Lessons Learned

for the last couple of years.”
    “This is big enough to hold a set for an army.”
    “Probably all packing,” Juliet muttered as she put her back into it. When the lid came off, she began to push at the heaps of Styrofoam.
    “Does your grandmother’s china have a trunk?”
    “A what?”
    “A trunk.” Unable to wait, Deb shoved through the styrofoam herself. “Good God, Juliet, it looks like an elephant.”
    Juliet saw the first foolish glitter and stopped thinking. “Help me get it out.”
    Between the two of them, they managed to lift the big, bulky piece of ceramic out of the crate and onto her desk. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen,” Deb said when she caught her breath. “It’s ugly, ostentatious and ridiculous.”
    “Yes,” Juliet murmured, “I know.”
    “What kind of madman would send you an elephant?”
    “Only one kind,” Juliet said to herself and ran her hand lovingly down the trunk.
    “My two-year-old could ride on it,” Deb commented andspotted the card that had come out with the packing. “Here you are. Now you’ll know who to press charges against.”
    She wouldn’t take the card. Juliet told herself she wouldn’t look at it. She’d simply pack the elephant back up and ship it away. No sensible woman became emotional about a useless piece of glass three feet high.
    She took the card and ripped it open.
     
    Don’t forget.
     
    She started to laugh. As the first tears fell, Deb stood beside her without a clue. “Juliet—are you all right?”
    “No.” She pressed her cheek against the elephant and kept laughing. “I’ve just lost my mind.”
     
    When she arrived in Rome, Juliet knew it was too late for sanity. She carried one bag which she’d packed in a frenzy. If it’d been lost en route, she wouldn’t have been able to identify the contents. Practicality? She’d left it behind in New York. What happened next would determine whether she returned for it.
    She gave the cab driver Carlo’s address and settled back for her first whirlwind ride through Rome. Perhaps she’d see it all before she went home. Perhaps she was home. Decisions had to be made, but she hoped she wouldn’t make them alone.
    She saw the fountains Carlo had spoken of. They rose and fell, never ending and full of dreams. On impulse she made the driver stop and wait while she dashed over to one she couldn’teven name. With a wish, she flung in a coin. She watched it hit and fall to join thousands of other wishes. Some came true, she told herself. That gave her hope.
    When the driver barreled up to the curb and jerked to a halt she began to fumble with bills. He took pity on her and counted out the fare himself. Because she was young and in love, he added only a moderate tip.
    Not daring to let herself stop her forward progress, Juliet ran up to the door and knocked. The dozens of things she wanted to say, had planned to say, jumbled in her mind until she knew she’d never be able to guarantee what would come out first. But when the door opened, she was ready.
    The woman was lovely, dark, curvy and young. Juliet felt the impetus slip away from her as she stared. So soon, was all she could think. He already had another woman in his home. For a moment, she thought only to turn and walk away as quickly as she could. Then her shoulders straightened and she met the other woman’s eyes straight on.
    “I’ve come to see Carlo.”
    The other woman hesitated only a moment, then smiled beautifully. “You’re English.”
    Juliet inclined her head. She hadn’t come so far, risked so much to turn tail and run. “American.”
    “Come in. I’m Angelina Tuchina.”
    “Juliet Trent.”
    The moment she offered her hand, it was gripped. “Ah, yes, Carlo spoke of you.”
    Juliet nearly laughed. “How like him.”
    “But he never said you would visit. Come this way. We’rejust having some tea. I missed him when he was in America, you see, so I’ve kept him home from the restaurant today to catch up.”
    It amazed her that she could find it amusing. It ran through her mind that Angelina, and many others, were going to be disappointed from now on. The only woman who was going to catch up with Carlo was herself.
    When she stepped into the salon, amusement became surprise. Carlo sat in a high-backed satin chair, having an intense conversation with another female. This one sat on his lap and was no more than five.
    “Carlo, you have company.”
    He glanced up, and the smile he’d