Page 44 of Always

“Sure,” Molly said, shrugging, “whatever you want.”

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16

The following weekend was Labor Day, the day Hannah had set for their hike up the Blue Ridge trail. Anika hadn’t seen James at all that week—he’d come to pick Hannah up for lunch once but had only texted from his car when he arrived instead of coming up to the office.

Anika hadn’t seen Marco either, since he’d been especially busy at Bennet Knight. They’d had plans to meet mid-week for dinner, but Marco had to cancel them last minute when his father took a turn for the worse. She had planned to ask him about the lawyer he’d sent to meet with Gwen, but that question was lost in their concern for Dominic.

Anika called to check in while Marco was at the doctor’s office with his father.

“How’s he doing?” she asked.

“We won’t get the blood results back until tomorrow,” Marco said, “but they think it was just a flare up.”

He sounded like he was moving to another room, perhaps away from where Dominic could hear him.

“Honestly,” he said more quietly. “He’s in decline. The doctor said they’ll continue to adjust his medication and monitor him, but all they can do is slow the progression of the liver damage. The end result is...unavoidable.”

“I’m so sorry,” Anika said. “I know how powerless it makes you feel.” She was remembering her mother’s illness, how anything she tried to bring for her—books, ginger candies, a new heating pad—only seemed to bring relief for perhaps an hour. The only thing that could help in any lasting way were drugs, drugs that made her mother unable to speak or even look at Anika.

“Do you want me to come down?” Anika asked.

“No,” Marco said. “Thanks for offering, but we’re almost done here. I’m going to drive my father home. I’m disappointed about dinner. I really needed some time with you after the week I’ve been having.”

“I’ll see you Saturday, though,” Anika said.

“Thank god for that.”

It was almost two hour’s drive to the trailhead. Hannah had wanted them all to drive up together, but since Gwen and Blaine were coming as well, nobody had a car big enough to fit everyone.

Marco said he was glad they’d have a little time just the two of the, before they met up with the others. And he was always interested to drive somewhere new outside the city.

“I can never believe how big it is here,” he said. “You drive two hours and you’re not even out of the state. In Europe, you’d be in an entirely new country.”

“America is like fifty countries, really,” Anika said. “Alabama and Oregon are probably as dissimilar as Italy and Germany.”

“Or Hawaii and Utah,” Marco said.

“Or Texas and Rhode Island,” Anika laughed.

They amused themselves in this manner as they passed out of the city, trying to think of the most ridiculous pairings of states.

“Fratelli strani,” Marco said. “That’s what we would call the states. Strange brothers.”

“Or sisters,” Anika said, teasingly.

“Strane sorelle,then,” Marco said. “We need to work on your Italian so you can come back with me when I go to see my mother next.”

“You want me to meet your mother?” Anika said.

“Of course! And my cousins. They’d love you. Maybe a little too much. The boys are a pack of hyenas. I’ll introduce you to the girls instead, Guilia and Chiara. Guilia works at a museum in Rome. Chiara married some ugly old billionaire, so she loves when anyone comes to stay. We’ll go visit her just to use her sailboat.”

They parked in a lot just off the base of the mountain. Because it was a long weekend, the lot was almost full of cars, with plenty of other hikers pausing outside their cars to lace up their shoes, stow extra water bottles in their backpacks, or apply a coat of sunscreen before heading up.

Anika saw Blaine’s white G-Wagon parked just a few spaces away from Marco’s car. Looking up at the trailhead, she spotted Hannah, James, Gwen, and Blaine already waiting for them.

Hannah waved, full of excitement. She was wearing pink Nike track shorts, a tank top, and a white tennis visor, with her hair pulled back in a pert ponytail. She looked adorable. Gwen, by contrast, had on 70s gym socks pulled up to the knee and a t-shirt that read “A Woman’s Place is in the House Of Representatives.” Blaine was wearing an old army t, and James had on a pair of shorts that Anika recognized as his favorite hiking shorts from when they used to drive out of the city on the weekends. They looked exactly as they had ten years ago, since they were already ancient back then.

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