Page 51 of Vita Mia

“I love you.”

She paused from her grief to look into her husband eyes. “Okay, I love you too, now move.”

“Come with me.”

“Huh?”

“You have to get out of here.”

“Never.”

“Look what sunshine did for Eve? The family needs to make her feel normal. She needs to trust herself again, and so does her mother. Put on your shoes. Wash your face, and let’s just go for a few hours back out into the sunlight.”

“But she needs me,” Mirabella’s voice wavered. “I stopped listening to her Gio. She told people she liked fire. She begged to go to school. She needed attention and we left her. I can’t... I can’t leave her now. Not for a second,” Mirabella. “I’m too scared.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he pulled her closer. He kissed her brow. “Me too. But she doesn’t need a mother who cries every time she looks at her. She doesn’t need a father who is questioning every decision he ever made. Bella, you told me not to kill Lorenzo. And I resented it. I stood there with that gun and I wanted to pull the trigger.”

“But you didn’t,” Mirabella said.

“No. Because I listened to you. I knew you were right. You’ve been right from the very start. We are family. Now let’s go. Just for a few hours. To get stronger, for Eve. For each other.”

“Only a few hours? And we come right back? No spending the night anywhere or anything like that. I don’t need romance Gio. I just need my babies.”

Giovanni chuckled. “I swear. Only a few hours.”

She sniffed and wiped her face with her hands. “Okay. Give me a second to clean up.”

He kissed her nose and left her to do the same.

***

MIRABELLA CHECKED ONall her children one final time. She’d pumped enough milk to keep Leeza’s belly full while she left, and Zia was unable to let her baby girl rest anywhere but in her arms. Dominic and the men took the twins with them. Eve stayed snuggled with Catalina and her newborn. If she hadn’t seen such contentment on her daughters face she might not have been able to do as Giovanni asked.

When she walked outside she found Giovanni waiting on his motorbike. She smiled. The rule of not driving cars up onto Rocco’s land stood firm even in his death. Most of the men rode the bikes around the acres. He held up a helmet for her.

“So, we’re going for a ride? Not a long walk?” she grinned.

“Your chariot awaits,” Giovanni said.

Mirabella slid down her helmet visor and climbed on the back of the motorbike. She hugged his waist and closed her eyes. It was always the speed off that scared her. And soon they were gliding at high speed off of the family land onto the pilgrimage road. With her head pressed against his back she stared at the passing countryside and remembered the many times she’s thought of paradise and family when she visited. There weren’t many cars on theChiantigianathat would eventually take them to the Greve. She could savor the trip with him alone. And so they went, riding across a land where time stood still. And she again stared out at fields of sunflowers, vineyards and olive groves. Her eyes closed. She inhaled air so sweet it left a lingering taste of its beauty in her mouth. She squeezed him in her arms. She relaxed and rested. It was the first full rest she’d had since their nightmare began.

Giovanni turned off the fork in the road and Mirabella lifted her head. The Greve’s history in Chianti is connected to a beautiful castle. It was shaped in a square and it had a market with quaint little boutiques, artisan workshops and restaurants. There was plenty of parking. He found a place for them near via Roma. When he dropped the kickstand of the bike, she eased off and removed her helmet. Her hair was smashed to her head. She tried to fix it.

“You look beautiful,” he chuckled.

“Now I know I look weird, because you said that while laughing.”

Giovanni winked. She passed him the helmet and looked around. They were at the top of the square. The best part of the Greve was that everything you wanted to experience was co-located so you could get there by foot. Giovanni took her hand and they started their stroll toward the market. Mirabella did her best to smile for him. She suppressed the urge to bring up Eve. She wanted him to relax too and enjoy some of the day. In the square next to city hall stood the tallest statue ofGiovanni da Verrazanzothe great explorer who discovered the Hudson Bay in New York, but grew up as a Florentine not far from the Greve. Giovanni let go of Mirabella’s hand and jumped up to the foot of the statue. He struck a pose like his forefather and Mirabella laughed. Several people clapped for him in applause. These were locals who knew exactly who the Don was, but most did not. He didn’t mind being silly for them if it made her smile.

Mirabella nodded that she enjoyed the show and he jumped down. Now, her happiness felt real. He dug out a coin from his pocket and gave it to her. She walked up to the fountain and closed her eyes. She kissed the coin and made her wish. Then flicked the copper into the fountain and watched it turn and spin in the air and then down into the water.

“It’ll come true,” he promised her. He took her hand and they walked through the courtyard. They passed an old man with a cart of vegetables, headed to the market. On the cart were wild sunflowers. Giovanni reached in his pocket and grabbed a bunch of bills. He gave them to the man who offered a toothless grin. Mirabella smiled as the man tried to pluck the best flowers for her. But Giovanni only wanted one. He presented it to her with a curt nod and she curtsied a bit for him in gratitude.

People stared.

Giovanni was a strikingly handsome man, and she was clearly not from their region. But she doubted that was the reason for their curiosity. The news of the fire in Melanzana had reached as far as Tuscany. The Battaglias hadn’t been seen but the media gave regular updates, which included Belinda’s suicide. Some of the looks they received were of disapproval over their jovial mood. She tried to ignore them.

No one could understand their suffering.

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