“Something wrong?” Maggie Beautiful asked, looking up at Luca.
It took him a second to come back to himself. He shook his head, leaning down to kiss her before he returned to his seat. He waved his hand, like nothing was amiss, but said no more.
The old man, Signor Agosto Fucilla, stood by the entrance to the veranda, hesitating to come forward and interrupt. Before I could react, Scarlett stood abruptly, causing everyone at the table to stare at her.
“I—ah—the man…roses…” She turned, rushing from the table toward him.
She wore a long-sleeved tight black top, wide leather belt, and long flowing pants that moved with the breeze. Her bracelets caught the glint of sunlight flowing through the pergola, overflowing with greenery, as she wiped her hands on her pants.
Her movements were rushed, her back stiff.
Wiping my mouth on a napkin, I stood, following behind her. Eunice took Scarlett’s seat to be closer to the children.
Agosto was smiling when I walked up, gesturing to the area where he’d planted the roses. He greeted me as I put a hand to Scarlett’s shoulder. He suggested that we walk with him, so he could show us what he’d done.
She was all too eager to agree.
Following behind Agosto, we stopped when we came to the freshly planted roses, yet to bloom, and stood around, waiting for him to speak.
He removed a handkerchief from his back pocket, wiping his face every so often as we discussed how to care for them. Handing Scarlett a card, he explained that if we were not going to be around much, his sons—he nodded to the two men behind him—were in the business of taking care of them.
While the man went on, another change took place—one extreme to another.
Scarlett’s eyes narrowed, then her face softened, and she stroked my hand with her thumb.
Before I could turn, Agosto’s face seemed to mirror hers.
Eunice held Mia’s hand as she pulled her forward. Mia sounded like an excited little bird, chirping away about Mamma andPapà’s flowers, about babies, and how they smell. Matteo was in Eunice’s arms, starting to grunt against her shoulder.
Scarlett met them, taking him in her arms, patting him on the back, while Mia ran to me and I lifted her up.
“I want to see da flowers!”
Agosto smiled at her, waving in a friendly way while he explained to her how the flowers grew, but then he looked up at Eunice and smiled. A second later, he remembered his gardening hat and, removing it, set it over his heart.
“Is this your sister?” Agosto asked Scarlett.
Eunice smiled, her face flushing.
“No,” Scarlett said, adjusting Matteo. He was starting to grunt louder, searching for his food. “This is Eunice. She’s the children’s honorary grandmother. Eunice, this is Agosto Fucilla. He planted our roses.”
Fuck me. The rose man was hitting on Eunice, and Scarlett seemed to approve.
Eunice and Agosto stared at each other, neither finding words. Agosto seemed taken; Eunice seemed hesitant.
Moving closer to me, Scarlett offered Agosto and his sons refreshments and food, urging them all to eat.
“Can you show them?” Scarlett asked Eunice. “I need to feed Matteo. I think we’ll sit out by the roses while I do.” She nudged me, smiling to cover it up.
“Yeah—” I cleared my throat. “I need to watch—Mia.”
“MIA!Fiori!”
“Wonderful, wonderful!” Agosto said. “A man needs to eat, ah?”
“Onderful,onderful!” Mia mimicked, using the same exact excited tone under her breath.
We’d been teaching her that even though it was acceptable to mimic sometimes, other times it was not polite. This time, though, she couldn’t seem to help herself.
