Chapter Eight

" Buongiorno," Grazia's voice comes through the phone.

She sounds hesitant, and it's probably because she's unsure where we stand after she backed up her brothers when they chased me away from helping them. But after last night with Luca, I'm over the anger I felt towards all of them.

"Buongiorno," I say back, as cheerily as I can.

"Could you come over in a bit?" she asks, and for a second, I worry that maybe Luca told her what happened. But that wouldn't make sense, I realize, and the worry disappears.

"Sure, is everything okay?" I try to keep my tone as casual as I can, but my heart is racing slightly.

"Everything's fine," she replies. "We're just going through Nonna's wishes and there's some of it that we need you for."

"Oh! Okay, yeah. I'll be over in about an hour. Ciao." I get out of bed, because that's a good start to getting ready.

"Great, see you soon. Ciao." She hangs up the phone and I start the shower. I had just slipped off my dress last night and slept in my underwear. I was tired, but I also wasn't ready to wash off all the remnants of Luca"s smell just yet.

Once I'm dressed and ready, I head over to the Baldini house. Our houses are only five minutes away from each other, and there were many times as teenagers that Grazia and I would just run between her house and mine to spend time together.

I enter the mansion to a very different scene than the one I left the night before. Everything has been cleaned up. The casket is gone, the black lilies are nowhere to be seen either, and there's an airy mood to the home, compared to the heaviness that has been hanging over us for the past week.

Grazia comes bounding down the stairs. "Morning!" she calls to me. "Follow me, please." I follow her into Ginny's room, where staff members are sifting through items and putting them into piles.

"Nonna wanted you to have something special, Em. She left specific instructions that you were to be given her pearls."

Grazia is holding the string of pearls that Ginny had owned for most of her life. I feel tears welling up in my eyes at the thought of Ginny leaving me something so special.

"Oh wow, thank you." I smile sadly as I take them.

These pearls had hung around Ginny's neck every day, without fail, and I had always admired them. I'm a little surprised she left them to me and not her own granddaughter, but then again, Grazia was not really a pearls kind of girl.

"She left you a letter, as well. If you want to read it in private, I'm going to make some coffee and breakfast and you're welcome to join me after." Grazia hands me a piece of paper and leaves the room.

I look down at the words that Ginny wrote for me, and then up at the staff members all around the room. I decide to take the letter out into the garden, a fitting place to feel close to Ginny one last time.

The letter makes me cry, as I expected it would, but it also gives me quite good standing with this family, if I were to use it. It reads:

Dearest Emelia,

I am writing this knowing that my time is short, as I think everyone is aware. I have lived a long life, and I am not scared of death. I want you kids to know this and be at peace with my passing.

While I have had many people show me kindness in my life, I will forever be grateful for you spending so much of your precious youthful time with me lately. I'm sure you've had better offers than sitting at the bedside of an old lady. Yet you did so every day with a smile, and you've made my final days slightly less grey.

As a thank you, I am leaving you my pearls, which, as you know, were given to me by my own grandmother. I have always been glad that you were put in the lives of my grandchildren. Please, continue to be the shining light that you always have been in Grazia's life. And remind Luca to smile for me, he does it so rarely.

Emelia you are a talented and beautiful young woman, and you will find plenty of success and happiness in your life. I am just grateful I was able to see you grow until now.

Con amore, Ginny

I wipe a tear from my eye and smile up at the sky. That old woman knew how to tug at my heart even now that she was gone.

These words make me feel like I was right in pushing the Baldini siblings to allow me to help them. Ginny seemed to see me as one of them, so why can't they?

I think back to last night in the lookout house, and although she might not want to know the details, I have a feeling Ginny would be happy about Luca and I bonding.

As I'm thinking about him, Luca walks past the glass doors and I see him glance at me, an unrecognizable expression on his face. So different from what he showed me last night. He hasn't acted like he saw me yet, so I fold the letter and walk around to the kitchen door to avoid him.

In the kitchen, Grazia is playing Ginny's favorite songs and making pancakes. There's a chef who could do this for her, but spending time in the kitchen was always Ginny's way of bringing her family back to earth whenever life got a little crazy.

I station myself at the counter next to Grazia and we spend the morning cooking and eating and laughing about Ginny. I don't see Luca again, and I wonder if he's eaten, but I know better than to go looking for the men in the house.

If you can't see them, they're probably doing business. The last thing they want is a woman interrupting them—even if it is to feed them.

I spend the day at the mansion, helping Grazia clear out Ginny's cupboards, making tea, and spending time walking around the garden. She asks if I'd like to sleep over, but I decline, not sure I can stand sleeping under the same roof as Luca without having him in bed next to me.

***

The next day, I head back to the Baldini mansion, checking in on how Grazia is doing. She's holding up well for a girl who just lost the woman who raised her, but I can see that she's struggling with her studies.

"Let me run through your course material with you," I offer. It's something we've done so many times before.

"Are you sure? That would help so much," she smiles gratefully.

We spend an hour studying hard. Grazia isn't stupid, but she's definitely not as smart as her brother. Luca's intelligence has been obvious for all of his life, it's part of what attracts me to him.

I imagine our babies having those captivating blue eyes, that strong jawline, and minds smart as whips. They'd go even further than their father.

I sit in the kitchen as cousins walk in and out, wondering where Luca is. I haven't seen him today, and we've been where the coffee machine is located all day. Could he really go this long without his morning cappuccino?

The rest of the day is spent out at the pool, since the weather practically calls for it. We lounge in the water with Grazia's cousins.

One of the cousins grins, splashing water in our direction. "Remember that time Nonna Ginny caught us sneaking into the kitchen for a midnight snack?" she chuckles.

Grazia joins in. "Oh, how could I forget? She scolded us but ended up making us a feast at two in the morning."

More laughter erupts as we swap tales of Nonna Ginny"s escapades and her uncanny ability to turn reprimands into fun for everyone.

She may have been strict, holding her family to high standards, but she was also very aware of how much the Baldini kids needed a bit of a childhood, after losing their parents.

The air is alive with the banter of family. Amid the playful splashes and easy chatter, we take turns reminiscing about our favorite moments with Nonna. The time she orchestrated an impromptu family picnic, complete with a feast of her signature dishes. Or the quiet evenings when she dispensed wisdom, the glow of porch lights illuminating her expressive face.

"I remember our prom night," I say to Grazia, because her cousins stopped coming to the house once they reached their teenage years and they had no recent memories to share. "She made our dates come into the house and she gave them a run-down of exactly what would happen to their bodies if they tried anything with us."

Grazia laughs. "You'll sleep with the fishes." She imitates her grandmother, which is easy because they not only look so much alike, but they sound alike too.

As the sun starts to set, we all gather on the porch for dinner. Luca is there, but he has his head buried in his phone, seemingly attending to important business.

He barely looks up, and when he does, I make sure I'm not looking at him. My mission for this week is to stay on Grazia's good side before she finds out what we did.

I go home that night and yet again dream of Luca, just as I have each night since he awakened a feeling in me that I can't put back to sleep.

***

When I show up to the house on the Sunday after church, I find Grazia in tears in her room.

"What's wrong?" I ask quickly, trying to formulate a response for her in case she's found out about my night with Luca.

"Oh, nothing, I…I just miss her so much," she replies through her sobs. "I found an old photo album and it just set me off."

I breathe a sigh of relief, she's still in mourning, of course. She"s not upset with me.

I go to hug her and when she's calmed down enough, we go out into the garden. The rest of the family is there too, and we all sit in silence, soaking in the place where Ginny's spirit seems the strongest.

I don't stay long, feeling uncomfortable in the house all of a sudden. Luca's attitude hasn't changed, and he's been on phone calls all day yet again. I feel as if it's best for us all if I go home and return again tomorrow.

"Emelia," Enzo says as I'm leaving the house. "I want to thank you for being here for Grazia. We should not have pushed you away when you wanted to help. I"m choosing to ignore the night you spent with Luca since I know that Grazia has felt comforted having you here this week."

I smile at him, trying not to show just how pleased I am that he's finally come to this realization. Plus, the fact that he does know that something happened with Luca means he's one step closer to accepting my presence in Luca"s life in the future.

"I"m her best friend, Enzo, and I grew up with you all. I want nothing more than to be a comfort to the family. And to keep Ginny's memory alive."