Page 18 of Dante

“For most of the world, courtship is followed by love and marriage. You just met Dante last night. And married him last night. Now it’s time for the courtship.”

I consider that. Angie may be crazy. But it sort of makes sense.

“You need to make him forget about her,” she continues. “Make him fall for you instead. Fix yourself up. Get fancy clothes. Get him to take you to his club.”

“If you think so...” I say.

“Girl, I know so. Get him to invite you to his club. And today we’ll buy the perfect club clothes so you’re ready. Let’s go.”

CHAPTER 8

GINA

Energized by the idea of shopping, Angie drags me out to the sidewalk and flags down a cab.

Once it pulls over, she settles me inside and orders the driver to a place called Soho.

“Sounds cool,” I say.

“Sounds cool? You haven’t heard of Soho?”

“Irvine, California, is pretty boring. We’re not up on you New York fashionista types.”

I turn my attention to the crowded street life outside, where pedestrians walk cheek by jowl. Back in suburban Irvine, it’s a rare occurrence to see anyone on the sidewalk at all.

Near Fifteenth Street, we pass by a gigantic Gothic building that seems to fill the entire block.

With a gasp, I recognize it as the Academy of Visual Arts from its website.

“Hey, are you okay?” Angie says as we pass it.

“Yes. I just didn’t expect to see the academy appear before me so suddenly. It looks so different than it does on the web.”

“Academy? That graduate school you spoke about last night?”

“Yes.”

“Does Dante know about this?”

“Not yet. Why?”

Angie just shrugs. “Most guys in the organization don’t want their wives to work. Or go to school either.”

“Maybe Dante’s different.”

“Maybe. But I don’t think so.”

A few minutes later, the taxi pulls over to the curb.

“Here we are,” Angie says, handing the driver some cash.

We step out onto the sidewalk.

“Cool boutique,” I say, looking at the nearest storefront. “What is this store?”

“Doors NYC,” she says proudly as we go inside. “Top boutique in Manhattan. Written up in all the fashionable magazines.”

The boutique is small but trendy. Salesgirls display full-on attitude. So I’m surprised when they smile and gesture a greeting to Angie like they know her.