Page 23 of A Family Affair: The Vow
A nod, a clearing of her throat. “Vic, I want to—”
The front door burst open, followed by Josh’s voice. “I’m back! Now we can keep Rae safe, so no one steals her.”
Rae turned toward the entrance to the kitchen, spotted her nephew. “You got it?”
He lifted a brown bag, shook it. “Everything’s in this bag.” He moved toward Vic, grinned. “Ready to get to work?” He eyed the water in Vic’s hand, made a face. “Water? How about we have a beer first andthenwe get to work?”
* * *
“You’re Rachel Darlington.”
Rae glanced up from the latest copy of theMagdalena Pressshe’d been reading while she waited for Phyllis to bring her the lunch special. “I am.” She recognized the young woman in the red jacket and pink-striped headband. Lily Desantro, Nate’s sister. There were a lot of stories floating around town about Lily and not one of them mentioned Down Syndrome. Instead, they spoke of her kindness, her spirit, and how she was the angel of this town.She’s got a sixth, seventh, and eighth sense about people and she’ll make you think about life in ways books and therapists never could. That last comment stuck in Rae’s brain, made her curious yet hesitant about the young woman. “You’re Lily. Nate’s sister.”
The blue eyes lit up behind the thick glasses, the smile spread, and when she spoke, joy filled her words. “Yup, Nate’s my brother. Christine’s my sister—that’s his wife. I also have two nieces and an uncle… His name is Harry and his wife is Greta. They have three children and a dog named Cooper.” She glanced at Rae’s plate, homed in on the Cobb salad.
“The chili’s really good, you should try it. So are the grilled tuna sandwiches and the cheeseburgers. But since you’re eating salad, you can definitely have dessert.” She turned, pointed to the glass case behind her. “Phyllis will tell you all about the desserts, but I could tell you, too. If you’re in the mood for pie, coconut cream and cherry are the best. Then there’s the cupcakes… The éclairs… Yum on the éclairs… And look at those big cookies!”
Her enthusiasm made Rae smile. “How will I ever decide?”
Lily winked, said in a sly voice, “You don’t have to decide. You can be like Uncle Harry and buy a piece of pie, a cookie,andan eclair. And if you want, you can also come to the bakery where I work. It’s called Barbara’s Boutique and Bakery and they have really good stuff there.” She unzipped her jacket, shrugged out of it. “Can I sit with you for a few minutes? I’m meeting my uncle here, but he’s always late.”
“Uh, sure.” Rae motioned for Lily to have a seat in the red booth opposite her.
“You used to live here, right? Josh said you grew up in Magdalena.”
Josh sure talked a lot. “I did. So, you know my nephew?”
A quick nod. “He’s helping fix my apartment. He’s learning to be responsible.”
Learning to be responsible? Where did she hear that? “Oh, he is, is he?”
“That’s what Vic tells him when he does something good like sweeping up the sawdust in the garage without being asked and putting the tools back in the truck.” She eyed Rae, said in a soft voice, “Do you know Vic Tramont? He’s so handsome… So nice… So everything.” Her voice dipped, turned sweeter than sugar water. “He painted my room purple but it’s really lavender. Vic likes to call it purple. Josh helped, too. Did you know a coat of paint can make any space look totally different? That’s what Vic says.”
It sure sounded like Lily had a major crush on Vic and his many acts of kindness. What would Lily tell her next? How all the women were after him and wanted to be Mrs. Vic Tramont? The thought hadn’t completely registered before Lily gave voice to it.
“Vic needs a wife.” Pause and a tap on her chin followed by more thoughts. “I heard you had a boyfriend but Josh said you never talk about him, so maybe he’s not a marrying kind of boyfriend. Uncle Harry said some are and some aren’t. Vic could be one, though. I think you might be a good one for him.”
“What? Me? No, no.”No!“I’m not looking for a husband and if I were it wouldn’t be...” The sad look on Lily’s face made Rae rework her comments. “I’m not ready to get married, Lily.”
“Not yet, but that’s only because you haven’t spent enough time with Vic. Once you do, you’ll start to notice all the little things that make him special. Not just the way his voice gets all soft and gooey when he’s explaining something to me or how he helps Mrs. Reynolds, the widow down the street, with her window screens. And I’m not even talking about those blue eyes that look like a summer sky, or the muscles. He sure has a lot of muscles, don’t you think? Uncle Harry said what makes him really special is that he doesn’t even act like he’s doing anything big. Not like some show-off who thinks he’s the greatest and wants everybody to notice. No, he’s just kind and nice to me and he likes dogs. He had a dog named Mitch but he died two years ago and Vic buried him in the backyard. He’s still sad about it.”
How did Lily know so much about him? “Is Vic your friend?”
“Yes, he’s my friend.” She pointed to Rae’s plate, leaned forward, and whispered, “You can eat. Pop says it’s not polite to eat in front of someone but I’m going to eat as soon as my uncle gets here so I don’t want to order two meals. Go ahead—” a nod and a smile “—mangia. That meanseatin Italian. Pop taught me that one.”
“Pop Benito?” Everyone had heard of him. The Godfather of Magdalena, otherwise known as the voice of wisdom, truth, and common sense.
“That’s him. Anthony ‘Pop” Benito. He’s my best friend.” Her face burst with happiness. “We’re pizzelle-making buddies, and we also play checkers and eat grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches… And I help him in the garden… And we talk. We talka lotbecause Pop has a lot to say and I like to listen to him. He listens to me too and he never acts like it’s silly if I’m afraid or unsure or have a question about something everybody else knows. He explains things to me, but he explains things to a lot of people.” She folded her hands on the tabletop, studied Rae. “Pop likes to leave clues and ask questions so the person he’s talking to can figure it out all by themselves. Isn’t that clever?”
“Yes, very clever.” Rae made a note to avoid Pop Benito because she did not want to get caught in a web of questions or analyses.
“I’m having a housewarming party at my place next weekend. You’re invited.” Her smile slid across the table, turned triple-chocolate sweet. “Vic will be there, too.”
13
“Vic, would you please pass the potatoes?” Lily Desantro’s smile lit up her face, made her blue eyes sparkle behind her glasses.
“My pleasure, Lily. Did you mash these potatoes?”
