by Alexie Aaron
“She must have been grateful.”
“Funny thing is, she just believes that she is entitled. I’ve had a lot of time to think in here. The difference between you and her is that you care. You care for Harry, that priest, and that cop. You fell for Sidney because he was broken. I’m sorry about that. I should have stopped it.”
“It happened. I’m trying to put it behind me. I have made so many mistakes, but at least I’m living. What happened to Marco? Why is he like he is?” I asked.
“He loved Eldora, and she played him for a fool. He was devastated and let his parents marry him to a woman he could not love. Can you imagine Marco not being able to love a woman? Come on, I see that he has made an impression on you too. When he’s in Italy, he is a loyal husband and father, but when he’s here, his wife puts up with the myriad women that he is able to love. There is no future for anyone with Marco.”
“I sensed that from the beginning.”
“Yet, you let him make love to you.”
“He is Marco,” I said and laughed. “I didn’t do it to hurt anyone. I just enjoyed two days with him.”
“You got two days?” Tom asked, surprised.
“Maybe it’s because I look like her,” I said.
Tom pulled me to my feet. “No, Cin, if he had the chance to get to know you, then it was because you are…”
“Bella,” I said, laughing.
Tom moved his hands over my face and through my hair. “No, Cin, it’s because you are this fascinating, wonderful woman. Now if you have no more questions, come make love with me again. Time is fleeting.”
~
I arrived back home to find Buslowski and Harry deep in conversation. Harry looked over at me, and his eyes were worried.
“What?”
“Marco D’Amore was shot and killed today at the Miami airport.”
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. “Who killed him?”
“Antonia’s daughter, Leora,” Dave said. “She said, she would not be cast out. She couldn’t live without him, but neither could she see him with you. She killed him and then herself. Antonia is a wreck. She told the reporters that you’re to blame.”
“I think I am. It’s that train again. The train that can’t be stopped. If you would excuse me,” I said and walked out to the pool house and shut the door.
I put away my things and sat there looking at the picture Tom had given me of Marco and me walking away with his hand on my behind.
I heard Marco’s last words to me as if he was standing beside me. “Until then, you will be in my heart.”
“You will be in my heart until we do meet again, Marco,” I said to the ether.
There was a tapping on the door. I walked over and opened it up to find Buslowski standing there.
“How are you, Cin?” he asked.
I invited him in.
“Um, let me first give you some information. Later, I will cry. I talked to Tom, and he is contacting Eldora. Feel free to act on the information. She’s not exactly a good woman, Dave, but she didn’t deserve what Preston did to her. He beat her until she lost the child she carried. Be careful, he will kill her.” I told him all that Tom had told me. “Poor tragic Marco. I feel bad for his family. The scandal.”
“The scandal has been laid on your doorstep. In the parking lot, it was him on the phone, wasn’t it?” he asked.
I looked over at him and said, “He asked if he could see me when he returned. I said yes, and then he said, ‘Until then, you will be in my heart.’”
Dave put his arms around me and let me cry. “So it was Marco who helped you through the pain and fear.”
I could have let him believe that. The issue would have been dropped for good, but I couldn’t lie to him. “No, it wasn’t him. He loved me, but he wasn’t the one.”
Dave sat back when he realized there was another man involved.
“Don’t look at me that way. Go away until you grow up, Dave.”
“You baffle me, Cin. I have to go in and file a report. I’m your unofficial interview. I’ll do my best to not have you branded for this, but I’m afraid the papers will do what they will do. At least Harry escaped this time. What a disturbed young woman.”
“Well, I guess we know who definitely trashed the house,” I said. “I wonder if Preston put her up to it too. He ruined Kyle’s, Carlos’s, Marco’s, Leora’s, and my life. I’ll find something you can use to put him away. So help me God.”
“I’ll leave you to grieve, Cin. And then we have to talk. There is so much wrong with us that doesn’t have to be wrong.”
I nodded. I turned around and sat down on the edge of the bed. I looked around for Kyle. He wasn’t there to goad me. Would it be him in my dreams tonight or Marco D’Amore?
Act III
Amore Perduto
I walked into Celia’s design room, and she rushed over and hugged me. I have to admit I wasn’t sure what was going on. She had left a cryptic message with Sally because Harry and I had pulled the plug on the house phone. I had, indeed, inherited the scandal of the year.
“Your heart must be broken. Poor Cin, you just get over one tragedy, and another is laid before you.”
“If you are referring to the papers, then you’re right. You know, in these days of the internet, you would think it would be them who are crucifying me. But no, here in Palm Beach County, we do it the old-fashioned way.”
“He loved you,” Celia said.
“I didn’t know you knew each other.”
“Do you remember giving him my name regarding my suggestion of a bracelet to give you?”
“Yes. But I thought it was a one-time conversation. The bracelet is beautiful and dear to me.”
“Marco came in the Monday after the opera. He said that my design had fitted you to a tee. He said, ‘Bella is a beautiful woman and needs to have beautiful things.’ So old-worldly. He exuded charm and testosterone.”
“I agree with your observations. Thank you for telling me this in person.”
“Oh, I didn’t bring you here for a conversation. I wanted to show you what Marco has left you.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, my eyes watering and my nose burning. “We only knew each other a short time.”
“He came in and commissioned six more dresses. One for each opera he planned on taking you to and another to be of my choice. Something I thought you would need.”
I burst into tears. Marco had intended to come back to me. It took me a moment to gather myself. “Let me see what that beautiful man had in mind.”
Celia sat down and opened up her design book. The dresses were stunning. “He said your legs and breasts are your best features, but he was determined to get you to gain weight, so he had me put an ease in the hips. See here and here. We will bring you through the winter in these dramatic tones, and spring with a more flirty, light fabric. They are paid for. I just need a commitment from you to continue.”
“Yes, they are beautiful, and I would love to have them,” I told her.
“I have already made up the dress I think you need right now. Wait here.”
I looked around the workroom and smiled at the industry going on. Sally said that Celia had seen several variations of my dress worn by the rich brats of the Palm Beach crowd. Marco strikes again. “How could you call yourself a bad man?”
Celia brought out three whole ensembles in black. “I know you can’t be there at his graveside in Italy, but you need to show them that his passing has affected you. Marco was all about drama. Give him his due. Do not let him fade away,” she pleaded.
That was easy for her to say. I had to live it. I put on the clothes. There were three sets, two she had decided on her own that I would need. I offered to pay her for them, but she shook her head. “You have brought me so much business, I had to have my mama come from São Paulo to help me train seamstresses.” Celia had me wait there until she took in the waist again. “Cin, you have to eat,” she scolded.
Well, I
could go out in perfect mourning clothes now. I was wondering whether I would be mistaken for a crow or a crone. I had to wear black when I performed, but I didn’t look good in it at all. I wasn’t pleased, but I would play this last role for Marco. He would have been amused that he had made me the other woman.
An older woman put her hand on my shoulder. I turned around, and she smiled at me. She handed me a black handkerchief with tatted lace edges. “For your tears,” she insisted. “Cry. Do not let them make you stop.”
I think the only saving grace was that I didn’t have to deal with Father Michael. He would not be overly pleased I had gone from a divorced woman to the openly grieving mistress of Marco D’Amore - not to mention the married man in the slammer. For now, Tom was still private. Harry had kept his word. Alex really didn’t have much to say to me about the whole deal. He’d had strong words with Harry, but Harry took my side. Noelle wasn’t happy either, so she wasn’t speaking with me. She thought that I should spend more time on the shrink’s couch and less time in the beds of married men. I could see her point. I had embarrassed the Lathen side of the family. But Bunny, my soon to be ex’s wife, was so pleased that she gave me a year of Dr. Andrews’s couch. I guess, somehow being connected to me had elevated her within her own society. Well, damn.
I arrived home and was pleased to see no one was camped out ready to take a picture of infamous me. I assumed that some new scandal had diverted their attention, and I couldn’t have been more pleased.
Harry was working in the den. I looked at, according to the papers, my youthful paramour and smiled.
“What’s got you so amused?” he asked.
“I have a car full of clothes that Marco evidently purchased for me and six more outfits to come.”
“You’re going through with this charade of being the distraught mistress, aren’t you?”
“If I wasn’t, I am now. I accepted them with good grace and a lot of tears.”
“Well, your publicity has brought us a lot of business. You will have to arrive at these parties, on my arm of course, and flirt with the men, make the women hate you, and then come home with me.”
“Sounds like work for escorts, not consultants.”
“Cin, it’s work. Also, I have received offers for an inside scoop. A lot of money is being waved around.”
“No, I’ll do the parties if I have to, but not the exposé. It isn’t right. His wife doesn’t deserve that.”
“It’s not stopping the others from telling their tale of their night, singular, with Marco D’Amore.”
“That is their choice. I suppose it would’ve amused him, but I’m not interested.”
“I’ll help you bring in the clothes,” Harry offered. “But before we do, I received a letter I had to sign for. It’s for you. He handed me the thick, parchment paper envelope. It was from a Miami law office.
“Do you think I’m being sued? Can the D’Amore family sue me for sleeping with him?”
“No. I would be surprised if they would. Europeans, I understand, handle this kind of thing with more grace than we do here.”
I sat down and slid my fingers under the flap. Harry, I could tell, was at the edge of his seat. I pulled out the typed letter, read it, and handed it to Harry. He looked at it.
“Why would I be requested to visit them?”
“They say they’re Marco’s lawyers, not the family’s. I’ll call and make an appointment. The sooner we get this past us, the sooner I can determine if we’re going to need to hop on the party circuit or not,” Harry said.
I shook my head and laughed. “Harry, find out how long is customary in this day and age to wear mourning clothes in Europe. I don’t see too much of it here. I’d like to honor him, but, man, this is the last time I’m getting involved with a public person.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Harry said.
~
Harry sat with me in the office of the senior partner of Massotti, Strazza and Weinstein. Victor Massotti’s executive secretary had brought us refreshments before telling me that Victor would be in soon. I had looked at his portrait on the way in. His dark Italian looks and graying temples didn’t reveal any secrets to me. I had no idea who I would be facing in that well-appointed room.
I admired the old-world decorations. It was like Harry and I had walked out of the Florida heat and into Italy. I approved of the law firm staying away from the pastel office décor that was prevalent in south Florida.
The tall, thin, elegant Victor Massotti walked in, nodded to Harry, and kissed my hand. “Thank you for coming so promptly,” he began. “I represent the south Florida estate of Marco D’Amore. First of all, please accept my condolences on your loss. I realize from Marco, your time together was brief, but you made an impact on him. He said he had found his Bella. Marco and I go back for too many years to count. He is, excuse me, he was, a pleasure to converse with. He lived his life on his own terms.”
I smiled, trying to keep my tears at bay. I had worn one of the mourning outfits, and I clenched the black handkerchief. I could tell by the secretary’s first glance that she approved of my clothing. Victor stopped and looked at me. His dark eyes watered. “I’m sorry, but the wound is still fresh,” he said, touching his chest.
Well, whatever was keeping me from crying vanished.
Victor looked down at his desk and over at our teas and said, “Perhaps we could indulge a bit. Marco would understand.” He walked over and poured three scotches and handed ours to Harry and me.
I rose to my feet and said, “To Marco, who will be missed.”
“Salute,” Victor said.
Harry coughed. He’s a lightweight drinker. I think Victor excused him because he was young.
“Bella, may I call you Bella?”
“Yes.”
“Good because I do not know this Cin. I know you as Bella. Marco first brought you to my attention right after your attack at the opera house. He wanted me to pull some strings to get him into the hospital to see you. Your doctors would oblige, but they mentioned you were not reacting and wouldn’t remember the visit.”
“Probably not,” I said.
“He is… was a romantic. He told me he suspected that you were his Bella. Let me explain. He was always searching for his heart. He was quite a scoundrel with the ladies, and I’ve logged many hours untangling him.”
I laughed.
“Marco was looking for a woman he could love beyond the physical. He had his heart broken when he was young, and his wife was not his choice. I know it may be hard to understand this, but in Roma, it isn’t unusual. He called me the Monday before he was killed and asked me to come and see him. He was busy dealing with some Miami concerns that needed his attention before he flew to Roma. He never fully trusted flying, so it was not unusual that he would update his estate before departing. This time, he wanted to make sure that he had made certain provisions for you.”
“He had only known me a few days,” I said, confused.
“I look at you and know that in those few days you loved him.”
“Yes, but it’s impossible not to love Marco. He is… was Marco.”
Victor laughed. “Harry, please understand, your friend fell under the spell of life and love. Unknit those brows. She will survive. Bella, Marco left you his opera box for two years. He requests that you attend the opening night of each opera and represent him. He told me that he made some provisions for securing you the proper dress.”
“Yes he did,” I responded.
“Marco has put together a small estate which I will manage for you. Marco was old world; he thinks women don’t understand numbers. In this, he was a fool. Next, he has left with me a few boxes to give to you. He asked me not to look in them. He requested that you read the letter he has written to you first. He also advises that you have a drink in hand.” Victor got up, opened his bar, and chose a bottle. He walked over and handed it to Harry. “She will need this. I read the letter.”
“Next, he has left you
his memoir. I understand that you and Harry have published a few articles. He asks that, aside from a good edit, you publish them unchanged. Don’t worry, I will handle any lawsuits. There have been monies put aside for this. Bella, you were only together such a short time, but Marco had faith in his Bella. After a thorough background check, I have faith in you too. Your brief alliance with Marco D’Amore has made you notorious. Had he not been killed, he would have protected you. Now, this pleasure has fallen to me.”
“I don’t think it’s fair that I gain anything financially. I loved him. He loved me. Isn’t that enough?”
Harry took my hand to give me strength, but still, I protested, “Marco has a family and…”
“Bella, Bella, they have more money than they know what to do with. He has made provisions for the opera and small gifts for his favorite women on the condition they not challenge his wife or you. I am going to hold firm. You are to accept what he has been so generous in giving you. You deserve more than this. You deserve to spend the rest of your life with him, but that has been cruelly taken from you. Please, this is his way. The memoir will help you to understand who he was. The letter will explain why he has done this.”
“Victor, I will need your guidance.”
“I am at your service. The opera house is having a memorial for Marco a week from this Friday evening. I would like to escort you there. I will also have a bodyguard with us. Harry, you and your friend Sally are also invited to share the box. You, Bella, will be gowned in mourning, but fierce mourning, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Sir, there is the possibility that this could put Cin… Bella in danger,” Harry stressed.
“We will never let her out of our sights. It is important that she is regarded as Marco’s heir. She will inherit his seat on the board. She is now the patron. Someone pushed that young woman until she killed our friend. Why is not clear. In this day, young women don’t kill their rich lovers; they sue them. Read his memoir. Perhaps it contains some clues. Look into who might have wanted him off the board,” he urged. “We will avenge him. Legally.”
