Hepburn's Necklace

by Jan Moran

  Ruby nodded to Mari. “Now is your chance,” she whispered. A chance for Mari and Ariana to reconcile before Ruby shared the rest of her story—the ending of which not even she had dreamed possible.

  Mari rose and rushed to meet her daughter. Embracing Ariana, Mari’s words tumbled out. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you at your wedding. That was wrong of me. But I’m so proud of you for knowing what you want—and what you don’t.”

  Unprepared for her mother’s uncharacteristic outpouring of support, Ariana’s mouth fell open in disbelief. She returned her mother’s hug with an awkward motion.

  “Join us, Ariana,” Ruby said. “We’ve been having a good talk, haven’t we, Mari?”

  Mari hooked her arm into Ariana’s. “We’ll have lots of time to talk. My job in New York is over, so I can stay for a while.”

  After they sat down, Ruby watched while Mari made an effort to show genuine interest in her daughter. Ariana told her mother about leaving her job at the studio and her plan to open a boutique and create a collection.

  “You always wanted to do that,” Mari said thoughtfully. “Since you’re not a local, will that be difficult here?”

  “Alessandro has been helping me with that.” Ariana’s face bloomed as she told her mother how they’d met and all about Sandro and Carmela.

  Ruby could see Mari struggling to remain open-minded, but to her credit, she didn’t offer her opinion. She listened, and that was all that Ariana had ever wanted. Ruby pressed her hand against her heart. Seeing them together here was all that she had longed for, but kismet was proving more generous that she’d imagined.

  “Alessandro sounds like an interesting man,” Mari said, smiling.

  Ariana’s eyes sparkled. “I’m so relieved that you think so because last night after the play, he asked me to marry him. And I said I would. But maybe not until after the—” Ariana cut herself off. When Ruby nodded for her to continue, Ariana said, “Mom, I’m pregnant. By Phillip, but he’s not interested in being a father.”

  Ruby saw Mari bite back a comment, so she placed her hand on Mari’s shoulder. “Alessandro is a fine man.”

  “And he’s Niccolò’s nephew,” Ariana added, darting a glance at Ruby. “That’s a huge coincidence.” She turned to her mother. “Mom, did you know Aunt Ruby had been married a long time ago? And he’s here.”

  Mari frowned, and then she swung around to face Ruby. “Niccolò. My birth father?”

  “That’s right,” Ruby replied. “As it just turned out, he wasn’t dead.”

  Ariana’s mouth fell open. “Wait a minute. Aunt Ruby, your husband is Mom’s dad?”

  Ruby took each of them by the hand to fill in the missing parts of the story. After she had finished, both women stared at her in awe.

  “I can’t imagine what you went through,” Mari said. Tears now filled Mari’s eyes, and she hugged Ruby. “We’ve all been given a second chance.” Clutching Ariana’s hand, Mari added, “And now, I want to help my daughter with her baby, just as my mother—” She paused and smiled at Ruby. “As both my mothers did for me.”

  Ruby’s eyes also brimmed with tears of happiness. “I’m happy for you, Mari, that you will have the chance to do that. At this stage in my life, I can tell you that nothing replaces family. It’s been my fervent desire to mend the rifts in this family and set the record straight before I pass on.”

  Ariana threw her arms around Ruby. “Don’t be silly. You’re not going anywhere for a long, long time. We need you, Auntie. Now, if you’re my grandmother, I can’t call you Aunt Ruby anymore, can I?”

  Ruby kissed Ariana’s cheek. “Why change now? We know who we are.”

  Clasping Ruby’s and Ariana’s hands, Mari said, “I want to be a better grandmother than I was a mother. It was tough for me to juggle being a single parent and working in a demanding job. That combination didn’t bring out the best in me, and I know I was often insensitive, short-tempered, and distracted. Only when I lost the job I valued the most, did I realize what I should have valued all along.”

  Ruby’s heart burst with love for Mari. She’d prayed that her daughter would realize the shortcomings of her lifestyle before it was too late. “I’m proud of you, Mari. I always have been, but even more right now.”

  Ruby had longed for this reunion, yet she had never dreamed that it might include Niccolò. Until yesterday, she couldn’t have imagined that this revelation would have her introducing Mari to her natural father. With all her heart, Ruby prayed that Niccolò would understand why she had given away their child.

  Her restless mind raced ahead, imagining different scenarios. Would Niccolò be angry or hurt and refuse to see her again? How would that impact Alessandro and Ariana? Though Mari and Ariana had accepted her explanation, Niccolò might not, for she had denied him the child and family life that should have been his.

  With a prayer on her lips, Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. To lose Niccolò once was devastating; to lose him twice was unimaginable.

  Chapter 33

  Lago di Como, 2010

  * * *

  Ruby gazed at herself in the mirror, recalling how she’d looked the first time she’d met Niccolò. Did he still imagine that shapely, exuberant young woman in his mind’s eye, or had she faded into the past? She pulled her shoulders back. Today was all that mattered any more.

  “Aunt Ruby,” Ariana called out, tapping on Ruby’s bedroom door. “Niccolò just arrived for you.”

  “Thank you, darling. I’ll be right down. But please, come in.”

  Ariana stepped inside Ruby’s bedroom.

  “What do you think of this outfit?” Ruby asked.

  Ruby had changed clothes three times, trying to decide the right outfit to wear with Niccolò today. They were taking the ferry to Varenna. Looking at herself in the mirror, she decided the flowing silk blouse splashed with butterflies, along with a pink skirt, would set a happy tone for the day. And yet…

  “It’s lovely on you,” Ariana said. “Are you nervous?”

  Ruby smiled. “A little. It’s been a long time.”

  When Niccolò had called at noon yesterday, she’d been with Mari and Ariana, so she suggested they meet today. Seeing Mari had been such a surprise. Though the reunion had exceeded her expectations, she could manage only one emotional upheaval per day at her age.

  Besides that, Ruby needed to talk to Niccolò alone. Depending on how he received her news, this might be the last time she would ever see him.

  Ruby sat at her vanity and opened a jewelry box. She held up two sets of earrings. “Pearls or rubies? Pearls light the face, but rubies…”

  “Definitely the rubies. And don’t worry. You look very nice.” Ariana hesitated. “Were you and Niccolò very much in love?”

  “Oh, yes. From the first moment we met. Like you and Alessandro.” Ruby smiled as she recalled the day. With trembling fingers, she swept her hair back, and then clipped on the ruby earrings.

  “And are you still in love with him?” Ariana asked.

  Ruby frowned at the question. “It’s complicated. I still love the memory of him.” She glanced at her perfume bottles, trying to decide which one, if any, she should use.

  Ariana perched on a brocade bench at the end of Ruby’s bed. “Yesterday, you said you’d explain more. Tell me about when you and Niccolò met and married.”

  “We met when I was in Rome filming Roman Holiday,” Ruby said, recalling the first time Niccolò had approached her on the Spanish Steps. “We married on holiday in Varenna, just across the lake. At that little church. You can see the bell tower from the window.” Ruby chose a violet perfume made in Parma that she’d worn that summer in Rome. Niccolò had given it to her—not this bottle, of course—but one like it.

  Ariana stood to look outside at the tower across the lake. “So, how long were you married?”

  “We were only together in the summer of 1952.”

  Ariana’s eyes widened. “If you thought he was dead, does that mean you’re stil
l married?”

  “Yes, I believe that’s how it works.”

  “Oh, wow.” Ariana twisted her hair as she spoke. “But why did you separate?”

  “Sadly, it wasn’t by our choice,” Ruby said. “I had an aunt, Vivienne, who was my mother’s sister. She was duplicitous, and she came between us.”

  “Why would she do that to you?”

  Ruby sighed. “I suppose it was jealousy and just plain meanness. Unfortunately, Niccolò and I didn’t know it at the time. We were so young that we believed what people we trusted told us. We just pieced together what happened.”

  “That’s shocking,” Ariana said, fussing with her curly hair.

  “While I was waiting for him in Hollywood, we exchanged letters,” Ruby said, dabbing perfume on her wrists. “But those were intercepted.”

  Ruby recalled how Vivienne would offer to mail her letters. The apartment building had locking mailboxes, and her aunt kept the only key. “When Niccolò came to Los Angeles, Aunt Vivienne told him I was no longer interested in him. Now we believe she stole our letters. I was shooting a film at the time, so I had no idea.”

  As she spoke, Ruby tried to clasp a necklace, but her fingers were trembling. “I must wear this today. Can you help me?”

  Ariana crossed to the vanity and fastened the silver necklace with ease. She gazed at Ruby in the mirror. “This looks old. Did Niccolò give you this pendant?”

  “No, but it has great meaning to me,” Ruby said. “Audrey Hepburn gave it to me one day on the film set. A little while later, Niccolò and I were married with it.” She nestled the cherished pendant in the neckline of her blouse. “We married on a whim. You see, it’s half of a heart, and he kept the other half.”

  Ariana placed her hands over Ruby’s shoulders. “Have you always loved him?”

  Ruby touched Ariana’s hand. “Yes, I have. Niccolò is a good man. And so is his nephew, I think.”

  “I can hardly believe Alessandro and Niccolò are related,” Ariana said.

  Ruby smiled. “That’s some sort of divine destiny, I think. Would you bring me the taupe flats from my closet?”

  “Sure.” Ariana disappeared into the closet before returning with a pair of shoes. “What do you think you’ll do about Niccolò now?”

  Ruby slid her feet into the comfortable flats and stood. She had never imagined that Niccolò might reappear. When she was younger, she’d handled his absence by working incessantly and occupying her mind. And now, here he was. Yet how he would receive the news about Mari remained to be seen. “We’ll wait and see. Now, I shouldn’t keep Niccolò waiting any longer.”

  Niccolò greeted her with a bouquet of white roses that Livia put in a vase and promised to put in her bedroom. In the light of day, Ruby thought he looked even more handsome. After Niccolò and Ariana chatted for a few minutes, Niccolò suggested that he and Ruby catch the next ferry to Varenna, just as they had years ago. Ariana saw them off, and Ruby could tell that she was thrilled for her. Ruby kissed her on the cheeks as they left.

  As they stepped onto the ferry boat, Niccolò grinned. “We did this on our wedding day. Do you recall?”

  “I haven’t forgotten a thing. Even that pot of red geraniums on the stage the other night. At the Palazzo Colonna, you plucked a flower and tucked it behind your ear.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Only you knew the story behind that.”

  Ruby leaned against the ferry railing next to Niccolò, enjoying the crisp lake breeze on her sun-warmed face. The past and present were fitting together like parts of a lost puzzle. They held hands, with Ruby’s slender fingers resting in Niccolò’s large, weathered hand that felt so secure, yet still sent thrills through her. More than anything, she’d missed having a deep connection with him.

  As they drew closer to Varenna, the stone bell tower of Chiesa di San Giorgio came into view, and Niccolò kissed her forehead. Lightly, with respect.

  “I remember that perfume you’re wearing,” he said. “It’s Violetta di Parma.”

  Ruby smiled, touched that he’d recalled that small detail. “You gave me a little bottle in Rome.” They made their way to the line of people queued to get off in Varenna.

  “Do you remember walking this way?” Niccolò asked as they disembarked.

  Ruby rested her hand on his proffered hand and stepped off the boat, her white silk skirt printed with butterflies fluttering in the breeze. “I fixed every detail in my mind. I even found the café in Bellagio where we had our wedding dinner. It’s still operating.”

  Niccolò’s brow shot up. “Do you know Lorenzo Pagani?”

  “Why, yes,” Ruby said, surprised that Niccolò knew him, too. “I saw the flyer for your show in the window there. And Ariana just leased the space next door for a boutique.”

  “You see, we were destined to meet again,” Niccolò said, placing a hand over his heart. “And Alessandro is very much in love with Ariana. While they haven’t known each other very long, sometimes you just know it’s right.”

  Ruby smiled up at him. “We were proof of that. If we’d remained together, do you think we would have lasted?”

  “Let’s say yes.” Niccolò’s eyes still twinkled with laughter, and his voice had aged to a golden baritone. “If I met you today for the first time, I’d still fall in love with you.”

  “I think I might, too,” she said softly. She tucked her arm in the crook of his elbow, and they set off on cobblestone streets toward the church.

  As they walked, the years fell away. Time had been kind to him. Sunshine glinted off his silver hair, and the lines in his face were products of happiness rather than worry. They wound slowly through the streets, bringing each other up to date on their lives. Niccolò congratulated her on her films and career, and she asked him about his family.

  “My parents, of course, have long been gone.” Niccolò shook his head. “I will never forget that night we told them we were married. How many times I have replayed that in mind, wishing we had never told them and fled for America instead.”

  “That wouldn’t have been the right thing to do, either,” Ruby said. As they talked about it, the distance of time blurred the hurtful edges, and Ruby understood his parents’ fear of losing their eldest son.

  “Have you lived a happy life?” she asked, wanting to know more about the man who walked beside her now.

  “Not as happy as it would have been with you,” Niccolò replied. “I feared you’d quickly outgrown me. I watched you from afar and wondered what I could offer you after you’d grown accustomed to meeting princes and dignitaries.”

  “I hope you grew out of that,” Ruby said, reaching for his hand.

  Niccolò nodded. “While that boy of eighteen is still within me, the wiser man now prevails. He knows that true love has no valuation, no measurement, no comparison. There is only love.” He brought her hand to his and kissed it.

  Niccolò told her more about what he had done with his life, from caring for the vineyards to nurturing young actors, writers, and directors in his theatre program. “My life is rich and rewarding, but there is still room for you.”

  Ruby squeezed his hand. The spirited, youthful man Ruby had known was still there, though now she appreciated his wisdom and maturity even more. While she listened to Niccolò speak, Ruby’s heart grew with a new, more profound love.

  They climbed the broad stone steps where moss and daisies had encroached, stopping in front of the old gray stone church’s wooden door, which was open. The stone tower with a belfry and a clock marking time rose above them. Niccolò lifted a chain that he wore around his neck. “Remember this?”

  “The other half of my heart,” Ruby said, struck by the simple pendant.

  “And you’re still wearing yours, too.” With glistening eyes, Niccolò kissed her softly. “Shall we go inside?”

  Ruby slipped her hand into his, and they stepped inside the 14th-century basilica, blinking to adjust to the dimmer light. The sweet aroma of incense hung in the
air, suffusing the atmosphere with the same scent Ruby recalled from years ago.

  “It’s just as I remember.” Ruby admired the black marble underfoot and the rose stained-glass window high above that cast a kaleidoscope of colors into the church. The baroque altar and the polyptych of Saint George remained, as did other important frescoes. Above the nave and aisles rose circular bricked columns and high arches, which brought lightness to the dark interior.

  “I appreciate this so much more now,” Niccolò said. “Sometimes on summer evenings, orchestras play outside, and people sit under the stars to listen. I’d love to do that with you.”

  Ruby nodded. “Have you been back here since our wedding day?”

  “Many times,” Niccolò replied, his voice suddenly husky. “On our anniversary. Which is coming up soon, if you recall.”

  “How could I ever forget that day in August?” She’d had a ritual of her own over the years, but she’d love to come here on their anniversary. After that, they could go to Lorenzo’s café, just as they had on that magical day. As long as Niccolò could understand her dilemma of all those years ago.

  “Maybe this year we could renew our vows,” Niccolò suggested with more than a hint of hope in his voice.

  “Perhaps we will.” Ruby looked up into his earnest eyes, and her heart quickened. This was the man she had pledged herself to so long ago. Though many years had passed and they’d both lived full lives in the interim, their spark of love had not dimmed. Ruby was as attracted to him as she had ever been. She prayed that he would still want her after what she had to tell him.

  “Would you like to go back to the villa where we stayed?” Niccolò asked.

  “You still have access to it?” Ruby was surprised that he would after all this time.

  “One of my cousins lives in it now with her family. I rang her and asked if we could visit. She’s going to be out, but she promised to leave the key for us.”