by ADAMS, J.
“Okay, then have I told you how much I love you?”
“Yes, you have, but you can always tell me again.”
He moves back a little and stares into my eyes, gifting me with one of his heart-stopping smiles. “I love you, Cisely, more than anything in this world.”
“I love you too,” I sigh, resting my head against his shoulder.
Holding her close, Adagio lets the words of the ballad flow through his mind and heart.
The way you touch my lips right after every kiss,
And softly whisper that I’m your everything.
The way you pray our love won’t die,
Every night just before you close your eyes.
The song has become one of his favorites, because it describes exactly, some of the many things he loves about his wife. He is moved by everything about her, and that will never change.
After we dance for another couple of minutes, Velma and Ted approach us and we embrace them both.
“Thank you, Cisely, for making our reception so special,” Velma says.
“Well, thank you for asking me to do this. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.”
Adagio shakes Ted’s hand. “We were honored to be invited. It was a beautiful ceremony and we wish you both all the happiness in the world.”
“Thank you. We’re glad you could come. It wouldn’t have been the same without you.” Ted smiles at Velma. “I guess we should get going if we want to make our flight.” Ted’s friend owns a private plane and offered it and the services of his pilot as a wedding present. They are going to the Bahamas for their honeymoon.
Velma hugs me once more. “I have always prayed for the kind of love you and Adagio have.” She gazes at her new husband. “And now I have it.”
Adagio wraps his arms around me, his eyes meeting mine. “We are very blessed,” he says softly.
“I’ll call you when we get back,” Velma tells me as they turn to go.
“I’ll look forward to your call.” I give her hand a final squeeze. I'm truly going to miss her when we return to Italy.
After the newlyweds make their final rounds and say goodbye to everyone, Adagio and I follow them out to their car, now covered with shaving cream and ribbons. We wave goodbye as they drive off, laughing when Ted gives a loud whoop out the window as he pulls out of the parking lot.
Leaning against Adagio, I gaze down the road until their car is no longer in sight. Reaching back, I press her hand to his face. “This was so great. Thank you for bringing me and for being so good to me.”
“I will always be good to you, amore,” he says, kissing my cheek. “There is no way I would have let you miss your cousin’s wedding. In a way, I feel like she is my cousin as well.”
“I think she feels the same,” I say, grateful that Velma and Adagio get along so well, and pleased that Velma was also born with the desire to love people for who they are. Skin color or ethnic background are never an issue. This fact about Velma had surprised me at first, considering the racial views Gladys holds near and dear to her heart. It seems Velma had been determined she would never share her mother’s views, on that subject or anything else. Her strength makes me love her even more.
Adagio tightens his embrace a little and I sigh deeply, relishing the closeness we share. I smile, thinking of Velma and Ted’s wedding ceremony. As the two spoke their vows, I was again overwhelmed by the memory of our own wedding and the pledge we made to love and cherish one another always. When they had repeated the words “Til death do us part,” I briefly experienced the familiar pain that always comes whenever I think of being separated from Adagio. It's not that I ever dwell on that thought, but every now and then I try to remember what my life was like before him. Because my love for him is so intense and deep, it's sometimes hard to remember that I did love before. I loved before, and I lost that love. If I were to ever lose Adagio, I honestly don't think I could survive.
It frightens me sometimes, this powerful love I feel for him. And whenever my thoughts betray me and remind me that nothing in life is ever certain, including having a long life with him, it hurts so much, I feel physical pain.
When Cisely is silent a little too long, Adagio senses there is something was wrong. Turning her to face him, he knows her thoughts the moment he looks into her eyes. He has seen that look before. She is afraid of losing him. He knows this because he has experienced the same feelings about her, and each time the thoughts intrude, he pushes them away because he can't bear it.
Adagio sees the subtle pain in Cisely's eyes, even though she tries to hide it and it literally tears at his heart, but he understands exactly how she feels. He is quiet for a moment, contemplating what he can say to her, needing to comfort her as much as himself. Closing his eyes, he rests his forehead against hers, needing her warmth. Drawing back slightly, he presses a hand against her cheek and smiles, his emotion-filled gaze meeting hers.
“We will never lose each other, baby.” He caresses her face gently. “We will have a long and happy life together, and we will be together even after that. I know we will.”
Cisely nods, smiling at the conviction she hears in his voice “I believe you.”
They stand for a while longer in silence. “Are you going to be all right?” he finally asks.
“I’ll be fine. As long as I have you I will always be all right.”
He kisses her, feeling her smile against his mouth. “You will always have me,” he whispers, deepening the kiss, wanting more than anything to take her back to the hotel and lose himself in her arms.
“I guess we should go and get the boys,” Cisely says with a longing sigh.
“I suppose,” he agrees with a smile, taking her hand. “I only hope the young ladies watching all those hyper little people have not gone crazy.”
She laughs. “I know what you mean.”
Fifty-seven
We find Ingo sitting with some of the children who are still waiting for their parents. They are at a small round table putting together some puzzles.
“It is time to go,” Adagio says, kneeling down. He takes a moment to watch how quickly Ingo is able to fit the pieces together.
“Did you two have a good time?” I ask, caressing his hair. “We had lot’s of fun, Mama, and lots of good food, too.” I laugh. If there is one thing our kids have an absolute
appreciation for, it's food. Standing, I look around the room. “Where’s Phillip?”
“I don’t know,” Ingo answers looking around as well. “Excuse me.” I approach one of the girls in charge of
watching the children. “Where is Phillip?”
She looks surprised by my question. “We thought he was
with you.”
“What do you mean you thought he was with us?”
Adagio asks, standing and moving next to me.
“Well, a woman came and took him. She said you asked
her to bring him to you. She told us she was your wife’s aunt
and it was okay.”
My blood instantly chills. Adagio reaches for my hand.
“What woman? What did she look like?” I fight to keep my
voice calm and the feeling of desperation in check.
The girl looks at us nervously. “She was a large black lady.
She said she was Velma’s mother.”
The violent pounding of my heart increases. “No! God,
please no,” I whisper frantically. “Please no!”
I turn to Adagio just as the color drains from his face. He
bolts through the door and I trail close behind him. We race
through the halls, frantically calling Phillip’s name, shoving
doors open throughout the building. Running back into the
main hall we find employees putting chairs and tables away.
The reverend is also still here.
Adagio’s voice is shaky. “Has anyone seen our youngest
son, Phillip? The girls said a woman took him clai
ming to be
bringing him to us, but we never saw her.”
The women in the room gasp. One of them nervously
approaches us. “I saw a heavy set woman leaving a good while
ago and it looked like she had a child, but . . . I didn’t stop to
question it.” She places her hand over her mouth. “I’m so
sorry.”
The room slowly begins to spin before my eyes. “No, not
my baby,” I whisper as my legs give out and everything goes
dark.
Adagio catches her before she hits the floor.
“Cisely!” he cries as tears fill his eyes. He lifts her in his arms, cradling her against him, his insides tearing in two. “Someone call the police! Please, hurry!”
I come to before the police arrive. They immediately begin questioning the girls, as well as a few of the employees that are still here. Two other sets of officers begin a search of the building and surrounding areas. One of the officers, a female, takes Ingo into another room and tries to keep him occupied while her partner, Officer Ed Payne, gets as much information as he can.
Adagio holds me and we both shed sorrowful tears as the young girls tell the officer what they know. By now they are also crying. After getting what he can from them, he lets the girls and everyone else leave. The reverend stays, just in case he is needed for anything.
Officer Payne turns to us. “Mrs. St. John, I need all the information you can give me about your aunt.”
I try to calm myself enough to speak, but my emotions are so unstable, I don’t know if I can. Adagio keeps his arms around me, trying to give me strength. I finally pull myself together enough to tell Officer Payne about Gladys and how much my aunt dislikes me. Only I can’t for the life of me understand why she would do something so awful.
By the time I have finished sharing my history with Gladys, he has come to some conclusions of his own.
“I think this is most likely some sort of revenge on her part. I really don’t think she will hurt your son, but I feel if we don’t catch her soon, it will be that much harder to find her and get him back.”
While Ed calls and has an all points bulletin put out on Gladys, as well as a car sent to her address, I press my face against Adagio’s shoulder and silently utter the same prayer over and over again–that we will get Phillip back safely and quickly. The thought of my aunt being cruel to my baby boy brings a pain so great, I can't bear it. Never would I have imagined anything like this happening to us. In the past, I've seen kidnapping stories on the news and in the papers, and it always broke my heart to think of what the family was going through. But it has always been one of those things that happened to other families. Well, now we are one of those other families. I continue to plead with God for Phillip’s return.
Adagio holds me tightly, whispering prayers of his own into my hair. He gives Ed a wallet-size photo of Phillip as he requested to have posted everywhere. Then we wait in silence as the minutes slowly tick by.
About thirty minutes later, Ed is called over his radio and told that Gladys hasn't been seen at or near her home in the past two hours, which leads him to believe she has most likely left town. He tells the officers to continue patrolling the area. Then he looks at us sadly.
“Mr. and Mrs. St. John, we are going to do everything we can to get your son back. Why don’t you go on back to your hotel and we will keep you posted and call you the minute we hear or discover anything.”
I turn to Adagio as tears again fill my eyes. “I don’t want to leave here. What if she brings him back?” I know it isn’t rational thinking, but I can’t think rationally. “We have to stay here.”
Officer Ed Payne is saddened by the anguish on Cisely's face and his heart is quickly filled with compassion. Having three children of his own, he doesn’t know how he and his wife would handle it if one of their children was abducted, and he can only imagine what they must be going through. He kneels in front of Cisely and speaks softly.
“Mrs. St. John, I know this is hard, but I promise you, we will do everything we can to find your son. I really don’t think there is a chance of Ms. Baker coming back here.” He looks up at Adagio. “Take your family back to the hotel. We will call as soon as we find out anything.”
Adagio nods wearily. “Come on, baby,” he whispers. “Let’s get Ingo.”
I continue to cling to him in desperation as we walk down the hall to get our son, tears blinding my vision. I try to dry them before going into the room, but it is a futile attempt.
The drive back to the hotel is filled with anguished silence. I feel like I have fallen into a deep dark hole with no way to come back out. I close my eyes as hot tears again spill onto my cheeks, still unable to believe one of my worst fears has actually happened. I've constantly prayed for the safety of our children. Now one of my babies has been snatched away from me and the pain is too much to bear.
Adagio’s heart is in turmoil. He wishes he could turn back time and change what happened. He wishes he would have thought to check on the children again, but he knows such thoughts are useless. He doesn’t know how to handle the pain, and he continues to fill his mind with prayer.
Once we are back in our suite, we sit on the sofa, placing Ingo between us, and with a prayer in our hearts, explain to him what happened.
“Will Phillip be back?” Ingo asks, tears filling his eyes. “Yes, he will,” Adagio assures him. “We need to pray that the police find him and bring him home soon.”
“I want Phillip,” he cries, his bottom lip trembling. I hold him close and caress his hair, not speaking. I don't trust myself to speak. I look at Adagio and he understands.
“Phillip with be back with us really soon. I promise you. Maybe even by tomorrow.”
When he says the last, I glare at him, my thoughts and emotions becoming irrational. I want our son back more than anything, but how can he promise something he doesn’t know for sure will happen? I know I should also try to think positive, but my emotions aren’t letting me. There is no telling how far Gladys is by now.
I read the hurt in Adagio's expression and I feel a little guilty. This isn't his fault and I shouldn't have reacted that way. His eyes plead with me to understand that he needs to give Ingo as much hope as he can. He wants to give me hope as well.
We hold Ingo a little longer before finally putting him to bed. When we enter our room, Adagio suggests we have a prayer of our own. I ask him to offer it because I don’t think I can. For the first time in a long time, my faith is wavering and I don’t know how to stop it. My heart is so full of fear and anger, I honestly don’t think my prayers would get very far.
Holding hands, we kneel by the bed. Fresh tears roll down my face as Adagio pours his heart out to God, praying for our son to be found safe and well. When he finally utters an amen, I sit on the floor and sob uncontrollably. Adagio sits next to me, holds me in his arms, and cries with me.
Adagio feels completely helpless. Their son could be anywhere. He wishes he could do something, anything instead of just waiting for a phone call.
“I am here, baby,” he croons softly, his voice breaking with emotion. “Everything will be all right.”
When Cisely’s sobs quiet and he manages to get his own emotions under control, he stands and gently lifts her, holding her against his chest for a moment before placing her on the bed and taking off her shoes. She turns to her side and continues to cry silently. Neither of them have the strength or the desire to undress. He takes an extra blanket from the closet and spreads it across her. Turning off the light, he lay with his arm draped over her and his face pressed into her hair. All he can do is listen to her painful whimpers and be there for her.
Neither of them will find sleep tonight.
Fifty-eight
The next morning, Officer Payne stops by Adagio and Cisely’s hotel room to show them a copy of the flier being posted everywhere in several states with Phillip’s picture on it.
Adagio wat
ches his wife’s eyes tear up as she gazes at their son’s photograph. It is hard for him to believe the photo they had taken only two months before is now on a missing child poster. Her tears fall onto the paper as she reads the information printed below Phillip’s picture. She hands it to him and quietly leaves the room.
Ed shakes his head sadly and says he wishes there was something else he could do. He tells Adagio that he questioned Cisely’s uncle and his wife and they seemed pretty shocked to hear about what Gladys had done. And after questioning them further, he knew they had no knowledge of where she was.
“So, what do we do now,” Adagio asks wearily. “Aside from posting these and doing another search of Asheville and surrounding areas, we wait,” Ed answers with a tired sigh. “At this point, it’s about all we can do. She’s bound to make a move sooner or later, and when she does, we’ll get her.” He pauses. “There have been many missing child cases here in Asheville, but this is the first one I have personally been involved in investigating. We'll do all we can.”
“We appreciate your efforts. We are willing to do what ever it takes to help get our son back.”
“I know. I'll keep you updated.”
A little before noon, Adagio calls their friend Sam. His head chef is emotional as Adagio tells him about Phillip. Sam and the rest of the staff at the restaurant love Adagio and Cisely’s children, and Sam is almost like an uncle to the two little boys.
“Would you like me to come there?” Sam asks, taking Adagio by surprise. “I know Angelo and Tony will cover my shifts for me, and the new guy, Dominic, is even doing well enough that he can take a couple of extra shifts.”
“You would really come here?” Adagio didn’t think Sam would ever leave Italy, not even for a vacation. He’d never even ventured out of the Veneto region.
“You need support right now and I want to be there for you and Cisely. I wouldn't be able to stay long, but I know a week would not be a problem. I think any longer than that and your kitchen will fall apart.”
