“Elio, my dear son, you finally brought her to us.”
I leaned forward and moved the steak knife from Sienna’s reach.
“Mama.” I quickly jumped up and kissed her cheeks. “This is Sienna.”
Sienna stood and hesitantly offered a hand, but my mother leaned in for a hug, and I noticed Sienna’s face softened for just a moment.
“It’s lovely to meet you, dear. You can call me Andrea, and this is my husband Piero.” My father, an older version of myself, offered a hand, then he laughed and pulled her into a hug. We were a true Italian family. No one was unwelcome, until they gave us a reason to change our minds.
“We’ve heard about you for years.” My father took a seat at the table and reached over to pour my mother a glass of sparkling wine. “I won’t lie, we may have believed you were imaginary, but when Elio started collecting your notes, we had to believe you just might be real.”
Sienna glanced up at me like she was trying to read my thoughts.
Good luck with that.
“I apologize for how I must look. We just had a swim.” She blushed as her hand went to her hair while looking down at her damp clothes. “If I had known I was meeting you today, I would have dressed appropriately.” She threw me a look, and I smirked, entertained by her glare.
“Nonsense.” My mother waved her off. “I think this is the first time I haven’t been in the pool before lunch.” She leaned back while Francesco placed a plate of fresh fruit in front of her. “Why don’t you share a little about yourself, since my son seems to have kept you all to himself.”
“Well, um.” She fought to think as a plate was placed in front of her. She took a deep breath and looked at me, then her chin lifted as she turned to face them. “I’d really love to sit here and give you a beautiful story about my loving parents and the opportunities that I was given, but I can’t.” I could feel the sadness in her voice. “All I know is what I’ve been told, that my father left after he got my mother pregnant, she moved here from somewhere, and we stayed with a friend of hers. Until one day she left, and I was told I had to live with one of his friends. I’ve never seen her since.” She gave a shy shrug. “As you can see, I don’t know much about where I came from. My life began rocky, and my memories are vague.”
“Oh.” My mother’s face fell.
“Like I said, not exactly a beautiful tale,” she whispered and cleared her throat.
“I understand you’re living with the Di Vaio family?” My mother leaned in closer.
“I am.”
“So, it’s true?” My father eyed me and shook his head. I gave him a nod to let him know I would be looking into who exactly was living at that house.
“Yes, sir, and I’m looking forward to the day I can leave. If they let me.”
“Let you?” I asked and caught Francesco holding a finger up to me that he would be right back. I gave a nod and went back to watching her.
She bit her lower lip and looked up at our faces. “I’ve been working at the dockyard for a few years now. I’m not afraid of hard work. I just don’t get my pay, as it all goes through Andrew Di Vaio. He only allows me money to buy clothes. Without money, it would be nearly impossible to go. I represent income for them, so it might not be easy to do.”
“You’re always welcome here, dear.” Mama put her hand over Sienna’s and gave her a warm smile.
“That’s very kind, thank you.”
It wasn’t lost on me that Sienna only ate the fruit and not the actual meal. The Italian in Mama wanted to insist that she eat, but I gave her a warning not to push. I knew Sienna was never fed much. I knew she always ate what I left for her, and I was happy to be able to do that, but a meal like the one we were having would overpower her stomach.
As the afternoon went on, I could feel her anxiety level rise. I knew it was her fear of being away from the house too long. My parents enjoyed talking to her. Despite what she had been through, she was quite smart and had a fire to her personality that I found very intriguing. However, I knew she needed to get back and stood to give her the out she needed.
“Thank you for such a lovely afternoon.” She hugged my mother. “Forgive me for not staying longer, but I must get going.”
“Wait, wait.” My mama held up a camera, and as she snapped a few photos, it surprised me that Sienna leaned into me and smiled warmly. Even my mother seemed pleased and snapped a few more as we were hustling around the table.
“I will walk with you.” I waited for her to say goodbye to my parents then led her back toward the path, her hand in mine.
She remained quiet for most of the way. I knew I had dropped her into a world she wasn’t ready for, but if I didn’t do it then, when? I started to get nervous and decided to be honest with her the way she had been with us.
“Sienna,” I reached out to stop her, “I’m sorry if that was a lot. I just wanted my parents to meet you.”
“Why?”
“Because I really like you.” What was she not getting?
“You can have any girl out there. I have nothing to offer you.”
“You’re different from any girl I have ever met.”
She closed her eyes, and a tear leaked out. I reached up and gently dragged my thumb down the damp path, catching the tear at the corner of her lips.
“You’re right. We are very different.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“I know, but it’s true.” She smiled and slid her hand from mine. “Thank you for an afternoon I will never forget.” She leaned up and gently kissed my cheek then disappeared through the brush back to what I knew must be hell for her.