Page 84 of Vita Mia

MiaBella pointed left on the shoreline toward the mountains in the distance that reached the beaches. “It’s not far. I grew up there, and here, but mostly there. And Cuba for some time,” her words faded.

“Cuba?”

She said nothing further. Ryder’s gaze returned to the white sailboats drifting across azure waves.

“Why did your father and his cousin jump from the cliffs?”

“They were brothers, raised like brothers.” She looked to Ryder. “He’s Lola’s dad. His name is Lorenzo. She’s named after him, Lorenza,” MiaBella smiled. “And when they were kids they always wanted to compete against each other. The biggest competition for them was the sea.”

“How old were you when you father died?”

MiaBella didn’t answer. She looked down at the grass and plucked a few blades. “If you’ve done your homework on my family you know the answer to that.”

“Ah, yeah, I can’t remember.”

“My father has died many times.”

Ryder frowned. “Many times? A man can only die once.”

“My father was no average man. I was young when I first lost my father, now I feel like I’m losing him all over again,” she said softly. “My mum said I took my first steps to him when he was in jail. But my best memories of him were at the beach.”

“This beach?”

“No.”

“I remember how he’d sit in the sand with me and help me build my castles. How he’d chase me and catch me and throw me in the air. He was a good man. He loved his family. My uncles, they did too. I know what you find on the internet is all of their crimes, but I’m telling you there is a different side to my father’s story. The family side.”

“Wait? You couldn’t have been more than a year old when he died. How do you remember the beach and sand castles—“

“Please stop asking me questions I can’t answer,” she said.

“I understand.”

Ryder wanted to keep her talking. He wanted to know more about the time Don Giovanni spent in prison and his release, and then the attempt to re-arrest him that ended so violently.

“So, you took your first steps to him in prison?”

She nodded.

“Mummy said he was so happy and so sad that day. He didn’t want me to come to the prison but my mum wanted me to walk to him. She knew he needed that, so I was the only one allowed to go.” Mia tossed her chin up with pride. “Lucciolais his first born. And my brothers are Romulus and Remus, his rib, his pride and joy. But I’m not like them. I’m her.”

“Her who? Your mother?”

She nodded.

“For my father, I’m my mother’s soul and spirit. His baby girl. His MiaBella. His Bella. From the day I was born into this I had to share my parents pain, not their joy. I am different, I’m the story that comes after Eve’s fire, and my father’s death. I’m the one they all think they need to protect.”

“Different isn’t a bad thing,” Ryder agreed. “Yes, they’re striking with their brown skin and blue eyes. But you are far more beautiful.”

She chuckled. “You sound like a poet.”

“I do, don’t I?” he frowned.

She nodded in agreement.

“I have my grandmother’s soul. My fake great grandmother. My real great grandmother’s soul is in Lola. That’s what Eve told us both.”

“Fake, real, wait, I don’t understand.”

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