“No, seriously,” I said, sipping from the water she’d handed me.

“Yeah, you seriously cleaned that guy’s clock,” Ashley replied with a smirk. “I don’t think he even knows what hit ‘im.”

“You know what I mean,” I said, not letting Ashley off the hook.

“Look, I’m not stalking you, if that’s what you’re asking, alright?” Ashley said, getting defensive. “I was thinking about what you said the other day, you know, about how I was being unsafe running with earbuds in, and it got me thinking I really should take some self-defense classes.”

“And?”

“And, you know, I did a search and this gym came up as having really good self-defense teachers, and it’s really close to campus, so I came in yesterday to look around and sign up for a week’s trial membership.”

“The school year is over. You’re going back to Virginia any day now,” I said, not believing her story.

“In two weeks,” Ashley agreed. “And then I’ll be back here in two more months.”

“So why sign up for the gym now?” I asked.

“Trial membership, for one week,” Ashley said. “If I like it, I’ll join full-time when I get back after break.”

“All right,” I said, grudgingly accepting her story.

“Em, Leah,” Ashley began, her eyes darting around to make sure nobody was listening. “My friends asked what that was all about, there at the Thai place, and who you were and why you were dressed like some sort of Chicago gangster…”

“What did you tell them?” I asked, finishing off the water bottle.

“I said that I’d met you running, and we had lunch together and I put my foot in my mouth complaining about your taste in music, not realizing it was your favorite band I just insulted.”

“True enough,” I agreed. “So?”

“I didn’t tell them that I basically sexually assaulted you,” she said, dropping her voice down to make sure nobody heard. “What did you tell your two friends? And that chick, she’s like Emmy, isn’t she?”

“They didn’t ask, and I didn’t tell them anything. If they had asked, I probably would have told them something similar to what you told your friends. And yes, Sana is like Emmy.”

“Well, I’m sorry for what I did,” Ashley said. “I was out of control.”

“Yeah, you were,” I agreed.

“But that doesn’t mean that I take back what I said,” Ashley added. “If you need somebody to wash your back in your after-workout shower, I want to be first in line.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to get to my workout.”

“That sparring- that wasn’t your workout?”

Shrugging, I replied, “That was just for fun.”

“I don’t think that guy thought so,” Ashley replied, clearly not wanting to buzz off and leave me alone. “In fact, I think you kinda wrecked his shit.”

“He was warned,” I said, walking over to the box jump area. Unfortunately, Ashley followed.

“What exercise are you going to do next?”

“You know what? I think I’m done for the day,” I said, heading for the locker room.

“Is this the time you normally work out? Will you be back tomorrow?” Ashley asked as she followed me to my locker.

“No, I think today was my last day here,” I said, maybe a little regretfully.

“What? Why?”

“You know I just graduated, right? I’m done here in Palo Alto. Emmy and I are moving back to Southern California,” I said, still trying to be polite.

“Oh,” Ashley said, stopping in her tracks. “I was afraid it was because of me.”

“Wasn’t your move-out day yesterday?” I asked as I zipped my duffle bag.

“Well, no, because our athletic schedule- track team stays in town two more weeks,” Ashley said, following me to the front door.

As I pushed the door open, I glanced around and asked Ashley, “Why are you following me out? Don’t you have a workout to do?”

Looking downcast, she said, “I was hoping for maybe a goodbye kiss?”

“Ash, I’ve never even given you a hello kiss-”

“I know!” she blurted, interrupting me.

“And I’m not going to start kissing you now. Go inside, have a good workout, go back to Virginia, train hard, have a good life,” I said, giving her a gentle shove back into the gym. “Now, goodbye.”

Her shoulders slumping, she did go back into the gym without another glance back. I felt a tiny bit bad, but Ashley was more grief than I possibly wanted to deal with.

Since it was Saturday and the office was closed, I spent some time at home going over some work emails, putting aside the email I’d gotten from Erich in New York. After all the work stuff was taken care of, I opened Erich’s to see what he had to say.

He’d written up a very thorough proposal, including plans, diagrams, and even color references and photos of the stone selected by the designer for the counters and such.

The total price was eye-watering, but we had the money, and realistically everything (except maybe the recording studio) we were having done would increase the property value and curb appeal anyhow.

I signed off on the work, and told him that I’d transfer the initial funds on Monday. I sent an email to Luisa, telling her that I’d authorized the remodel work and sent her a copy of the proposal, so she had an idea of what was involved and the anticipated scheduling.

I sent another email to our banker, telling him to set up a construction fund for the townhouse. I gave him Erich’s contact info as well, so he could deal directly with Erich for the draws. That way all I had to do was O.K. each distribution as it came and not otherwise be involved.

Not in the mood to fix myself some lunch, I went to the local Whole Foods market and got some salad to go. I went home, opened a can of La Croix and had myself a veritable feast of not-too wilted greens with a little bit of chicken so dry it was nearly jerky.

Satiated by my glorious repast, for lack of anything better to do, I went up to the rooftop deck for some more tanning. I turned the bluetooth speaker on and just let my mind drift. Emmy was coming home in a little over twenty-four hours, and not a moment too soon.

The warmth of the early June afternoon felt nice, and the music Emmy had going on the internet radio station was soothing, so it didn’t take me long to doze a little bit. Not real sleep, just a sort of drift. I was brought out of my relaxed state when the phone buzzed.

Puzzled by why Mia would be calling me, I answered, “Hey, Mia. What’s up?”

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am,” Mia began, “But I have a question.”

“Emmy can’t help you out?”

“Well, it’s about a disagreement I had with her,” Mia hedged.

“Well, she’s the boss,” I said.

“Respectfully, ma’am, she’s the principal. You’re the boss,” Mia replied.

Chuckling a little, I asked “So what’s going on?”

“You told me to stick to her like glue, and I’ve been doing that every time she leaves the house, but she said that I didn’t have to worry so much and she is fine going to the guitar shop or places like that. I told her that she probably was perfectly safe in places like that, but simply having a visible bodyguard made sure that things stayed on the level and you wouldn’t like it if I was derelict in my duties.”

“Out of curiosity, where does your dad stand on this?” I asked, pretty sure I knew the answer.

“He thinks that Emmy is a big girl and has a fair idea of personal safety, but that I should never let her out of my sight in public.”

“And that’s exactly how I feel on the subject, too. If I can’t be there, I want you to be in Emmy’s back pocket at all times outside the house. I’ll give her a call and tell her that it’s your job, and you take it seriously.”

“Thanks, ma’am,” Mia said.

“On a different note, how was it with the Prodigal Sons there at the house?”

“To be honest, they were better house guests than I’d expected a rock band to be,” Mia said. “They’re a pretty decent group of guys.”

“So, no troubles?” I asked.

“No, none at all. They were fun to be around, and didn’t even do any more than a little bit of flirting with Luisa, just harmless stuff. They even took turns doing the dishes. You want to hear something funny? The guys in the band didn’t let the two roadies lift a finger. The guys in the band helped cook, helped set the table, helped straighten up, all that kind of thing, except for Jim and Ed. They had the time off.”

“That’s nice, and I’m glad it didn’t make too much work for Luisa,” I said.

“You could talk to her about it, but I think she liked having people around, too.”

“I wish I could have been there,” I sighed.

“I think you would’ve had a good time,” Mia replied.

Awake now and not in the mood to lie out any more, I went downstairs and sat in front of the computer for a while. It felt as if I should be doing something, but I couldn’t think of anything that actually needed to be done. At a loss, I fixed myself an early dinner of grilled chicken pesto, and ate while sitting in front of the TV.

Grace had been really into Game Of Thrones, but I’d never really paid it any attention and when I tried to watch an episode I realized I had no clue what was going on, so I gave up on that and just idly channel surfed for an hour or so. Dinner done and nothing worth watching, I cleaned up the kitchen then went upstairs to do some yoga for a while.

Eventually even that became boring, so I took a bath, then went to bed, wondering what I was going to do the next day to keep myself occupied.

I didn’t want to go back to the gym and risk being seen by Ashley again, so maybe a run was called for, but she’s a runner, so I might see her out on the running trails… Ugh. I hated that I was letting this ridiculous girl determine my life for me.

When the morning came I dressed and went out for a run, with two thoughts about Ashley. One, she was probably going to the gym first thing, hoping to catch me there, and if she wasn’t, the odds of bumping into her out running were very slim anyhow.

Thankfully, there was no sign of Ashley on my run, so by about the midpoint I started to relax and let the movement and effort calm me down. Focusing on the early morning sun, the rhythm of my footfalls, and the timing of my breathing brought me to that flow state that I’d come to love. No, actually, to need. That state was my meditation, my zen. When I got to that point I could let my body perform on autopilot, my mind disengaged, everything effortless. My best volleyball games were like that, no thought, just action. Those were the games when everything just happened as if it were planned and rehearsed and executed perfectly.

Eventually, though, my feet brought me back home. My home, which wouldn't feel so empty for much longer, since Emmy was arriving that afternoon. After a quick shower I straightened up a bit and did some laundry, then hit the grocery store for a few staples as well as ingredients for that night’s dinner.

I wasn’t planning anything elaborate, just some grilled chicken, roasted veggies and rice pilaf, along with a nice white wine from our last trip up to Napa. It was easy to cook, tasty, and nutritious. I hoped it would serve as a sort of ‘comfort food’ for Emmy, since that was the kind of meal we’d eaten so often in our almost four years in that house.

The airport wasn’t too crowded, and I got a decent parking space without too much hassle. I found a seat at the Arrivals waiting area, then just had to wait until Emmy exited the security checkpoint. She came out, wheeling her carry-on bag behind her, chatting animatedly with a middle-aged, well-dressed lady.

“Leah!” Emmy said when she spotted me, rushing over to give me a big hug. “Leah, this is Miriam,” Emmy said, introducing me to her new friend. “She is here in San Jose to visit her son and daughter-in-law.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I said, extending a hand. “Were you on Emmy’s flight?”

“We sat next to each other,” Miriam explained. “Your wife is quite the charmer.”

“Yes, that she is,” I agreed, wrapping my arm around Emmy’s shoulders in a side hug. “She sure charmed me, that’s for sure.”

“Miriam lives in New York,” Emmy said. “Her house is not very far from ours.”

“Emmy told me about the work you’re having done there,” Miriam said. “Your contractor is a good one- he did a lot of work for another friend of mine, and she was very happy with everything.”

“That’s good to hear,” I said. “He seemed to be very professional. Expensive, but quality.”

“Yes, his proposals do tend to run to the higher side, but you get what you pay for,” Miriam assured me.

“Miriam, I am certain you want to visit with your son this evening, but we would be honored to have you come to our house for dinner some time this week, or perhaps we can all go out together? Maybe with your son and his wife?” Emmy suggested.

“That would be lovely,” Miriam agreed. “I’ll discuss it with them and we can make an evening of it.”

We parted ways, Emmy and I headed to the parking structure and Miriam following a driver to the hired cars station.

“You make friends so easily,” I said to Emmy. “It still amazes me.”

“I enjoy meeting people, and hearing their stories,” Emmy said with a shrug. “You do not mind that I invited her, do you?”

“Of course not,” I replied. “Of course not.”

“I am looking forward to being home,” Emmy said as we left the airport. “New York was very much fun, but it will be lovely to relax in peace, and sleep in our bed with you tonight.”

“It’s been really lonely this week without you,” I admitted. “I’ve really missed you.”

Emmy put her hand on my leg and gave me a squeeze. “I missed you as well.”

I rested my hand on hers as I drove, just enjoying having her back with me.