Duncan’s condo was on the ninth floor, facing the San Francisco Bay. His place was modern and white andsterile.It had an open floor plan, a kitchen with an island and bar stools, and a large flat-screen on the wall across from a big white sectional. Everything was white. Even the bathroom was white. Aurora preferred colors on the walls and warm wooden furniture in a more traditional style. This place screamed “bachelor pad”.
Except there, in full color, was a large print of the photo Katie had taken of Duncan dipping Aurora at the gala. It hung on the wall nearest the door, commanding the living room. He caught her looking at it and leaned over.
“This way I get to see you first thing when I get home.”
She smiled, her cheeks turning pink.
“Wow, we’re so high up!” Katie had her face plastered to the sliding glass doors that led onto a balcony.
“You can go out on the balcony if you want, Katie.”
He wheeled Aurora’s suitcase around to a room behind the kitchen while Katie went outside. “My bedroom is in here, and the guest bedroom is over there—through the door behind the living room.” He pointed.
The master bedroom had a large queen-sized bed with blue sheets and a comforter—finally, some color! He had black furniture in here, with another smaller television on the wall. A desk where his laptop lived sat under a huge picture window, which showed off the view Katie was enjoying outside.
“If you want to hang anything up, I have plenty of space in the closet here.”
Duncan opened the door to a walk-in closet the size of Aurora’s craft room. He took her luggage and set it just inside. He wasn’t kidding; the closet wasn’t even half full.
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “The bathroom is through here.” He pointed at a door at the end of the closet. “Make yourself at home.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you alright? You seem tense.”
“I’m just …” She looked out the window to the balcony where Katie stood, entranced. “She’s grown up so fast. I’m a little stressed over my baby going to college so far away.”
He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“She’s never been this excited about a school though. She didn’t tell me it was her dream school because she was worried about my feelings.” She turned to look up at him, her eyes watery. “I would never hold her back. But this is hard.”
“I know. But you’ve got another year of her at home. So that’s something, right?” If only she lived closer …
Aurora nodded and sighed. “If she wasn’t an only child, this wouldn’t be so difficult.” She looked away, wistful, then took a deep breath. “I don’t want her to know how hard this is for me.”
“It will get easier. She’s a capable young woman, and you’ve done a great job. Let her prove it to you.”
Later, Duncan took them sightseeing, then to a great little Thai place for dinner. Aurora finally started to unwind. When the sun dipped low the in sky, she stared in awe at the colors.
“Adele was right,” she told Katie. “The sunset here is stunning.”
Katie grew tired, and they had an early morning the next day, so Duncan took them back to the condo. He was explaining jet lag to her daughter. “So basically, your body is still on Pennsylvania time, so you feel like it’s three hours later. It goes away after a couple of days.”
“Great, then I get to do it again when I get home.”
“Pretty much.”
Katie showered in the guest bathroom and went to sleep, leaving Duncan and Aurora alone to entertain themselves in the master shower. Duncan left first after making sure Aurora’s curves were properly covered in suds. She found him in the bedroom, wearing nothing but a towel.
He spun around and came face-to-face with her in her black floral nightgown. “Hey there, beautiful.”
“Hey yourself,” she said.
“How are you feeling?” Duncan closed his laptop.
“A little tired.” She sat on the edge of the bed by his desk.
“It’s late for you. You should probably go to bed.”
