TE17 Mysterious Montenegro

Serioja, Maria and the Mop (novel excerpt) by Alta Ifland

When Bill returned home later that night, he found Serioja asleep in the guestroom, his suitcase opened and half unpacked, a bottle of Scotch and an empty glass on the nightstand by the bed. The roomwas dark, but thewindows had no shades, and amoonbeam glimmered unhindered, revealing the face of a peaceful sleeper. Meanwhile, Sammy couldn’t decide whether Serioja’s sudden departure should make him happy or worried. He opted for “cautiously happy,” but then, he remembered that there was also Maria to consider. Strange, he kept forgetting about her, maybe because she was rarely home, and when she was, she rendered herself as invisible as Tania had been visible. The rare times when Sammy saw her, she avoided him, and almost never opened her mouth. The night Serioja left, Sammy waited for Maria to come home, then invited her into the kitchen for a talk. Theywere seated next to each other at the kitchen table, and under the raw, violent light, Sammy was able to take a good look at her for the first time. She had walked for a long time in the chilly winter air, and her cheeks had taken on a rosy color; her eyes were bright and inquisitive, and Sammy was surprised to admit to himself that she was quite attractive. Thiswas sounexpected that foraminuteor sohe forgot what he’d wanted to talk about. She wasn’t sexy (not the way Tania was, thank God) and there was a severe expression in her eyes, but there was something impressive, almost intimidating about her. 177