The ExcursionThe taxi-carriage deposited me on a lonely, windblown street in front of a peeling white storefront.
Acevedo Spadros II brought young Molly Hogan here to run a new grocery at the start of their own romance affair. I imagined times long past, when the streets raged with Family warfare.
As I entered, the hinges squealed; a bell rang. Rows of low shelves displayed dusty out-of-date fabrics. The peeling gray-green paint did little to make the cold room appear any better. Across the room, a rickety counter stood in front of a doorway missing its door, the bare wall past it lit by an overcast sky.
A woman with graying brown hair dressed in widow’s brown came into view. “May I help you?”
I rushed over. “It’s me. Jacqui. How is he?”
Eleanora Bryce sagged. “I’m glad I didn’t recog
