by Gina LaManna
Anthony’s grin shone bright against his tanned skin. “You don’t have to ask twice. So, it’s a date?”
“It’s a date.” I reached up on my tiptoes and paused just out of reach from Anthony’s lips. I gave him my most seductive eyes, which might or might not have worked. Luckily, Anthony got the picture. His lips met mine, warm and soft and just as delicious as always.
Something about the moment, the unique scent of him combined with the fresh cabin air, made for a heady cocktail of sensations. My eyes closed against my will, and I fell into a place so happy, so special, that a sense of contentment I’d never known bubbled up inside.
He pulled away before I was ready for it to end.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Wrong? Nothing,” Anthony said. He blinked, as if surprised that he’d ended the kiss. Then a look crossed his eyes – a thoughtful expression, as if there was something he’d forgotten to tell me.
“Is everything okay?” I fixed my gaze on his, but he didn’t meet my eyes. He was too busy looking over my shoulder. I stepped backwards and waved a hand in front of his face. “Anthony?”
“Yes, it’s fine,” he said, distracted. “But there’s someone here who wants to see you.”
I spun in a slow circle, and my heart caught in my throat. When I saw my grandmother’s frail figure standing in the distance, her hands twisted before her body and her shoulders bent, my heart nearly cracked in half.
“Nora,” I said, my voice cracking.
My feet found a way to drag my body across the road to the open field underneath the water tower. I hadn’t realized Anthony and I had strolled so far from the cabin, but now I wondered if he hadn’t led me here on purpose.
“Did you know about this?” I asked, stopping to turn to Anthony.
“Lace, when it comes to your safety, I don’t hesitate to get everyone involved. Both Carlos and Nora know everything.” Anthony shook his head at my shocked expression. “She wanted to come up and see you. I called as soon as I knew something was wrong.”
I swallowed, meaning to thank him, but I couldn’t.
“Go,” he said gently. “I’ll wait here.”
I gave a grateful nod and turned away from him, taking the last few paces before I reached Nora’s open arms. I paused for only a moment before I fell into them.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I didn’t mean what I said. I want you involved in my life. I’m sorry I kept things secret.”
“No, I’m sorry.” Nora looked broken, older than her usual sparkling self.
“Let’s just...can we forget about it?” I asked with an apologetic smile. “I hate arguing with you.”
“Lacey...” Nora expelled a long sigh. “I’ve been trying too hard to forget. Do you have a moment to walk and talk? I think it’s time I try to remember.”
Chapter 39
NORA AND I SET OFF after Anthony gave her explicit instructions where we could and couldn’t walk, based on his ability to provide cover for the two of us. The Fish was, after all, still loose and in the surrounding area.
Setting off at a leisurely pace, Nora hooked her arm around mine. “Your mother.”
I’d been watching the grass beneath my feet, but at Nora’s words I looked up. “That’s not what I expected you to say.”
“Of course not.” Nora smiled sadly. “Because I don’t talk about her. I’ve avoided it for so long, I’m not sure that I know how to start. I’m sure you have so many questions...”
I didn’t deny it, but I clasped my hand over her wrist. “I imagine it’s difficult, and that’s why I haven’t pressed.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s fair to you, or to her. What good is it for me to keep all those memories locked up inside? Someday I’ll be gone, and it’ll be too late. And that’d be a shame.”
“Don’t say that,” I said sharply. “You’re going to live forever.”
Nora nodded. “Yes, I like to think so. But the truth is, I owe you some answers. And I apologize I haven’t opened up to you about this earlier. It’s just...” Nora hesitated, as if what she had to say was physically painful. “My daughter left me, Lacey. She walked away from her family. From what we were, and what we are. I’m not sure I knew how to cope with that.”
My own eyes pricked with tears of sympathy for Nora, and I finally understood. I was looking at the broken part of her soul, the part who’d lost a daughter. Who’d missed out on two and a half decades of her granddaughter’s life. The portion of her that she kept locked away, hidden behind the charade of a bubbly, upbeat grandmother with nothing but happiness and sunshine to offer.
“It’s not your fault,” I said, my voice thick. “Don’t think that.”
“But it is,” she said. “Do you want to know why I sent those three suitors to stay with you this weekend?”
“You mean those goons that showed up the first night we were here?” I asked. “Yeah, I’m pretty curious about Marco and company.”
“I sent them because I could tell you were hiding something, dear.” Nora shook her head, and a true smile tugged at her lips. “Your relationship with Anthony. Of course I see how he looks at you, honey. I see the way his fists clench when Carlos gives you an assignment. I see the way he pours your water first at the dinner table. I see him watch your every move. He stands at the window, you know, every single time you leave the estate, and he watches until your car has disappeared beyond the block.”
I swallowed, my heart swelling with appreciation for all of the little things Anthony did that I didn’t even bother to notice. That I couldn’t notice. Things he did when he thought nobody was watching.
“I didn’t know all of that,” I said, clearing my throat.
“But darling, don’t for a second believe you don’t deserve it. It’s a two-way street, and you deserve him as much as he deserves you.”
“Hang on a second.” I wagged a finger at Nora. “You knew all this, and still you tried to set me up with these suitors?”
“Don’t you see?” Nora’s voice rose a few octaves. “I wanted you to tell me about your relationship, be honest and up front. Why did you hide it, Lacey? I want the two of you to be happy.”
“I was going to announce it after the weekend. Anthony wanted to tell you before we left.” I put a hand to my chest. “It’s my fault we didn’t, not his. The timing worked out wrong, and...well, to be honest, I selfishly wanted some private time with him before it became the dinner talk of the week.”
Nora remained silent, our feet swishing through the grass as we strolled in a small circle, Anthony watching from out of earshot.
“Our family is wonderful, but they also like to chitchat.” I smiled. “And gossip. And make fun and crack jokes. Which is amazing – truly, I love it. But Anthony and I are new at this whole relationship business. We’re both still figuring things out, and I wanted a little bit of privacy. We’ve barely dated a week, and we’ve been alone for about an hour total. Please, you have to understand, it wasn’t personal.”
“I understand that in here.” Nora tapped on her forehead. Then she moved her hand down to her heart. “But it’s difficult in here.”
We took a few more steps, and Nora reached for my hand. “The last time someone hid a relationship from me, she ran away, and it was my fault. And I never got the chance to apologize for pushing her too hard.”
Before she finished speaking, a few of my welled up tears had slipped out and rolled down my cheeks. “My mom?”
Nora nodded, her own cheeks wet. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. I overreacted.”
“Come here,” I instructed, gesturing for a hug. “I’ll never disappear, I promise you that.”
“How can you promise?” Nora looked hesitant to believe me.
“Because I’ve been gone for too long and, believe me, I know exactly how lucky I am to have this family. I’ve spent a lot of time being lonely. I’ve been without family. Finding you and Carlos is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
<
br /> Nora squeezed me tight, glancing up at me, her eyes brimming with hope. “Do you mean that?”
“One hundred percent. I love you guys,” I said, and kissed my grandmother’s cheek.
After we’d each had our fill, we parted, each wiping our eyes and pretending that we hadn’t cried. We were still mobsteristas, after all, and had a tough facade to maintain.
“On the same topic as your mother, I have one last thing to tell you, for now at least,” Nora said.
“Really...we’ve both been through a lot. It can wait, if you’d prefer. We have plenty of time to talk about her. Like I said, I’m not going anywhere.”
To my surprise, Nora broke into a joyful grin. “That’s where you’re mistaken. This can’t wait.”
“Nora, you only get that smile when you’re about to break the rules,” I said, my voice heavy on the caution. “Are you about to make Anthony very unhappy and get us in trouble?”
“Let’s just say breaking rules runs in the family, my dear. And you are not one to argue with that.” She held an accusatory finger up at me. “And for that matter, neither was your mother. Now, follow me.”
Chapter 40
“THERE,” NORA SAID, making last minute adjustments to the enormous stuffed animal before her. “What do you think? Does that work for now?”
I grinned. “The legacy continues.”
Nora slipped her arm around my back, and together we stood atop the water tower, staring at our feet where a life-sized stuffed cow sat proudly. “I picked it up from a gift shop on the drive over here.”
I glanced suspiciously at my grandmother. “Somehow I’m guessing my mom didn’t make up the idea of pranking this town. Plus, you said trouble runs in the family. Were you somehow involved before?”
“Of course not.” Nora’s cheeks turned pink. “Anyway, it’s probably time we set off.”
I caught Nora’s arm as she started to head towards the staircase. Turning my grandmother around, we both paused. For a moment, the only sound was the slight whisper of grass far below us, the rustle through the woods of unseen animals, the flutter of a moth’s wings atop the water tower.
“Thank you for talking about her,” I said. “My mom. It means a lot to me.”
Nora stepped forward and clasped my hand in hers. “It means more to me than you know. I can’t promise you I will tell you every detail, every story. I can’t promise you I won’t cry or become emotional while talking about her. But I can promise you that I’ll do my best to try.”
I smiled, banishing the tears in my eyes for the happiness of the present. I brought my grandmother in for a hug and then, arm in arm, we started down the stairs.
Suddenly I jerked my arm up and pointed towards the sky. “Look, Nora! Is that a shooting star?”
Nora shook her head. “The city has ruined you, child. That’s an airplane.”
“Can’t we pretend?” I grinned back, watching the plane glide out of sight.
“Of course, dear.”
“One more question. You don’t have to answer it now, but you’ve never...I’m curious...”
“Spit it out, Lacey.”
“Do you know who my father is?” I asked.
Nora stumbled, nearly missing a step. Thankfully I caught her and led her off the bottom step onto firm, grassy ground. Straightening her shirt, she gave me a ghost of a smile. “Don’t know why I didn’t see that one coming.”
“You really don’t have to answer tonight,” I said softly. “We’ve been through a lot. But maybe, if you wouldn’t mind thinking about it. Maybe if he’s still alive...”
“You deserve an answer, dear.” Nora glanced up at me, and I held my breath.
Watching her clear eyes, reminiscent of my own mother’s, I wondered if, for the first time in my life, I’d be able to put a face and a name to my dad. My mother refused to talk about him, but for some reason, I’d always gotten the sense that it was because she was hiding from him, and not the other way around. She never once spoke ill of the man. She just...never spoke of it. Of him. Of their relationship.
Nora blinked and gave a quick shake of her head. “But I don’t have an answer for you. I’m sorry.”
“But...how?” I didn’t mean to pry, but now that the seed had been planted, I was desperate to know if my father was still alive. If so, I had questions for him, many questions.
“Your mother disappeared one day, Lacey. I suspected she was having a relationship that she wasn’t telling me or your grandfather about. I tried to have it looked into, but she found out about my nosiness.” Nora’s face was a mask of shame. “I felt terrible about it. I thought I was looking into it for her safety. I wanted to know where she was coming from when she’d creep into the house just before curfew, that love-struck grin on her face.”
“She didn’t like it, and she pushed you away.”
“Yes,” Nora said. “When I confronted her about it, said I wanted to meet this man, she got angry. It was the last fight we had. She ran away a week later, and only when you showed up, did I put two and two together that she’d probably been pregnant.”
“Did you ever look for her?” I asked.
“With every resource available to mankind,” Nora said. “But the problem is that, when you grow up in our family, you know how to disappear from the family.”
I sighed. “I suppose there are no leads on him, then. And if there were, they’re probably cold by now.”
“I’ll tell you what. Let’s sit down when we get home. I’ll show you all the information that I discovered, and then, if you want, you can look for him. But that’s a decision only you can make.”
I swallowed. “Thank you.”
“I thought I learned my lesson with her, and then when you came up here and we argued on the phone...” Nora shook her head. “It was terrible.”
“It was,” I agreed. “But now it’s out in the open. Does Carlos know about Anthony and me?”
“Lacey, everybody has suspected for a long time.”
“We’ve only been together a few days,” I said, as we walked towards the man in question, our voices low.
“Yes, but we could all see it coming.” Nora patted my hand. “I hope you two are very happy.”
“We are. Or, I am.” I smiled.
“Happy enough to give me a great-grandbaby?” Nora peered up at me.
“Whoa, whoa.” I raised a hand. “Don’t push it.”
“I’m just kidding,” Nora said with a tinkling laugh. “Sort of.”
“What are you two laughing about?” Anthony asked, as we reached his guard post at the edge of the park.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Seriously, don’t ask.”
Anthony raised his hands in surrender. “Don’t tell me twice. Nice cow, by the way.”
The three of us looked up to where the stuffed animal majestically posed, watching over Tonka.
“One more stop before home,” I said, breaking the silence. “We have to catch Meg’s last song.”
Chapter 41
“MEG, WHAT ARE YOU DOING outside?” Anthony had called Leanne, who sent over the cruiser on duty to shuttle Anthony, Nora, and me from the water tower back to the bar.
Meg glanced at us as we exited the cop car. “Miss Lacey freakin’ Luzzi, if you tell me you got arrested without me, I’m not sure I’ll be able to forgive you!”
“No arrests, we just needed a ride. Nora here plays the old card very well when it suits her.” I gestured towards my spry grandmother, who immediately bent over and pretended to walk with a cane.
“That’s a pretty good old person representation,” Meg said. “Especially cause you’re so young, Nora.”
Nora straightened up, beaming at Meg. “Have I ever told you what lovely friends you have, Lacey? You girls should use the cabin more often.”
“No thanks,” I said. “I’m good.”
“Who is singing that foul song?” Nora asked as a particularly explicit rap song cascaded from the bar into the parking l
ot.
“And why are they taking your spot, Meg? You haven’t gone on yet, have you?” I asked, feeling horror creep along my spine. If, after everything, I’d disappointed Meg, I would have some serious making up to do.
“Nah, I’m just warming my vocal cords up,” Meg trilled. “I’m up next. Save the best for last, you know.”
I watched as one person after another filed out of the bar. It was just before two a.m. and people would probably be leaving anyway, but I wondered if the person rapping the inappropriate song didn’t have something to do with the mass exodus from Laurelei’s-slash-Gabe’s bar.
“Dang, where are all these people going?” Meg asked, her expression crestfallen. “Best is last, not second to last, what don’t they understand?”
“Don’t worry. We brought our own party. And we’re going to make sure nobody else leaves,” I said. “Nora, Anthony...I’m gonna need your help.”
The three of us began herding patrons back into the bar.
“Sir, there’s one song left—”
“Ma’am, it’s rude to leave before the grand finale—”
“Did you hear there’s free drinks inside?”
“Turn your tushy around and get back inside. You’re listening to my granddaughter’s friend.”
“Nora, you don’t have to be so harsh,” I said with a smile as my grandmother steered a particularly greasy Elvis impersonator back into the bar.
“It’s poor manners to leave before the show’s over,” Nora said with a wink at Meg.
“I can’t shake the feeling...that voice sounds familiar,” I said, as the lyrics from the rap ballad escalated to an ear-shattering decibel.
“But who in tarnation would be out in the middle of the boonies singing—” Meg’s eyes widened. “You’re so right. How did I not notice?”
After holding each other’s shocked gazes for a moment, both Meg and I burst into laughter before racing into the bar, leaving Nora and Anthony to finish the herding process. As we crashed past the bouncer, ignoring his request for identification, we were not disappointed.
