Ihad a lot on my mind as Thandie, Massimo, Ermanno and I took a walk around our property in Piemonte. Rocco and his family were using his office as home base as they prepared for the meeting with Francesco and his family. Rocco was eager for it, his brothers and Mac supporting him.
Luca…
I sighed, and a cold breath caused a cloud to form at my mouth, adding to the air that was already silver. The fog was heavy on the ground, so thick, it was hard to see our feet or the earthy floor.
Luca…
Luca seemed warmer toward me than he had been, but there was something there I couldn’t put my finger on. It was like he was walking the line, but at any second, he was going to step onto a side that was different from ours. I hadn’t asked Scarlett about Maggie Beautiful or her issue with her thyroid, and she hadn’t brought it up, but…I couldn’t help but wonder if Luca was content with the doctor’s finding or if he was worried there was more. I didn’t think sticking my nose in their business would do me any favors, especially since it seemed like Luca was keeping me at arm’s length.
Ermanno chatted almost incessantly as we took our winter walk. We were deep inside of February, and the ground was as frozen as the air. Occasionally, Thandie would look at me and smile. Massimo was doing his best to keep his temper in check. Ermanno’s gift of gab made him irritated, while it entertained Thandie. Ermanno was asking her all kinds of questions about her life before she came to Italy. He wanted to know all about New Orleans, and, if one day, he could visit with Thandie and his dad. Thandie and Ermanno were getting along great, and Massimo respected my wishes not to tell him to, basically, shut up.
Every so often, Massimo would give me a look, and it was such a Rocco look, I knew exactly what it meant.I’m going to stuff a sock in his mouth.I’d look away and grin.
Ermanno switched from New Orleans to the baby. He said he knew she had a name, but did we know for sure whether she was actually a she? The Fausti family was known for having more males than females.
“Well…” I touched my stomach. “I don’t know for sure, but I just have a feeling...”
He ran ahead of us to use the stick he’d found as a sword. Thandie went off in another direction—not too far, but to meet up with her husband to make sure he was doing all right. It was sweet the way they did that.
Ermanno came running back. “I don’t remember. Do you have a name if thebambinois a boy?”
“Ricco,” I said.
His eyes narrowed and, in a voice so deep I wondered if a bullfrog had gotten caught in it, he said, “RiccoSauve...”
I caught his shoulders before he could dash off again. Massimo continued to walk ahead, but not before he gave Ermanno a fierce look. Ermanno narrowed his eyes at Massimo’s back.
“He is moody,” he whispered. He looked up at me and made a whirling finger motion around his temple. “Cannot convince me otherwise, ah?”
I leaned down just a little and looked him in the eyes. His stared deep into mine. “Do you want to go live with your father and Thandie?”
He took a step back. “Do you not want me anymore,SignoraFausti? I will be great with thebambino, I swear it!”
I smiled at him. “He or she will be lucky to have you, Ermanno,” I assured him. “I was just wondering if you missed being with them all the time.”
His face scrunched. “Perhaps when they have more time to spare, I will enjoy spending it with them, but for now…I prefer to be where I am. As a plus, I get to see them, since they both have this high position in the family, protecting the king and queen!”
“All right,” I said, my voice as soft as it could be. “We love having you.”
“Besides,” he said almost conspiratorially from the side of his mouth, “SignorFausti is the greatest swordsman, and papà has approved ofSignorFausti teaching me.” He looked me in the eye again and placed a hand over his heart. “It is a great honor for my family.”
It was a bit outdated for him to feel such a way about swords, but I understood how swords and learning how to wield them stretched a hand from the past and connected with the hands of the present. It was something this family took pride in, that they had found a way to preserve the tradition over the years, just like they had found a way to preserve the history of their family—through photographs, handwritten letters, and documents.
I squeezed Ermanno’s shoulder and said, “That is a great honor.SignorFausti is the best.”
Ermanno ran ahead of me, swinging his stick as he did. Massimo narrowed his eyes on him as he passed. Then Massimoturned his back on Ermanno to look at me. Massimo shook his head at me, as if to say,he is a pest, and I had to keep my face schooled when Ermanno lifted the stick and poked it toward Massimo with a look on his face that wasn’t supposed to be funny. Ermanno lowered the stick toward Massimo’s ass and made a motion toward it, like…see, I have removed the stick from up his ass, Ari!
“Go collect chestnuts for me, Ermanno,” I said. “I need them.” Then I started cracking up.
I’d saved it for the right time.
Thank God for small favors, because right then, Massimo turned so fast, it was like he spun on ice. Ermanno was flying away from him, running as only a Shorty Fausti could do. He was pointing his stick in all different directions, like he was on guard.
If Massimo would’ve turned around at the same time Ermanno was pretending to remove the stick from up his ass…Ermanno would’ve gotten in trouble. It was times like those that made me think of Rocco and what he’d have to say on the matter.
“He is a Fausti, and he will behave like one.”
Just then, a small shape in the distance became whole, and Azzurra appeared. The sight of our next-door neighbor’s daughter (there were three of them and two sons) made me smile. She was truly one of the cutest girls I’d ever seen. She reminded me of Matilda, down to the haircut, except her eyes were crystal blue. She was dressed in a Where’s Waldo sort of sweater in golden yellow, matching hat, and a long skirt that reached her ankles, with tights underneath and worn-down boots.
