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Eli’s flight landed at Leonardo da Vinci Airport fifteen minutes ahead of schedule Wednesday afternoon. He breathed a silent prayer of thanks as he crawled from his seat, wanting nothing more than a quick taxi to his hotel and a long nap. The little girl walking up the aisle of the plane behind her parents turned and waved. He lifted a hand in response. He was not sorry to see her go.
When he’d found his window seat on the packed connecting flight out of Atlanta, he’d discovered that his neighbor to the left was an eight-year-old girl. Her younger brother was seated to her left with mom, dad, and toddler, across the aisle. The child spent considerable time regaling him with chatter about friends, school, and this vacation to see a grandmother she’d never met. When conversation lagged, she switched to doing acrobatics in her seat, looking for a comfortable spot to sleep. The sleep alluded her—and him by default. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired in my whole life.
He grabbed his single bag from the overhead compartment, thankful that he didn’t have to fight the masses in the baggage area, and after the grueling line at customs, searched for transportation. On any other day, the sights and sounds of a strange place would have intrigued him. Today all interest was lost under the haze of the tedious trip and the nagging worry that had been his constant companion for more than two weeks. If he found Celeste, would he be able to talk her into doing the right thing?
A taxi stopped at the curb and Eli climbed in.
“Buon giorno, where would you like to go?” The driver asked in heavily accented English.
“The Hotel De Russie,” Eli told the man, cringing at the way he butchered the words. “Sorry.”
The man behind the wheel grinned. “I have heard worse.” He pulled from the curb. “American, yes?
“Yes.”
“And what brings you to Rome? Business or pleasure?”
Eli mulled his answer. “A family matter.”
The man studied him in the rearview mirror. “You have an interesting accent, Signore. Where in the America do you live?”
“Oklahoma.”
The man’s eyes widened. “Oklahoma is the place of cowboys and Indians, corretta?”
Eli laughed. “Not as much as you’d think.”
The twenty minute drive passed in a blur of scenery he would have enjoyed exploring on a good day. His cab jerked to a stop at the entrance of a beautiful old hotel. Eli paid the driver and reached for the door. “Thank you.”
“Prego. Enjoy your stay.”
Eli swung out of the taxi and into the lobby of his hotel. He looked around the grand lobby and made up his mind to bring Randy here someday. The idea made him cringe. So much had happened over the last few days, they hadn’t even discussed what to do about their honeymoon and his shrinking vacation. A visit to Rome or anyplace else requiring an extended period of time was out of the question for a while.
He shoved those thoughts aside. He didn’t have the energy to work through it right now. Once he checked in, he went straight to his room. Confronting Celeste wasn’t on his agenda for today either. He’d save that for tomorrow, after he’d had about ten hours sleep.
* * *
RANDY HEATED UP A FINAL cup of coffee late Wednesday morning. She needed a snack and Eli, bless his thoughtful heart, had made sure the pantry was stocked with Oreos.
Astor pulled at her pant leg. “Cokee?”
Randy smiled down at the child. They were on their second day together and so far, so good. If you didn’t count the diaper from the black lagoon she’d discarded in the hall, or the temper tantrum at the necessity of a bath before breakfast.
“Yes, you can have a cookie, just—” Her phone rang from the other room. “Oh, I bet that’s your grandpa.”
Astor’s eyes went round. “Pop.”
Randy laid the cookies on the table, picked up her coffee in one hand, and took Astor’s hand with the other. “Let’s go answer the phone.” Her heart did a happy dance when she saw Eli’s number on the display.
“Hello.”
“Hi, babe, how’s it going?”
Randy sat on the sofa and pulled Astor up beside her. “Just fine. How’s Rome?” The baby climbed down and sat on the floor with a book. Randy smiled and gave her attention to Eli.
“What I saw between the airport and the hotel was fine. I’m too tired for it to make much of an impression.”
“Rough flight?”
“Rough traveling companion.” Eli gave her the high points. “I’m about to take a nap, but I wanted to check in with you first.”
“We’re fine. What time is it there?”
“A little after four in the afternoon. I’m going to sleep for a couple of hours, grab some dinner, and then come back here and crash for the night.”
“You’re seeing Celeste tomorrow?”
That’s the plan.” Eli yawned. “I’ll let you know how it goes. Let me say hello to Astor, then I need to crash.”
“OK.” Randy looked around the room but didn’t see the child. A strange noise from the kitchen drew her around the corner. She stopped in the doorway, her mouth open in disbelief. Astor sat in the middle of the table, Oreos scattered around her like daisies in a field. She was a chocolate-covered mess from head to toe.
“Randy?”
Eli’s voice jerked her back to the phone. “I...she...” How was it possible to make that kind of mess in under three minutes? “That hello is going to have to wait.” Randy said. “I’ll text you a picture. I gotta go.” She snapped a picture and sent it on its way.
“Astor, look at you.”
The baby’s guileless smile was priceless. “Cokee good.”
“Yeah, well.” She picked the child up and held her away with stiff arms. “You’re a brat.”
Astor flashed a wide chocolate grin.
Randy laughed and carried the child to the bathroom for the second bath of the day.
* * *
AN HOUR OF SLEEP AND the meal worked wonders on Eli’s energy level. He strolled back to the hotel, taking in a few of the sights he’d missed on the ride in from the airport. He reached the front entrance but instead of going straight back to his room, considered a park across the street. It was still early, and if he went back to his room and crashed now, he’d be awake long before dawn. He looked at the sun, heavy in the western sky, and figured he had about an hour’s worth of daylight left. A walk would do him good. He never slept well on a full stomach.
Eli crossed the street and meandered, losing himself in the foreign sights and sounds. He circled a large fountain and, when he spied a gelato vendor, gave in to the temptation. Yes, he’d just eaten, but how often did you get the chance to enjoy such a traditional treat in such a traditional location?
He ate the frozen strawberry confection as he walked. When the paper bowl was scraped clean, he looked for a trash bin and stopped short before he reached it. A woman seated on one of the benches surrounding the fountain had him peering into the dusky evening. Celeste?
The light was fading, but he’d know that blonde head anywhere. Eli moved to the side to get a better look. His hands shook with an emotion he couldn’t name. Anger. Anticipation. Love? Part of him wanted to throttle her, part wanted to pull his child into his arms and assure her that he still loved her. He did neither as caution and logic whispered in his ear. He was dead on his feet and in no shape to face the arguments he was quite sure his presence would provoke. If he revealed himself now, he’d lose the element of surprise for when he was ready. He schooled himself to patience, took a step away, stepped behind a tall bush, and watched from a distance.
A shriek of laughter drew Eli’s attention to the group of kids playing in the fountain. A dark-haired little girl who couldn’t have been more than two played a wild game of tag with a slightly older boy. She ran back and forth in the spray, laughing, dodging the older kids, and keeping one step ahead of her playmate. The boy cut her off and sent her racing straight towards Celeste’s bench. Eli flinched when the girl tripped and fell on the cement at Celeste’s feet. The little boy skidded to a stop behind her.
The baby was crying. Blood ran from a skinned elbow and knee, mixing with the water from the fountain and the dirt from the fall. Eli took one step and caught himself. Surely the child’s mother was nearby.
He pursed his lips as Celeste scrambled to her feet, picked up the child, and began dabbing at the scrapes with tissues she’d yanked from her bag. With his daughter’s attention diverted Eli chanced moving a few steps closer, careful to keep to her back. From his new position, he could hear Celeste’s voice.
“Oh baby, I know.” She looked back at the little boy. “Mamma?” The boy nodded and took off the way they’d come. Celeste turned back to the girl, sat, and mopped the tears from her face as the child continued to cry. Eli grinned when Celeste pulled a piece of candy from her bag. Every kid understood chocolate. The crying dried up almost immediately. Celeste unwrapped the treat and held it out. The little girl plucked it up and stuffed it into her mouth.
A woman rushed to the bench. She sat, pulled the girl onto her lap, hugged her close, and spoke in rapid fire Italian. The boy arrived and, from his gestures, Eli could see that he was describing the accident. The woman looked at Celeste and let loose another string of unintelligible words.
He saw Celeste frown. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
The woman smiled. “Grazie.”
He saw her nod. “Your welcome.”
The little girl scrambled from her mother’s grasp, wrapped her arms around Celeste’s neck, and brushed a soft kiss on her cheek. More Italian followed as mom and kids stood to leave. The little girl waved, and Celeste waved back until they disappeared from sight.
Excitement over, Eli retraced his steps. From behind the bush, he turned just in time to see Celeste scramble from the bench and rush out of the park. Her shoulders shook and her face was buried in her hands.
* * *
ELI ROSE THURSDAY MORNING, refreshed after a good night’s sleep, eager to meet with his daughter. While he waited for his food, he lathered his face. He leaned toward the mirror over the sink and addressed his reflection.
“So, what’s the plan?”
He maneuvered the razor around his mouth and got honest with himself. Truth was he didn’t really have much of a plan, but he had hope. The scene in the park the night before had bolstered his confidence. That sweet little girl had reduced Celeste to tears. Eli could only think of one reason for a newly married woman to be unhappy while honeymooning in Europe. She missed her daughter.
And he had prayer. Eli blotted shaving cream from his face and exercised that option. Father, give me wisdom and words today. You know what I want, but above my own wishes I want Your will for Celeste, Randy, and me. Most of all I want what’s best for Astor. I still think that’s her mother. Please soften her heart. Let her be open to what I have to say.
At nine a.m. Eli stood at the door of the Picasso suite and knocked. From inside the room he heard his daughter’s voice.
“I’ll get it, sweetheart. I’m sure it’s our breakfast.” The door swung open. “Buon giorno.”
“Celeste.”
Celeste looked up, her mouth slack, her fingers splayed against her chest. She took a step back. “Dad?”
“Surprise.” Eli stepped into the room without invitation. He took her wrist, intending to lead her to the sofa against the far wall. “We need to talk.”
She jerked her hand free and glared at him.
A strange man moved into the room and positioned himself between Celeste and Eli. “Touch my wife again and you’ll draw back a nub.”
Eli stared at the man and dismissed him. “Celeste?”
Celeste laid a hand on the other man’s arm. The size and brilliance of the wedding ring on her finger made Eli blink. “It’s OK, Raymond. This is my father.” She stepped around her husband and introduced them. “Eli Page, Raymond Stone.”
Raymond held out his hand. Eli ignored it, focusing his attention on his daughter. “This is what you abandoned your daughter for? A man old enough to be your father?”
Celeste crossed her arms. “I didn’t know love carried an expiration date.”
Eli saw the stubbornness on his daughter’s face and felt his own temper bubbling. He pulled it back. Celeste had always been willful and headstrong, traits she came by honestly. They’d clashed more than once over the years. He would not win this battle with harsh words and ultimatums. Eli held out his hand to her husband in a belated gesture of civility. “Sorry. This whole situation has me a little frustrated. I didn’t intend to be rude.”
Raymond Stone shook the proffered hand and looked from Eli to Celeste. “Say the word, darling, I’ll have him removed.”
So much for civility. “You’ll—”
Celeste held up a hand. “It’s all right. We do need to talk, and today is as good a day as any. Can you give us thirty minutes?”
“Thirty minutes?” Eli spluttered the words. “I didn’t spend five thousand dollars tracking you down and travel for twelve hours so you could grant me thirty minutes.”
Raymond put a protective hand on Celeste’s shoulder. “Thirty minutes, love.” He motioned to an open door. “I have some work to attend to in the next room.” He speared Eli with a hard gaze. “I’ll give you some privacy, but the door stays open, and I’ll be watching. You will remember what I said about touching my wife.”
Celeste nodded at Raymond, accepted a quick kiss, and turned to face Eli as the other man retreated. “Take it or leave it.”
“Whatever.” Eli led the way to the sofa and sat. “Your husband is a pompous jerk.”
Celeste sent a brilliant smile across the room before she took her own seat across from Eli. “My husband is a powerful man used to being the boss. I rather like it.” Celeste bent forward. “Why are you here?”
“I think that’s pretty obvious. I came to take you home.”
Celeste regarded him with cool disdain. “Then you’ll be disappointed. I’m a married woman. You can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do.”
“You have a daughter who needs you. If this man loves you, he’ll have to learn to love both of you.”
She shook her head. “Raymond doesn’t want children, and you know I never did.”
Eli pushed to his feet. “How can you say that? You—”
“No, you!” Celeste stood and faced him, nose to nose. She glared into his eyes. “You just never give up!” Her raised voice brought movement from the doorway to the other room. Raymond’s form filled the doorway, and Eli saw his daughter stall him with a slash of her hand.
“This is your fault.”
“My...?”
“Your fault,” she repeated and took a deep breath. “I made a mistake.”
“Astor is not a mistake.”
“Maybe not, but letting you talk me into keeping her was.” She closed her eyes and rubbed at the spot between her eyes. “Sit down, Dad.” She waited for him to take his seat before she continued. “When I told you I was pregnant and that I planned to give the baby up, what did you do?”
“I don’t know.” Eli raised his hands. “I tried to be supportive, I guess. I wanted you to have the facts so you could make a good choice.”
She shook her head in disagreement. “No, you took over. You wouldn’t even entertain the thought of adoption because of Aunt Susan. For nine months, all I heard was how heartbroken your sister was because she made the wrong decision. She gave up her child, and she’s never been the same.”
She paused and studied her father. “I love Aunt Susan. I’m sorry for her pain, but don’t you see? You’ve put me in the same place. Keeping Astor was the wrong decision for me. I don’t want to be a mom. I never wanted to be a mom. Having a baby didn’t change my feelings. Aunt Susan couldn’t fix her choice, but I can, and I have.”
“Astor—”
“Astor is way better off with you than she will ever be with me. You need to accept that, because I’m not coming home.”
Eli scrubbed his hands down his face. “But...when I saw you last night...”
Celeste narrowed her eyes. “Last night?”
“In the park. The way you comforted that little girl. You were crying when you left.”
Celeste stared into the distance, and she actually laughed. “Oh, Dad. You’ve never seen beyond what you wanted to see. Of course I picked that child up. The last time I checked I was still human. But crying?”
“When you crossed the street. You had your head in your hands and your shoulders were heaving.”
“Sneezing.”
Eli frowned at her.
“Something in the park triggered my allergies. I sneezed all the way back to the suite. The only tears you saw were pollen-induced.”
“When did you become such a monster?”
Celeste got back to her feet. “Call it what you want, but my leaving was as much for Astor’s good as mine.” She squared her shoulders. “Go home, Dad. Make a life for the child you wanted so much. Initiate whatever paperwork you need to make the arrangement permanent. I’ll—”
“We can fix that right now.” Raymond stepped back into the room. “Your time is up Mr. Page, but I have something for you before you go.” He handed Eli a sheaf of folded papers.
Eli took the folded papers and faced Celeste. “What is this?”
“Adoption papers,” Raymond responded. “Before we left the country, I commissioned my attorneys to pull whatever strings they needed to pull to expedite the legalities.”
Eli unfolded the papers and read the top sheet. “In less than two weeks? How is that possible?”
Raymond Stone slipped an arm around Celeste’s shoulders. “Money is a great miracle worker.”
While Eli stared at the man who’d stolen his daughter, Celeste crossed to the door and threw it open. “Goodbye, Dad.”
* * *
THURSDAY FLOWED FROM morning to afternoon, one chore on the heels of another. Meals to cook, laundry to see to, toys to pick up for the twelfth time, diapers, bath time, play time, and thank the sweet Lord above, nap time.
Randy sat in the rocker with Astor in her lap. She turned the pages of the big picture book, pointing to each animal and doing her best to make the appropriate sounds. Astor tried to mimic the noises and sent them both into fits of laughter. When the little girl finally curled against Randy’s chest and gave into her drooping eyes, Randy laid the book aside and watched her sleep.
So much work, but also, a peace she’d never expected. She brushed a curl from the baby’s face. “Oh, you’re a brat,” she whispered. Part of the day’s chores had included cleaning lipstick scribbles off the glass of the storm door and wiping up a half quart of spilled juice in the kitchen. She’d have to tackle that job a bit more thoroughly once she put Astor down. Her feet were still sticking to the tile floor last time she’d been in there.
“But,” Randy whispered, “the lipstick was my fault for leaving it were you could get to it, and the juice was an accident, and accidents happen.” She held the child a little tighter and brushed the blonde curls with a kiss. Through the ups and the downs of the day, not once had she felt herself slipping into the behavior she feared. As inexperienced as she was, as terrified as she’d been...everything was OK. She still had so much to learn, but the thought of learning no longer petrified her. Oh Father, thank You for that.
Randy rose slowly, crossed to the crib, and laid Astor down. Astor opened an eye, and her mouth puckered. Randy rubbed the little back until the baby relaxed into sleep again. “It’s going to be fine. Whatever future God has planned for the three of us, it’s going to be fine.”
She looked up when her phone rang. Randy raced for the living room and swiped the call open.”
“Eli.”
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Randy closed her eyes. The hurt she heard in his voice told her all she needed to know. “You didn’t catch her, did you?”
“Oh, I caught her.” The sigh that rattled through the connection broke Randy’s heart. “It just didn’t do me any good.”
Randy sank to the sofa. “Tell me.”
“Where’s Astor. We don’t need another cookie incident.”
“She’s down for her nap. You have my undivided attention.”
Eli told her about his conversation with Celeste. The more he talked the angrier Randy became. That stupid, selfish girl.
“I needed to cool down so I went for a walk,” Eli said. “When I came back, I thought I’d try one more time. I went back to their suite, and the housekeeping staff was cleaning up the room. My daughter and her new husband checked out. I have no idea where they went, and I’m too heart sick to search any longer.” His frustrated breath echoed over the miles. “I’m sorry. I’ve changed my ticket. I’ll be home Saturday.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about. You did what you had to do, now we’ll do what we have to do.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too. Just come home.” Randy stared at the dead phone for several minutes, then tiptoed back to the crib. The sight of the sleeping baby and the realities of the future settled across Randy’s shoulders and threatened to buckle her knees. She gave into the impulse to kneel, and rested her head against the slats of the crib. How could she have known she could love like this? Eli of course, but this child? This perfect little missing piece of her life? Tears filled her eyes as she watched the little chest rise and fall.
Father, You’re handing me the biggest gift I never knew I always wanted. I’m going to be a mommy and I’m scared to death. What if I get this all wrong? She closed her eyes as her breath shuddered. Please help me get it right. “It’s going to be fine.” She promised the sleeping child. She had thirty-six hours and a few ideas about conveying that certainty to Eli.