by Lucy Gordon
‘If she dies-’
‘It’s too soon to say that.’
‘If she dies before I can speak to her-then I shall really understand what you’ve been going through, instead of just talking about it. Oh, Minnie, what an idiot you must have thought me! All talk, knowing nothing.’
‘It wasn’t like that. You gave me so much-more than you’ll ever know. But it wasn’t the words, it was that you were there, all the time. That was what I needed most. Now I’m here. Hold on to me.’
His grip was painful, but she was glad of it. It was all she could do for him, to offer back a little of what he had given, and pray that in the end he wouldn’t need any of it.
‘The line’s moving again,’ she said. ‘We’ll be there soon.’
She kissed him again and again. ‘Just a little longer. Hold on.’
He nodded. She could see tears in his eyes, and it was with reluctance that he released her.
A policeman was waving them on. She started up and began moving at a crawl until at last they were past the accident, the road widened and she was free to drive on.
‘You’ll have to guide me from here,’ she said.
He gave her the name of the hospital and directed her until the huge building came into view.
‘I’ll drop you at the main door, then go and park the car,’ she said. ‘I’ll find you afterwards.’
His answer was a tense smile, and she knew he was fearing to hear the worst. As she drew up outside the main door, she reached over and gave his left hand a squeeze.
‘Good luck,’ she said.
His answer was a return squeeze, then he got out quickly and hurried into the building.
At that time of night the parking lot was almost empty. She parked without trouble and followed him into the hospital, where the man on the night desk directed her to the third floor. Upstairs she found herself in a corridor of private rooms. Turning a corner, she stopped at the sight that met her eyes.
A crowd of young men were standing, sitting or lounging close to one door. Two were young and handsome, with a definite facial resemblance, one was older, with the same resemblance, but less marked. It was enough to tell her that these were the Rinuccis.
They all seemed to notice her at the same time, and moved quickly towards her in a way that could have been alarming if they hadn’t been so clearly friendly.
‘Signora Pepino-Luke told us-we have been expecting you-you brought our brother here-grazie, grazie-’
Hand after hand clasped hers with vigour. It was overwhelming, yet powerfully attractive.
‘What’s the news of your mother?’ she asked quickly.
‘It’s good,’ said one of the men. ‘I am Primo Rinucci.’
‘Good-how?’ she asked. ‘I understood it was a heart attack.’
One of the handsome boys spoke up. ‘Mamma was breathless and then she fainted, so we got her here, fast. The doctor says it was only a dizzy spell, but she must take better care of herself in case the next time is more serious. So we’re going to make sure that she does take care.’
‘But still we thank you for what you have done.’ This was the other good-looking boy.
There was a chorus of agreement and they all swarmed around her again, this time embracing and kissing her. Now it felt like coming home, she thought. Being embraced by Rinuccis was like being embraced by Pepinos-pleasant and comforting.
The door opened and a man in late middle age appeared. Over his shoulder Minnie could see Luke sitting by the bed, his mother’s hands clasped in his. Then he was shut off from her sight. The young men called him Pappa, and rushed to introduce her. This was Toni Rinucci, whose face bore the marks of a night of strain and fear, although it was gradually clearing.
He, too, thanked her, almost fiercely, and answered her question about his wife’s health with a passionate, ‘The doctors say she will be well, thank God! And you must forgive me for dragging you on this long journey, but I am her husband-I panic because I love her.’
‘How could you not panic?’ she agreed, nodding.
‘All of our sons will be here soon,’ he told her. ‘Justin is coming from England, Franco is in America and will be here later today. My wife will feel better for having her whole family around her. She will want to meet you, too, but in the meantime you’ll be wanting to get some rest. Carlo and Ruggiero will take you to our home.’
‘Can we see Mamma first?’ Carlo said.
‘No, she can’t have too many people in there at once, and this is Luke’s time. Be off now, and look after our guest.’
‘Let Carlo take your car,’ Ruggiero said as they left the hospital, ‘and I’ll drive you in mine. It’s not far. You’ll see the house before we’ve gone a mile.’
She did see it, high on the hill, gleaming with lights that seemed to reach down to them as they climbed. As they drew into the wide courtyard a middle-aged woman came out to wait for them.
‘That’s Greta, our housekeeper,’ Ruggiero said. ‘Pappa will have called ahead and she will have prepared a room for you.’
Inside the house they thanked her again for bringing Luke, and she followed Greta up the stairs to her room. She accepted the refreshments the housekeeper offered, but she was longing to be alone to sort out her thoughts. It had all happened so suddenly that she was almost dizzy.
She had a shower in the little bathroom. It washed off the worst of the night, but she still felt the need to lie down for a nap.
When she awoke the sun was high in the sky, and her window showed her a car gliding up the hill. When it drew to a halt below she saw Luke and his father get out. They were smiling in a way that confirmed the good news. For a moment her instinct told her to rush down into his arms, but then she saw the others hurry out to them, heard the cheering, saw them all clap each other on the back.
She wasn’t needed there, she realised. Luke was back with his family, where he belonged. His mother wasn’t seriously ill after all, and the moments when they had clung to each other, full of intense, despairing emotion, seemed to come from another world.
She sat down on the bed, feeling a bleak sense of anti-climax.
Since her job sometimes called for her to travel at a moment’s notice Minnie kept a bag always ready, containing clean clothes and toiletries. She’d snatched it up before leaving and was glad now that she could dress smartly.
Greta came with coffee and a message to say that lunch was being served below. Luke was waiting for her as she descended the stairs. He looked unshaven but happy, and he enfolded her in an exuberant hug.
‘She’s all right,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘She’ll be home later today, and she’s longing to meet you.’
‘She must have got a shock when she saw your bandages.’
‘Yes, but I played it down, and she could see I’m all right. She’s mad at me for not telling her before, but I’ll be forgiven. She’ll probably try to pump you for more details-’
‘I’ll be the soul of discretion,’ she promised.
Now she must be introduced to the others, including Primo, whom she had briefly seen in the corridor that morning. She remembered Luke saying, ‘Primo had an Italian mother, so he calls me Inglese, as an insult.’
And there, with Primo, was Olympia, the black-haired woman of the photograph in Luke’s wallet. Meeting her now, Minnie saw that she only had eyes for Primo, and she embraced her willingly.
Carlo was missing and Luke explained that he’d gone to the airport to meet Justin, his wife and son.
‘I told you about him,’ he reminded her.
‘The child who was taken away from her at birth,’ Minnie remembered. ‘And she thought he was dead.’
‘Yes. They were married here a few weeks ago, and now they’re barely back from their honeymoon.’
‘The house is going to get very crowded. I should be going soon.’
‘No way, not until Mamma has met you. She-’
The shrill of his phone interrupted him. He answered impatientl
y and she heard him say, ‘Eduardo? Sorry I had to leave unexpectedly. I can’t talk now-I’ll call you back.’
He hung up quickly. Minnie was about to ask who Eduardo was when a noise outside caused everyone to rush to the windows to see Justin and his family arrive.
They had to be reassured that Hope was well and would be home later that day, and Minnie stood back while Luke was once more sucked into his family.
It was a fascinating sight, she thought, like watching the missing piece that completed a jigsaw puzzle. Always before she had seen him as an outsider. Now she saw the niche where he fitted. Even so, she could see deep into him now, and tell that the fit wasn’t perfect. In part he was still an outsider, from choice.
When she could escape she returned to her room and called Netta, who had been agog with curiosity at finding the two of them missing. She was all sympathy when she heard of Luke’s trouble, but added anxiously, ‘You will bring him back, won’t you, cara? You won’t let him stay there?’
‘Of course not,’ she said mechanically, and hung up quickly.
She felt winded. She should have seen this coming. And she hadn’t.
It hadn’t occurred to Minnie that Luke wouldn’t return with her to Rome, but now she saw the danger. For him Rome might be no more than a passing mood, to be put behind him once a convenient opportunity presented itself.
The closeness that had seemed to unite them could turn out to be no more than a chimera now that he was back with his family. They would still correspond about legal matters, but essentially it was over.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
H OPE R INUCCI came home that afternoon. Toni went to collect her, insisting that nobody should come with him, as he wanted to be alone with his wife. When he handed her out of the car she looked well, smiling with pleasure at her family’s attention. It was obvious now that it really had been a false alarm.
Watching from the sidelines, Minnie saw an elegant, beautiful woman in her fifties, a woman who would attract admiring attention wherever she went, no matter what her age. She couldn’t help smiling as Hope’s sons converged on her. It was like watching vassals do homage. She almost expected them to kiss her hand.
One by one she hugged everyone-Justin, her eldest son, Evie, his new wife, and Mark, his son by his first marriage. Then Primo and Olympia.
‘We can really get down to planning your marriage,’ she told them.
When she’d kissed her twins, Carlo and Ruggiero, she looked around hopefully.
‘Franco?’
‘Later today, Mamma,’ Carlo said. ‘It’s a long way from Los Angeles.’
At last Hope’s eyes sought out the young woman who held back, watching and silent.
‘And you are Minnie?’ she said.
‘Yes, I’m Minnie.’
She came forward to be enveloped in a scented embrace. Hope gave her a genuinely warm hug, then drew back and looked at her.
‘Luke has told me how you brought him here,’ she said. ‘And I thank you with all my heart.’
Minnie, normally so assured, found herself suddenly awkward.
‘It was nothing-just a short drive.’
A sudden tension seemed to come over Hope. It was almost indefinable, an extra edge of alertness, a slight turn of her head so that her ear was closer to Minnie, the better to catch a familiar tone.
‘Three hours is not a short drive,’ she replied, ‘especially when you’ve been torn from sleep. I don’t think it was “nothing”. Also, Luke has told me how you’ve been looking after him since the explosion. We must speak more of this later.’
‘I’m glad you turned out to be all right, anyway,’ Minnie said.
Hope smiled and said something gracious, then gave her attention to Luke, who had been standing by.
Hope refused their suggestion that she should go to bed, insisting that she felt well and wanted only to be among them. Half an hour later a car drew up outside and the missing son appeared. Franco had been in Los Angeles for the last few weeks and had just stepped off the plane after a thirteen hour flight. He and Hope ran straight into each other’s arms.
‘I always thought he was her favourite,’ said Olympia, who was close to Minnie. ‘Of course, she’d deny that she has any favourites, but with Franco there’s just a little something extra-I think.’ Seeing Minnie looking at her, she added, ‘With Hope it’s never wise to be sure.’
‘I can see that she’s a very unusual woman,’ Minnie agreed.
‘She sees everything, she hears everything, she knows everything,’ Olympia said. ‘And she plots in secret.’
‘Plots?’
‘She thinks it’s time she had more daughters-in-law, and she’s not the type to just sit back and cross her fingers. Justin and Evie actually broke up, but she went to England and got them on track again.’
‘And you and Primo?’
Olympia chuckled. ‘I must admit that it was Luke who played Cupid that time. You wouldn’t think it to look at him, would you?’
‘He doesn’t look like Cupid, no,’ Minnie said, regarding Luke with her head on one side, and considering the matter seriously. ‘But then, Cupid comes in many shapes. Sometimes he can look like a good friend, until you’re ready for more.’
‘There’s got to be a whole fascinating history behind that remark,’ Olympia said.
‘There is,’ Minnie assured her.
There were more introductions, but Franco was clearly too full of jet lag to take in many details, and he wanted to talk to his mother.
Minnie found an unexpected ally in young Mark, Justin’s thirteen year old son, who turned out to come from the same part of London where she’d once lived with her mother. They had a good time saying, ‘Do you know that place where-?’ until Evie, his step-mother, came to join in.
As soon as dinner was over Minnie said quietly to Luke, ‘I’ll say goodnight now.’
‘So soon?’
‘I don’t mean to be impolite, but I’m really in the way here. Your mother wants to be with her family, and I should catch up with my emails. I brought my laptop.’
‘Do you take work everywhere you go?’ he asked, appalled.
‘It’s always useful.’
She said goodnight to Hope, excusing herself on the grounds of catching up on her lost sleep of the night before.
In her room she connected the laptop and tried to concentrate on work, but it was strangely hard. From below she could heard the hum of a happy family, and it increased the sense of isolation that had swept over her.
I don’t belong here, she thought. I should get back to Naples and ‘my’ family, who need me.
Then she wondered at herself for feeling this way. Since Gianni’s death she’d taught herself to be self-sufficient, as content alone as in a crowd, and it was natural that she should be an outsider here. But she felt as though she’d been separated from Luke at the very moment that her heart wanted to draw nearer to him.
Jealousy, she thought, mocking herself. Jealousy at this late date.
And fear lest she lose him, a feeling she’d known so little that it had taken her time to recognise it.
She worked for a couple of hours, subconsciously listening to the house grow quiet about her. Then she shut down the computer, showered and got ready for bed. When the light was out she went to the window and stood looking out over the garden, where coloured lights hung between the trees.
A few yards along from her she could see a staircase leading down to the garden, and suddenly she needed to be down there. There was nobody in the corridor when she looked out, and she hurried along to where a door led out on to a balcony, from where the stairs descended. In a moment she’d run down on to the lawn, hurrying to get between the trees.
Here there was fresh sea air to be breathed in, and a sense of release. She stood looking down at the bay, taking deep breaths, feeling herself relax after the nervous strains of the last two days. Passionately she longed for Luke to be here with her, but strangely she also longed to get
away from here, back to Rome, back to the life she knew and where she belonged, back to the time before she’d met Luke.
She wanted him, yet he threatened something in her, and part of her wanted to flee, all the more because she sensed that he was as wary of her as she was of him.
‘Are you there?’
She whirled around to see him coming towards her between the trees, and her own flash of happiness was like a warning. Get away from him now.
‘Yes, I’m here,’ she called back softly.
He reached out and drew her into the shadows with him.
‘I was afraid I wouldn’t see you again tonight. Did you come out to find me?’
‘No, I just-well, maybe I did-’
Hadn’t that been in her mind all the time? she wondered.
‘I wanted to talk to you all evening,’ he murmured, ‘but I couldn’t get close to you. This place is too crowded. I wish I could come back to Rome with you, but I can’t leave just yet.’
She made a wry grimace. ‘The flat is going to feel awfully empty without you.’
‘Yes, you won’t have anyone to tell you the answers in the game shows,’ he agreed.
‘Or help me with the crossword puzzles.’
‘You’ve got to admit, I have my uses,’ he said with a wry attempt at humour.
‘Oh, yes-Luke-Luke-’
Minnie reached up to take his face between her hands, looking at him intently, torn by two powerful emotions, full of confusion.
‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘Which of us are you looking at?’
‘Luke-don’t-’
‘Who is it, Minnie? Him or me?’
This time it was she who drew him close. ‘Not now,’ she whispered.
He wanted to protest that it mattered, but the sweet scent of her was in his nostrils. He’d been strong for her sake, but now it was she who wanted him to be weak and that was harder to fight.
When her lips brushed against his he knew that resisting her wasn’t going to be hard, but impossible. The passion he’d thought under control welled up now, so that she was flame in his arms, burning and igniting him, driving him to kiss her with a kind of ruthlessness.
