“She’s a stupid girl if she’s involved with him.”
Julia winced.
“I was a stupid girl once.” Her voice was so soft, Gabriel had to strain to hear her.
“You weren’t stupid; you were manipulated. Come on, don’t you want them to suffer?”
“Not this way.”
He rose to his feet, placing his hands on his hips.
“I do! Think about what he did to you. Think about what she did. They made you suffer for years. They nearly destroyed you!”
“But they didn’t,” she said quietly, to his retreating back.
He walked toward the window and moved the curtains, staring out over Central Park.
“I broke his jaw, and it still didn’t give me satisfaction.” Gabriel examined the bare, snow-covered branches of the trees. “I wanted to kill him.”
“You acted in self-defense. If you hadn’t come to my rescue . . .” She shuddered in remembrance of the day she was almost raped. “But what you’re asking me to do isn’t self-defense.”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “No. It’s justice.”
“We spoke once, about mercy seasoning justice. We spoke about penance and forgiveness.”
“This is different.”
“That’s right. Because even though I could demand justice, in this case, I decline. To quote one of our favorite novels, to God I respectfully return the ticket.”
Gabriel snorted. “You’re misquoting Dostoyevsky for your own Franciscan purposes.”
Julia smiled at his indignation.
“I know you’re angry with me for not wanting to punish them. But, darling, think of his mother. She was kind to me. This will kill her.”
Gabriel didn’t take his eyes from the trees.
“You threatened to go to the press yourself.”
“To tell them the truth, not to share the pictures. And only if Natalie gave me no other choice.”
Gabriel’s right hand formed a fist, which he brought to rest against the window, resisting the urge to punch through the glass.
It wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t fair that someone as sweet as Julianne was neglected by her mother and father and left to a cruel and manipulative boyfriend.
It wasn’t fair that Suzanne Emerson was left to cling to the scraps her lover fed her, while he lavished love on his family.
It wasn’t fair that Grace and Maia died while others lived.
It wasn’t fair that Tom and Diane were expecting a baby with a damaged heart.
No, the universe wasn’t fair. And if that weren’t lamentable enough, when the opportunities came for justice, Franciscans like Julianne turned the other cheek and spoke of mercy.
Damn.
He closed his eyes.
She’d turned the other cheek to him.
As had Grace.
As had Maia.
With a deep sigh, he focused his attention on Assisi and what had happened to him when he visited the crypt. God had met him there, but not with justice. With mercy.
“Call your uncle.”
“Gabriel, I—”
He opened his eyes and unclenched his fist but didn’t turn around.
“Just call him. Tell him what you want him to do.”
Julianne tugged the sheet free, winding it around her petite frame. She went to him, bringing her front to his back.
“You want to protect me. You want justice. I love you for that.”
“I still wish I’d killed him.”
“You have.” She pressed her cheek against his shoulder blade.
His muscles tensed. “How so?”
“You love me, you’re kind to me, and you treat me with respect. The longer I’m with you, the more everything having to do with him seems like a bad dream. So in many ways, you have killed him. You’ve killed his memory. Thank you, Gabriel.”
Gabriel closed his eyes as a great wave of love and something he couldn’t quite name washed over him.
Julia kissed his shoulders and went to call her uncle.
Chapter Sixty-two
That evening, Julia and Gabriel dined at Kelly’s Manhattan apartment with her husband, Jonathan, and their daughters, Andrea and Meredith.
Julia felt welcomed by Gabriel’s family. By the end of the evening, they were visiting like old friends rather than strangers.
Kelly gave Gabriel a pair of cuff links and an old Brooklyn Dodgers cap that had belonged to their father, along with several books that had been written by their grandfather.
Gabriel gave Kelly the knowledge that the train engine he had, was, in fact, their father’s. He’d carved the initials “O.S.” into it as a boy, when his name had been Othniel Spiegel.
The Emersons invited the Schultzes to visit in Cambridge or Selinsgrove, and there was talk of a joint holiday in the Hamptons the following summer. Kelly made sure that Gabriel promised to attend the next meeting of the Rabbi Benjamin Spiegel Foundation. She was looking forward to introducing her brother to the cousins.
Back at the Ritz before bedtime, Julia checked her email. She was wearing the Dodgers cap, since it was almost too small for Gabriel’s head.
(A fact she pointed out with no little amusement.)
She stared at her laptop screen from behind her tortoiseshell glasses.
“Scheisse.”
“I really need to start teaching you to curse in a different language. I’ve heard that Farsi has some particularly colorful expletives.” Gabriel smirked as he walked toward her, clad in a plush hotel bathrobe.
“I’m not sure Farsi could capture what I feel when I look at this.” Julia pointed to the screen.
Gabriel picked up his glasses and put them on. He gazed at the scanned black-and-white engagement photo, recognizing Simon Talbot immediately.
He resisted the urge to curse. “Who’s the woman?”
“Do you know Senator Hudson from North Carolina? That’s his daughter. She’s a senior at Duke.”
Gabriel and Julianne exchanged a look.
“Her family is very conservative. How did she end up with him?” Gabriel sounded contemptuous.
“I have no idea. But I can understand why Natalie is upset. Simon dumped her for the Jacqueline Bouvier of fiancées. Look at her.”
“Who sent you the photo?”
“Rachel. It was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer.”
Julia turned back to her laptop, gazing sadly at the photograph of the smiling couple.
“I feel sorry for her. She has no idea what she’s getting into.”
“Perhaps she does but doesn’t care.” Gabriel tugged on the brim of her ball cap. “This looks good on you. I didn’t take you for a Dodgers fan.”
She grinned. “I’m embracing your Brooklyn heritage.”
The next day, Julianne finished her seminar paper while Gabriel attended to business, researching his grandfather in the Columbia University archives. That afternoon, they joined Kelly and Jonathan in paying a visit to Aunt Sarah at a nursing home in Queens.
After an evening spent shopping and then dining at the Russian Tea Room, they returned to the hotel. The room was bathed in candlelight as Julia moved atop him. Her hands rested on his chest, stroking him.
He gripped her hips, urging her to increase her pace.
“Say my name,” he whispered.
She gasped as he thrust up inside her.
“Gabriel.”
“Nothing could enflame me the way your voice does when you say my name.”
“Gabriel,” she repeated. “That’s beautiful.”
He pulled her closer, his lips moving across her breasts.
“You inspire me.”
“You’re very intense.”
“Of course I’m intense. I’m with my beautiful wife, having fant
astic sex.”
“I feel like we’re the only ones in the world.”
“Good,” he mumbled, watching her as she moved up and down and up and down.
“You make me feel beautiful.”
In response, he licked her breast until she began to groan.
“I love you.”
Gabriel’s eyes grew determined as he urged her to go faster.
“I love you too.”
“I’d be proud to have a baby with you,” she managed, just before lifting her chin and closing her eyes. Her body shook as the pleasure coursed through her.
He continued thrusting, watching as she climaxed. Then he quickened his pace, planting himself with one great thrust before he came.
“I’m glad you joined me in New York.” Gabriel held Julia’s hand as they waited to check in for their flight back to Boston. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to see a show, but at least we saw some of the sights.”
“Gabriel, you braved the crowds to take me Christmas shopping. I don’t have anything to complain about.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “They’re going to charge us for having overweight bags.”
“I’d like to see them try. It’s Christmas, damn it.”
She laughed. “So it is. Somehow, I can’t imagine you sitting through an entire Broadway show.”
He sniffed. “I’d see Shakespeare.”
“The musical?”
“Very funny. I’d sit through a performance of Les Misérables.” His gaze leveled on hers. “Your interpretation of that novel changed my life.”
Julia looked down at her feet, at the new high-heeled Manolo Blahnik boots Gabriel had insisted on buying her at Barneys.
“I think a lot of things conspired to change your life. I can’t take credit for what happened to you in Assisi.”
“No.” He lifted her hand, stroking his thumb over her knuckles before toying with her wedding band.
“But I wouldn’t have made it to Assisi if you hadn’t helped me first. And I wouldn’t have had the joy of discovering my grandfather if you hadn’t agreed to have a child with me. You’ve given me so much.”
“Tammy said that fatherhood does something special to a good man. I’d like to see what it does to you.”
Gabriel blinked twice, hard. “Thank you, Julianne.”
He captured her smile with his mouth, kissing her until a throat cleared behind them.
Embarrassed, they moved ahead in line, hands woven together.
The Emersons had just cleared security when Julia’s cell phone rang.
“Jules.” Tom’s gruff voice echoed in her ear.
“Dad. Is everything okay?”
The pause on the other end of the line caused Julia to stop walking. Gabriel stood at her side, a questioning look on his face.
Tom cleared his throat. “I’m at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.”
“Oh, no. Are Diane and the baby all right?”
“Diane woke up in the middle of the night feeling funny and so we drove here right away.” Tom paused. “Right now, they have her hooked up to a bunch of monitors but she and the baby are fine. However”—he paused again—“she started going into labor a little while ago.”
“She’s early,” Julia breathed.
“That’s right.” Tom’s voice was tight. “They won’t know how he’s doing until he’s delivered. The doctors say there are lots of things they can’t see on an ultrasound. They might have to work on his heart immediately.”
“Will he need surgery?”
“The corrective surgery is scheduled for three days after delivery, give or take. I suppose he might need surgery before, depending on what they find.”
Julia looked at Gabriel. “We’re at JFK in New York, getting ready to fly back to Boston. Would you like me to come home?”
“Yes. If you can. She’ll probably still be in labor when you arrive, but it would be good to have you here. It’s going to be a long three days and I don’t know if—” He began coughing.
“I’m coming. Okay? I’ll change my flight and head straight to the hospital. I’ll call you when I arrive so you can tell me where to meet you.”
“Okay.” He sounded relieved. “Jules?”
“Yes, Dad?”
“Thanks. See you soon.”
“Bye, Dad. Give my love to Diane.”
Julia disconnected the call and looked up at her husband. His expression was grim.
“I guess I should have spoken to you before I promised I’d go to Philadelphia.” She chewed at the inside of her mouth.
“It’s an emergency. We have to go.”
“We?”
“The baby will be my nephew. And I’m not letting you go by yourself.” He pulled her into his side, leading her through the crowd.
Chapter Sixty-three
Jules?”
Tom’s hand was on her shoulder, trying to awaken her. She was seated in a chair in the Special Delivery Unit waiting room. Gabriel was standing nearby, nursing a very bad coffee.
(Fortunately, he’d restrained himself and elected not to complain to the hospital administration about the sad state of their vending machines.)
Julia opened her eyes, squinting against the overhead light.
Her father crouched in front of her. “We had the baby.”
“Is he all right?”
“They had to do a procedure right away, but now he’s recovering and Diane is with him.” Tom pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and held it out to her. “He’s a good-looking boy.”
Julia scrolled through a series of pictures of a tired but glowing Diane and a mocha-skinned boy who had black, curly hair.
“He’s beautiful, Dad. I’m so happy for you.” She handed the phone back.
Tom looked at the last picture for a moment, his thumb grazing across the baby’s head.
“Thomas Lamar Mitchell. Seven pounds, ten ounces. Born today, December eleventh.”
“I didn’t know you were naming him after yourself.”
“A boy should have his father’s name,” Tom’s voice was gruff. “Anyway, Diane wants to call him Tommy. For now.”
“Then Tommy it is.” Julia glanced over at her husband, who was frowning into his coffee cup.
“You kids should go back to the hotel. I’ll call if anything changes. You won’t be able to see him today. They’re keeping an eye on him, and hopefully they’ll operate on his heart in a few days.”
“Okay, Dad.” Julia wrapped her arms around her father, hugging him. “Congratulations.”
Chapter Sixty-four
So how’s the baby?” Rachel leaned across the dining room table in her parents’ former house.
It was two nights before Christmas. Julia had just rejoined Gabriel’s extended family at the table, after speaking with her father on the telephone.
“He’s fine. I guess it’s normal practice for the baby to remain in the hospital until a month after surgery. He’ll be able to come home in January.”
“That must be hard on your dad and Diane.”
“It is, but they’re staying with the baby. Dad was going to take a leave of absence from Susquehanna, but they gave him family leave with pay.” Julia smiled. “How’s that for a caring employer?”
“What about the hospital bills?” Rachel lowered her voice.
“A guardian angel is taking care of what the insurance doesn’t cover.” Julia’s eyes flickered in the direction of her husband, then returned to her friend.
“Some guardian angels are so damn sweet.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Gabriel leaned into their conversation.
Julia grinned. “My new brother. I can’t wait to buy him his first Red Sox cap.”
Gabriel made a face. “Your father will burn it. He’s a Phillies fan.”
“He won’t burn a gift from me. I’m the big sister.”
“Sisters are very important,” said Rachel, solemnly. “Remember that when you go shopping for my Christmas gift.”
“I’ll try to do that.” Gabriel pushed his chair back from the table and stood. He lifted his water glass.
Everyone stopped what they were doing, including Quinn, who sat still in his high chair, staring at his uncle.
“We have a lot to be thankful for.” Gabriel’s eyes met Julianne’s and held them. Then he took his time, making eye contact with his siblings and their spouses, and finally, with his father, who sat at the foot of the table.
“Mom had a habit of forcing everyone to say what they were thankful for, during dinners like this. I thought I’d cut to the chase and announce that I’m thankful for my beautiful wife, my new job, and my new nephew, Tommy.”
The adults lifted their wine glasses in response, drinking to Tommy’s health.
“I know that everyone heard the toast I made to Mom at Rachel and Aaron’s wedding.” Gabriel’s voice suddenly grew hoarse. “But I’d like to repeat part of it.”
As everyone at the table indicated their agreement, Julia saw Gabriel’s hand tremble slightly. She quietly slipped her hand into his and was gratified when he squeezed her softly.
“This evening would be incomplete if we didn’t acknowledge the absence of our mother, Grace. Grace was gracious and beautiful, a loving wife, and a devoted mother. Her capacity for goodness and compassion knew no bounds. She was generous and kind and very, very forgiving. She welcomed me into her home. She mothered me when I had no mother, even when I was difficult. She taught me what it is to love someone selflessly and absolutely, and without her and Dad I’d probably be dead.”
Gabriel paused and looked at Richard and Julia.
“Recently, I had the opportunity to find out more about my biological parents, including my Jewish heritage through my father. When I chose to read a passage from the Hebrew Bible at Rachel and Aaron’s wedding, I didn’t know about my background. Now the Scripture is even more meaningful and I can say, as I said before, that it expresses Grace’s love for her family.”
Gabriel's Redemption (Gabriel's Inferno Trilogy) Page 38
