Клео Коул - Espresso Shot

“I’m sorry, Nunzio. Then you leave me no choice. I’ll have to go to Tio.”

“Tio?”

“Yes, the up-and-coming Spanish sculptor. You’ve heard of him, right? Well, his famous Trellis is in town, an amazing work. He begged Breanne to use it for her wedding, but she’d already committed to displaying your sculpture. Janelle will be disappointed. But I think we can make adjustments in our tablescape to highlight his piece instead.” I turned and headed for the door. “He’ll certainly be thrilled to see his sculpture displayed at the Met—and prominently featured in the same issue of Trend where you’re profiled—”

“No!”

“Sorry.” I reached for the door handle. “I really have to get going.”

“Wait!” Nunzio was on his feet. “Wait, signorina ! Wait, wait, wait!”

Ten minutes later, I was downstairs, waiting for the doorman to hail me a taxi. Lover’s Spring wasn’t very large—just a tabletop fountain—but it was gold-plated and heavy. The sculpture was disassembled into a single base with nesting bowls, all packed expertly into an easy-to-handle wheeled suitcase.

Afraid the sculptor would change his mind, I insisted on taking it right up to the Metropolitan. I invited Nunzio to come with me, but he waved me off.

“My sculpture is well insured,” he said as we stood on the sidewalk, watching the doorman and taxi driver load the Pullman into the trunk. “Of course, Clare, should you lose it, you will owe me something. And then, bella , I won’t take no for an answer.”

Nunzio bent to kiss me on the lips. I turned my head, giving him my cheek instead. He laughed then kissed the other cheek, as well.

Ciao, bella.

“Yeah, pal,” I muttered as I firmly shut my cab door. “ Arrivederci to you, too.”

I should have been relieved the second my cab door closed, but I held my breath all the way along Central Park South. When we reached the horse-drawn carriages across the street from the Plaza, I finally exhaled. The glittering glass towers of the Time Warner Center had faded from view at last, and I was home free.

Well, almost. Given Nunzio’s warning, my virtue wouldn’t be fully secure until I delivered his priceless fountain to the Met.

I massaged my temples, trying to release the built-up tension. After everything I’d gone through, I certainly hoped there’d still be a wedding Saturday. I had no doubt Breanne would show, wearing her gorgeous Fen gown. The only wild card now was the groom.

A sweet tune played in the cab as we turned uptown on Madison: “Edelweiss,” my favorite song from my favorite musical. I answered my cell, but the melodic ringtone was a far cry from the state of the voice on the other end of the line: “Mom! Thank goodness! You’ve got to help!”

“Joy! Are you all right?”

“It’s Dad. He’s back, and—wait a minute.” I heard a struggle, and Joy cried out. “No, Dad, don’t—”

A loud crash sounded, followed by Joy getting back on the line. “I hope you weren’t too fond of that Chippendale end table.”

“What the heck is going on down there?!”

“Dad’s back, and he’s crazy drunk. He’s yelling about canceling the wedding and cursing in, like, six languages.”

“Are you alone?”

“Koa’s here, but he has to leave soon. So do I, Mom. I’m meeting some old friends from culinary school. I have to be in the East Village in, like, ten minutes—”

“Joy, can’t you stick around a little longer? I have to drop Nunzio’s fountain off at the Met. I can be home in an hour.”

I heard another crash.

“Chill out, dude!” Koa cried.

Matt replied with a particularly vile Italian obscenity.

“Please, Mom! Come now ! You’re the only person who can handle Dad!”

I gritted my teeth. “On my way.”

I redirected the cabdriver, who made a right on Sixty-fifth, shot over to Park, and raced downtown. Traffic wasn’t too bad, and I was back at the Blend in under twenty minutes. The cabdriver lifted the heavy fountain out of the trunk, and I pulled the wheeled suitcase into the back stairwell, made sure the doorway was firmly locked, and climbed the steps to the apartment above the Blend.

There was no sign of Matt or Joy. I found Koa Waipuna alone, slumped on the couch in a rumpled jacket. The collar of his shirt was open, and his face was flushed, the odors of beer and Jägermeister wafting around him like a fog of hops and black licorice.

“Koa? Where is everybody?”

“Joy headed out to meet her friends,” Koa said. “Matt’s in the bathroom. I finally convinced him to take a shower. Sober up a little.”

“You look like you could use a bit of sobering, too.” I sat down beside the big Hawaiian.

“I couldn’t let the dude drink alone. That’s like... pathetic.”

Koa sat up and pulled the cord off his ponytail. He shook his head until his long black hair flowed like an obsidian waterfall around his huge shoulders.

“What happened?”

“After the scene in the restaurant, me, Javier Lozado, and his buddy Hector—”

“Hector Pena?” I asked, recalling the sad-faced man who was mourning his daughter.

“That’s him. We took off after Matt, but he was long gone by the time we hit the sidewalk. We all split up.” Koa rubbed his bleary eyes. “I found Matt about an hour later, at a bar he took me to the last time I was in town. We started drinking, and he told me his troubles. I called Javier’s cell, and he met us, helped me get Matt back here.”

I’d only just met Javier. But I remembered him well (most women probably would). The retro south-of-the-border machismo thing was hard to forget, but it was his dashing, good-natured aura that impressed me most.

“Where’s Javier now?” I asked. “I should thank him, too.”

“He went off to find Hector, who’s still missing,” Koa replied. “Javier was worried about finding the man, the state he’s in. But until he left, he was great. He spoke to Matt a long time in Spanish, as if they were brothers. It was like all that crap over Louisa never happened.”

“Louisa? That one’s a new name. Who’s Louisa?”

From his expression, I could tell Koa regretted his schnapps-loosened tongue. “Oh, just some girl down in Colombia. I don’t even know her last name. Javier was dating her—or was he engaged to her? I forget. Anyway, the way Matt tells the story, she and Javier had a big fight, and he stormed off, leaving the girl hanging for weeks. Louisa didn’t know whether Javier was ever coming back, so Matt tried to comfort her, and they ended up in bed.”

I rolled my eyes. “Matt’s a cad, but at least he’s true to form.”

“What do you mean?”

“He loves women, that’s what I mean. With Matt, sex never implied love or commitment, just a way to express a fleeting feeling. Did Javier ever want his girl back?”

“You know men.” Koa grunted. “Women, too, for that matter. Louisa threw it up in Javier’s face that she slept with his friend, and Javier dropped a rock. He and Matt ended up rolling around in the street.” Koa shrugged. “But they got over it. They’re pretty close now, those two. You should have seen them tonight.”

Koa glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to go, Clare. I’m sorry—”

“No, don’t worry. I don’t hear any breaking glass upstairs. Matt’s probably in bed already, sleeping it off.”

I said good night to Koa, then went to check on Matt. Unfortunately for me, the bed was empty, except for my little coffee bean-colored cat, who looked quite happy, her paws extended, her white belly showing.