CHAPTER 9
Carlo called his father after his nightly phone call with the nanny. Pamina had said Jo-Jo wasn't settling and had been fractious since lunchtime.
He'd asked if he needed to dispatch a doctor to check on the infant. The nanny had said no that she thought it was simply a matter of Jo-Jo missing Annette. "She's used to her aunt being there all of the time from what I've seen. She doesn't want to accept substitutes," Pamina had said.
Carlo had mentioned that opinion to his father and been shocked at the older man's response. "Of course, the baby misses her. Annette is practically the only mother she's known these past three months."
"What do you mean?" Carlo demanded. How much had Fantino neglected to tell him?
Was it because for the past five years, Carlo had made it clear he expected his family not to mention Annette to him?
He'd tolerated the occasional and inevitable times he would see her in person once Fantino and Joyce became serious about each other, but Carlo wanted no reminders of the most humiliating andsì, painful, episode in his life.
Not that he would ever admit to the emotional pain. He'd locked it away and chalked the relationship up as a learning experience.
But the cost of that learning experience had been steep. Not only had he nearly lost his father, but then a distant cousin had tried to take over the company because of Carlo's notoriety and the rumors circulating about him after he was jilted at the altar.
"Joyce was too ill to be a parent. You know this."
Only Carlo hadn't. Fantino had never said anything of the sort when they spoke or texted. The first he'd heard of the clinic had been today.
"She rejected Jo-Jo completely," his father went on, his voice heavy with sadness. "Fantino said she had postpartum depression. That's why he took her to California. He checked her into a clinic there that specializes in treatment of severe cases."
"And Joyce's case was that serious?" Fantino had never once mentioned his wife's illness to Carlo, and Carlo did not understand why.
"Sì.So severe she had thoughts of hurting both herself and her daughter. Without Annette's help, Fantino would have drowned under the pressure and Jo-Jo would not have thrived. Annette tried to help Joyce without professional intervention, but things were getting worse, not better. Fantino told me when they left for California that Joyce had not so much as held Jo-Jo in several days and she struggled to get out of bed each day."
Well, that explained why Fantino hadn't opened up about what was going on after the birth of his daughter. Carlo may have gotten a little over the top when Annette's name had been mentioned for the past five years.
None of his family knew about the sexual relationship that had started at the wedding. He hadn't wanted anyone assuming he was getting back together with her, but he could see now he should have at least told Fantino he and Annette werefriendsagain.
Not that she had been acting very friendly the past couple of months. Ever since that less than successful video chat, she'd been ignoring his texts and phone calls.
"You know Annette took a leave of absence from work to take care of the baby and help her sister?" his father asked. "I think she had plans to move back to New York."
Stunned, Carlo did not answer. He hadnotknown.
That was not the story Annette's father had been spinning to Carlo the past months. Moreover, his on-again-off-again lover had never mentioned plans to move across country, much less take time away from her job to care for their niece.
"I hadn't known that, actually. I thought she only came to watch Jocinda when they left for California."
"Oh, not at all. I know you have your reasons for thinking less of Annette, but she's been a good sister to Joyce and a loving aunt to my granddaughter."
"I wish Fantino had told me." His younger brother could have told him about Joyce's illness at the very least. They could have gotten in home therapy, or something.
"He didn't want you thinking less of him."
"Why would I?"
"Because he thought less of himself. He left Joyce on her own during the week, staying near the office in the city. He only went to her and the baby on the weekends and he thought her depression was his fault."
Apparently, his brother and father had discussed the difficulties going on extensively, but Fantino had not once brought them up to Carlo. According to Annette, Fantino had initially been the one to call and ask her to come help with the baby.
And he had not said word one to Carlo.
"He could have taken time off." Carlo hated knowing his younger brother had not been willing to share his difficulties with him. "I would have covered for him."
"He didn't want to take time off." His father's tone held resignation, not censure for her younger son's choices. "He spent the first two weeks in California with Joyce, but after that he flew back to visit her on the weekends."