“I have several suggestions,” Stone said.
"And what are they?"
“They are better transmitted by nonverbal communication,” Stone said. “Can we communicate at my house?”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Holly said. “Why don’t we talk about it at my house?”
“You have a house?”
“I have an apartment, thank you. Anyway, I have to walk Daisy.”
“How is Daisy?” Stone asked, getting up and retrieving their coats.
“You’ll see shortly,” Holly said, slipping into her coat and buttoning up.
THE CAB PULLED UP in front of Holly’s building, and they got out.
“You’re moving up in the world,” Stone said.
“Onward and upward.”
They took the elevator to the twelfth floor, and Holly opened her front door.
“You don’t lock your door?” Stone asked.
“The security is good here,” Holly said, “and here it comes.”
Daisy made a fool of herself over Stone.
“We’ll be right back,” Holly said, reaching for Daisy’s leash. “Don’t go away.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
MUCH LATER, Holly rolled over in bed and encountered the sleeping Stone. This was much better than sleeping alone, she thought, even better than sleeping with Daisy.
FORTY-FIVE
TEDDY WAS HALF A BLOCK from Holly’s building when he saw a man come out with a Doberman on a leash. The two stopped when the dog wanted to inspect a street lamp.
Teddy continued past but spoke. “Good morning, Daisy,” he said. Daisy interrupted her business and came over to say hello. Teddy scratched her behind the ear and talked to her for a moment. “She’s very popular in the neighborhood,” he said to the man.
“I’m not surprised,” the man replied.
Teddy gave him a quick once-over: six-two, a hundred and ninety, blond hair, stubble. He had the look of a man who had just gotten out of bed and hadn’t had his coffee yet. Teddy felt a pang of something he recognized as jealousy. “Bye-bye, Daisy,” he said. “Good morning to you,” he said to the man, then continued down the street. Jealousy? That was something he hadn’t felt for many, many years, but it was real, and it was disturbing.
HOLLY WAS PUTTING breakfast on the table when Stone and Daisy returned. “Thanks for taking her out,” she said.
“Glad to. Daisy seems to be very popular in the neighborhood.”
Holly turned and looked at him. “Why do you say that?”
“Oh, a passerby stopped and chatted with her, knew her name. She reacted as if they’d met before.”
“What did he look like?”
“I don’t know,” Stone said. “Maybe six feet, slender, graying, mid-fifties. He looked sort of like Larry David.”
“Holy shit,” Holly said, rushing to her windows overlooking Park Avenue and opening the blinds. She looked up and down the street. “Only one neighbor has made friends with Daisy. Come over here, Stone.” Stone came. “Do you see him anywhere?”