“Well, she could have a sperm donor now, but not in their day. She would have had to have an affair if she wanted to get with child.”
“Maybe she didn’t want anyone else’s child but Paulo’s,” Abby said.
Marcia nodded, and hooked her arm through Abby’s as they made their way to one of the café tables overlooking the square.
“Probably. She loves him to death. He offered her a divorce. A strict Roman Catholic—scandalous. That’s how much he loved her, he couldn’t bear to see her so unhappy.”
“Children are something you can’t compromise on,” Abby said sadly. “You have or have not.”
Marcia eyed her in horror. “Do you not want children?”
“Of course. I was raised as an only child after my brother died. I’ve always wanted a large family.”
“Thank goodness, so does Dante. No problem there then. When you originally left him, I thought it was because you didn’t want children.”
Abby’s face heated. How she wished she’d had them back then, then she wouldn’t be faced with a potentially childless future. “I wasn’t ready.”
“Are you ready now? I hope so. Dante is. He feels the responsibility of being the last Lombardi male.”
“What if I couldn’t have children—hypothetically, likePaulo,” she added hurriedly. “I’d have to let Dante divorce me too.”
Marcia’s smile dimmed. “Are you saying you can’t have children?”
“No,” she said sharply. “It’s just—you never know. We simply assume getting pregnant is as easy as drinking a glass of water. Sometimes it’s not.”
“For me it is.” She laughed. “Alexus calls me the baby-making machine.”
“What would you have done if you found out you couldn’t have children? What would Alexus do?”
She stopped eating for a moment. Thinking hard. “I don’t really know. I know we would have found a way. Alexus loves me. It would have been hard. All men want a son. Well, most Italian men do. We’re very traditional. There is adoption of course, or infertility treatments that were not around in Delores’s time. And even surrogacy. Perhaps Salice would have a baby for me,” she joked.
“That’s a lot to ask of someone.”
“Si, but if the positions were reversed and Salice couldn’t have a child it would be awful. I’d want to do anything to help her. You do that for those you love.”
“You’re lucky to have each other.” Abby wished she had a sister to confide in.
“I know.” Marcia opened her purse and took out pictures of her children. “I am so lucky. I forget that sometimes. Are you worried because you’re not pregnant yet? Don’t be. It’s only been seven weeks. And the more you stress the harder it is to get pregnant, they say.”
Abby remained silent. If only it were that simple.
Marcia changed the subject. She took a sip of her coffee. “Are you happy here, Abby? You’ve hardly mentioned England at all. I was wondering if you have really given your heart to Tuscany and your life here, or if you’re holding on to yourlife in England?”
“My grandmother is here, Dante is here. This is now my home. I hardly miss the weather, or the food…”
“But your friends? You must miss them.”
“I Skype and call them. It’s not like I’ve gone to the end of the world. I’ve still got my business and I’ll pop across to visit when I can. Or they’ll visit me here.”
She patted Abby’s arm. “You will make friends here. I know I haven’t been that welcoming. That’s going to change. I’ll introduce you to a few women. We have a book club every fortnight. It’s not really a book club, more a gossip and escape-the-children night. You must come.”
“That would be lovely, thank you.”
“I’ve been a bit distant because I had to pick up the pieces after you left the first time. Dante couldn’t hide how devastated he was by your desertion.” She held up her hand when Abby started to protest. “He was. He loves you, and I was worried when you returned this time that you’d hurt him again. Are you here to stay?”
“I hope so.”
“I hope so, too. Then I suggest that you and I become very good friends. I know I’d never have survived this family without Salice to confide in, to ask for help and support. You haven’t got a sister. Well, you have one now.” She leaned over and hugged Abby.
