Scarlett shook her head. “Nothing,” she whispered. “Whatever Daddy has is yours to give or not as you want. I just know you don’t want his dogs. Neither does the woman sitting across from me.”
“Hah!” The leech slammed her hands on her hips. “I do want his dogs. Mati?”
Pnina sighed. “Scarlett gets the dogs. The rest...” She waved a hand. “I am too tired to discuss right now.”
“Mati!”
“Mom.”
All eyes turned toward the oldest of Charlotte’s sons, Charles, who seemed like a decent man. It seemed as if all the Fausti siblings got along with all of Charlotte’s children. It was Charlotte herself, and her husband, who seemed to be the problem.
“Let it go for now,” he said. “Grampsjust left us. This isn’t fair toBabica.And as a lawyer, I can tell you,Babicadoesn’t have to decide today who gets what. She’s still here!” He stood from his chair so fast it almost fell to the ground. Marciano caught it before Charles’s wife did. She stood after her husband and ran behind him.
“Go to your room, Charlotte,” Pnina whispered, but her voice was laced with sadness. “Just…go to your room. You make me tired.”
Charlotte’s mouth fell open, and she huffed and stormed out of the room. Her husband drained the rest of his drink and went for the covered patio in the back of the house. He seemed to enjoy smoking cigars and getting drunk off the finest alcohol the house had to offer.
Pnina started to pass Scarlett. She stopped. It seemed as if the room was holding its breath, as if mother and daughter touching was a rare occurrence. I knew this feeling. I did not get hugged or touched either. I was the outcast, same as Scarlett was.
Although…I sensed a change in her mother. Perhaps the woman was coming to see how wrong she had been about whatever she had put Scarlett through. Mia had given me a hint. Marciano as well.
Scarlett and I were kindred spirits in this.
Pnina seemed to move closer to Scarlett, then she took her hand back, straightened her designer pantsuit, and left the room.
The air seemed to flow back in.
We all stood, going our separate ways.
The sky was overcast, and I stared out the window as I searched for signs of another storm as Brando spoke to his sons in a hushed tone. It was as if we were back at the funeral again. Mariano squeezed my shoulder and then went upstairs after the talk with his father. I followed the path he took to our room. He was going to change out of his suit and into something he could run in.
Always racing.
My eyes scanned the antique pictures on the way back down. A line of them hung on the walls. They were so old they had beendone in paint. The eyes. The eyes made me shiver, and I rubbed my arms, feeling cold suddenly.
The eyes seemed to follow.
“Same,” Scarlett said as she stood beside me. “Those pictures have always given me an odd feeling. It’s as if the painter knew how to take a part of his subject and set it in motion for all time. Those people are related to me. Not that they scare me, but…let’s just say they’ve always reminded me of those dolls that can open and close their eyes.” She sighed. “Our men are going for a run. Mia’s cooking dinner. Stella’s going to nap. Want to walk with me? We’ve never truly had a chance to talk.”
I nodded.
She held out her arm for me and I took it.
We helped each other into rain boots before we stepped outside. She whistled for her father’s dogs (now her and Brando’s dogs), and they came bounding down the steps, each taking a side. Perhaps some people did not believe dogs could understand death, but I had always felt they understood loss, felt it as deeply as we did. Once a connection is formed, no matter what type of animal, they feel it as we do when it is severed. This was why some animals refused to eat and grieved themselves to death.
I had a feeling Everett’s dogs would do the same if they stayed with Pnina or were forced to go with Charlotte. The dogs seemed at home with Scarlett. The warmth from this thought filled my heart some.
The humid air seeped into my clothes as soon as we stepped out the door. It felt as if pressure surrounded us, and as soon as it broke again, we would be able to breathe again. This was weather that fish could enjoy outside of the water. The dogs did not seem to mind it either. Scarlett flung a ball, and they both chased after it. One of the dogs brought it to me and I did the same as Scarlett, smiling as they both gave chase.
Scarlett smiled at me. “You’re good with animals.”
“I love them,” I admitted.
“Horses?”
“My relationship with horses is complicated,” I admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I—” I stopped.
My husband’s father exited the house before his sons, one right behind the other.
