Page 31 of Various Intentions
By the time we sat down to eat, he was practically effervescent, and there was a brightness to his eyes that we needed to see more of.
“Cheer up, Matteo,” I teased.
He shook his head. “I don’t know why I’m so giddy. It was nice to see Daphne yesterday. I’m glad life is treating her well.” He threw a bashful glance at Vincent. “And I did so enjoy our little, ahem,tête-a-tête, when we got home.”
Taylor put his hands over his ears.
“Yes, I agree about Daphne,” I said. “This thing with Alexander was a surprise, but I wish her all the best. He seems like a decent guy.”
Taylor lowered his hands and went back to eating. “She’s killing it with her OnlyFans. She’s making some decent side money now,” Taylor said, slurping up his fish. “Fuck, this is delicious.”
“Manners,” I said. “You don’t need to swear at the table.”
“Shit, sorry. Oh damn. Whatever. Anyway, it’sdelicioso.”
“Grazie,” Matteo murmured, just before a song started playing from his phone, which lay on the counter.
I glanced at the phone, then at Matteo, not paying much attention. But Matteo had stiffened and paled as he stared at the chiming phone and now began to stand.
He seemed to realize what he was doing and hastened to apologize, folding his napkin and leaving it on his chair.
“I’m sorry. Excuse me, but I have to get this.”
“Okay,” I said, glancing at Vincent, who seemed as surprised as I was. We had a policy of no phones at the table, which Matteo had never had a problem with before. I tried to remember if I’d ever heard his phone ring prior to this. I’d never heard his phone playLandslideby Fleetwood Mac.
In a moment he had picked it up and swiped his thumb across the screen, holding it to his ear.
“Zarah? Is that you?”
His voice shook as he asked the question then he smiled so wide I thought his face would split open. “Oh God!”
He seemed to remember we were there, but only glanced at me and held up a finger as he hastened from the room.
I looked at Vincent and Taylor. Everyone was poised with their utensils in the air, wondering what on earth was happening. For Matteo to get up and answer his phone in the middle of the fancy meal he’d cooked was unprecedented.
Who the fuck is Zarah?
“Has Matteo ever mentioned anyone named Zarah to you?” I asked Vincent.
He shook his head. I turned to Taylor.
“You?”
“Nope.” Taylor shrugged and went back to eating.
I tried, but was unable to resume, and Vincent seemed to be in the same predicament.
After several moments, Matteo came back into the dining room. He held his phone to his chest and gazed at us with shining eyes out of a flushed face.
“That was… That was my daughter Zarah on the phone,” he said.
And my world shifted.
“Your…daughter?” I echoed.
Matteo inhaled a breath, almost as if he was choking. “Yes.”
I glanced at Vincent, who seemed as gobsmacked as I was. “Why didn’t we know you had a daughter?”
