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Wear Your Heart On Your Skin In This Life
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Houston, Texas – America
I’M TIRED. IT WAS A running thought in her mind. When she woke, she would think it. When she prepared a meal, she would mumble it. When she slept she would dream about saying it. Exhaustion for her was the new normal.
And Shae couldn’t be happier.
She conceived in July. She didn’t know the day. That summer every day with Carlo was spent in his arms. If she had found out about the pregnancy sooner, she might have been able to trace it back to a special moment. However, her pregnancy remained a mystery to her until September. Three months had passed and all her body’s changes were dismissed due to her erratic schedule and stressful job at the girl’s home. How could she ever have known that such a precious gift developed into a little being in her womb?
Shae sat up in her bed. She had taken to napping during the day. A side-effect of being pregnant and the only defense to her growing weary state. It was dark in her room. The shutters were open to her windows. It had to be three o’clock. Where had the sun gone? She wondered. Then a flash of light exploded in her room followed by a big boom of thunder. The rain came right after. It was a hard-torrential downpour that hammered the window pane and roof. She’d taken the guest room above the garage. The house itself had six rooms and each housed four bunk beds. The girls she and Doris took in all thrived in their home. Her downsized life felt fine. At first. When she thought she could live with a dresser and a small closet. It was fine because she had no one to care for but herself.
Things had changed.
Shae eased off the bed and went to the windows. The storm was ferocious for the time of year. Everything was grey and washed out. The universe fit her mood. She dropped her forehead against the pane of glass and stared at nothing, so her mind and thoughts drifted to him. The day she found out she was pregnant was the day she knew for certain she couldn’t go through any of it without him in her life.
***
SEPTEMBER 12, 1994 –
“Shae? Shae! Shannon! Are you okay? Oh my gosh, call an ambulance! Hey? Wake up!”
Shae could hear her friend’s distress, but she was slow to respond. It was as if a heavy cloak was thrown over her head and she had to struggle to lift it to wake. Slowly her eyes opened, and she looked up into the face of the Director of ‘New Beginnings’. A woman named Doris Glenn who had a similar life of hardship of her own before they found a new purpose was now her best friend and business partner. Doris was on the floor? How did she and Doris end up on the floor?
The children, all girls who ranged in age from eleven to fifteen had gathered. They fought and shoved at each other to be the one to help Shae sit up.
“Are you okay? Say something? Omigod! Say something Shae!”
“I’m fine. Stop panicking,” Shae said and fought back her dizziness.
“Fine? Panicking? You blacked out.”
“I don’t know what happened?” Shae put a hand to her head. She looked around the classroom. She was giving the girls a lesson on nutrition before she collapsed. It was the first time she’d fainted in her adult life.
“Here Ms. Doris,” Angelica said. “I got her some water and the ambulance is on the way.”
“Ambulance? No. No. I’m fine.”
“Hush, drink this,” Doris insisted.
Shae accepted the glass of water and drank as the other girls looked at her with terror in their eyes. Each child was accepted into their foster program on a trial basis by the court. She and Doris were still currently under review by the State. And the children were just beginning to trust the safety of their new home. Shae’s fainting triggered the dread and foreboding that these young girls carried constantly. A catalyst that would toss them all back into the foster system.
“I’m okay girls. See!” she shook her hair with pink streaks and batted her lashes at them. A few smiled. One laughed. Most didn’t.
“Give her some room. Tasha and Teri help me with her. Help her stand,” Doris said.
“Oh Doris, I’m fine! I—”
She again felt light headed. She froze. She let the girls help her stand. She’d put on a few pounds in the past few weeks. Shae had decided to fast and detox her system. The fainting may have been because of her vegetable only diet. God knows she was hungry all the time and the diet drained her.
“Here you go, Ms. Shae.” A sweet girl named Sherika said. She had brought over a chair. Shae sat in it when standing became too much. They had turned the garage into a classroom. Here she had open discussions with the girls about the sexual abuse and physical abuse they’d suffered in life. Here she gave them lessons on hygiene, nutrition, and even discussed the teenage girl problems that came with the hard life they’d been born into. This was their safe place and Shae was fiercely protective of it.
“I’m really better now. Promise,” she told all the staring faces crowding around her. Doris, didn’t look convinced. She and Doris had just opened their non-profit a month ago. Shae had sold her jewelry, emptied her accounts, gave it all up to support their mission. They had a good foundation, and she was able to pull in some investors, but they had to be careful. Not everyone in the community wanted to see them succeed.
The ambulance sirens sang in the distance.
“Tell them to go. I don’t need them,” Shae demanded.
Doris walked out, and she knew that meant her request was going to be denied. She sighed in defeat.
“Why did she faint?” One of the younger girls asked.
“She’s drunk.”
“What?” said another.
“She’s not drunk stupid. Eating them nasty veggies she keeps shoving on us did it,” said another girl. Shae smiled. A few of the girls laughed and she could sense many of them relaxing. Shae’s eyes connected with the only girl who wasn’t smiling. Her name is Jilly and she’s fourteen. Jilly had lived on the streets since she was ten. She was sold into prostitution by her gang at eleven. Jilly was extremely distrustful of Shae and Doris. Out of all the young women Jilly was found to the catalyst for the tension or strife within the group. She had become Shae’s special project.
“She’s not drunk and it ain’t no diet.” All the girls fell silent. Shae stared at Jilly who glared at her with her arms crossed over her chest.
“She’s pregnant.” Jilly announced.
“What?” gasped Angelika. “She is?”
“No, no girls... I’m not pregnant.”
“Yes, you are.” Jilly shouted. “Every time my momma got knocked up she fainted. Just like you. Who the daddy that’s what I want to know?”
“You’re pregnant!” the girls exclaimed.
“Girls... calm down, I’m not... pregnant.”
The paramedics walked in rolling the stretcher. The girls were ushered aside so they could check Shae. They asked her a few questions and took her pressure.
“I’m fine, I’m telling you it’s my diet.”
“No,” Doris spoke up. “She hit her head when she fell. You need to take her to the hospital to be sure.”
“Doris!” Shae exclaimed.
“I’ll go with you,” Jilly volunteered.
Doris and Shae looked at Jilly with surprise. The kids all did too. Jilly shrugged. “What? I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Shae smiled. “Can she come with us?”
The paramedic looked at his partner then at the kids. He must have sensed the need for the ride. He nodded it would be fine. Shae allowed them to bring her out on the stretcher with no further objections.
***
“I DON’T LIKE HOSPITALS.” Jilly paced.
“Why?” Shae asked from her hospital bed. Jilly rubbed her arms as if she were cold. “Three of my homies died in them. They never saved them. And when we came to the hospital to get information they wouldn’t even let us see any of them. Useless. I think the doctors let them die. They choose who can live, you know? They do.”
“That’s not true.”
Jilly shrugged. “You don’t know how it is. Being scared, needing help when people think you are trash. The people that are supposed to help you never do. Not the police, not the hospitals, not the fake preachers trying to drag you into their church. It’s all fake.”
Shae had learned to listen to the kids when they talked without judgement. So much of Jilly’s life was filled with violence and trauma she often wondered if the young girl would benefit from help she wasn’t capable of offering. Jilly’s mood changed. She put her hand on Shae’s tummy. She smiled at Shae.
“What do you want? A boy or a girl?”
“Jilly, sweetheart, I’m not pregnant.”
“Why do you keep saying that? I saw you, you know.”
“Saw me?”
“Yeah? Three months ago, I was in my room. I heard someone, so I went to my window. You were by the garbage can with a man. He grabbed you. He put you over his shoulder and kidnapped you.”
“Kidnapped me?” Shae scoffed.
“I saw him. He forced you into a car.”
“If you saw him why didn’t you say anything? To me or Doris? To anyone?”
“Because I hated you. For forcing me to come here and the courts for making me wear that ankle bracelet. It was your problem not mine. At least that’s what I thought.”
Jilly turned and walked away. She paced and tried to explain herself.
“I went downstairs to see. I went to the window and saw you in the car. You two never left. And when you got out of the car he drove off damn near running over people in the street. I knew he was someone mean. A mean white man.”
“He wasn’t mean. He was upset.”
Shae’s smile faded. She remembered her talk with Carlo. Remembered the hurt and pain in his eyes. She hated that memory of him. It was the last time they spoke.
“You’re pregnant. By a white man.”
“I would love to have a child, Jilly. By any man. It’s one of the reasons I care for so many of you. But I’m not pregnant. I can’t have kids. When I was younger I had a terrible pregnancy. One that started in my tubes. I was told I would never be able to have kids after.”
“You get a period, don’t you?”
“Yes... but it’s still not possible to conceive—.”
“Then you can have kids.” Jilly smiled.
Shae shook her head and laughed. “We’ll let the doctor tell you the truth.”
“Ladies?” A female doctor came inside the room. Shae was given a trauma room to herself in the hospital. The doctor’s smile meant there had to be good news. She knew it was a simple fainting spell and nothing wrong with her.
“How are you feeling?” the doctor asked.
“I’m okay now. Are they coming to do the x-rays?”
“No. I’ve cancelled them. I have news.”
“Something wrong?” Shae asked.
“Good news. You’re pregnant.”
“See! Told you!” Jilly shouted. “Told you!”
“What? Wait. Wait. No, I’m not.”
“Ms. Dennis. Shannon Dennis? Correct?” The doctor looked at her iron tablet.
“Yes, it’s me but—”
“The blood work came back positive. You’re pregnant.”
“How?” Shae asked.
“Sex!” Jilly laughed.
“I know about sex. Not what I mean. I had an ectopic pregnancy. The doctors took out my tubes but left my ovaries. I can’t have a baby.”
The doctor frowned. “The doctor took both your tubes?”
Shae nodded.
“I don’t believe so. I’m not sure what you were told but you are pregnant. Since you informed me of the ectopic pregnancy let’s do some more tests to solve this mystery. Okay?”
Shae couldn’t answer. Jilly kept singing ‘I told you so’. Shae wouldn’t believe the news. She couldn’t be pregnant. It wasn’t possible. Was it?
***
JILLY HAD CLIMBED IN the bed with Shae. For fourteen she was a very petite girl. She looked more like twelve without all the hair extensions and the makeup she liked to wear. Shae held her and stared blankly at the television. After her vaginal and abdominal ultrasounds, the nurse told her the doctor would review the images and come speak with her. The wait was torture. For the life of her she tried to remember the time when she lost her child. The pain and loss were all she carried from that memory. What had the doctor said? Why did she not question her diagnosis? How could she think for so many years she couldn’t conceive? She watched the latest episode of Seinfeld and cleared her mind of false hope. She knew the truth. There was no pregnancy. The diagnosis was wrong.
July 1994 -
“Omigod!” Shae put her face in her hands. “I can’t do this!”
Carlo started the car. He was going to take her no matter the cost.
“Carlo. Let me go. I’m begging you.”
“No! No! No! No! No!” He punched the dashboard repeatedly until the vents popped out and his knuckles bled.
“I’m broken!” she shouted back at him. “I’m broken, and everything I’ve ever done has been to cover it up, pretend I’m normal. I’m not! Everything I’ve ever wanted has turned to shit, including my love for you! Do you understand? I close my eyes at night and I see those girls. I close my eyes, and I see myself. I'm back there. Hearing them crying and screaming. And it never ends! For any of them. For me. If I can't love myself, how the hell can I love you, Carlo? I can't be with you; I can't! I don't want to be with you! Do you get it? Damn it! You want me to say it. I don’t want you!”
Carlo wiped his tears.
“Say you understand. Please. Forgive me.”
“Get out,” he said.
“Carlo, please.”
“Get the fuck out!”
He got out of the car and went around to her side. He snatched open her door and yanked her out. Shae dropped her head in defeat. She couldn’t stop crying. When he shoved her aside to slam the door shut she stumbled back onto the street. The boys hanging on the corner all paused to watch the scene. And then Carlo turned to deliver the final death blow to their love.
“I hate you. Satisfied now? Do you want me to say it in Italian, so you can believe me? Ti odio! Ti odio! Ti odio!” he shouted at her. “I’ll never forgive you.”
“Ms. Dennis?”
Shae glanced to the doctor who had entered the room. The memory of Carlo burned in her heart, but she managed to smile. Jilly didn’t move. The young girl continued to sleep in her arms.
“Finished with your tests doctor?” Shae asked.
The doctor pulled a chair over and took a seat. Her face was serious. Shae’s heart sank. Even though she had prepared herself for the truth the mere mention of a baby cut her in a place so deep she was sure she would suffer the heartache of the sad news all over again.
“So, I was right. I’m not pregnant.”
“There’s definitely a pregnancy,” said the doctor.
“I don’t understand any of this. How? My tubes literally exploded in me. I had surgery. The doctor—”
“You had an ectopic pregnancy. That’s true. But you didn’t have a full hysterectomy. Not even a partial. You have your uterus and your right fallopian tube. There is scarring to your uterus. This pregnancy is high risk and will be until you deliver. Without knowing your medical history I have some concerns.”
“I was told they took my tubes, both. I was so young and so confused and scared. All I remember is the pain.”
“But haven’t you had gynecological checkups? Inquired about your health?”
Shae felt another sharp sting of embarrassment. Here she was teaching girls about their body and she did little to nothing to care for hers. It was ignorant.
“What kind of danger is my baby in?”
“Carrying this baby to term is a big challenge for you. You are three months pregnant.”
“How big?”
“Looking through your ultrasound I can’t say.”
“Guess?”
The doctor gave her a small smile. “Full term with no toxemia or hypertension, I give you a 55% chance of delivering.”
“That good?” Shae smiled.
The doctor winked. “I have a OBGYN I want you to see. She’s pretty good with dealing with pregnancies like yours. And this diet you were on. Stop it. You need to eat. To take care of yourself, like you are doing with her.”
The doctor referenced the girl sleeping against her breast. Shae smiled. She nodded her obedience. “Thank you. This is the best news ever.”
“The father is a lucky man.”
Shae’s smile faded. “I hope he thinks so.”
***
THE RETURN HOME FROM the hospital was very awkward. Jilly of course delivered the news of her pregnancy to Doris before Shae could frame her thoughts. And Doris knew all about her history and heartbreak over Carlo. Neither women mentioned what an unplanned pregnancy from a mafia hitman who lived in Italy really meant.
Once alone she asked Jilly and Doris for space. She went to her room and closed her blinds and turned off the lights. In the dark quiet she sat on the edge of the bed and cried. She stared at the phone until her eyelids were heavy with fatigue and exhaustion won out. She fell back onto her pillows and slept. And she dreamed. She dreamed of him.
When Shae woke she knew for certain what she wanted. She wanted another chance at happiness. First, she paged Carlo. She used an International number he told her he’d answer whenever there was an emergency. She kept a hand to her tummy while she waited for his call back. She waited all night. It never came.
The next day she called Sorrento Italy and tried to reach Marietta. The person on the phone informed her that Marietta no longer resided at Melanzana and hung up on her. That was it. She had the greatest news of her life and no way to share it.
***
PRESENT—
“You okay?”
Shae turned from the window. Doris had come inside her room without knocking. She was so fixated on the storm she hadn’t noticed.
“I’m fine. Something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, I haven’t seen you since this morning. Everything okay with the baby?”
“Yes, Doris,” Shae almost laughed. They had one scare of spotting and Shae panicked. That sent a tidal wave of panic through the women and girls. She had to keep her cool for them and for the baby. “What about the girls, are they okay?”
“They’re playing games down in the basement. Jilly keeps trying to come up here and join you.” Doris said. “She’s too fixated on you and this pregnancy.”
Shae sat in the chair by the window. Her friend sat on the bed.
“What is it Shae? You won’t talk about it. You know I get it, girl. You’re in a tough spot.”
“I have to find him Dee.”
“Find him? Is he lost?”
“Not funny, girl. I’m serious. I can’t find him. Every time I try to I hit a road block. I have to talk to him.”
“You can’t. You need to take care of yourself. You know what the doctor said. The stress can elevate your pressure and it’s a delicate time for you.”
“This baby, if I had known, if he had known. It would have changed everything. I swear the more I think I know what I’m doing God shows up and proves me to be a fool. How did this happen? With Carlo? For years I did what I wanted and never even came close to being pregnant. But Carlo... how could this happen? I have to tell him.” Shae began to cry. “I should have never sent him away. I love him so much. I hurt him so bad. Now he hates me.”
“Hey!” Doris hugged her. “That’s bullshit. You did what you thought was best. And look at the return? These girls? The way you help them? They depend on you.”
“I know. But Carlo.”
“No buts, girl. Since I’ve known you, you’ve wanted kids. Are you really going to risk everything just to find a crazy man?”
Shae wiped her tears and smiled. Doris meant no harm in calling Carlo crazy. In fact they both talked about how much they missed their crazy exes. But her friend was right and giving her the real news. The hard news she didn’t want to hear.
“This morning, the Doctor’s office called and told me that I’m having a girl. A little girl.”
“Now that is karma.”
Shae nodded. “I get what you’re saying. I have issues, and so does he. But this baby is our miracle. It’s a sign from God that we belong together. I realized this morning that all the good things that have happened to me, have come since me and Carlo found each other. But I let him down, pushed him away. And who is out there for him now?”
“You tell him you’re pregnant and then what? You want to give up your life and leave? Move to Italy? Be some gangster’s girlfriend? Take your daughter into a life that you are trying to pull these girls out of? Think about it, Shae. Think about your baby.”
Shae broke into tears. Doris got up and went to her. She hugged her. She held her close to her heart and let her release her pain. Shae didn’t know what to do. But she had to do something. She was five months pregnant.
***
Sorrento, Italy - Two days later
“WELL THAT’S EVERYTHING,” Minnie said and zipped her bag. She heaved a deep breath and her bosom rose and then fell as she let go a long sigh. Belinda sat in the chair across from her mother pretending to read a book. Minnie swallowed her matriarchal pride and smiled for Mirabella. She then turned her gaze back to her daughter.
“Are you sure?” Minnie asked the young woman.
“Yes, mama, I’m sure,” Belinda said and flipped to the next page as if bored by the question.
“Mirabella? Are you sure?” Minnie asked.
“Yes Minnie. I’m sure. I’ve already spoken to my attorneys about her visa. Belinda can stay and apprentice under my company.”
“I don’t know... it’s just hard for me to leave her behind.”
“I think this apprenticeship is going to be great for Belinda. It’ll give her the opportunity to grow in our family business. Like you said, family is all we have,” Mirabella mocked Minnie’s cheery tone. It must have stung Minnie to hear the disdain in Mirabella’s voice. She looked wounded. She turned her gaze to her daughter and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Put that book down and come here, girl,” Minnie insisted.
Belinda stood. She hugged her mother as the men came in and collected Minnie’s things. “Go on, wait for me downstairs. Let me talk to Mira alone.”
Belinda left.
“What is it? You think it was my idea? I assure you Minnie, this is her choice.”
“Oh, I know it is. I know my child. But I also know you made this easy for Belinda to punish me.”
“Why would I punish you?”
“For betraying you.”
“I don’t punish people.”
“Right, that’s your husband.”
“Are we done?” Mirabella asked with an exasperated sigh.
“No. I’m telling you that Belinda is a troubled girl.”
“Maybe her troubles would lessen if you believed in her more.”
“I love my daughter.”
“Of course, all mothers do, to the bitter end,” Mirabella said. “My mother sacrificed her life for her daughter. Now look at what that special daughter did to me.”
“Stop!” Minnie snapped. Mirabella didn’t blink or lower her glare. “You have your mother’s journal. If you read it, you would know the truth about sacrifice and love. It wasn’t a choice over you in favor of Marietta. It was a choice for the both of you.”
“I’ll read it. When you’re gone,” Mirabella said.
“You still think I conspired with Marietta against you. You have the nerve to blame me.”
“It is what it is Minnie.”
“Not it isn't. It's never what you think it is. There's only one truth and that is family. Marietta is your sister and whatever she did doesn't change that.”
“I can't have this conversation anymore. I can't,” Mirabella sighed.
“Fine. Let's change the subject. Let's talk about my daughter. If she’s going to stay with you then you need to know Belinda’s a liar, a thief, and dangerously self-absorbed. She’s been on the brink of destruction more than once. You have young, impressionable children. Think of Eve. Belinda doesn’t understand and respect boundaries.”
“How so?”
“What do you mean ‘how-so’ I just told you.”
“You’ve told me nothing. You never do. That’s the problem between us. You met Marietta and confessed it all to her in a matter of days. You’ve known me all my life and could never explain anything to me. Not even now. If Belinda is a troubled girl then spit it out! What did she do? Rob banks? Murder? What? ‘Cause trust me, I can handle the truth. It’s the lies I can’t stand.”
Minnie shook her head sadly and with a hand to her hip. “You have a way with words. Just like your mama. Okay. Truth. Ever since Belinda was little she wanted to be something or someone else. Always with these big dreams and ideas. I thought it was her imagination. She’s so talented, she can write, she can sing, she’s a whizz at math, she can draw a picture of anything and you would think the darn thing would leap from the page. Me and Clyde had no idea who she’d become or what she would do next, but she surprised us with new talent all the time.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I guess I’m protective of my baby and her mistakes. If I promise her forgiveness I want to be sure to give it to her, so she can be a better person. But sometimes that promise is hardest when you don’t know if your kids can be good people. I’m not sure about Belinda. She’s the only child I brought into this world that I can’t trust. I can’t help her no more.”
“I’m confused, Minnie. Do you want her with you or are you relieved to give her up to me?”
“Oh, stop with your sass. I’m doing the best I can to explain it to ya. Belinda was kicked out of college for an ethics violation. She spent a few days in jail. If our pastor hadn’t worked with his attorney friend to keep her out of prison, I don’t know what me and Clyde would have done.”
“Was it criminal?”
Minnie nodded and fought back her tears. “She and two of her sorority sisters started a business, stolen identification. I don’t know how they done it. She told me they only did this thing of making fake IDs for friends for fun. So, they could buy liquor and get into clubs and stuff. Belinda is good at computers too. Soon after she decided to try something riskier. She got a work-study in the financial aid office. It was the access she needed to get into the computer systems and change the test scores for her friends. Even got her scores changed to get accepted into medical school. And then she started charging people to do this thing for them. But that wasn’t the only criminal thing. She stole loan checks for students. She had a friend at a bank deposit them into a dummy account. She had set up a network that was almost at two-hundred thousand dollars before she was caught.”
Minnie paused while scratching her head. She behaved as if she was confessing her own crimes. And Mirabella understood why. A mother felt her child’s sins deeply, there’s no denying it—Belinda had sinned.
“That wasn’t the worst of it, Mira. Once she was a criminal she was all in. She had no focus. The more she could steal the more she wanted to take. It’s like a game to her. She’ll do one thing and when the challenge is over she’ll go for the next thing. The bank found the phony account and the teller gave up Belinda as her partner. She got probation, and charges reduced because the University and the D.A. wanted to keep the scandal out of the papers. She has a criminal record and can’t attend any University again, she can’t even vote. Clyde and I took out a second mortgage to get her out of this mess. We’re still paying the government back.”
“Why didn’t you call me? Let me help you?” Mirabella asked.
“You never check on your people, Mira. When you moved here to Italy we were all but forgotten. Remember you let us think you were dead for almost two years. We had to learn that you were alive on the television. Plus, you do so much for us, for the town. We don’t like to beg. We can take of our own.”
“And that’s why Marietta was someone closer to you and not me?”
“I’m not closer to anyone, baby. You don’t let people in. Not since your Me-ma died have you ever. And this man you’re married to. Look at it from my eyes. He’s a killer Mira, he’s a criminal and he’s very powerful. He’s scary to me, to all of us. Because we can’t compete with that. He’s said barely two words to me since I’ve been here.”
“He was in a coma!”
“He ain’t now! I tried to understand your life. Marietta came here to look for answers and found a home. You had a home and you turned your back on it. You chose this life. You chose him. That’s different. Say it ain't? Say it and you will be a liar.”
“Yes, Giovanni does have some criminal ties... I’m not going to apologize or make excuses. I love my husband. I settled the matter on who and what he is a long time ago. I just want you to know who I am. I’m still Lisa’s daughter. I’m still family. I’m still a good person.”
“Oh, I know that.”
“I don’t think you believe it.”
“I do! I do! If I didn’t I would drag Belinda out of here by her braids and force her to come home and none of you could stop me. I trust you to see what a mother can’t. She wants to be a criminal. I know you can show her why she isn’t. I know you can see through her. Help her learn. I trust you, Mira. And despite what you think the truth is I love you.”
The women faced each other for a long pause before Mirabella made the first move. She hugged Minnie. She felt a release of forgiveness between them both. Minnie was the first to pull away.
“One more thing.”
“What is it?” Mirabella asked.
“Belinda’s been sneaking around with that man, the one with the scarred face. I see them smiling at each other. He—”
“I’m aware of it. She’s nineteen. Legally she can do as she pleases. But there are rules in this house, and I’ll make sure Belinda follows them. Give us a chance. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Can you at least tell me what happened to Marietta?”
Mirabella paused. With all the soul confessions they had just shared she almost spoke the truth.
“I already told you, Minnie. She’s with Lorenzo now. They’ve absconded. I won’t hear from her and neither will you. Ever again.”
“Zia said—”
“Look at me.” Mirabella demanded.
Minnie did.
“It’s the truth. Do you understand me? Tell Clyde, tell everyone at home, tell anyone who asks you what ever happened to Mirabella’s twin sister Marietta. Do it, Minnie. And I promise you on everything I have that I will take care of Belinda.”
Minnie pretended to have faith and embraced Mirabella one last time. The women parted with nothing further resolved between them. Mirabella helped her gather the last of her things and together they went downstairs.
“You have your passport?” Mirabella asked.
“Yes, I do. Thank you.” Minnie answered.
At the door Minnie kissed Mirabella one last time and then kissed the kids. Belinda and Leo waited to take her to the airport. Before they left Minnie asked Mirabella to be sure to come back to America for the holidays—though they both knew Mirabella would not visit America or her past again. Mirabella watched the trio drive away. She looked up to the sky. The sun would rise in a few hours. Giovanni should return home soon.
“Mama?” Eve said.
“Yes sweetheart?”
“Is Minnie sad at you?”
“What?”
“She looked sad?” Eve said.
Mirabella stared down into her daughter’s violet-blue eyes. “She’s just sad to be leaving us.”
“Oh? Okay. Can we go swimming today?” Eve asked.
“Swim, swim, swim,” Mirabella laughed. “You will turn into a fish. It’s too late for a swim.”
Eve giggled.
“How about dinner first?”
“Mmmhmm,” Eve said. Mirabella took her hand and went back inside.
“Donna, you have a phone call.”
Mirabella nodded and let go of Eve’s hand. Her daughter dashed off to some new adventure she’d certainly discover in the house. Mirabella followed her servant to the parlor. There a phone waited for her near the fireplace.
“The caller?” Mirabella asked.
“American woman? Didn’t say her name.”
Mirabella picked up the phone and sat in her husband’s favorite chair. “This is Donna Mirabella. Who’s calling?”
“Omigod! Hi! I’m so glad to finally get someone on the phone. I couldn’t reach any of you. It’s Shae.”
Mirabella frowned. “Who?”
“Marietta’s friend. Remember?”
“Ah, Shae. Yes. I remember.”
“Hold on a minute,” Shae asked. She returned to the phone a few minutes later. “I’ve tried to reach Marietta? Is she there?”
“I’m afraid not. Is there something I can do for you?”
“Yes! I need to speak to Carlo. It’s important. I called the number he had, and it’s been disconnected. Is he around?”
“No. I'm sorry Shae. Carlo’s out of town. He will be for some time. I can get a message to him.”
There was no answer. Mirabella looked at her watch. She was really pressed to get dinner served and the children bathed.
“Is there a number for Marietta? Some way I can reach her?”
“I’m afraid not. If I speak to either of them, I’ll tell them you called. Okay?”
“Oh? Okay, can I leave my number?”
Mirabella sighed. She reached over to the lamp table and picked up the pad and pen. She scribbled down the number.
“Don’t give it to Carlo. Give it to Marietta. Please. I need to speak to her first. It’s really important.”
“I’ll see to it that she gets the number.”
“Thank you, Mirabella. I hope you and the family are well?”
“We are, thank you for asking.”
“Okay, bye.”
Mirabella hung up the call. She frowned at the number she wrote. She could give it to Umberto to see if it could be passed to Carlo in Africa. However, Shae insisted that she speak to Marietta. And she remembered things between Shae and Carlo didn’t end well. She opened the dresser drawer to the lamp table and tossed the tablet with the number inside. Leaving it forgotten.