by Dora Bramden
Nine
The lazy splash, splosh of Lake Como lapping against the jetty wall unraveled the tension that had built up in Katrina’s neck and shoulders since the bed incident. The maid taking care of Alex said she’d bring him out as soon as he woke. So she sipped her latte and took another bite of sweet brioche. The delicious bun was a rare treat she allowed herself. Ballerinas had to maintain a slim figure. She turned her face to catch the cool breeze that floated up from the lake, over the banks of garden beds and onto the terrace.
The breathtaking scenery on the banks opposite made her breakfast taste extra sweet. She was a long, long way from her real life in Melbourne. Mature trees in huge pots dotted the terrace, throwing shade over the seating area. The carved wood furniture had sumptuously thick cushions that would guard frail bones against discomfort. This was the fairytale life that Katrina had not even been permitted a peep into during her marriage.
She shouldn’t relax too much. Only because of Alex had she been welcomed into the grandeur of Castello Rinaldo. If she were Cinderella, she needed to remind herself that the prince had chosen her again because she was the mother of his heir. More importantly, it wasn’t his idea to bring her here. Her mother-in-law had extended the invitation if you could call it that. It was more of a royal decree. She also sat at the table. Her head rested against the high back chair as she dozed.
They’d made a little conversation when Katrina had first come out for breakfast about the beautiful weather, and again she had insisted Katrina call her Mamma. The timber doors leading into the house creaked. Alex called for Katrina’s attention as he came tottering through them, holding the maid’s hand. His chubby fingers splayed as he held out his arms to be picked up. She went to him, scooped him into her arms and kissed his soft plump cheek.
He giggled. “Da.” He pointed back at the house.
The maid explained Signor Rinaldo was taking care of a business call and asked that she bring Alex to his mother. Katrina thanked her.
Mamma Rinaldo woke up. “Ah-ho, bello,” she exclaimed.
Katrina sat down, keeping Alex on her lap. She offered him a couple of silver spoons to play with. He clinked them and held them up, showing off his new treasure.
“Is there anything you need?” asked the maid.
“Can I have a cup of warm milk for him?”
There was already a bowl full of delicious brioche buns placed in the middle of the table; she’d dunk pieces of pastry into milk for Alex.
“ Sì, un momento.” The maid hurried back into the house.
“He’s just like his father at that age,” said Mamma Rinaldo.
“I’d like to see some photos of Alessandro when he was young.”
“Tsssh. A wife should have seen them before this. But never mind, all that will be fixed.” Now you are here where you belong.”
Katrina bit back the words that she and Alex were not here to stay. Alessandro’s mother wanting her to stay was seductive as a birthday cake. Remembering that she went home at the end of the week created a pang of guilt. She smiled at her mother in law. “You’re very kind to say so.
“Perhaps after lunch, while Alex is having his nap, you can come to my sitting room. I’ll show you the family albums.”
“We can wait for a few days. I don’t want you to overdo it. I’m here for the whole week.”
“Where are you going after that? Not to that horrid townhouse in Milano. I only ever went there to shop for the new season’s fashions. Of course, it was convenient for spending the night after the opera or ballet. But living there? It’s not a family home.”
And yet to Katrina, it had once been a haven, a little world she and Alessandro retreated to. She remembered laughter and cooking butter flavored popcorn in the kitchen. But then the laughter had gradually become less and less. She shrugged the memory away. “I’m dancing the lead in Swan Lake in Melbourne, Australia. I only have a week’s break from rehearsals to give my knee a rest.”
“But –”
The wooden doors creaked, signaling the maid’s return with Alex’s milk.
Mamma Rinaldo waited until the woman left.
Katrina tore off a small piece of brioche bun, dipped it into the warm milk and popped it into Alex’s mouth. He chewed it and swallowed as he continued to play with the spoons. He’d worked out how to make them clang together and was happily making as much noise as he could. Katrina continued to ply him with bits of milk soaked brioche.
“Little boys love to make a lot of noise,” said Mamma.
“Is he being too loud for you?” Katrina reached to move the spoons away from Alex.
“No, no. He’s alright. Let him play. It gives me so much pleasure to see him happy and to have him here. I hoped you’d come to stay, well, for longer than a week.”
“I’m sorry I have to get back to my job in Melbourne, but I promise we’ll visit again.”
Mamma smiled, but although it curved her mouth, it didn’t reach her eyes.
Alex finished eating the brioche bun and abandoned the spoons. He reached for the cup of milk. Katrina held it up to his mouth and tipped small quantities in. He sipped successfully for a while. He’d nearly finished the last of it when he sneezed and sprayed her with milk. Katrina laughed and blinked the splatters of milk away. Alex grinned wide and chuckled as if he’d done something very clever. Mamma laughed too, this time her eyes twinkled.
“Can I hold him for a while?”
“He might be too heavy for you to manage, and he’s a handful sometimes.”
“I’ve been holding babies for many years now. I know their tricks.”
Katrina handed him over and settled him on the rug covering her lap. Mamma whispered to him in Italian and cuddled him. She squeezed his arms and noted, “He’s not too thin, that’s good.” She lifted him about an inch off her lap. “And he’s strong. But I think he might be getting a little bit cold. Will you go inside and get a jacket for him?”
Katrina didn’t want to leave them alone, but she also didn’t want to upset the lady who tenderly held her son and spoke softly to him in Italian, telling him what a beautiful boy he was. She was charming Alex. He sat quietly as if instinctively knowing he needed to treat his grandmother with care.
“Perhaps I’ll take him inside for a while if you think it’s too chilly out here.”
“No. Use my phone, ring Maria, she’ll bring a cardigan outside.” She dug under the rug and produced an iPhone. She held it out to Katrina.
Katrina did as she was asked. Alex played with Mamma’s glasses and patted her cheek but didn’t try to get down or struggle at all. Alessandro came out of the house. Maria followed him holding a small jacket.
“Here’s my nephew, I was wondering where I’d find him.” She nodded to Katrina and bent to put the jacket on Alex as he sat on Mamma’s lap.
When she finished, Alessandro kissed the top of Alex’s head and patted him on the back. “Will you stay here with Mamma for a while, Maria? I want to take Katrina on a tour of the house.
Alex began chirruping happily in his own tongue to his aunt, who pulled up a chair next to him and started pointing to things and telling him their Italian name. She pointed to the lake– “Lago” – next she pointed to the table – “Tavola” – next she pointed at Alessandro and said, “Papà.”
“Pa,” Alex said. His delight with the relatives who adored him on sight, and doted on him, showed in his wide eyes and smiles for them all. Katrina’s heart squeezed and tears pricked at the back of her eyes. This is exactly the life she would have chosen for Alex if things had been different.
She would like to see the castle but glancing around she noted it wasn’t very toddler-friendly. A steep grassy slope lead to the lake’s edge. “I’m not sure. He’s deceptively quick on his feet.”
“Just like your Papà,” Mamma said to her grandson.
Maria said, “I won’t take my eyes off him. He'll be okay with us. You go with Alessandro and get acquainted with our home.”
/> Our home. There was no mistaking the pressure for her to remain in Italy.
As soon as they reached the family lounge room, Alessandro shut the door behind them and pushed her against it. His tongue languidly roamed the interior of her mouth sending need for more spirally through her.
“Good morning,” he said when he finally stopped. Her body had become soft and pliable and wanting. He laughed at her and pulled her arms so that she stopped sagging against the paneled door and stood up. “That will teach you to run out on me when I want to kiss you good morning.”
“Maybe I was about to push you up against a door and ravish you. But you’ll never know now.” She teased.
“Anytime, bella.” He winked as he took her hand and led her through the room.
He showed her through the staterooms, the grand ballroom, and the family dining room. Katrina understood that the Lake Como Castello was more like a palace befitting royalty. The grandeur of the silks, and velvets adorning gold plated furniture impressed on her how different Alessandro’s upbringing had been from hers. She’d never seen a residence this grand. She started to understand why he talked about dynasty and responsibility regarding what Alex would one day inherit. Her maternal instincts shifted to her son.
“I should check on Alex.” She’d been getting glimpses of him from the rooms that overlooked the terrace. He was enjoying himself for now but soon might begin to wonder where she was.
“You need a rest. I’ll bring Alex in to give you a cuddle. After that, the maid will watch him.”
“ I’ll wait until he has his sleep this afternoon then I’ll nap too.”
They ate lunch on the terrace, later she and Alex had a nap. She woke before him and found her way to the ballroom, used as a gymnasium, to do her exercises. She played with Alex in the nursery after he woke until it was time to dress for a grand dinner in the dining room.
Double chandeliers made of hundreds of crystals splayed sparkles in all directions. Alessandro was dressed in a suit. His white shirt and bow tie showed off the luster of his olive skin. She ached for him. Katrina wore a gift, sent to her room by her Mother in Law. The green and blue caftan cinched beneath her breasts with a diamond brooch was the most comfortable evening wear she’d ever worn. The designer caftan was this season’s couture, but the brooch looked antique. Perhaps it was a family heirloom.
Baby Alex sat beside her in an antique high chair. He ate all the pasta in his bowl. His aunt, sitting on the other side of him, wiped the tomato from around his lips whenever he missed his mouth. She provided little toys to keep him amused as the adults ate. Later she spoon-fed him a soft panna cotta dessert until it too was all gone.
Mamma Rinaldo watched everything with moist eyes and gentle smile. She called out to him from time to time, telling him what a smart boy he is. She clapped him when he held up his empty bowl. He proudly banged it with his spoon. Alex would easily fit into life at the Castello if they were to eventually live here. The idea surprised her but she couldn’t wonder at it given how lovely her in laws were to herself and her son.
Jetlag must have made her ravenous because she enjoyed ever dish of their four-course meal; antipasto, pasta, veal and fruit tart. Luckily her caftan gave her stomach room. She was sure it must be popping out after the amount she’d consumed. Restraint would be needed tomorrow.
Alessandro’s eyes flitted between Alex and her. He ate his meal and observed. A look of pride washed his features whenever he gazed at his son. But whenever he looked at her, it went away. A polite masked smile slipped quickly into place.
Katrina wanted him to trust her, but it was so difficult when she didn’t trust him either. She wanted to. It would make everything so much easier and better for Alex, but she could give Alessandro a chance to show her. He’d asked that much of her on the first day he’d come back into their lives. She wanted to give him that chance now.
She and Alessandro put Alex to bed, each kissing him goodnight. His little eyes shut straight away. Katrina strolled with Alessandro down the hall to their room, her hand in his. There was no point trying to deny it, being here in Italy with Alessandro, made her want it to go on like this forever. But the truth couldn’t be avoided. It was for only a week. That made her want to make the time she had with him count.
Making love to Alessandro came naturally. She lingered in his kisses even after they were sated and drowsily cuddling. Her knee hadn’t bothered her when he made gentle yet passionate love to her, but as she lay ready to drift asleep, it began to ache. She turned over to relieve pressure on the area.
“Can’t you sleep?” he murmured.
“Just moving to find a comfortable position.”
“I see. Can I get you something for the pain?”
“My knee isn’t too bad, it will settle soon.”
Katrina woke with a start. Her fists rubbed her reluctant eyes, making them focus. She checked the bedside clock, nine thirty. The old familiar vagueness of jet lag weighted her limbs. It didn’t help that Alex had been very restless in the night. She’d been up and down to him a number of times.
His hot, red cheek swollen gum needed his cold teething ring, but she couldn’t find it. Alessandro had offered to help, but he couldn’t find it either. Finally, with Alex fussing in her arms, she’d gone to the kitchen, and found some ice. She’d put it in a flannel and held it at intervals against his gum. He only settled properly about four in the morning.
She threw the covers back and got up, to check on him. She shrugged into her silk dressing gown and pulled her hair back into a loose bun with a hair tie and opened the bedroom door. Alessandro’s deep voice came from Alex’s room. It sounded like he was calling a race. The baby giggled and said “Da, Da”
Alessandro and Alex were having fun together, without her. A faint sense of being left out had her striding across the hall. The scene before her was a riot of color and noise. Every toy seemed to have been emptied from the high shelf that ran a circuit of the nursery. Stuffed plush elephants and monkeys lay discarded on their sides. Alessandro crawled along next to Alex. His hand covered Alex’s little fist that gripped a red toy car. A track had been laid out, and they were racing together.
Something in her, a steady resolve that only she could take care of Alex collapsed. Tears sprung to Katrina’s eyes as a weight shifted from her shoulders; this was exactly the kind of father she wanted Alex to have. One who got down on the floor and played with him. Alessandro’s face looked so young. His eyebrows rose like an innocent boy as he and Alex crawled around the room. As they got to one of the cars dotted on the track Alessandro maneuvered their vehicle like a pro passing for real.
She only had a moment to enjoy the scene before they noticed her.
“Mamma is awake.” Alessandro picked himself up off the floor and swung Alex up too, holding him in front of himself making a kind of seat out of one hand and the other a seat belt that pressed him safely back against Alessandro’s chest. “Kiss Mamma good morning,” he said and held him up where Katrina could reach him.
“Good morning Alex, darling.” She plopped a smacking kiss on his soft pillow cheek.
She and Alex giggled. An old game they played every morning.
“And good morning, Katrina.” Alessandro plopped an equally loud wet kiss on her cheek.
He’d taken her by surprise. La famiglia. Happy together. She floated as light as a leaf. A shard of guilt pricked her balloon. She’d kept this man and this child, who are so right together, apart for all of Alex’s life. He could have known his father’s touch from day one, but cold fear had forced her legs to run. That fear seemed groundless now, in the presence of this fatherly affection.
Her baby and this man, Alessandro, had paid the price. That he could kiss her on the cheek was astounding. Maybe she’d made a terrible error. That girl who ran hadn’t known the first thing about being a parent or responsibility. But she’d learned it. Alex’s arrival had woken a desire to always put his needs first. But Alessandro never had the chanc
e to grow into parenthood the way she had.
That would happen to Alessandro if she didn’t come back to him. He’d take Alex for periods of time, but he’d miss out on so much. And she would miss out on what father and son enjoyed together.
“Have you got any plans for today?” she asked.
“Spending time with you and our son is all I have planned for today. We also have a photo shoot later this afternoon for a magazine article, but it won’t take long. Why?”
“I think spending time with family could be a good idea. But why are we doing publicity, I thought we wanted to keep Alex out of the media?”
“It will get rid of the press pack if we have an exclusive deal. We can donate the money to charity. And I want the world to know how much my family means to me.”
His warm smile reached his eyes and softened them.
“Oh, I see.”
He looked so sincere as he swung Alex up and kissed his cheek. “Bello, how would you like to go sailing. If your Mamma agrees she will be there to make sure you don’t fall overboard.”
This was the Alessandro Katrina had first met. She wanted him to stay this way but would his interest wane in time. Meanwhile Alex was growing more and more attached. She put the uncomfortable thought away. No one could get sick of Alex. He was Alessandro’s family, and Alessandro loved his family. That was evident in how he cared for his mother and sister.
Out on the lake, tendrils that had escaped Katrina’s hair tie ruffled against her cheeks. Alex sat in her lap at the rear of the yacht, alternately squealing and chuckling when a light spray of water misted them.
Alessandro’s tanned calves tensed and stretched, balancing in the tipping yacht as its sails filled with the wind. Katrina dragged her gaze away from his legs to the green hills dotted with mansion houses. The blue sky and water made her feel as though life here would always be sunny like this.
