Maestro nodded and then Alegna left the room. Once she was gone, I wrinkled up my nose. “Sorry, Maestro. I didn’t know.”
A smile crossed Maestro’s face and he wagged a finger at me. “See what I mean? Observant.”
We stood in silence for about ten minutes until Alegna came back looking a little more stressed than she’d been when she left. I expected, based on that expression, for her to tell me my request had been declined, but she nodded. “Mr. Cavetti says he’s fine with you coming along but sends a warning to be on your best behavior.”
“Yes, of course,” I said.
“Okay. Let’s go then. We’re already late.”
For the first time since I’d arrived over ten years ago, I was led outside the Cavetti’s estate. Maestro and Alegna walked with bored confidence, but I kept looking up at the sky as though it wasn’t the same sky I could see from the alleyway or the garden. Of course, to me, it wasn’t. It was the sky people saw who were free. It didn’t have the gray bricks of the Cavetti’s mansion stabbing up into it. The blue stretched for miles and the only things that broke it were the wisps of white clouds and the glowing sun. I closed my eyes for a minute and let the cold air cut across my face.
I didn’t even realize I’d stopped moving until Alegna grabbed my arm. “Philippa?”
It actually made me jump a little. “Yes? Oh. Sorry.”
She gave me a warm smile then. “That’s okay. You were right. It’s good for you to get out for a little bit. Let’s go.”
It was almost frightening how much the world outside had changed in the ten years I’d been holed up at the Cavetti’s. The last time I’d even been in a car was the day my mother died. My father brought me to the estate, offered me as a staff member to spare my life, and left without looking back. I could only hope that he was somewhere safe and happy. Maybe with my brother? His wife had just had a baby not long before my mother died. Maybe they were all together.
Would I ever see them again?
“What’s that?” I asked as we passed a rather large building on the edge of downtown Chicago.
“The St. Regis,” Alegna replied. “Isn’t it incredible? It’s one of the tallest buildings in the world.”
“Tallest in the world ever designed by a woman,” Maestro tacked on. “I might have known you’d pick that one out.”
I smiled as we passed the building so tall I had to crane my neck just to see the top. “Amazing.”
Eventually, we reached a warehouse supply store and Maestro pulled right up to the front of the building. Alegna started to climb out, so I followed suit. I stepped quickly to the other side of the car, and Maestro leaned towards the open window.
“I’ve got a drop and I’ll be back in exactly one hour. Try not to be late. You know how Angelo gets,” he said.
“We shouldn’t be that long with an extra set of hands,” Alegna replied. “Thank you.”
He gave us one last smile then rolled up the tinted black window and pulled away. “He doesn’t stay?” I asked as we made our way inside.
“No. Mr. Cavetti is a two birds with one stone kind of man. He usually has Maestro dropping supply while I’m shopping. What specifically, I don’t know, and I don’t ask. I would advise you to take the same stance,” Alegna explained.
“Of course,” I said.
We walked in and it was so strange to be around hundreds of people who were just going about their daily lives. Office workers and stay at home parents who didn’t have to deal with things like their lovers faking their deaths to please their off-their-rocker father.
How strange.
“Okay,” Alegna said, handing me a piece of paper. “Here’s a list of half the things we need. You were so gung ho, so I gave you everything at the far back of the store. If you start on the right and work your way to the left, the things should be listed in the order you’ll cross them. I wrote down the brand names because Mr. Cavetti is strict about the brand. Do not get anything that isn’t on this list. Clear?”
I nodded. “Crystal.”
“Good. Go then. Don’t dawdle. I’ll meet you at the cash registers to check out when we’re done,” she said.
We each grabbed a cart and wheeled away from the starting point. I kept an eye on Alegna, watching until she was no longer in my line of sight, then as quickly as I could, I whisked my cart over to the bathrooms and ducked inside the women’s. Fortunately, there was no one inside, so I made my way down to the third stall and slipped inside, locking the door behind me. Against the left side of the stall, there was a small, metal garbage can screwed in and when I grabbed it, exactly as Gianni had said, it was only screwed in at the top, so the bottom would lean away. When I pulled, a small, white envelope dropped out and slid across the floor. My heart leaped when I saw my name scrawled on the front in Gianni’s familiar handwriting.
I picked it up and smiled, and though I wanted to read it immediately, I didn’t have time, so I shoved it in my pocket and made my way back out to the store, sighing with relief when Alegna was nowhere in sight. I retrieved my cart and made my way to the back of the store, my heart pounding with adrenaline.
Our plan worked, Gianni.
“When is the next shopping day?” I asked Alegna and Maestro when we were back in the car on the way home.
