mementos into it.
âAfter all your hard work, you should keep something for yourself,â Alice said. âI know theyâre rather silly little treasures, but are you sure thereâs nothing here youâd like to have?â
âThey arenât so silly after all, are they? And theyâve been buried together for all these years. I wouldnât want to separate them.â
âSo, you are sentimental after all.â Alice smiled. âDonât look so surprised, Leila. When you bought this old house, I wondered about you. You seemed so business-like, so self-possessed, so emotionless. But why, I asked myself, would such a modern person want such an old house? I donât know who made you believe that feelings donât matter, but they were very wrong.â
Leila looked out across the yard. âYou know, Alice, until I moved here and worked on this garden, I donât think I would have been able to understand that.â And before she knew it, Leila had told Alice the story of Sam and Marietta.
Alice listened patiently. âThis Marietta sounds a lot like Monica. A perfectly dreadful girl. But Iâm not sure Sam has forgotten you any more than Jonathan forgot Chloe. I think Sam just needs to wake up and realize that youâre a person with feelings. It sounds as if youâve been more like a mother, or perhaps another male friend, than a partner to him. The next time you see him, donât be afraid to let him know you have feelings. And if he canât respond to them, find a man who can.â
Leila laughed and thanked her.
Alice gave her a hug, and carrying the box of treasures, took her leave.
Leila made a big bowl of soup for dinner, went to bed and slept soundly.
----
The next day was a work day . She noticed that for some reason, men in the office were paying attention to her. She wondered if they had paid attention before, without her being aware of it, or if something about her had changed.
Later that evening, in line at the grocery store, a good-looking man stood just ahead of her. He smiled at her. When she smiled back, he spoke to her, laughing with her about an article featured on the cover of a tabloid. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
âLeila?â
She turned to see Sam and Marietta at the next checkout stand. She waved, and turned back to talk to the man who had been flirting with her. âFriend of yours?â he asked.
âFormer boyfriend,â she whispered, as the checker handed the man his change.
The man looked back at Sam and Marietta and shook his head. âHeâs crazy,â he whispered back, and to her shock, leaned over and kissed her cheek. âGoodbye, Leila,â he said loudly, âDonât forget our date!â He winked and smiled as he walked out with his groceries.
Leila blushed deeply, but then smiled to herself. The checker had to announce the amount she owed twice before Leila returned her attention to matters at hand. As she pushed her cart from the store, Sam came up beside her.
âWho was that?â he demanded.
âWho?â
âThe man with whom you just made a spectacle of yourself. The one who kissed you in the store. Or are there so many men kissing you in public that it is no longer a memorable experience?â
âReally, Sam, I donât think itâs any of your concern.â
Before he could answer, they heard Marietta from behind them. âSam!â she wailed as she tried to catch up to them with her own cart. âSam, get over here and help me.â
âYour masterâs voice,â Leila said, and started to load her groceries into her car.
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â he said angrily.
âLeila, is this fellow bothering you?â
She turned to see the man from the store. He had pulled up next to them and rolled down his window.
Sam looked so dismayed, it was all she could do not to laugh out loud. âNo,