"Five minutes," Dante says. "You're older than me by five minutes."
"Yes, that makes you my little brother," she says. "Can we get another coffee? All this shopping has drained my energy.”
Dante takes us to a nearby "bar," where we order espresso and affogatos. As soon as our drinks are served, Ida whips out her camera and takes photographs.
"You're ruining my reputation in this town," Dante mumbles as he watches his coffee be photographed from three different angles.
"Get over yourself," Ida says, putting the camera away only after she gets the perfect shot. "And it's for the memories. I want to remember today."
Dante's eyes soften as he looks at his sister.
But something different happens today. Instead of the pain that usually clouds his eyes, there's happiness there. He's finally letting go of the things that happened in the past.
Ida scoops some of the vanilla ice cream coated with espresso. She smiles after taking the first bite.
"Hits the spot every time," she says.
"It's so good," I say, nodding in agreement.
When Ida is busy people watching, I feel Dante looking at me. There's so much desire in his eyes, and it's all for me. The new pink dress I changed into has a corset top that exaggerates my curves. He takes his time checking me out, letting his eyes wander down every inch of me before landing on my lips.
Need builds inside me like a dormant volcano.
Everything inside me comes alive, blooming under his dark gaze.
"Excuse me, I need to go to the ladies' room," I say, standing up.
I feel Dante's eyes on me as I walk away. A moment later, I feel someone following me. I push the door open to the restroom and glance behind me, expecting to see Dante. But it's another woman.
I smile at her politely, but there's something strange about her. She's speaking with someone on the phone, and she's standing way too close to me.
And when the door closes behind her, she locks it.
My intuition screams at me torun.
"Actually, I left something outside,” I say, trying to get past her.
The lady raises her eyebrows at me. She doesn't step out of my way.
"Yeah, she's right here," she says into the phone. And then she hands it to me. "Your mother wants to speak with you."
My blood turns to ice. I forget how to breathe.
I want to scream for Dante, but the phone is thrust in front of my face. I take the phone from her and place it to my ear. I take a deep breath.
"Mother?" I say.
"Dearie," a soft voice croons. "It's been too long. Haven't you missed me?"
It's her. It's really her.
The familiar dread starts to sneak up on me, but I make myself remember that everything is different now.
I'mdifferent now.
"What do you want?" I ask, my voice sounding stronger than I currently feel.
"That's no way to speak to your mother," she snaps. "I heard you found someone who wanted to marry you. I never thought I'd see the day."
