Joshua’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “Yeah, no. Sorry, but that didn’t help. I can’t picture anyone forcing my dad into anything. Mom, did you know about this?”
Wow! It was like instant cotton inside my mouth. “I—I knew they slept together, Joshua. But I also know,” I added, “that he’s telling the truth. Your dad didn’t want the relationship; circumstances left him no choice.”
“Well this is gonna blow everybody’s mind this morning,” Joshua exclaimed with sarcasm.
“I think you need to leave,” Micah stated sternly, “before everyone wakes up.”
I was actually torn on what he’d just said. As far as I could tell, this young man came to us rather vulnerably, opening himself up to the kind of rejection that had just come out of Micah’s mouth. No matter how I felt about Sharon, this boy was Micah’s son, and he was searching out his family. But could we open our lives to someone like this? Someone we knew nothing about.
“I’ll meet with you and we can talk,” Micah continued, “but I really think I’m going to need to sit down with my family and talk to them first.”
I was relieved that he wasn’t slamming the door completely in his face.
“Do I have more family here?” young Micah asked.
“A grandmother,” Micah said, but sounded reluctant to continue, “And an aunt, sister, and another brother. You also have an uncle and a couple cousins who live a few hours away.”
His smile broadened, “My mother and grandfather are the only relatives I have ever known.”
“Where are you staying?”
“Nowhere as of now. I have been driving since six o’clock last night. I came straight here from Norfolk.”
I gave Micah a pleading glance. As a mom, this was tugging at my heart strings.
He looked at me and shook his head no. “Go back out to the hard road and take a left. There is a Holiday Inn Express about eleven miles down the road. Check in and get some sleep. I need to talk to my family and then I’ll meet you there.”
I could see the reluctance as he glanced at our large home and guest homes, but I could also sense how out of place he felt. “Very well. Will I be allowed to meet everyone?”
“After we talk, I’ll decide.” Micah made sure he knew the choice was his to make or deny.
He turned and left without another word.
We didn’t speak until the car vanished.
“Leese, would you go in the house and see who else is up. I guess we’ll have breakfast here so I can talk with everyone.”
Joshua took a step, but Micah stopped him. “I want to talk to you first, son.”
It would be a long talk.
Eventually, everyone was up. I had pulled Ryan aside and quietly told him what was going on. The first question out of his mouth was, “Is he dangerous?”
“Honestly, Ryan, I don’t know.”
“Do you need me? I’ll have Candace take the boys back to Tampa and—”
“No. You are family Ryan, but this is different. You know I’d never ask this unless I absolutely had to, but please take Candace and the boys and go home. I’ll call you either tonight or tomorrow and let you know what’s going on.”
He gave me a firm hug and then went to tell Candace they were leaving.
Celeste and Gwen knew something was really wrong when they saw the look on my face as I told Leigh and Caleb that we were going to have a family meeting as soon as their dad came inside. Leigh wasn’t happy, mostly because she’d told Hunter that she would meet him in town in a little while, but she understood that whatever this was it was important. She called and canceled and then challenged her little brother to a video game while they waited.
“What’s wrong, Leese?” Gwen asked as the two women followed me into the kitchen.
When I said, “Micah has another son,” the weight of it hit me and I began to quietly sob. I think they both thought I’d lost my mind until I said Sharon’s name.
“Oh shit,” Gwen exclaimed, suddenly seeing the picture clearly. “They slept together?”
“She threatened to hurt me if she didn’t get her way.”
Celeste turned and started to walk from the room when Gwen stopped her, “Mom, what are you doing?”
“I’m getting out my computer from my suitcase. All my life I’ve traced histories, tracked people down, and created false lives. I want to know everything I can find out about this boy of Sharon’s. If he’s claiming to be my grandson, Micah will need all the information he can get. Leese, call your father and see what he knows.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
What my father knew was frightening. He wasn’t aware that Micah fathered Sharon’s son, although he was furious with himself for not figuring it out when he had known for some time the age of Vitale’s grandson. But what he did know was that Vitale’s was still very much in charge of his clan. He did go to Italy to tend to his ailing daughter, but he continued to run his family in the U.S. He recently brought his grandson to America to be groomed as his replacement. This grandson of his had plenty of opportunity for training while in Italy. For all my father knew, he said Micah’s nineteen-year-old son could possibly be a trained killer well on his way to becoming the Boss of the lower east coast.
“I’m sending soldiers and guards down to you.”
“No, Dad. Please don’t. If this looks like something we can’t handle, I’ll call you, but I don’t want them here around my kids.”
“Your kids, my grandkids,” he reminded me, “could be in danger.”
“I really think he just wanted to meet his family. I don’t think he’s going to cause a problem. Please don’t do anything until I call you back.”
“Well, I am calling Vitale. He knows your family can’t be touched. It’s a death sentence for that boy to even show up there!”
“Dad,” I pled.
“I know, sweetheart. I won’t send anyone and I won’t do anything unless you ask, but please be very, very careful around this boy.”
“I will, Dad. Thank you.” I could tell he was about to hang up when I stopped him, “Dad?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.” He told me a long time ago that there was something about those three little words that made him uncomfortable. I rarely spoke it to him, but I felt I needed to today.
“I love you, too—be careful.”
When Micah came into the house, he said that he and Joshua had a long discussion about what to tell Leigh and Caleb. They both agreed that Micah shouldn’t tell them about the mafia. They weren’t ready for that. Instead, he would explain that he made a mistake, and that mistake led to a son he never knew.
“I don’t want the kids to think this was your fault.”
“Leese, I love you with all of my heart. Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve never wanted anything to end up being my fault. Let this be my fault. Let my kids see that I’m human and that I haven’t always made good choices. But I also want them to see that I know how to man-up to my mistakes and accept the consequences.”
With my tearful nod of agreement, he took my hand and we walked into the living room.
Caleb was surprised, but willing to accept his father’s admission. But Annaleigh was deeply wounded. She’d looked at her father her whole life as her hero. In her eyes, her father could do no wrong. For him to humbly sit in front of her and admit to an affair while I was carrying Joshua crushed her.
“Daddy,” she said with trembling lips, “how—how could you?! Mom, why would you ever forgive him?”
He reached out for her hand, but she recoiled from his touch. I’ve never seen anything hurt Micah as badly as that moment. She bolted for her room, sobbing the whole way.
Micah rose to follow, but I told him no. She needed me right now.
She was face down on her bed when I came into the room. I didn’t say anything as I sat beside her, but I leaned over and kissed her head and waited for her to speak first.
“You should hate him,” she finally sobbed.
> “You have no idea how hurt I was when I found out your dad had been with someone else.”
She rolled over and stared at me with reddened eyes, “How could you ever, ever forgive him?
“At first, I didn’t know if I could. Leigh, just because someone makes a mistake, it doesn’t mean they were trying to hurt someone else. Just like right now, your dad would do anything, anything, if he could have kept from hurting you. Do you understand how much courage it took for him to admit what happened?”
“Yeah, well he never would have admitted it if freaking Micah junior hadn’t shown up!”
“Maybe not, but he’s been carrying the pain around inside his heart all these years, too afraid to have any of you know.”
“But why, Mom? Daddy’s always said how much he loves you. My friends have parents who’ve divorced over this stuff. I always felt so proud that my dad loved us so much that he wouldn’t do something like this. And now… and now that’s just ruined,” she sobbed.
“Baby, it’s not ruined. Sure that armor that you’ve always seen your dad in is tarnished, but it’s not removed—unless you let it be. What you have to understand is that if he hadn’t really loved me, this whole thing would have turned out differently. Do you remember how you felt last year when you had to tell your dad about cutting class to spend the day with Marc at the beach?”
“Yeah, it felt like I hurt him and that he was never going to trust me again.”
“You told him it was a mistake and that you wished you hadn’t done it. Did you mean that, Leigh?”
She sat up and drew her knees to her chest and gave a tearful nod.
“How do you feel about Marc now?”
“He’s a jerk, but it’s not the same. I didn’t sleep with him.”
“Thank God, right?”
She gave a choked laugh, “He wanted me to, but I wanted to be like you, Mom. You always told me that you knew Daddy was the one you wanted to share that moment forever with, not just share ‘forever’ in a moment. I want to be sure, too.”
“But if you had made that mistake, would you have wanted Daddy to know?”
“I think I’d have rather died instead.”
“Would you have wanted him to forgive you?”
She couldn’t hold back the fresh burst of tears and sobs as she began to see my point.
“He would have rather died than to hurt you, Leigh. And all he wants right now is to know that you can forgive him and let him make it up to you. He’s been making it up to me for twenty years.”
She threw her arms around my neck and whispered her thanks. Then she tumbled from the bed and started calling for him as she ran downstairs. Micah was at the base of the stairs before she could reach it. He had huge tear drops on his cheeks as she leapt into his arms and held on tightly. All I could hear her say as her face was buried against his neck was that she loved him and that she forgave him. Micah simply cried as he whispered, “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”
It took a while before they composed. The special father/daughter bond they’d always shared was stronger than ever. Her daddy was no longer a super being who couldn’t do any wrong but instead, he was as human as she was. He could feel hurt as deeply as she could, and he needed the love, forgiveness, and support of his family as much as she did.
It would be several hours before Micah would leave to go to the hotel. He called David and told him what was happening and that he would like for him, Nadia, and the girls to come to the house and be part of this introduction into our family. I told him though to ask David to give the phone to my mom so that I could explain it to her. She needed to know the entire truth, not just the fact that Micah fathered a child with someone else.
I took the phone and went into the den and closed the door. There was no need to be gentle. She knew I’d been held hostage, but she needed to know that Sharon threatened to have me raped if Micah didn’t bend to her desires, and that part of those desires included sleeping with Micah.
My mom was still one of the most wonderful women I knew. She accepted my explanation without so much as a stutter or a pause. She trusted me and she trusted Micah, but she openly said she didn’t know if we should trust Micah Moretti. She was, understandably, afraid that the mafia was a breath away from coming back into our world.
“Dad isn’t going to let that happen, but I know what you mean. I’m afraid, but how can anyone who looks so much like Micah not have some of him on the inside, too? This isn’t going to be easy, and if he truly wants a connection with us he’ll have to understand he can’t have both worlds. If he tells us he’s actively working in the mafia, he can’t come back.
When Mom, David, and the girls showed up, David was in a suit. Immediately, I knew why. Mom never told David that the guns had to go, and I knew that strapped underneath his coat rested a pair of Glocks. I didn’t like it, but I knew he had his reasons.
Micah and David said they would drive to town and bring him back to the house. I walked outside with them, not wanting everyone to see exactly how apprehensive I was for them to leave. I was kissing Micah goodbye, when I heard the front door close. I turned around to see Joshua heading for us.
“I’m going with you,” he simply stated.
“No,” was the first word to pop out of my mouth.
I felt Micah’s hand come to rest on my arm, pausing me from continuing my refusal.
“Why, son?”
“Dad, you’ve already told me what you’re worried about, but this is what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life, no matter which government agency I decide to work with. You won’t be able to shield me from these people. If he is mafia, then I want to hear what you and Uncle David have to say to him, and to listen to his responses. I want to figure out how he thinks and what makes him tick.”
It took every ounce of willpower I possessed to keep my mouth shut. Joshua was my baby, my first baby, but he was also a grown man. I trusted his judgment, his intelligence, and his goodness. In the back of my mind, I’m sure I had a sliver of fear that he might find his newest brother to be fascinating. My son was a Gavarreen, but he wasn’t mafia groomed and emotionally anesthetized.
Unless Micah opposed it, I would not ask him to stay.
I could see the slight hesitation on Micah’s part as he considered it. “Come on,” he finally said, putting his arm around Joshua as they headed for David’s car.
Town was only fifteen minutes away, but they didn’t return for an hour and a half. Micah called me to tell me they were pulling in the driveway. I asked everyone to come into the living room and have a seat. A couple minutes later, the front door opened and in walked four men who were all very obviously related—they were Gavarreens, even if one didn’t share the name.
The first thing I noticed was the stunned look on young Micah’s face. You could have heard a feather fall in the silence. Micah senior would make each introduction, beginning with Celeste.
“You are my grandmother?” he repeated as if he couldn’t believe it.
Celeste had been holding something in her lap the entire time she had been seated in the living room waiting. I assumed it was a small clutch, but when she rose to greet her grandson, I saw what she’d been sheltering.
“Yes,” she said with her sweet smile slowly broadening, “And this is your grandfather.” She handed him the small, leather picture frame.
I remembered it now. She always brought it with her when she came to visit, and she would put it on the nightstand by the bed. How deep and how strong was her love for the man who swept her off her feet, fathered her children, and loved her for a lifetime. I knew if God blessed Micah and I to reach her age and something happened to him, I would also cling to his memory just as she clung to Giorgio’s.
He studied the picture in earnest, and then he embraced Celeste and told her he wished he could have had the opportunity to meet him. Gwen was next, her greeting a little stiffer than her mother’s, but he still seemed genuine in his happiness to meet her. My mother of course
was only an aunt by marriage, but he was very congenial and polite. Then came his cousins Brook and Bree. Those girls had no fear or apprehension as they both rose at the same time and hugged him. I watched his cheeks pink slightly as they stepped back.
He glanced at David with a smile, “All the women in my new family are exceptionally beautiful.”
Oh—I cringed! I could see David’s expression harden instantly. Anyone else would have curled up and died after getting that look from David, but young Micah turned to look at Annaleigh and Caleb.
“And this must be my sister and younger brother.”
Micah didn’t get the chance to say anything as our daughter stepped forward and offered her hand.
“I’m Annaleigh. Everyone just calls me Leigh.”
He accepted her hand, “Thank you.”
I suddenly realized why he was thanking her. She didn’t wait for the introduction. She stepped up and accepted him immediately.
“And I’m Caleb,” Caleb said, following his sisters lead in taking initiative.
“It is good to meet you Caleb.”
For the next hour we talked, shared, and even laughed as we got to know him a little better. He told us all about growing up in Verona Italy; the architecture and ancient beauty of the city. He also told about his grandfather taking him on trips to Venice, Milan, and Rome. Our kids told him about what life was like growing up in America, but I could see he was struggling to comprehend it. When it hit me, I had to keep from gasping—he’d had very little time to be a child and to be innocent like our children. He was younger than Joshua, but he had a maturity and sophistication that came with someone who grew up around adults. I didn’t know what Micah learned before they showed up at the house, but I was certain now that Micah Moretti was raised to be an instrument in the mafia.
Joshua was in observation mode; he watched, studied, listened, and scrutinized every moment of young Micah’s presence.
Then suddenly, as if he’d been on a timer, he told us how wonderful it had been to meet all of us and that he hoped someday in the future he would be allowed to return.
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