Chapter 5 - WHAT SHE WAS REALLY AFRAID OF
Luca stared at Vanessa.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Her eyes filled.
"Because you love this house."
He looked around the dining room.
The chandeliers.
The marble floor.
The long table where his father had once celebrated anniversaries and birthdays.
Then he looked at his mother.
"I love the people in this house."
Vanessa pressed a hand against her stomach.
"But your work follows you home."
Luca didn't answer immediately.
Evelyn moved closer to her daughter.
"Vanessa came back from that appointment absolutely terrified."
Luca looked at her.
"What happened?"
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
"One of your security men was waiting outside the clinic."
"Daniel arranged an escort."
"Nobody told me."
"I thought it would make you feel safer."
She gave a bitter laugh.
"Safer?"
Luca frowned.
"He was there to make sure you got home."
"Two women in the waiting room asked who I was. One recognized your name."
She looked down.
"They started whispering about the Moretti family."
Luca's face tightened.
Vanessa continued.
"I heard one of them say that people connected to you don't get ordinary lives."
Nobody spoke.
Then she looked directly at him.
"I sat in that examination room listening to our baby's heartbeat, and all I could think about was whether this child would spend its life being afraid."
Luca lowered his eyes.
I noticed Teresa watching her.
Her expression had changed from wounded confusion to genuine concern.
"Vanessa," she said gently, "why didn't you tell us?"
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
"Because I knew you'd tell me everything would be fine."
Teresa shook her head.
"No, sweetheart. I know better than that."
Everyone turned toward her.
She looked at Luca.
"I worried about him every day when he started taking over his father's businesses."
Luca's expression softened.
"Mom."
"I'm not criticizing you."
She looked back at Vanessa.
"I'm saying I understand what it means to love somebody whose life frightens you."
Vanessa seemed startled.
Teresa continued.
"When Antonio was alive, there were evenings when I heard a car outside and couldn't make myself look through the curtains."
Luca looked down.
I'd never heard his mother speak that way.
She usually told stories about Antonio laughing at the breakfast table, buying flowers on anniversaries, or singing terribly while cooking.
Tonight, she was remembering something else.
Evelyn leaned forward.
"Then surely you understand why Vanessa wants distance."
"I do," Teresa answered.
"But I don't understand why that means I can't be the baby's grandmother."
Vanessa covered her face.
"I didn't know how to make anything feel safe."
Luca sat opposite her.
"Vanessa, I should have listened more carefully when you said the guards made you uncomfortable."
"You told me they were necessary."
"Some precautions are. That doesn't mean every arrangement has to stay the same."
Evelyn spoke sharply.
"Are you promising to change your entire life because she's upset tonight?"
Luca looked at her.
"I'm promising to take the mother of my child seriously."
Vanessa began crying quietly.
For a moment, I felt sorry for her.
Then I remembered Teresa kneeling toward that damaged sweater.
Fear explained part of Vanessa's behavior.
It didn't excuse what she'd done.
I looked toward Luca.
"Sir, may I say something?"
He nodded.
"Of course."
I swallowed.
"Mrs. Moretti didn't know any of this."
Vanessa looked at me.
I continued.
"She didn't know about the appointment. Or why Miss Bellini wanted to recover somewhere else."
Teresa nodded.
"That's true."
"All she knew was that she was being told she might not be allowed to hold the baby."
My voice trembled.
"And that she shouldn't call herself Grandma."
Luca's jaw tightened.
Vanessa looked down.
"I know."
I glanced toward the sweater.
"She spent three weeks trying to prove she could still be useful. She thought that was what you wanted."
Vanessa whispered, "I didn't realize how far she'd take it."
Teresa looked up.
"You told me I needed to show I could manage something without help."
"I was frightened, Teresa."
The older woman's eyes filled.
"So was I."
Vanessa closed her eyes.
I watched the words reach her.
For the first time, she seemed to recognize that fear hadn't belonged to her alone.
But Evelyn wasn't ready to yield.
"A newborn's safety must come first."
Teresa nodded.
"Of course."
"Your arthritis is getting worse."
"I know."
"And you may not be able to manage every task."
Teresa looked toward the sweater.
"I never expected to."
Evelyn hesitated.
Luca leaned forward.
"Mom, I want you to tell us something."
She looked at him.
"What, sweetheart?"
"What would being a grandmother look like to you?"
Her eyes filled.
She thought for several seconds.
Then she smiled sadly.
"Sometimes I'd like to sit in my favorite chair while somebody places the baby in my arms."
Luca nodded.
"What else?"
"Maybe read a story."
"And?"
"Perhaps make a birthday cake someday."
Her chin trembled.
"But if my fingers aren't strong enough, Emily could help me."
I smiled.
"I'd love that."
Teresa looked toward Vanessa.
"I don't need to decide what the baby eats or wears. I don't need to visit every day."
Her voice broke.
"I only want the child to know that I love them."
Vanessa looked away.
Luca reached for his mother's hand.
"That isn't asking too much."
Evelyn cleared her throat.
"But there are decisions you've already made with Vanessa that should be respected."
Luca frowned.
"What decisions?"
Evelyn glanced at her daughter.
Vanessa shook her head slightly.
I noticed.
So did Luca.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Vanessa stood.
"I don't want to discuss another argument tonight."
"Then don't argue. Tell me the truth."
She looked at the empty chairs.
Then whispered, "We made plans in case things couldn't change."
Luca's expression hardened.
"What kind of plans?"
Evelyn reached into her handbag.
She removed a small brass key attached to a pale-green leather tag.
Vanessa stared at it.
"Mother, put that away."
May you like
But Evelyn placed it beside the damaged yellow sweater.
"This isn't the key to my house, Luca. It's the key to the place Vanessa rented for your baby."
