Free Seeking Sara Summers by Susan Gabriel Page B

the living room.
    “She lacks confidence,” Julia said. “Unlike, my other little friend here.” Roberto eyed a pigeon on a nearby rooftop, his tail swishing his primal desire.
    “It’s hard to believe I’m really here,” Sara said, looking out over the city.
    “How long can you stay?”
    “Two weeks,” Sara said, but she wanted to say forever.
    “That almost gives us enough time to catch up,” Julia said.
    Julia’s warm greeting had surpassed Sara’s expectations. Italy was the dream of a lifetime but seeing Julia was more of a gift than she had realized. She still didn’t know how much she would tell Julia about her current situation. Julia had no idea that Sara had, in essence, run away from her life back in the States and that the amount of time she had left of that life was also in question.
    “Let’s have brunch,” Julia said. “Then I want to hear all about your life.”
    “There’s nothing much to hear about,” Sara said.
    “Still the same old Sara.” Julia smiled. “I used to have to pry things out of you. At one time I knew how to get you to open up. But I’m not so sure I remember anymore.”
    Sara followed Julia into the kitchen, remembering how natural it was to follow her lead.
    Julia wore a long skirt and loose blouse, feminine and flowing, reds and purples fighting each other for attention. Artsy, some people would call it. She wore sandals with tethers that tied around her ankles. Julia was still beautiful and in her maturity had become elegant. Both things Sara felt she was not. She noted the difference in their clothing. Preferences carried forward from their youth. Sara’s choices were subdued. Combinations of browns, grays, and blacks; nothing too exciting, or revealing.
    Julia ground fresh coffee and turned on the kitchen faucet. The old pipes moaned softly, as if contemplating whether to deliver her request.
    “Come on, you can do it,” Julia coaxed the pipes. She glanced at Sara. “I think I need to find a new lover. I’m spending way too much time alone if I’ve resorted to talking to the kitchen sink.” She laughed unapologetically.
    Sara joined in the laughter. She had forgotten the ease to which Julia could make fun out of anything, even herself. A slow, steady stream of water flowed into the coffee pot. Julia hummed softly as she put the water on the stove to boil before pouring it in the carafe.
    “I loved meeting your friends last night,” Sara said.
    “They loved meeting you. Melanie was serious about that invitation. And don’t believe her when she says their place is ‘quaint.’ It’s enormous and it’s beautifully renovated.”
    “So who is Roger?” Sara asked, although she thought she already knew.
    Julia grimaced slightly. “He’s an architect, on business here in Florence. We met a few weeks ago and had a bit of a fling. But he ended up driving me insane. God knows what I was thinking. It must have been pure horniness.”
    Sara laughed. She had also forgotten how frank Julia could be.
    “Some things never change.” Julia winked as though reading Sara’s thoughts.
    “So what drove you insane?” Sara asked, hoping these were not traits she possessed.
    Julia paused. “Am I allowed to be catty?” Sara nodded and Julia leaned close as if to tell Sara the most delicious of secrets. “For one thing he wore this little short terrycloth robe with his initials monogrammed on the right butt cheek. That’s not something you buy yourself. Is it? I think he has a wife back in the States that he wasn’t telling me about. And if that wasn’t enough, he was absolutely paranoid that Roberto didn’t like him. Roberto didn’t, of course. But the man practically lost sleep over it.”
    “I guess that is catty ,” Sara said. “Pun intended.” They laughed.
    Julia took two cups from the glass-fronted china cabinet and poured them each a cup of the freshly brewed coffee and then gestured toward the food. “Shall we?”
    Sara nodded.
    After they