“Arya, sweetheart ,” Arnie greets, his Brooklyn accent thick. “It has been too long. Look at you, you’re gorgeous. Even more beautiful than the last time. I hear you’re a mother now.”
I gawk at him. “How on earth did you hear that?”
He waves me away with a mysterious smile. “I hear everything, love. It is my job.” He surveys me with a careful eye. Then his smile curdles into a frown. “But if you’re here to see me, then things are not good, eh?”
I give him a sad smile. “I’ve been better. I’m sorry it took trouble for me to come see you, though.”
He shakes his head. “Nonsense. I’m glad I haven’t seen you. I hoped you got yourself out of this messy little corner of the world. A good girl like you, you deserve someone better than that slug you were with. He’s dead, did you hear?”
I saw, I
