“And if I don’t?”
“There isn’t anand.”
“I’m meeting a friend in town.” I decided not to push my luck today and just roll with it for now. I hopped inside, and he slammed the door a little harder than necessary then walked around to get into the driver’s seat. He sat there quietly until I realized he was waiting for me to give him the address. I prattled it off, and he gave me a curt nod and put the lovely vehicle in gear.
The car might be old, and smelled it, but it had been carefully maintained, and it was very impressive. I couldn’t help but admire my ride as we glided along the road. I caught sight of an old newspaper neatly tucked in the pocket behind the front seat and tugged it free. It was dated over a decade ago. Seriously? I wondered why they kept it there.
“Nice car.” I tried to make a little conversation, as the quiet was awkward.
“It was time to work out the kinks. She’s been sitting a while.” He eyed me from the mirror.
His expression was odd, but what did I expect? He worked for psycho Nonna.
I settled into the soft, leather seat and looked out the window. The small talk made me uncomfortable. I really missed Vinni.
By the time we got to town and weeded through the traffic I felt myself get excited about seeing Cara after all these years.
“Please stay where I can see you,” Abramo insisted as he held the door, and I tried not to poke him in the eye as I climbed out of the back seat. “Just signal that you’re moving, and I will follow from a distance.”
I didn’t say anything and started my way down toward the park where I was to meet Cara. There were bright, colorful flowers for as far as I could see. I took a moment to admire the view. Oh, how I loved this part of the world. It was truly beautiful.
“Sienna!” Cara called, and I spotted her waving. Her hands flew to her mouth as she raced toward me and nearly jumped into my arms. “Hi, friend!”
“Hi!” I hugged her back, and all my childhood memories of her came rushing back, and I started to cry. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Me too.” She pulled away and dried her cheeks. “You look so good!”
“So do you.”
She held up her hand and showed me her rings.
“You’re married?”
“Five years last month, and I have two boys.” She beamed and showed me a photo on her phone. “They are my everything, Sienna.”
“They’re so sweet.” We continued talking as we took a seat at a little table under a tree for shade.
“Wow, it’s so good to see your face.” She reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “I was so scared when you left that day, but I just imagined that Elio had swept you away and you were living in a castle way up on a mountain where no one could touch you.” I couldn’t help the few tears that slipped out. “Oh, no,” her face fell, “please tell me that’s what happened.”
“Not exactly.” I cleared my throat. “It’s a long story, but Elio had to leave Sicily suddenly, and so when I got to his place, he was gone.”
“What?”
“I couldn’t go back to the house, so I ran.” I gave her a quick rundown of what had happened in my life after I ran so many years ago. “Then I met a guy who became my best friend and slowly started to turn my life around.”
“I can’t believe that’s what happened, but I get not wanting to come back to the house.”
I gave her a terrified face as I shook my head.
“What about Elio?”
“The article that helped you find me was also how he found me.” I skipped over everything else. “It wasn’t all that long ago when we were reunited.”
“And?”
“And things are…” I fiddled with my hands, “complicated but good.” The words stung so hard I flinched at them. Elio and I weren’t okay, not even close.
“Well, that’s something. Was he married or have any kids?”