Chapter 7
Tony’s eyes lit up when he saw Maddie and he held the door open wide.
“Miss Madeline. It’s been too long. We miss you here.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Tony. It’s nice to be home.”
Maddie smiled at her favorite doorman. He’d been manning the door of her building on the Upper West Side for as long as she could remember. She loved everything about their Manhattan apartment. The location on Riverside Drive was excellent, close to everything. She’d just walked home from the literary agency.
She’d spent the day in the office and it had been crazy busy with two publisher meetings, one of them a lunch. She was looking forward to a quiet night at home and she was curious if Richie was going to be there. He’d been out when she arrived the night before and she’d gone to bed before he arrived home. His bedroom door was shut when she left for the office this morning, so she hadn’t seen him yet.
And when she walked in, the apartment was empty. It was still light out and sunshine streamed in through the oversized windows that overlooked the Hudson River. The apartment was large, the prewar layout a sprawling ten rooms. Maddie loved the architectural details, the wood-paneled library, fireplaces, classic moldings, and gleaming hardwood floors. Richie used the den as his office while Maddie claimed the library as her space.
Richie took the guest bedroom that was farthest away from the primary bedroom where Maddie slept. They would be able to avoid each other pretty easily. Maddie felt both sad and relieved about this. She wasn’t up to a big talk with Richie just yet. Everything felt too unsettled with them. They’d had a mostly wonderful marriage over almost thirty years. But they’d hit a rough patch in recent months. Since before her sister passed, actually. Though Richie had been good about that. He’d loved her like a sister, too. But things had already changed between them and her passing just seemed to push them further apart.
And it didn’t help that Maddie didn’t know what to do about it. She wasn’t sure what she wanted and Richie wasn’t saying much, either. When he was unhappy he tended to withdraw and go silent and their house had been very quiet for many months. Maddie found the quiet of the apartment both soothing and unsettling at the same time.
Maddie found an open bottle of Decoy cabernet in the kitchen and poured herself a glass. She brought it into her bathroom, along with her waterproof tablet, and a few minutes later, sank into a blissfully warm bubble bath. She stayed in the soothing water until her muscles relaxed and she felt the stress of the day seep away.
She only had a few sips of the wine. After she toweled dry and changed into a soft sweatshirt and matching pants, she brought her wine to the library, her favorite room, and debated what to order for dinner. There was still no sign of Richie, so she guessed he had other plans for the evening. Which was fine with her. She didn’t have the energy to go out somewhere and try to make conversation when things were so awkward between them.
She ordered an eggplant, spinach, and feta pizza from her favorite restaurant and thirty-five minutes later it was delivered. It smelled amazing and her stomach grumbled as she opened the cardboard box and got a plate out of the cupboard. She heard the door open behind her. Richie was home. He looked tired, but so handsome, too. She’d always loved the way he looked in his charcoal-gray suits with his dark wavy hair that was always slightly long. His eyes were as dark as his hair and had been the first thing she’d noticed about him, so many years ago.
He gave her a small smile. “That smells good.”
“Do you want some? Your timing is perfect, it just arrived.”
He shook his head. “No. Thank you. I’m just stopping here for a minute to drop off my stuff. I’m playing cards at Andrew’s. He’s having a few of the guys over.”
“That sounds fun.”
“Are you around tomorrow night? Maybe we could get dinner and catch up?”
Maddie shook her head. “I can’t tomorrow. I have dinner plans with Kathryn. Maybe the night after that?”
Richie nodded. “We’ll figure something out. I should run.”
Maddie loaded her plate with three big slices of pizza and headed into the living room to watch TV and relax. A few minutes later, Richie waved goodbye and once again, the apartment was empty. Maddie took a sip of her wine and stared out the window at the sun setting over the water. By the time she finished the pizza, she was already yawning and knew it would be an early night.
She didn’t mind being alone as much as she’d thought she would. It was still new to her, and when she saw Richie again, she just felt confused. It was easier to get used to being alone when he wasn’t around. Being here in the apartment with him wasn’t going to be easy. She sighed and wished she knew what she wanted to do.