Page 110 of The Unraveling of Julia

“Come in,” said the woman, and a buzzer sounded. Julia opened the door, and they found themselves in a large, tiled foyer that led to a wide hallway, an older building renovated to accommodate the school. The office was to the left under a door that readUFFICIO.

They crossed to the door, opened it, and entered the office, which had high ceilings, ornate crown molding, and white plaster walls. A modern counter of blond wood divided the public area from a staffof three women, who were working on computers in front of a mismatched line of file cabinets. An Italian flag stood in the corner.

“May I help you?” asked one of the women, who looked up, rose, and walked to the counter with a pleasant smile. She had dark hair in a long braid that rested on her shoulder, and she wore a flowered shirt with a denim skirt.

Julia introduced herself and Courtney, then said, “I’m here on a personal matter. I’m adopted and I believe my birth mother might be one of your teachers.”

The woman’s eyebrows flew upward. “What is her name?”

The other women stopped working and exchanged astonished glances.

Julia answered, “It might be Patrizia Rossi or Patrizia Ritorno. She may not even know her real name.”

“Davvero?” The woman gasped, and the other women burst into excited chatter.

“She took her class on a field trip to a hospital, I assume recently. She’s about fifty-something and she looks like me. Oh, and she’s a good artist.”

“Excuse me.” The woman left the desk and crossed to the other women, then they all started clacking away in Italian. The woman returned, smoothing her hair into place. “We’re sorry for your situation. We’re afraid no teacher here fits your description.”

Julia’s heart sank. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. We have three teachers in their fifties. None look like you.”

“Did any class here take a field trip to a hospital?”

“No.”

Julia tried another tack. “Do you know if any other elementary schools visited the hospital recently?”

“No.”

Damn.Julia managed a smile. “Thank you. You’ve been very kind.”

“Good luck.” The woman smiled back, with genuine sympathy, and Julia felt touched. They left the office, then the school, and regrouped outside on the steps.

Julia straightened, hopeful. “Well, we have a bunch more schools.”

“To the Ferrari!” Courtney said, raising a fist.

Three hours later, they’d visited three picturesque Tuscan hill towns like Croce, each a cluster of stone houses with red tile roofs set above valleys lush with vineyards, olive groves, sunflowers, and lavender. They’d visited three more elementary schools and met scores of sympathetic women, but they hadn’t found Julia’s birth mother. None of the office staff knew a teacher who looked like Julia, or a class that had gone to a hospital.

Julia and Courtney sat in the car at the parking lot of the fourth school, in another small hill town called Vincenza. They were waiting for the carpool lane to clear, since primary students went home for lunch. Adorable boys and girls streamed from the school into the open arms of happy moms, dads, and babysitters with strollers.

Julia watched them, hoping she’d get that lucky someday. She wondered if most people knew how blessed they were in a family. “We still have plenty of schools to go, right?”

“Absolutely. We’ll find her.”

Julia consulted her list, which she kept on her phone in Notes, organized geographically. The first half of the list were schools on the northern side of the hospital, and the second half were on the southern side, closer to Croce. “At this rate, we’ll get through half of them today. We’ll have an answer either this afternoon or tomorrow.”

Courtney smiled. “Exciting!”

“Totally.” Julia smiled back, rallying. She’d kept an eye in therearview mirror the entire morning. “I saw only a few white vans, and they weren’t the same because they had windows. I saw a white Fiat, driven by an old lady, and there were no police cars.”

“So we’re not being followed—” Courtney stopped abruptly, her eyes flashing with alarm.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Courtney signaledBe quiet, then started feeling around the dashboard.

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