23
" A nautilus shell. I've never found one before."
It was a nice big one, a rare find, not too damaged by the battering waves. Alex couldn't know it, but it was Mamma's favorite kind of shell. The nautilus is a symbol of harmony and peace, she used to say.
"You can have it if you want," he said, holding the shell out to her.
"No. You found it." Rosa kept her hands at her sides even though she wanted it desperately.
"I'm not good at keeping things." He wound up as if to throw it back into the surf.
"Don't! If you're not going to keep it, I will," Rosa said, grabbing it from him.
"I wasn't really going to throw it away," he said. "I just wanted you to have it. "
― Susan Wiggs , Summer by the Sea
24
" She pulled up to the curb in front of number 115, a boxy house with a garden so neat that people sometimes slowed down to admire it. A pruned hedge guarded the profusion of roses that bloomed from spring to winter. Each of the roses had a name. Not the proper name of its variety, but Salvatore, Roberto, Rosina- each one planted in honor of their first communion. There were also roses that honored relatives in Italy whom Rosa had never met, and a few for people she didn't know- La Donna, a scarlet beauty, and a coral floribunda whose name she couldn't remember.
The sturdy bush by the front step, covered in creamy-white blooms, was the Celesta, of course. A few feet away was the one Rosa, a six-year-old with a passion for Pepto-Bismol pink, had chosen for herself. Mamma had been so proud of her that day, beaming down like an angel from heaven. It was one of those memories Rosa cherished, because it was so clear in her heart and mind. "
― Susan Wiggs , Summer by the Sea
25
" I meant what I said about seeing you."
"Look your fill." She spread her arms and faced him with reckless confidence, goose bumps and all, even though she knew he'd dated women far more beautiful than she. Pictures of his glossy public life sometimes ran in the "Evening Hours" column of the Times. He always favored a "type." Patrician, fair and WASPy, his dates were as tall and thin as uncooked spaghetti.
Judging by the expression on his face now, Rosa suspected he might be willing to keep an open mind about his type. His eyes didn't just look, they touched. She felt a swift phantom caress on her lips, her throat, her breasts, as his gaze slipped over her. "
― Susan Wiggs , Summer by the Sea
31
" She was the world's best cook. Every night, she used to sing "Funiculi" while she fixed supper- puttanesca sauce, homemade bread, pasta she made every Wednesday. Rosa had loved nothing better than working side by side with her in the bright scrubbed kitchen in the house on Prospect Street, turning out fresh pasta, baking a calzone on a winter afternoon, adding a pinch of basil or fennel to the sauce. Most of all, Rosa could picture, like an inedible snapshot in her mind, Mamma standing at the sink and looking out the window, a soft, slightly mysterious smile on her face. Herr "Mona Lisa smile," Pop used to call it. Rosa didn't know about that. She had seen a postcard of the Mona Lisa and thought Mamma was way prettier. "
― Susan Wiggs , Summer by the Sea
32
" At present, the ottoman was occupied by a pair of cats who eyed Alex with blasé effeteness. He stuck his hands in his pockets and eyed them back.
"Romeo and Juliet," she told him. "They used to be lovers, but since that visit to the vet they're just friends."
"Are they friendly?" he asked, stretching out a hand at Romeo's funny pushed-in face.
"They're cats," she said, grinning as Romeo turned up his nose at the outstretched hand. Juliet wasn't interested, either. They poured themselves off the furniture, then minced away.
"I think they've been talking to your friends at the restaurant," Alex said.
"They don't talk to anyone." She saw him glance at the terrarium on the windowsill. "The turtles are Tristan and Isolde, and their offspring are Heloise and Abelard."
"So where are Cleopatra and Mark Antony?" he asked.
"In a tomb in Egypt, I imagine. But you can look in the fish tank and see Bonnie and Clyde, Napoleon and Josephine, and Jane and Guildford."
He bent and peered into the lighted tank. "Fun couples. Is it a coincidence that they all ended tragically?"
"Not a coincidence, just poor judgment."
"Isn't it bad karma, naming your pets after doomed lovers?"
"I don't think they care. "
― Susan Wiggs , Summer by the Sea
33
" The girls watched them, whispering among themselves. Rosa didn't miss the looks they shot at Alex- adoring, possessive looks. She felt an awkward moment coming on.
"Hey, Alexander," said the prettiest, blondest one of all, "let's go over to my place. My parents are gone for the day."
He looked at them, then over at Rosa. She wanted to die, completely die. She never should have come here, never should have agreed to meet him in town. They were from two different worlds, and unless they were alone, they made no sense together.
"Thanks, Portia, but I can't," he said with a grin. "I'm busy." With that, he brushed the sand off his arms and chest and walked over to Rosa. "Ready?" he said.
Behind her, Linda sighed audibly.
"Completely," Rosa said. "
― Susan Wiggs , Summer by the Sea