"Sounds great," he said, "but no kissing during the scene at the beginning where Marlon Brando has the cat on his lap. That's the best part." He pulled the corners of his mouth down and made an impressive Don Corleone face. His voice wheezed out. "You come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to murder for money."
I laughed. "Whatever. I'm so giving you the sloppiest kiss, right in your ear."
He cracked a smile, and we closed the door behind us.
Epilogue
"Good bye, Isaia." I rasped as I crouched for a hug.
The noise and bustle of the airport melted away as his warm body stepped into the circle of my arms. I was amazed at how much he had changed since the beginning of the summer. He'd been a tiny, malnourished looking boy with pale skin and haunted black eyes. Now he was wiry with new muscle, and at least half an inch taller. His skin was brown from the sun and his black eyes glittered with mischief. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and stepped back.
"I like your voice," he said.
I laughed. "I like yours, too. I'm glad you found it."
I smiled and felt my throat constrict as I stood and put a hand on the top of his head. I had been hoping to meet a special boy in Venice. Raf was sweet and I liked him, but I could admit that Isaia was the boy who had claimed my heart this summer.
"Where's Pietro? He was just here," I asked Elda.
"He took Cristiano to the toilet. Which is perfect because I haven't had a chance to tell you, since we haven't had two minutes alone since we got back."
"What's that?"
She took a deep breath. "I told Pietro. Not about the fire, just...about Nic."
I forgot to breathe for a second. "So he knows that Isaia... What did he say? I mean..." I glanced toward the bathrooms. "You guys seem okay. How did he take it?"
"Well, our vacation wasn't the most relaxing we've ever had, but...he admitted he had suspicions. I won't lie. He's very hurt." She watched Isaia run to meet Pietro as he and Cristiano came out of the washroom. "But, he's determined not to let it destroy us and so am I. I have a good man."
My throat tightened as I watched Pietro pick Isaia up and machine-gun kisses on his cheek. "You do. Do you feel better for telling him?"
She let out a big breath. "Like a thousand pounds came off. I have to atone, nothing changes that, but I won't be living in fear anymore."
"Speaking of which," I had to get it out quickly since Pietro was walking over. "You don't have to live in fear of Enzo anymore, either."
Her eyes widened. "What did you..." She abandoned the question when Pietro arrived. Her eyes shone at me as I hugged Cristiano goodbye. She knew what I'd done.
Elda kissed my cheeks and squeezed me hard, the way I had taught her Canadians hug. I wasn't sure if she didn't want Pietro to hear her, but she said quietly in my ear, "I can't thank you enough, Saxony. For everything. You're an angel, and you've changed our lives."
"Well, you've changed mine too," I said with my now permanently smoky voice. "That might be the understatement of the century."
"Keep in touch with us, please. If there is ever anything we can do. Anything." Elda stepped back. She looked more at peace than I'd ever seen her.
Pietro and I kissed goodbye. "Come back for a visit anytime you wish, Saxony. Your family is welcome, too."
"Thank you, Pietro." I smiled.
The Baseggios waved goodbye and made their way to the exit. Isaia gave me a last look. I winked at him and he smiled as the family disappeared through the airport doors.
I stepped into the security line, double-checking that I had my passport and boarding pass. My skin prickled with the feeling that I was being watched. I scanned the room. I tilted my head back to look up at the second level as I stepped up to the screening station.
Karim and Giovanni, the man who had handed me Basil's card, leaned against the railing and looked down at me. They both nodded solemnly. The hair on my forearms stood up. I didn't know what they were doing there, but I didn't doubt for a moment that it had to do with me. I made my way through security. When I looked up again, they were gone.
I rolled my carry-on to my gate and sat down to wait for boarding. I was early, and the only passenger waiting.
I sent a text to my friends letting them know I was on my way home. We had all agreed to meet up when everyone was back, and I couldn't stop my knees from jittering in anticipation. Emotionally, I was doing the equivalent of rubbing my hands together.
A matronly stewardess looked up at me from behind the checkin desk. She looked a lot like the kind lady I had met on the plane at the beginning of the summer and I blinked, having a twilight zone moment.
"Tutto posto?" she asked. Everything in place?
With effort, I stilled my jumping legs. Subconsciously, I put a hand against the breast pocket of my button-up shirt. The business card pressed against my palm. I smiled at her. "Tutto posto."
<<<<>>>>
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed Born of Fire as much as I enjoyed living in Venice to do the research for it!
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Also available:
Born of Water
Returning
The Wreck of Sybellen
Coming Soon:
Born of Earth
Born of ?ther
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Born of Earth Excerpt
Turn the page to read an excerpt. Coming soon to Amazon - Georjayna Sutherland’s Elemental Origin Story.
Chapter 1
I closed the front door and leaned back against it, sighing. Alone again. Our gigantic foyer echoed with the sound of my footsteps as I cross the marble expanse in my Jimmy Choo flip flops, past our restaurant sized but mostly un-used kitchen, through our quadruple sliding patio doors and into our perfectly-kept-by-complete-strangers back yard.
I dump the melted ice from four used glasses, stacked them, and folded the thick faux-fur blankets, still warm from the bodies of my best friends - Targa MacAuley, Saxony Cagney, and Akiko Susumu. They were gone. Gone for the summer. Our goodbyes had been said. Targa and Saxony’s faces had been alight with excitement for the promise of a summer abroad. Akiko was not expressive but she’d never shown reliance on our little circle of friends. Only she knew what she was feeling. If she was sad she didn’t show it. She was just Akiko, blessed with quiet confidence that she would handle whatever came. Sometimes I thought if there was an earthquake, she’d calmly hold back the crumbling city walls for us using just her mind. Was I the only one who felt hollow about being apart from them for the next two months? Probably.
Targa was practically best friends with her mom Mira, though she’d never admit it out loud to me for fear of hurting my feelings. Saxony, whose home life rivalled that of a 50’s family sitcom, wielded her au pair position for a Venetian family in Italy like it was a get-out-of-jail-free card. First time out from under the shadow of doting parents, first time flexing her grown-up wings.
When I compared my family life to my friends, my own looked stunted, deformed. My mom can buy me whatever I want in the whole world, but she can’t sit and have a conversation about something important to me if her life depended on it. So, Poppet, which uni most interests you? How school is going? Are you still struggling in biology? Have you found a boy that’s nice enough, smart enough, tall enough? Oh really, what’s his name? What colour are his eyes? Do you miss having a father around?