Something happened to my father.
The moment he hung up, I charged toward him. “What’s wrong, Wes? Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s not about us,” he said, letting out a long breath. “It’s my grandmother.” His voice shook. “She’s not doing well. They don’t think she’s going to be alive much longer.” His eyes glistened.
“Oh no.” I covered my mouth. “I’m so sorry. Has she been ill for a while?”
Wes nodded. “Lung cancer. She’s lived a decade longer than the doctors predicted. But it’s finally gotten to be too much for her. They think she only has days to live.”
I placed my hand on my chest. “How old is she?”
“Seventy-nine.”
“You should go see her…”
He shook his head. “Juliette… I don’t need to tell you that’s not possible right now. I can’t just leave you here.” He exhaled, looking tormented.
“Where does she live?”
“Same place as my mom. Down the shore.”
I rushed back to my room to grab my phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling my father.”
Wes hung his head, but he didn’t try to stop me. He might have been hesitant to piss my father off, but I hadnoproblem doing that.
“Juliette,” my father said as he picked up. “Is everything okay?”
“Wes and I need to leave Ortigia as soon as possible,” I stated matter-of-factly. “His grandmother is dying, and he needs to be able to say goodbye. I won’t take no for an answer. You need to let him go see her without penalty.”
My father let out a long sigh. “And what about your safety?”
“I’ll be with him. No one’s gonna find us there. His family lives down the Jersey Shore, far away from the city. We can come right back here after.”
“I’m worried about this, Juliette.” He paused. “But I can’t let a guy not see his nonna before she dies.”
“Exactly.” I expelled a relieved breath. “Thank you for understanding.”
“Listen to me,” he ordered, his tone growing stern. “You need to make sure you stick with him. And you’ll fly back private again. We don’t need you wandering around airports right now. You’ll check in with me before you leave Jersey. Most likely you’ll head back to Italy, unless I tell you otherwise. But don’t book any flights without consulting me first. You hear me?”
“Okay.” I exhaled. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Wait. Don’t hang up. Put Wes on.”
I handed Wes my phone.
He took it. “Yes, sir.”
Wes just kept nodding and yessing my father. “Thank you again,” he finally said.
After he hung up, he exhaled and smiled softly at me. “Thankyou.”
“Of course.” I headed toward my room. “Now let’s get the hell out of here. We don’t have time to waste.”
“I’ll arrange for a car to come get us,” he called.
