I'd changed my wifi password the day she'd turned me away. I never expected she'd ever see it. Well, my secret was out now. I looked at her to see her reaction. At least she wasn't shaking her head no. Instead she was clutching the small bit of paper to her chest like her favorite doll.

With a mumbled 'thanks' she turned and almost ran into the living room. I may have been wrong but I thought I heard a bit of sniffling. Surely the password couldn't have bothered her that much!

I seemed destined to either make her cry or angry enough to use her stun gun on me. Speaking of which it might not be a bad idea to hide that, at least for the next two weeks. There were plenty of other weapons at hand without letting her have that one!

Back in my study I made a few more calls. A couple told me that Rick Wilson had called them ranting about how that tranny-loving pervert had gotten him fired and they needed to change firms.

. This was serious. I decided to call Dan. Who knows what else he was saying to his regular clients.

Dan wasn't very happy to hear from me. I suspected rather than telling Rick he was fired for bad-mouthing me and Christina to clients he had simply told Rick he had been ordered to fire him. It was true but he probably sat there and sympathized with Rick.

He got angry when I told him about what Rick was doing but he was just as angry with me as Rick.

"Can you blame the guy? He gets canned for telling the truth and you lie about him and get him fired."

"Let's get one thing straight. Rick Wilson got Rick Wilson fired. I didn't say a word to your wife. One of my clients is a good friend of hers. She told your wife what he said to her and when she told him to 'fuck off' he went into a big rant and called her all sorts of names. Just ask your wife about Doris."

I hung up. There was no point saying anything more. I suspected that he knew it was true. Doris was a no-nonsense woman who'd gone to school with Tanya and was the maid of honor at her wedding. She'd told me all this while telling me how much I reminded her of her late husband. Tanya was right, I think she would have married me if she could have figured a way to get me to the altar.

After several years I'd gotten used to widows and divorcee's having more than a business interest in me. The priest at my old church in Jersey, Father Kelly had commiserated with me over some Irish coffee while discussing the problem. He'd told me I had it a lot worse. His collar kept him from more than Sunday dinners and tea.

"Besides I only look after their immortal soul. You, my friend, look after their money. And that, Tony, puts you one step up from God!"

As I typed in the password I couldn't help the small sob that escaped. I wished I could really be the one but just knew Tony would come to his senses sooner or later. I hoped for later to at least create some positive memories. I certainly hoped it at least lasted the rest of the two weeks.
I tried to concentrate on getting up to date with everything that was happening. I was a voracious reader but tonight I had to keep going back to reread things. It got so bad that I just bookmarked pages I thought were interesting and decided to go to bed.

I passed the study where Tony was still on the phone. I tilted my head on my hands in a sleeping sign and he smiled and mouthed good night. I wondered who he was taking to this late at night until I looked at my phone and saw it wasn't even eight PM.

I passed his mother's room, the bedroom opposite it had been the nurse's. She had left when it became obvious that his mother would not be coming home. He could have given me that room but instead gave me the bedroom opposite his further down the hall.

It was roomy and like all the bedrooms had its own bathroom. I decided to take a nice long bath. Shedding the Daisy Dukes I avoided looking down as I settled into a nice hot bubble bath. It was so relaxing I fell asleep and only woke when the water got cold. I showered quickly to wash away the residue and patted myself dry with the big fluffy towels hanging on the warming rack. Tony's father had installed all the extra comforts in what was to be his last home.

I passed up my regular tee shirt and panties for a long silky gown. I was probably dreaming but just in case. . . I was so relaxed I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The music must have woke me. I tiptoed to the door and peeked out. Tony's door was open. I went into the hall and checked his room but didn't see him. The music was coming from somewhere else. I could see a light coming from under the door of his mother's room. I padded down the hall until I was outside her door.

I could hear him softly singing and the catch in his voice. I debated going in but thought better of it. Let him grieve in private and in his own way. I went back to my room and shed the gown for my sleep tee.

I would call Tanya in the morning about Rick Wilson. I had several suggestions about how to mitigate the trouble he was causing. Just another headache added to a long list. I

Christina had the right idea, a good night's sleep. I headed for my bedroom when I passed mom's door. I still could not believe those bastards wouldn't release her body for two weeks.

I turned on the light and looked into her bedroom spotting the record player. Mom had a lot of old vinyl. I paused to flip through a stack of 45's. Many brought back fond memories. I slid one of her favorites out of its paper sleeve and put it on the turntable.

The smooth voice of her favorite singer wafted through the speaker. I settled down on the floor and leaned back against the bed and could hear my mom's voice singing along.

Que será, será
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que será, será
What will be, will be

Mom loved and lived that song. She once said she wanted it played at her funeral and engraved on her headstone. I thought about Christina as the words rolled over me. It's just what mom would have said about us.

Time passed as I played record after record, many bringing back memories. I could just see her and dad dancing in their bedroom late at night while I listened in mine. I'd hear her laugh and know dad had dipped her once again.

I heard crackling from the speaker and shook myself awake as the record went round and round. I turned it off and wiped away the dried tears. Turning off the light I quietly shut the door again and left.

I stopped at Christina's door. I stood there for a moment about to knock and thought better of it. I'm not sure what I would have said if she answered. 'I was lonely and didn't want to sleep alone?' It sounded lame, even to me. Funny thing is I wasn't even thinking about sex, I just wanted to feel alive, to be close to another human being.

I crossed the hall to my room. After being with Christina all day it seemed lifeless and empty. I didn't even bother to change. I just threw myself down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

A small twinge reminded me of the wounds on my back. I smiled as I recalled Christina bandaging them and then giving me that massage. I looked down and realized just the thought of her topless on my back had aroused me.

I fell asleep thinking of her massaging my front. It felt so real I half expected to wake finding her doing just that.

For once there wasn't a nightmare. I had those all to frequently since coming to Tampa. Tonight was different. I slept well and woke up refreshed, ready to challenge my new job.

The first thing was to learn more about all the Lukes's holdings so I could see how I could best help with my analyses. After breakfast of course. I threw on a tee and jeans and wandered out to the kitchen. It was early but I was used to devouring the morning news with my meal.

I was deciding what to fix when the doorbell and house phone rang at the same time. Tony was just about to walk into the kitchen. He asked me to get the phone while he got the door.

"It's probably the cleaning service. I forgot to tell them about us self-quarantining."

I said sure and reached for the phone.

"Hello, Falzone residence. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is the Tampa Police Department. Is Mr. Falzone there?"

"He's busy at the moment. Can I take a message?"

"Yes ma'am. It's very important that he get out of there. A Mr. Rick Wilson may be on the way there. He's armed and has already shot one person at his former place of business. We have police on the way."

As the man's words sunk in I dropped the phone and began to run, yelling to Tony, when a shot rang out.

I reached the front door just in time to see Tony slump to the floor as sirens blared and Rick ran away.

I screamed as I saw the blood pumping out of his chest. I ripped off my tee and pressed it to the wound.

"Please, don't die Tony. Please don't die."

I said it over and over like a mantra or a prayer.

Suddenly other hands were there and gently lifted mine away.

"We've got it from here ma'am. Please let us do our job."

There was chaos and voices all around me as I watched them put Tony on a gurney and into an ambulance and drive away. Jessica was there hugging me and police were trying to ask me questions.

I ignored them and grabbing his keys rushed to Tony's car. I drove over the grass to avoid all the police cars. I was aware they were shouting after me but I didn't care. I had to get to the hospital.

I pulled up to the emergency entrance and threw the keys at the valet and ran inside. I asked for Tony and the woman asked if I was family. I told her I was his girlfriend. She said he was in surgery and pointed me to a waiting room.

I must have been there for hours. I wasn't even conscious of wearing only my sports bra. My head was in my hands when I heard a doctor's voice in the distance.

"I'm sorry ma'am. We did all we could but he's gone."

I heard a woman screaming, "Nooooo!"

The woman was me.