Page 150 of Play of Love
Lucy looked away and stared ahead to the bougainvillea plants that wrapped around one of the archways in the restaurant. "You must think I'mcrazy, don't you?" Her slender hands unconsciously twisted together.
"No. I don't."
She looked back to me. "Maybe it was foolish to come out here. Maybe I... this is crazy Evie. It's going to be an impossible task." She bent her head down in dismay.
I sat forward and leaned my elbows on the table so I could rest my chin in my hands. I looked at Lucy intently and asked, "does your heart still tell you that Angelo's alive?"
Lucy nodded and placed her hand at her heart. "It's always told me that. Always, and never stopped. It was almost like a nagging feeling I've had all these years, and now it is even stronger now than before."
I reached out and clutched her hand. "Well, then we need to find him." As dull as things looked I was trying to be positive for Lucy.
In reality, I was wondering what we were going to do. We had no information. None, zero. What were we supposed to do with that?
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about all this before. There's a lot I want to tell you, but it's hard to talk about."
"I understand. Besides, I don't expect you to tell me everything." Everyone deserved their privacy. Just because we had this closeness between us didn't mean Lucy had to share every single thing about her life. There was a line of respect that shouldn't be crossed. "I think it's remarkable though that you were here during the war."
Lucy nodded. "I've lived a very long time. Very long. My father brought my family to live here when I was fourteen. I met Angelo the summer of that year, and I fell in love with him the minute I saw him. He was a year older than me. He'd always listen to me try to play the violin. I say try because I was terrible when I first started." She chuckled. I couldn't imagine Lucy being terrible. When she played, it sounded like music straight from heaven. "We spent every moment we had together, and I really thought we'd spend the rest of our lives that way too. When he turned eighteen he was drafted into the army, and that was the day my world changed. I just knew something bad was going to happen to him. I just knew, and it destroyed me when the officials came and told me he'd died. The news devastated me so much I had to be sedated, and I was kept in the hospital for days."
The emotion that filled Lucy's eyes gripped my heart. It gripped my and got to me in such a way that made my determined to search every inch of Italy until I found Angelo.
There were certain people in this world who you just wanted to be happy. Lucy was one of them. There was so much good to her, so much love, kindness, and warmth. She deserved every ounce of happiness there was to have.
"I can't imagine what it all must have been like for you. I just can't." I offered. Having heard the story for myself I thought I would have been completely devastated if it had been me.
"After that, it was no longer safe for us to stay here, even after the war. So we went back to the States. I closed that chapter of my life when we left and I never spoke about it again. I didn't even tell Gage. Anything he knew about Italy came from my parents. I think as he got older he realized I must have had a bad experience here. Most people tend to make assumptions anyway when you tell them you lived in a place that was affected by that war."
I nodded understanding. "We'll do our best Lucy. We'll try and find Angelo."
"Thank you, and thanks for being here. I honestly don't know what I would have done by myself."
I didn't even want to think about how that could have turned out. It would have been a disaster.
"Well, here's to finding Angelo as quickly and easily as possible." I offered, raising my glass of orange juice as if I were toasting.
"Me too." The color returned to Lucy's cheeks.
"How about you have some more of that garlic bread. You need to keep your strength up." I smiled pushing Lucy's plate closer to her. Lucy nodded agreeing, and picked up a slice.
I thought a change in subject was in order, so I started talking about the piece of music I was currently composing. One sure way to distract Lucy was talk of music and composing. When it came to writing, she always had some great advice to offer. We talked for hours and continued our conversation into Lucy's room where we waited for Gage.
Hours had passed since he left them and I was starting to worry. Lucy was also starting to get that faltering look again.
Night had fallen too and I just hoped Gage hadn't gotten lost or something. I'd tried to distract my mind by flicking through some travel brochures that were in the room, and Lucy read her letters from Angelo. I had just picked up the fifth brochure when the door opened and Gage came in. He was smiling like he had news.
"Sorry I took so long. Are you both okay?" he asked rolling the sleeves up on his long-sleeved black T-shirt.
"We're fine. Are you okay?" Lucy asked. She stood up and clasped her hands as if she were praying.
"I'm good, and I have news." A satisfied smile lifted the corners of his mouth as Lucy's whole face brightened.
I straightened up on the wicker chair with keen interest. "What did you find out?" I asked.
"I managed to find a restaurant that was established from nineteen fifty. I had to wait for the owner to return, that's why I took so long. The owner knew Angelo's sisters."
Lucy gasped. "Anna and Vanessa?"
Gage nodded. "He didn't have any information on Angelo but said the sisters moved around nineteen eighty. Angelo didn't appear to have come back around these parts. The sisters both moved to Tuscany, but the problem is they don't know where, and Vanessa got married, so her surname changed to Rossi. They think Anna could have gotten married too but they weren't certain."
