One Last Call Before Goodbye novel · Chapter 10 of 16

Chapter 10: Both Halves

Clifford looked at Louise.

Then he looked at me.

"Protect," he said. "Protect what?"

I stared at the crumpled notice in Louise's hand.

The small, elegant H.

Five years of keeping quiet, and it had bought her nothing.

"Her salon," I said. "Your mother bought her building. She told me if I ever called you again, Louise would lose it."

He sat down slowly on the bench.

"When?"

"Wednesday night. An hour after I called you."

"And five years ago?"

I took a breath.

The cold air hurt all the way down.

"Five years ago she met me at the diner on Ditmars," I said. "The one with the red booths."

"I know the one."

"She had a check ready, and a speech to go with it."

He didn't move.

"She said nobody in New York would ever hire you while you were with me. She said there was a residency at Whitford with your name on it the day I left."

"Did you take it?"

"I tore it in half," I said. "Right there on the table."

Louise sat down on the bench below us and put her face in her hands.

"She pushed the pieces back at me," I said. "She told me to keep them for whenever I felt noble."

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