read the text.

“What is it?”Elena asks.“Is everything all right?”

I nod.“Yes.It’s fine.I just need to do something.”

I stand, and head for the elevator.

“You’re sure you’re all right?”she calls after me.

“I am,” I assure her.“It’s just time for me to take your advice and stop running from my past.”

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

I stop by my room for the journal.I read the last entry again, and just like they do the night before, my hands begin to tremble.I close the book and take a deep breath, then leave the room and head downstairs.

The air is slightly warmer today than it is the past several days.From what the locals tell me, it will cool down again, but it’s nice to have a bit of sunshine.I don’t think I could endure a cloudy sky today.

The snow is melting from the heat, and the powder that coats the buildings is now falling off and creating piles of slush that turn dirty gray from the cars and people moving over it.It makes the scenery of Old Town somewhat less picturesque.

At the same time, though, I feel it looks even more beautiful.It looks lived-in.It looks real.It's not a picture from a storybook.It's a real place where real people live real lives.Sometimes, things get dirty in real life, and we have to clean up.Sometimes we don't do a perfect job, and that's okay.That's life.

Claudia is waiting for me at the café.She wears a civilian outfit today, a pair of jeans and a fur coat that is fitted perfectly.On top, she wears a beanie with a little puffball on top.I’m sure there’s a technical term for that little puffball, but I forget what it is.

She looks radiant.Tears come to my eyes as I remember Annie wearing almost that exact same outfit during the Boston winters when we were in school.Claudia is a few years older than we were then, but there’s no doubt she looks like her mother.

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