Page 172 of Play of Love
The earliest memory I had of my parents was me asking to go to see my Grams because I wanted some of her amazing pumpkin pie, which she would always make in the shape of something to fascinate me.
She still made that for me now too. I sat around the dining table as she went into the kitchen. Minutes later she returned with a man-sized sandwich of ham, and cheese with pickles in one of those fluffy hearty Italian baguettes. It was just the thing I needed.
"Thank you so much. This looks fantastic." I complimented as she set the plate before me.
"You're very welcome my darling," she said, tapping the top of my head. She sat opposite me with a cup of tea.
"Was there any messages while I was away?" I asked.
"A couple. They weren't anybody we're looking for. That list is getting shorter and shorter." She looked at me with sad eyes.
I was hoping we'd find one of the sisters by now, and yes, I feared that they'd get to the end of the list and the trail would run cold. We'd have to start all over again. From scratch.
If that happened, I thought I'd have to get a private investigator involved. I didn't think we could keep looking like this and it wasn't doing her any good. If we got to the end of that list and we found nothing I knew it would stress her out to no end. It was stressing her out now, that's why I had to keep her spirits up.
"That just means we'll be closer to finding them." I offered, reaching across the table and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Your positivity reminds me of your father. And you look just like him." She smiled. I had been told that a lot, I just wished things turned out differently, and my parents were still in my life. I might have been young when they were taken from me, but I knew I loved them. All I had now was fragmented memories and images from the past. I thought that when I remembered my father I saw myself in him.
"I guess." I returned the warm smile she offered.
A disconcerted look crossed over her face as she grumbled, "with the exception of all those tattoos." That disgruntled look from earlier returned to her face. "Your father would never dream of getting anything of the sort, and your mother would give you such a telling off if she saw them."
I was used to her talking like that, like my parents were still alive. She kept them alive in my memory for me, and she was totally serious too. She absolutely hated tattoos. She said it reminded her of the macho type sailors in the war who were complete chauvinist and what she called ingrates.
"I promise I won't get anymore."
"You said that last time," she scolded frowning. "And the time before. How many do you have now?" She drew her brows together.
"A couple." I chuckled.
"A couple is two, you are covered."
I had ten. That wasn't covered. I had planned to get another one, but maybe this time I could keep my promise to her. "Okay, I seriously promise this time." I crossed my fingers together and held them at my heart.
"You'd better keep it. At least Evie agrees with me."
I laughed. Evie only agreed with her because she'd been put on the spot. The way she'd looked at me told me different. She didn't think I was a hooligan, and I knew she liked my tattoos as well as the rest of me.
"Yes, Evie agrees with you." I nodded, indulging her.
An excited look flickered in her eyes as an idea seemed to come to her.
"Gage, why don't you take her sightseeing? You two should go and see the sights in Italy. Florence, Venice, Milan. She'd love that. I could do the calls, and you guys could go out for a day, or two."
I straightened up against the wooden chair and looked at her. She was up to something. "What are you doing Grams?"
"Nothing." She replied feigning innocence and looking at me with her huge light blue eyes. "It's just that it's Italy. It's a very beautiful country, and you're young. You shouldn't be cooped up in a villa with some old lady looking for her long lost love."
I laughed again. "Grams you're not some old lady, and I think you'll find that I'm not that young anymore."
"You're kids to me." She smiled.
"Maybe. Anyway, I think Evie would prefer if someone else took her to all those places."
"Why let someone else do it when you could?" She smiled widely. "You're going to seriously tell me you don't like her. My eyes have never deceived me, and they aren't about to start now."
I opened my mouth to protest but found I couldn't. Somehow, I couldn't. "She can't stand me. And she has every reason to dislike me."
