Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WAITING OUTSIDE
Claire Hayes tried to leave the moment she saw Luca approaching.
I watched through the restaurant's glass entrance as she stepped backward, clutching a folded navy coat against her chest.
She wore plain black pants and a faded gray sweater.
Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail.
She looked like a woman who had come directly from work and hadn't expected to see anyone important.
“Claire,” Luca said.
She stopped.
“Mr. Moretti.”
The formality in her voice hurt him.
I'd never heard her call him that before.
“It's Luca.”
She gave a small, embarrassed smile.
“I'm sorry. I was just waiting for Ethan.”
“Please come inside.”
“I don't want to interrupt your dinner.”
“You're not interrupting anything.”
Her eyes moved toward the dining room.
“Vanessa said tonight was important.”
“It is.”
Luca paused.
“And so is your son.”
Claire looked down at the coat in her arms.
For several seconds, she didn't move.
Then she whispered, “I don't want him to think I caused trouble.”
Luca opened the door wider.
“He already thinks the two of you aren't welcome. Help me change that.”
She finally followed him.
When they entered the dining room, Ethan stood so quickly that his chair scraped against the floor.
“Mom?”
Claire hurried toward him.
“Are you all right?”
He nodded.
Then he saw the tears in her eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
She frowned.
“For what, honey?”
“For making you come inside.”
Claire immediately wrapped her arms around him.
“Oh, Ethan. You didn't do anything wrong.”
Luca stood beside them.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Thirty dinner guests watched a mother hold her son as though she'd been afraid something terrible would happen if she let go.
Vanessa finally broke the silence.
“Claire, this has gotten completely out of proportion.”
Claire released Ethan.
Then she turned toward the woman who had kept her away.
“I came to pick up my son.”
“Of course.”
“I didn't come to ask Luca for money.”
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Claire continued.
“And I didn't come to make anybody feel guilty.”
Her voice was steady.
That made her words more powerful.
“I came because Ethan wanted to say goodbye properly.”
Luca looked at her.
“Goodbye?”
Claire's eyes filled.
“He told me he couldn't keep the watch if you didn't want us around anymore.”
Luca slowly shook his head.
“Claire, I never said that.”
She looked confused.
“Vanessa told me you were uncomfortable with how much Ethan still talked about Daniel.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“That's not true.”
“She said you were trying to build a future.”
“I am.”
“With your new family.”
Luca took a slow breath.
“Claire, you and Ethan were never outside that family.”
She looked toward her son.
“That's what I thought.”
Something in her voice made me turn away.
I'd heard angry people before.
Claire wasn't angry.
She was exhausted from being careful.
Luca pulled out a chair.
“Please sit.”
She hesitated.
“I'm not dressed for this.”
“Neither was Daniel half the time.”
For the first time that evening, she almost smiled.
“That's true.”
Ethan pulled his chair closer to hers.
Luca sat across from them.
“Tell me what happened three months ago.”
Claire looked at Vanessa.
“You came to my apartment on a Tuesday.”
Vanessa nodded reluctantly.
“I did.”
“You said Luca wanted to stop our Sunday visits because they were interfering with his engagement.”
“I said we needed to make some adjustments.”
Claire shook her head.
“You said I was making him feel obligated.”
Luca's face changed.
Claire continued.
“You told me Daniel would have wanted me to stand on my own feet.”
Ethan lowered his eyes.
Luca reached across the table.
“Claire, I never asked her to say that.”
“I know that now.”
She swallowed.
“But at the time, I believed her.”
“Why didn't you ask me?”
Claire gave a sad little laugh.
“Because she was your fiancée, Luca.”
The answer landed harder than an accusation.
“If the woman you were marrying came into my kitchen and said you wanted distance, what was I supposed to do? Call you and ask whether she'd lied?”
Luca didn't answer.
Claire looked at her hands.
“I was trying to respect your marriage before it even began.”
Vanessa shifted uncomfortably.
“You have to understand how things looked from my perspective.”
Claire turned.
“What things?”
“You'd been coming to dinner every week for almost two years.”
“Because Luca invited us.”
“And Ethan was becoming extremely attached.”
“He already was attached. Daniel was his father.”
Vanessa looked away.
Luca quietly interrupted.
“Claire, did you receive the birthday gift I sent Ethan?”
She frowned.
“What birthday gift?”
“The baseball tickets.”
Ethan looked up.
“Tickets?”
Luca nodded.
“Two seats behind the Cubs dugout. For you and me.”
The boy stared at him.
“You bought those?”
“Of course.”
Ethan's eyes filled.
“I thought you forgot my birthday.”
Luca's expression crumpled.
“Never.”
Claire shook her head.
“We didn't receive any baseball tickets.”
Vanessa quickly said, “There was a misunderstanding with the delivery.”
Claire looked at her.
“No. There wasn't.”
She reached into the pocket of the navy coat.
Then she placed a folded cream-colored envelope on the table.
It carried the Moretti restaurant's name.
Inside was a short note.
Luca unfolded it.
I watched his expression change as he read.
Claire spoke softly.
“Vanessa brought that to my apartment the week before Ethan's birthday.”
“What does it say?” Uncle Salvatore asked.
Luca didn't answer immediately.
Then he read aloud.
“For the sake of a fresh beginning, the Moretti family will no longer be extending personal invitations or assistance to the Hayes household.”
The final line read:
“Please respect this decision.”
Beneath it was Vanessa's name.
And four words that made Luca go completely still.
On behalf of Luca Moretti.
Luca lowered the paper.
“You wrote this without asking me?”
Vanessa stared at the envelope.
But before she could answer, Ethan spoke.
“Uncle Luca?”
Luca turned.
“Yes, buddy?”
“I did come here on my birthday.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Ethan looked toward the tall windows.
“I wore Dad's coat because I thought you'd recognize it.”
His chin trembled.
“I waited outside for almost an hour.”
Luca stared at him.
“You were here?”
Ethan nodded.
“And I saw you through the window.”
He swallowed hard.
“You were smiling at everybody inside.”
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Vanessa told the man at the door not to let me in.”
