“Mystery still lives,” he said in Italian.
The pounding in my ears from my heart drowned out any words forming. The rest of the night was not dictated by the clock, but by the brightening of the sky as a watery sun came to resume its place.
2
Scarlett
Another dreary day in Venice, but at least the rain had slowed to a pitter patter instead of a shower.
Mia, eager to explore, couldn’t wait to hit the streets, her little green and pink Froggie rainboots splashing in puddles as we maneuvered the narrow roads.
Being cooped up without much to do to expel the energy over the last two days had set her wild spirit loose on the world. All throughout breakfast and exploring, she gave us both a run for our money. Matteo was constantly being swapped out.
For the most part, though, Brando kept Mia close, wary of all the water. She’d had her eye on it since we’d arrived, and it made me anxious. She inherited my talent for being slippery, and his fearless love of water.
A few of the other children were eyeing it too, but one look at their grandfather quelled the curiosity. He’d noticed their gazes too. But Mia? She batted her lashes at him and then kissed him on the nose. Putty.
Not enough to keep her daddy from giving her the stern eye when she pulled him too close to the edge to see, though—“What’s in dere, Papà? We wim!”
She even went as far as dropping her orange in to see if Brando would jump in and get it for her. Her eyes narrowed, a severe look of concentration coming across her face, when he bought her another orange instead.
I recognized the look at once. She was clever enough to keep thinking this through. She was intent on someone, even if not herself, going for a swim.
All this water, her looked seemed to say.Why let it go to waste?
To see on Mia’s face a look everyone else saw on my face was a bit unnerving. Brando called it my “clever” face. He said the same thing about Mia, shaking his head. I had to agree with him this time. The end of this trip couldn’t come soon enough for me.
The thought of Mia falling into that water…my palms became slick with sweat, even though the weather was cool.
“Ow, Mamma!” she said, staring up at me.
I lessened the hold on her hand, but not by much. Then I decided to pick her up, which made her squirm in my arms.
Eunice usually helped divert her attention some, but she had gone on a date with Agosto, the man she met in Positano. The two were on a romantic gondola ride Brando had arranged for them. We were meeting her at the palazzo after lunch to drop the children off.
Luca had requested our last evening in Venice be spent with him and Maggie Beautiful, exploring the city of masks as a family, and then ending our time with a family dinner.
He had requested to speak to me privately during our time out. Brando bristled at this. Luca assured him, though, that we could speak during one of the tours, and Brando could stay close enough.
Whatever Luca needed from me, he felt at the mercy of his son to get it, which unnerved me.
What could be so important that he gave in to his son’s demands to speak to me alone?
After we returned to the palazzo, Brando stared at me as I applied a little more makeup, and then while I packed a pair of heels to wear to the restaurant in my bag. I had worn a long-sleeved black top, a pair of wide black slacks, Brando’s (my) leather jacket, and a pair of stylish Italian-made rubber boots to keep my feet comfortable until we went to dinner. It was too wet for anything else.
Maggie Beautiful had convinced Luca to go relatively casual, for his tastes.
My bangle bracelets clanked when I bent to slip my boot on, but Brando stopped me, doing it himself.
“I’ve come to a decision,” he said, not looking me in the eye, keeping his focus on my shoes.
“Oh?”
I’d noticed that while he held Matteo earlier, when I had Mia’s hand, he kept kissing his temple, holding him close. The thoughtful look in his eyes took me someplace deep inside of his mind, though his thoughts went even deeper. Mia’s tenacity hadn’t given me the time to delve in further though.
“Mitch turned me down, about staying with us, but I refuse to accept the same decision from Tito.”
A knock came at the door. We both turned to look.
