Cyprian the Fair

by C. L. Cattano

  Julia could see Eden was anxious. Eden could barely look at the woman sitting across from them. “You said you wanted to talk to Eden about what your husband said to her,” Julia reminded her, wanting the woman to get to the point.

  “Yes,” said Nora. “First, I want to let you know the baby is at the villa with Rafe and Gabri. They’re playing, and she should be fine,” she revealed and saw a small amount of relief settle on Eden.

  “Thank you,” said Eden softly.

  Nora took a breath sure she would feel just as bad as Eden looked if someone had done to her what Gabri had done. “I’m sorry about the way Gabri treated you. He cares deeply about Rafe and is very protective of her. After getting to know her, I care about Rafe just as much as he does. She’s a wonderful person. But,” she added, “we don’t really know anything about your relationship or how you might feel about Rafe.” She watched as Eden shifted in her seat, and Julia just glared at her coolly. “Still, it’s no excuse for how he treated you. I told Gabri he had no right to interfere in your relationship with Rafe, and he won’t do it again.”

  “So, what exactly do you mean?” Julia asked suspiciously.

  “I mean Gabri won’t be deciding if Eden can see or talk with Rafe,” she said firmly. “Only Rafe will be making those decisions from now on.”

  “Was it Rafe’s decision to send a hairy minion and demand we send Bronte to her this morning?” asked Julia trying to hold in her anger.

  Nora grimaced because she could see they were angry about this morning, and she didn’t blame them. Fausto did look intimidating, but he was a gentle man. “It was the two of them together,” she admitted. “Sometimes, when they’re together, it’s like they revert back to being twelve-year-olds.” She sighed at the truth about the two childhood friends. “They somehow think what they did was polite.”

  “How the hell was it polite,” asked Julia annoyed to the point her voice raised an octave.

  “The way they explained it, they sent a personal note showing Rafe was appreciative of Eden bringing Bronte for her to see. By sending Fausto with the car, they think they made everything convenient for you because you wouldn’t have to take Bronte out to the villa or pick her up yourself,” Nora explained. “I know, it’s idiotic, but, like I said, when they get together, sometimes they have strange ideas of what’s polite or even what’s reasonable at times.”

  Nora wasn’t sure why Eden was not talking or responding. “I think, since Gabri and Rafe went through so much with each other when they were young, they sometimes regress a bit when they’re together. At times, since they were only children, they can seem very entitled, and sometimes even their good intentions come out wrong to everyone else because of it.”

  “Don’t let Rafe hear you say those things,” Julia scoffed. “I know she was entitled, but she believes she has had some sort of hard life.”

  Nora frowned at Julia’s comment. “She actually did have a hard childhood,” she said in defense of Rafe. “But maybe you don’t know much about it. Gabri told me you didn’t know a lot about her history. Even I don’t really know everything because Gabri has a hard time talking about things without getting emotional, but from what he’s told me, Rafe has been through a lot.”

  “She has,” Eden agreed softly finally able to speak as she worked to control her anxiety and shyness.

  “I know it may be hard, but try not to be too angry with them,” Nora said gently. “Rafe was so happy to see the baby, and I know it means a lot to Rafe that you brought her all the way here. I think this will be good for Rafe. She’s been working so hard on things and has made some vast improvements from when she first came.”

  “She looked happy when we saw her last night,” said Eden softly.

  “She was.” Nora smiled as she nodded. “Gabri and I were performing last night, and Rafe was enjoying the music and had quite a lot to drink. It was wonderful to see her feeling good for a change. I just wish she were so happy all the time.”

  Nora scrutinized Eden but couldn’t see what Rafe apparently saw in her. It seemed like the woman was so unresponsive and must be extremely shy while Rafe was the complete opposite. Maybe Eden was acting like this because Rafe was right—Eden was here for closure.

  “She wasn’t so happy all night,” Nora informed Eden. “She had a hard night after we got home. She tries to act like she’s fine, but if you really look, you can see she isn’t. This is why Gabri is so protective of her, and I guess I am too.”

  “Eden had a hard night, too,” said Julia curtly. She didn’t want this woman to think Rafe’s feelings were any more significant than Eden’s were.

  “Oh, I’m sure she did,” said Nora as she looked from Julia to Eden. “It’s one of the reasons I’m here. After what happened last night, and what Gabri told me about your meeting, not to mention this morning, I thought it would be a good idea to come and let you know what was happening. Gabri will be giving you an apology in person if you meet with him again.”

  Eden nodded nervously as she tried to meet Nora’s eyes. She felt relief knowing Nora was Gabri’s wife and not someone Rafe was in a relationship with. She was grateful the woman was showing her the first kindness about the situation she had experienced since they had come to Italy.

  “Can you tell me how she’s doing?” Eden asked nervously. “I haven’t been told anything about her and what’s been happening with her medical treatments. You said she was getting better. Does it mean she might be coming back soon?”

  It was Nora’s turn to shift uncomfortably. She heartily disagreed with the way Gabri treated Eden, but she did not think he was wrong not to discuss Rafe’s medical issues with her. For all they knew, she was here to get information that could lead to taking the baby away from Rafe, or she could want information so she could sue Rafe for more support. Gabri treated Eden the way he did because he didn’t trust her. Besides all those things, Nora really didn’t know anything more than what Rafe and Gabri were willing to tell her, and it wasn’t much.

  “I just know she’s doing better,” Nora said sympathetically. “They don’t talk a lot with me about her medical treatment. I think it’s a matter of pride for both of them, so they handle things privately.”

  “Oh...” Eden sighed, feeling a bit deflated. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Rafe hadn’t shared what was going on with her therapy at home either.

  Julia watched Eden and knew she had to help her. For some reason, Eden wasn’t asking the questions she needed to ask. Julia turned her gaze on Nora, determined to get answers. “Rafe has responsibilities at home,” she said firmly. “Eden needs answers to a lot of questions. She can’t live in limbo forever. They really haven’t been fair to her. They don’t answer her emails or send her any real information at all. It’s not unreasonable to want to know something, anything. Then, when she comes all this way, they are rude both times they see her.”

  Nora could feel the anger coming from the English woman, but she couldn’t do anything about what information Rafe gave to Eden. She was only here to make sure Eden knew Gabri would not be interfering in their relationship. After meeting them, she was beginning to see why Gabri might feel he should interfere.

  “I’m sorry you feel Rafe hasn’t been taking care of her responsibilities. Gabri has been making sure Rafe is well taken care of, and all her financial obligations are taken care of as best he can. I would hope, if you needed anything, he would help you if it’s in his power. Is something wrong Gabri should know about?” she asked with concern. “If there is, I’d like to help if I can.”

  “No,” said Eden and put her hand on Julia so she would keep silent because it was clear she was too angry with Rafe right now. “Everything’s fine. I just need to talk to Rafe. Do you know if she’ll meet with me? Has she said anything?”

  Nora watched the two women and the way Eden touched the other with familiarity. She felt a lot of tension in the room and wondered if they really were here to deliver bad news to Rafe. If they were, maybe it wo
uld be better for Rafe to get the news sooner than later so not to get her hopes up. She felt guilty for the conversation with Rafe last night because she might be wrong about this woman being in love with Rafe.

  “I talked to her last night,” she said softly. “She told me she would meet you and listen to whatever you have to say.” She watched as the two women quickly glanced at each other. “Listen,” she said hesitantly, “why don’t we go out, and I’ll take you to a few sights, and we can get lunch. Then, after Rafe has spent a few hours with the baby, I can take you to the villa. This will give you a chance to talk to Rafe, and you can ride with Bronte back to the hotel afterward. What do you think?”

  “You,” Eden stammered, “you would take me to see her?” She flicked her eyes toward Julia then back to Nora as her heart beat hard.

  Eden’s reaction and the red flush blooming over her face surprised Nora. It was the most responsive she had been since she got here. “Yes,” she nodded, “after Rafe gets to spend some time with the baby.”

  Eden turned to Julia. “I want to go,” she said shaking with anticipation. “Do you want to go?”

  Julia wasn’t sure what to think of Nora’s offer. On the one hand, it was what Eden had been asking for, but on the other, she was worried about the shape Eden would be in when she returned if the meeting didn’t go well. “How do you think she’ll feel about me being there?” she asked Eden. “The last time I saw her, she wasn’t exactly glad to see me.”

  Eden had no idea what to tell Julia. The last thing on her mind was how Rafe felt about Julia. She was too focused on her own feelings and the possible feelings Rafe might or might not be having for her. “I-I don’t know,” she stammered and looked at Nora then back at Julia.

  Julia could see Eden wanted to go no matter what she decided. She reminded herself Eden was here because she wanted Rafe to come home. Julia knew it was a possibility. If it was going to happen, then Rafe might be more receptive to Eden if she didn’t tag along.

  “I think I’ll stay and go out on my own and do some shopping,” said Julia. She knew seeing them reconcile would be hard for her to watch right now. “Maybe after you talk with her, she’ll want to meet us all together.” She gave what she hoped was a confident smile. Julia’s vision for keeping Eden for herself was in the balance and letting Eden go alone was a significant risk. She hoped all the time they had spent together and things she had said to Eden would mitigate her susceptibility for allowing Rafe the chance to hurt her again. Julia felt she had spent enough time picking up the pieces Rafe had left behind and didn’t relish the idea of doing it again and waiting longer for Eden to see the truth about who she should choose.

  “Okay,” said Eden and squeezed Julia’s shoulder in appreciation as she got up. “I just need to gather my things.”

  20

  HAVING SPENT THE afternoon touring Florence shops and sites, Nora De Angelis was happy to see Eden Kingsley coming out of her shyness. Fausto was trying to be especially kind, hoping to get a smile from Eden so he felt forgiven for his involvement in this morning’s antics. Nora and Fausto told Eden about some fun places she could take Bronte like the Piazza dell Republica right outside the hotel, where there was shopping and an antique carousel, the famous toy store where Rafe had gone to get some of the wooden Pinocchio toys she sent Bronte called Bartolucci, and the Children’s Museum next to the Uffizi. Nora took Eden to lunch at one of her favorite places in the middle of the shopping district. After a long lunch, and a little more therapeutic shopping, Nora bought some gelato to take home and share with Gabri and Rafe, maybe with Eden and the baby too if they stayed for dinner.

  Nora could see the change in Eden as soon as they headed toward the villa. She became quiet and distracted as she held tightly to the canvas bag slung across her body that she seemed to use as a security blanket. Fausto pulled the car into the private driveway leading to the car barn in the back of the villa. They were soon gathering things from the car and getting into the golf cart Fausto would use to take them to the house. They rode silently to the villa then gathered everything and headed toward the kitchen entrance.

  Nora led Eden into the kitchen where she put the gelato into the freezer. “Please excuse the mess,” said Nora as she saw all the dishes and the mess from lunch left there. It was clear Lyka had gone home, and Nora could only hope she would come back tomorrow. “The housekeeper was upset this morning, and it looks like she went home early.”

  “Oh, no problem,” said Eden softly. She looked around the large commercial kitchen and at the long wooden table where Rafe, Bronte, and the others had lunch. The kitchen was almost as intimidating as the marble foyer she had walked into the day before.

  The sound of muffled screaming came from somewhere in the house. “Oh, what now,” groaned Nora as a look of concern crossed Eden’s face. “Come on,” she said and led Eden out of the kitchen.

  They walked through the house and came to the main hall. As they entered, they saw Gabri running down the marble hallway pulling something behind him as fast as he could. Stefano was using the video camera to record it all and had Rafe’s camera hanging from his neck. As Gabri got closer, they could see he was pulling a blanket and sitting on it was Rafe holding Bronte.

  “Corri, Gabri!”[3] Bronte and Rafe were yelling and laughing as he pulled them down the hall and around different large pieces of furniture.

  The entire hallway had been cleared of most of the smaller furniture, and the furniture in the formal living room, as well as the rug, had been pushed to the sides so they would have a place to run and turn around as the blanket slid across the marble floor.

  “What the hell are you doing?” yelled Nora and her voice echoed through the hall.

  Gabri stopped short, but the blanket that carried Rafe and Bronte kept moving forward over the slick floor and ran into the back of his legs. Gabri fell backward, but he caught himself and rolled to a stop not far from Rafe and Bronte. Stefano looked up in surprise, and all three gave Nora a guilty look.

  “Corri, Gabri!” Bronte called. She kept laughing, not ready for the game to end. “Corri, Mama!”

  Gabri scrambled up and grabbed the blanket. “Penso che siamo nei guai!”[4] he yelled as he quickly pulled them back down the hall where they had come from. Stefano followed, and Bronte and Rafe laughed, not noticing Eden was behind Nora.

  “You are in trouble!” Nora yelled as she followed them. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Eden. “Just make yourself at home. If it’s even possible right now,” she grumbled.

  Eden stood stunned as she watched Nora stomp down the hallway after them. It was definitely not how she expected to find Rafe. She looked around, found a seat on an opulent chair, and waited.

  Nora made it down the hall and into the room where Gabri had dragged Rafe and Bronte. They were untangling Bronte and couch cushions from the blanket when she walked in. “Gabrielli Braulio De Angelis, what do you think you’re doing?” She glared at Rafe who was laughing. “You too, Rafaella Salvaggio! Look at this place! We have a house full of people coming this week, and you’ve destroyed the place!”

  “We’ll fix it,” promised Gabri desperate to please Nora and not feel her wrath. He looked over at Rafe and couldn’t help but laugh with her.

  “We were just having fun,” Rafe offered innocently. “What use are marble floors if you can’t slide on them?”

  Nora was about to yell at them about what use a broken bone or a cracked skull would be if they crashed, but then she caught sight of Bronte who was sitting on the cushion waiting to go again. “Look at what you’re teaching her,” said Nora softly, but the anger could still be heard in her voice. “She could get hurt and then what would you tell Eden?”

  “We had cushions all around her,” said Rafe with a frown. “I wouldn’t let her get hurt.”

  “Right,” said Gabri with a nod. “We were careful. I wasn’t even running as fast as I could.”

  “Corri!” Bronte called out and jumped up then tried
to pull the blanket. “I wanna go again!”

  Rafe swooped Bronte up and kissed her. “Siamo male![5] We’ve been caught misbehaving,” she said as she laughed and kissed her again then held her on her hip.

  “Samoo malay!” Bronte yelled, trying to repeat Rafe’s words. Rafe, Gabri, and Stefano couldn’t help laughing.

  Rafe tried to control her laughter. “We’ll fix it,” she promised Nora with an unconcerned grin.

  Nora looked over at Gabri’s guilty face and then at Rafe, who didn’t look guilty at all and sighed with frustration. “I expect it fixed today,” she said firmly and looked at Stefano. “You help!”

  “Of course,” Gabri agreed in relief.

  “Of course,” Stefano repeated guiltily. He took the cameras he was carrying, put them on the table swiftly, and then ran out to start fixing things, but mostly to get away from Nora’s anger.

  “Rafe,” said Nora the tone in her voice serious. “Eden is here. She’d like to talk with you.”

  Rafe’s look went dark at the news. “Why is she here? I told her I would have Bronte back to her tonight. She always does this! She always makes it hard for me to have time with Bronte!” She walked over the cushions with Bronte, grabbed her camera, and then brushed past Nora angrily and went out of the room.

  “Why is she here?” asked Gabri irritated. “Why couldn’t she wait?”

  Nora sighed sadly. “It’s my fault,” she admitted. “I invited her.”

  “Why? Rafe was having such a good day,” said Gabri upset.

  Nora walked into the room and sat down on the cushion-less couch. “Sit down with me,” she said, and Gabri sat next to her. “I went to see her because of what you two did this morning.” She saw Gabri’s look of confusion and shook her head. “What you did wasn’t polite,” she informed him.” I know you think you were fixing things, but you can’t send Fausto and ask a mother to send her child to you with a note. She is in a foreign country and barely knows us. Fausto probably terrified her.”