19
Richie couldn’t put it off any longer.
He drove to the house on Telegraph Hill that he once thought of as a second home. Over a year had passed since he last dropped in for a quick visit, and guilt swept over him as he approached. The building, like almost all in this neighborhood, consisted of two flats. The bottom one shared ground level with the garage, and the upper flat was larger, taking up the entire floor.
After ringing the doorbell, he heard a buzz and pushed open the door. “Hello,” he called as he climbed the long staircase to the top floor.
“Richie! Can it be?” Dolores Russo had come down a few steps and leaned over the banister to see who had walked in. “It’s so good to see you.”
He all but ran up the rest of the stairs to greet her with a kiss on the cheek and a long h
