ITALY, NAPLES 

The morning sunlight filtered through the lace curtains in soft strips, laying patterns across the edge of the bed where Valentina sat with her phone in hand. She’d been staring at the email for ten minutes now, re-reading the words from the foundation even though she’d memorized them on the first pass. We’d like to have you back, starting next week, maybe we'd discuss reduced hours at first, flexible schedule. It wasn’t a demand, more like an invitation, but ...