As for Theo, she zoomed off in her wheelchair as soon as it became apparent that Wyatt wasn’t going to show up anytime soon. Once I found myself alone, I made a quick stop at my apartment to change back into my jeans and then rode the elevator to the top floor and climbed a flight of stairs to the roof. I needed to gather my thoughts and get myself into a positive headspace before picking Livy up from school.
While Wyatt’s presence shook him up, I was pretty sure that Hoffman would only return my money if it was pried from his cold, dead fingers. And even though I’d come close to murdering that sleazeball at the restaurant, now that I was out of the heat ofthe moment, I knew I didn’t want to end up in jail. I couldn’t be the parent Livy needed from behind bars.
It turned out that I wasn’t the only one who’d decided to retreat to the peacefulness of the roof. Zoltán Nagy had beaten me to it. I spotted his balding head, ringed with white hair, as soon as I stepped out into the open air. There wasn’t much of a patio up there. Just an expanse of concrete with two benches, all surrounded by a four-foot wall. But the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, and the air felt fresher up there than it did down on the street, where exhaust fumes and the pungent smell of marijuana often battled for dominance.
I hovered next to the bench where Mr. Nagy sat, a teacup and saucer resting on his knee.
“Mind if I join you?” I asked.
The elderly man smiled and patted the bench next to him. “I’d be delighted.”
I sank down onto the wooden seat and let out a sigh as I watched a pigeon take off from the wall and soar across to the neighboring building.
“Troubles?” Mr. Nagy asked.
“Too many to name,” I said with a wry smile. “But hopefully none that are insurmountable.”
“Few problems can’t be solved.” He leaned down and reached beneath the bench. A second later, he produced a bottle of apricot pálinka.
He winked at me. “Especially when you’ve got the right fuel.”
He added a dollop of the liquor to his cup of tea and then passed the bottle to me with an encouraging nod. I took a swig and nearly choked as the fruity liquid burned its way down my throat.
Mr. Nagy tapped the side of his nose as I handed the bottle back to him. “Our secret.” He put the cap back on and returned the bottle to its hiding place beneath the bench.
“Has Freddie been giving you trouble?” I asked.
“Ah. You mean because I chased him.”
I nodded. “Not that I blame you. Freddie’s a jerk.” I had choicer words to describe him, but I didn’t want to use them in Mr. Nagy’s company.
“He threatened to confiscate my croquet mallet!” he said, his ire rising. “I left it in the courtyard once—just once! So I left a hoop behind another time. I’m an old man, and he would rob me of one of my greatest pleasures. Croquet in the courtyard. It makes me happy. What’s wrong with that?”
I patted his shoulder. “Nothing at all.”
His anger seemed to drain out of him. “You are a good woman, Emersyn. You and Livy have a bright future.”
An invisible weight pressed down on my shoulders. “I hope you’re right about that.”
He must have heard the desolation in my voice, because this time he was the one patting my shoulder. “If there’s something you want in life, or something you want to change, go all out. Don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way.” He carefully rose to his feet, holding his saucer and teacup in one hand. “Now, I must get home before my wife comes looking for me. She’ll be finished having tea with Agnes, and I don’t want her discovering my secret.” He nodded toward the spot where he’d stashed the bottle of pálinka and winked at me again.
Then he left me alone on the roof. Alone, except for a thousand thoughts, worries, and insecurities. They weren’t great company.
I decided to take Mr. Nagy’s advice and spent much of the following morning applying for jobs online and then hoofing it around the neighborhood, visiting any store with aHelp Wantedsign out front. Well, almost any store. There was one called Sugar Daddy with blacked-out windows. I gave that one a pass.
Unfortunately, that left me with only two other options. Not many people were hiring.
By the time I returned to the Mirage, my feet ached, and my stomach rumbled with hunger. For a brief moment, I allowedmyself to fantasize about getting a panini from Agnes Gao’s bakery. I should have known better. That made my mouth water and my stomach rumble harder, and all the while I knew I’d have to settle for a tin of orange segments or peanut butter on a slice of dry bread. I opted for the peanut butter but had to toast the bread to make it go down easier.
Once my stomach had quieted down, I mustered all the courage I could and checked my bank balance. At least Chad had paid me for my last few shifts at the restaurant. That meant I could hit the grocery store and restock the fridge before fetching Livy from school.
When I stepped out of the elevator, on my way to the store, I passed the lobby’s trash can. The swinging lid was half open, with the bottom end of a bouquet of flowers sticking out. Roses, in fact. Some of the flowers were crushed by the lid, and a few petals had fallen on the floor.
Carefully, I extracted the bouquet. Why would anyone throw away such gorgeous flowers? Rejection, probably. Someone’s attempt to woo their sweetheart clearly hadn’t gone well.
I lifted the bouquet to my nose and breathed in the heavenly scent. A couple of the flowers were damaged, but if I removed those ones, I’d still have a beautiful bouquet. One I couldn’t afford to buy for myself. And it wasn’t as if there were hot guys lining up to give me gifts.
I returned to my apartment and put the flowers in water. That small touch brightened up the room and gave me a spurt of optimism. I almost had a spring in my step when I set off again for the grocery store. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air—as fresh as it got in the city, anyway—that I stopped at a small park and sat on a bench to bask in some October sunshine while enjoying my newfound positive attitude.
