The Italian Sister (The Wine Lover's Daughter, Book 1)

by Christa Polkinhorn

  “You made it,” he said to Julietta with smile. He hugged her and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, then turned to Monica, greeting her with a kiss as well. He glanced at Sofia and smiled at her in what she felt was a somewhat seductive way. “Pleased to meet you again.” He shook hands with her. “I hope you are going to join us?”

  Sofia shook her head and laughed. “I’m just the chauffeur. But thank you for the invitation. I have plans of my own for tonight. Sofia’s mother is going to pick the girls up at eleven thirty,” she added, thinking that this would signal to Marco that he was dealing with underage schoolgirls. “Julietta and Monica are a little too young to stay out all night.”

  Julietta rolled her eyes. “Oh, Sofia, you are even worse than Mamma.”

  Monica tittered and Marco gave another one of his charming smiles. “Do not worry,” he said. “I will make sure nothing is going to happen to them. I will protect them like the … what do you say? ‘Apple of my eye?’” He grinned.

  “Stop it.” Julietta gave Marco a playful punch.

  Sofia hugged her sister. “Okay, I’ll be gone. You two have fun and either Luisa or I will pick you up. You have your cell with you, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do.” Julietta sighed, rolling her eyes again.

  Marco shook hands with Sofia and with one arm around each of the girls, he led them up the driveway and joined the rest of the people. In the meantime, more guests had arrived, all young, all well dressed, and all wealthy-looking.

  When she sat in the car and was about to drive away, she realized she hadn’t even checked if Marco’s parents were indeed home. She hadn’t seen anybody old enough to be his parents and she’d forgotten to ask. It would have been too awkward to go back and ask such a question but Sofia wished she did know. Somehow, the environment, the house, the guests, it all looked less and less like a school celebration and more like a party of wealthy young adults.

  I worry too much, Sofia felt. After all, Julietta was intelligent and well brought-up. She knew what to do and what not to do. But she was also in love. Sofia sighed. On the way home, she began to relax. It would be all right, she finally decided. She had to let her younger sister make her own choices. Sofia didn’t need to worry like an old fuddy-duddy. Sofia realized with a flash that she had indeed accepted her role as “older sister.”

  At home, Sofia was getting ready to play a game of chess with Nicholas. Sofia told him that her father taught her how to play. In the beginning, Henry had always won but in time, Sofia had occasionally beaten him. As it turned out, playing chess was one of Nicholas’s favorite past times, “aside from reading horror novels,” as he had admitted with an embarrassed smile.

  Sofia found a chess game in one of the drawers in the study and set it up in the living room. Then she made a large bowl of popcorn and took some lemonade out of the refrigerator.

  “Come in,” she called when there was a knock on the door.

  Nicholas entered, imitated a warrior stance, swinging his arm around, as if he was holding a sword. “Ready to be killed?”

  Sofia, with a smirk, “I’m going to pound the heck out of you.”

  “Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that.”

  They played for about two hours, both winning and losing games. At around ten o’clock, Sofia’s phone rang. Julietta’s cell phone number was on the display. “Strange,” she said and answered the phone.

  Julietta sounded distressed. “Sofia, I tried to call Mamma, but she didn’t answer.”

  “She may be upstairs at Donna’s or outside. She didn’t expect your call that early. What’s the matter?”

  “Could you please tell Mamma to pick me up?”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “I will tell you later. I am outside. I am waiting in the driveway”

  “Julietta, for heaven’s sake. What’s wrong?” Sofia got up, getting ready to walk to the main house, her phone still pressed to her ear.

  “Problems?” Nicholas asked.

  Sofia nodded. “Julietta is upset. She’s waiting outside in front of Marco’s house.”

  “Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.” He followed her.

  Sofia continued to talk on the phone. “Julietta, are you all right?”

  “I’m okay … but I can’t find Monica. She’s inside with some boy. They’re drinking … and Marco …” There was the sound of a sob.

  “Julietta, stay where you are. We’ll be right there.”

  Chapter 28

  In the main house, Luisa was busy marinating a chicken for the following day. Sofia handed the cell phone to her. Luisa talked to Julietta for a few seconds, then pressed the disconnect button. “She wants to come home,” she said. “Something went wrong at the party.”

  “Come on, let’s all go,” Nicholas suggested. “You might need some help.”

  Luisa nodded, grabbed the car key, and the three left. “I had a strange feeling about this party,” Luisa said. “I wish I had not let her talk me into letting her go.”

  “Yes, I felt that all the other guests were quite a bit older and I couldn’t figure out why Marco invited the girls. But he seemed like a nice, responsible person. I’m just not very good at figuring out men.” Sofia sighed.

  “Well we don’t know yet what happened, but it sounds like Monica is in trouble somehow,” Luisa said.

  As they drove the small hill up to the mansion of Marco’s parents, the party seemed to be in full swing. Music blared through the open windows and lights flickered on and off. Julietta was sitting on a stone bench at the bottom of the few stairs leading up to the main entrance. When she saw them, she got up. She looked miserable and had obviously been crying, judging from her red-rimmed eyes.

  “Che c’è? What’s the matter?” Luisa asked. She gently touched Julietta’s cheek.

  “I just want to go home,” Julietta said. “But I cannot find Monica anywhere.”

  “What is happening in there?” Luisa said, scrutinizing the house.

  “It was fine at first,” Julietta said. “But then they started drinking and I think Monica had something to drink, too. And they started disappearing in different rooms and Marco …” Julietta burst into tears.

  Sofia hugged her. “What is with Marco?”

  “He was dancing with me and then, all of a sudden, he was gone and I couldn’t find him anywhere. Then I saw him kiss one of the girls from his class and they disappeared in a room … I think one of the bedrooms.”

  Luisa, Nicholas, and Sofia looked at each other.

  Broken heart, Sofia thought. She put her arm around her sister.

  “Well, let’s find out where Monica is,” Luisa said. She climbed the few short steps to the main door with Sofia, Julietta, and Nicholas in tow. They knocked but realized that nobody would hear them with the music blaring, so Luisa tried the door and it opened. Inside, some people were dancing, others were helping themselves to appetizers and drinks.

  Luisa, Nicholas, Sofia, and Julietta walked through an entrance hall that led into what looked like a living room. The inside of the huge home was even more elegant than the garden leading up to it. There were wooden tables and chairs with elegant carvings and other pieces of antique furniture. Paintings, which could have been originals, decorated the walls. A wide marble staircase led to the top floor. When they came in, a few people glanced at them, but then ignored them. Julietta walked up to one the guys and asked if he had seen Monica. He shook his head, then motioned upstairs with a shrug.

  “Well, let’s find out.” Luisa started up the stairs with the others following. When they arrived on the second floor, she called Monica’s name. As there was no answer, she began to open one of the doors that lead into a bedroom. Sofia just got a glimpse of a half-dressed couple sitting on a bed and kissing and fondling each other. Luisa slammed the door closed. Sofia could tell she was angry now. She called Monica’s name again, loud this time. At the end of the hallway, a door opened and Marco stepped outside. He looked at them stunned, closing the belt o
n his pants. His black hair was rumpled as if he had just gotten out of bed, which was probably close to the truth.

  Sofia glanced at Julietta who stared at him with a painful expression.

  “Where is Monica?” Luisa asked him with a stern voice.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in a while, perhaps—”

  “What is going on here? I thought this was a party? It looks more like a bordello, a brothel. Where are your parents?” Luisa yelled.

  Marco began to look somewhat intimidated. “Sono andati. They went out.”

  “What is this, anyway?” Luisa said in English, probably for the benefit of Sofia. “I thought your parents were home and you would have a class party. Instead people are having sex in your bedrooms and Monica disappeared.”

  “I’m sorry, really,” Marco said. “I didn’t know. We are just having a good time, no?” He looked at Julietta imploringly. She, however, glared at him.

  “Let me help you find, Monica.” Marco walked along the hallway and began to open doors, peaking into each room carefully and closing the door fast. But even that way, Sofia could see that there were couples in some of the rooms in various stages of undress. A few seconds later, another door opened and to Sofia’s relief, Monica stepped outside, followed by one of the men. Monica looked frazzled and the top buttons on her blouse were open, but at first sight, she looked unharmed.

  “Cosa c’è? What’s the matter?” she asked. Her face was flushed, either from embarrassment or perhaps from drinking.

  “What do you mean ‘Cosa c’è?’” Luisa said in an angry voice. “What are you doing in a bedroom? With a man? What do you think your parents would say to this?”

  “We didn’t do anything, just kissing.” Monica’s facial color darkened even more.

  Luisa turned to the guy who had been with Monica. “How old are you?”

  He gave her a guilty look. “Eighteen,” he said, hesitantly.

  “Do you realize that Monica is underage? She is not even fourteen yet? Do you know what happens to men like you if the authorities find out? You will end up in jail for having sex with a minor.”

  “Ho, ho.” The young guy opened his eyes wide and raised his hands in a defensive gesture. “We did not have sex, we just talked. I gave her a kiss. That is all. That is not forbidden, no?”

  “This is because I interrupted your dillydallying. No telling what would have happened if we had not come along.”

  Sofia almost had to laugh about Luisa’s choice of word. Dillydallying? She wondered where Luisa had heard this expression.

  Luisa turned to Monica. “Get your things, we are going home.” Then to Marco who was standing there with a crestfallen look. “And I will talk to your parents about this.”

  “Please, we did not mean any harm. I did not realize Monica was in here with a boy.”

  Luisa glared at him as he finished buttoning his shirt. “Of course, you did not notice. You were busy with a girl yourself, obviously.” She took Monica by the arm and they left.

  “Signora Santucci, believe me, nothing happened. Please do not tell my parents.” Monica brushed through her disheveled hair as they were walking down the path to the car.

  Luisa stopped and glowered at her. “You go into a bedroom alone with a man. What do you think his intentions are? Just kissing? That is only the beginning. Are you really that naïve? Are you going to ruin your life by getting pregnant as a teenager and forget about your education and everything? And how would your parents feel?”

  Sofia put her arm around Julietta who had been very quiet during the whole scenario. “Sorry about Marco,” she whispered. Julietta nodded and her eyes misted over.

  They all piled into the car. Luisa asked Nicholas to drive and sat next to him. “I am too upset,” she said. “I will probably run us off the road.”

  Sofia sat in the back with Julietta and Monica. The drive home was quiet. Monica had tears in her eyes and she whispered a few words to Julietta.

  “Have you girls been drinking alcohol?” Luisa turned around and glanced at them.

  “Not me,” Julietta said.

  “Just a little,” Monica admitted.

  “That’s when you lose control and your good judgment,” Luisa said with a stern voice. “You think you are doing the right thing and when you get sober again, you regret what you did.”

  Sofia wondered if Luisa spoke from experience. Had she regretted getting involved with Henry? Had it been a similar occasion? Too much alcohol, wrong judgment? Luisa had been a lot older when she met Sofia’s father. But there had been a former marriage, an unhappy one.

  When they arrived at Monica’s house, it was dark. Obviously her parents were either out or asleep. Monica and Luisa got out of the car and they exchanged a few words Sofia couldn’t understand. Luisa put her hand on Monica’s shoulder. Monica nodded and went inside.

  Back in the car, Julietta asked Luisa if she was going to tell Monica’s parents what happened. Luisa shook her head. “I do not think so. Perhaps you can talk to Monica. She will listen more to you than to me or her parents. You are her friend. She is a good girl but I think she is too careless.”

  “Okay,” Julietta said. “But please, Mamma, do not tell Marco’s parents. That would be so embarrassing and I have to go to school with him. Please.”

  Luisa sighed. “Well, it is really not my business. Nothing happened to you and I really cannot blame Monica’s behavior on him. But Julietta, he is not the right boy for you.”

  “Mamma, we are not together. He has a girlfriend. I just found out. We are … just friends,” Julietta said hesitantly. “I am not even sure we are still friends.” Her voice broke.

  “I am sorry, Julietta,” Luisa said.

  Julietta brushed the tears away. “It’s okay. I want to study and I want to visit Sofia in California. It is better not to be … how do you say? Bound down?” She gave Sofia a quick smile.

  “Tied down,” Sofia said. “That’s good because I want you to come and stay with me. Perhaps, you’ll even find an American boyfriend.”

  “Oh, per favore,” Luisa said with a groan. “Not you, too.” Then she chuckled.

  “Well, Papa was a good man,” Julietta protested.

  “This is true,” Luisa said. “But being involved with someone from another country can be a lot of problems.” Then she smiled. “You did the right thing, Julietta, to go outside and call us. I am glad you did. And Marco, perhaps it is better you find out now. Better being sad now than miserable later. He has other interests. He is just a little too old for you.”

  Julietta nodded. “I know, Mamma, but it still hurts. I really thought he loved me.” Her voice trembled.

  “Cara, he does not know what love is yet. Right now, he is more interested in sex than in love.” Luisa glanced at Sofia with a smile. “Your Papa used a funny expression for that. I cannot remember it exactly. Something about planting oats? Do you know what I mean?”

  Nicholas laughed out loud. “You mean he is sowing his wild oats.” Sofia chuckled and even Julietta cracked a smile.

  At home, Nicholas went back to his place and Julietta spent the night in Sofia’s house at the encouragement of her mother. Luisa felt that the company of her sister who was closer to her in age would be able to help her deal with her first heartbreak. Julietta and Sofia sat at the table in the kitchen, drinking a cup of herbal tea Sofia had prepared. Now, at home, where it was quiet and peaceful after the evening’s upheaval, Julietta was able to give in to her disappointment and hurt. Angry at first, she screamed a few juicy expletives at her cheater of a boyfriend, then put down her head on her arms.

  “I cannot believe he would be so mean, all of a sudden,” she said, looking up again. “We had such a good time together. He told me how much he admired me. He said I was beautiful. He invites me to a party and then goes off with another girl and …” Julietta sobbed. “How could he do this to me?”

  Sofia let her express all the anger and sadness without saying
much. She just patted her back. Having had her share of heartbreaks, she could readily identify with her sister’s feelings. She suspected that Julietta had probably read more into Marco’s compliments and his flirting than he meant to convey. She was in love with him and any positive remarks on his part had probably been overblown in her mind. But that didn’t make Julietta’s pain any easier to bear.

  “Did he give you the feeling you were his girlfriend. Did he say he loved you or something like this? Did he come on to you?”

  Julietta hesitated. “No, not directly, but we were hanging out together after class. And he said nice things to me. And he kissed me.”

  Sofia hugged her. “You know, I think he was flirting with you but perhaps he didn’t mean it as seriously as you took it.”

  “Maybe. But he didn’t need to invite me to a party and then … make out with another woman. That stupid Mona. I hate her.” The tears were back.

  “I agree. It wasn’t right to lead you on if he wasn’t serious. But you know, Julietta, you are a beautiful girl and smart and a wonderful person. You deserve someone who respects and loves you and not someone who has other girls on the side.”

  Julietta nodded and gave a weak smile, but Sofia knew it would take a while for her sister to get over her first broken heart. After turning in for the night, Sofia read for a while, then checked on Julietta, who to her great relief was asleep.

  Chapter 29

  It was a pleasantly cool and quiet September Sunday morning. After seeing that Julietta was still asleep, Sofia went downstairs, put water in the espresso pot, and waited for it to bubble. She poured herself a cup, stepped outside barefoot and was surprised at how cold the stone floor was. Fall was approaching and with it the harvest of the red grapes. Sofia was looking forward to the activity in the fields.

  Standing at the door to the patio, she gazed at the fields of grapevines, full of plump, ripe fruit. She inhaled the pungent sweetness of the early fall, the scent of sage and the Tuscan roses in the garden.