Bella Notte (24 page)

The meal was short
compared to my birthday meal and it wasn't very tasty. Everything was
overcooked. Amelie did have a nice selection for dessert.
I
wonder how old she is? I must ask Dominic.

“
Psst. Dom,”
I whispered at his ear.

He turned straight
into my face due to my lack of quick reflexes. He kissed my cheek to
cover my mistake. “Psst, yes,
mia
bella
.”
I greatly enjoyed being called 'his beauty'.

“
How old is
she?” I wanted to know if I was a late bloomer or something.

“
She is a bit
late for this change. She is nineteen. Do not worry, it generally
happens after the eighteenth birthday- your time is coming. With men
it happens earlier. With me- it happened early.” He smiled.

I ate to be polite
but I really wanted something tasty. It didn't have to be fancy- just
edible.

“
We'll eat
after this- I promise. Would you prefer at home or on the way?”
I guessed he noticed me moving even the dessert around my plate with
my fork.

“
I don't care.
I am so hungry, I could eat a cow,” I said just above a
whisper- someone giggled by me. I turned to look to find a little old
woman. She smiled at me and winked.

“
Don't worry,
dearie, this ain't bangers and mash, but it ain't something better.”
Her words were covered in a thick English accent. It was unrefined. I
loved it.

“
I don't
believe I have had the pleasure of meeting you.” I extended my
hand. “I am Emma Hutchinson.”

“
Aye that ya
are. I've been 'round fer quite some time. You, my dearie, are a far
fetching bit of gossip. Tis sad when so many want what ya don't even
know ya 'ave. Course, t'aint yer fault enuff of that stupid family
with der silly traditions. And look at ya, so lost amongst dis
nonsense.” She motioned with her hand. She looked like a crazy
woman dressed up. I loved it. Her dress was long and layered- it was
odd to say the least, but it suited her. Her hair was a mess and
pinned up on her head. It was a mixed color of grays and blacks. She
was beautiful in my eyes.

Dominic grabbed my
hand in case there would be need for him.

“
I do wish
that they would tell me. But I am not to know. What is your name?”
I asked her directly this time.

“
Oh, me? I'm
nobody of any importance. My name is Bettina Williams, but everyone
calls me 'Batty Betty'.” She winked at me. “I lets them
think it, since dey don't think I understands much these days …
but I know. I know more than most. And I am da one who told them
damned guttersnipes about ya. I am sorry for it now. As yer life will
be changed for it, but not by what has been told.” She smiled a
huge smile and I could see she had few teeth. Those which she did
have were discolored. I began to understand why everyone thought she
was a bit off.

“
So, what's
with the deception? I can easily tell you are intelligent. Why this
charade?” I asked her bluntly in a lower whisper. I watched Dom
lean closer to hear what I said. I also noticed the shock on his face
afterwards as he stared at me.

“
I can see
that I was correct about you, Emma dear. I knew you were a smart one.
I still don't understand why you have not figured out anything, but
perhaps that is intentional. You are right that I let them think me
to be a fool, when in fact I can easily laugh at them for their
foolishness. Thank you for not being fooled. I do think that your
companion is having quite a bit of difficulty right now though. I am
pleased to meet you. Please do call when your change has happened and
I will tell you much more than anyone else.” She winked at me
as she handed me her card. “Aye, that be a bit of mumbo jumbo
magic child.” She rose and left the table.

“
What
happened?” Dominic looked at me incredulously.

“
That woman
easily fooled all the people who thought to think her a fool. I
greatly enjoyed her company. I think I shall ask Grandpa to invite
her to my 'celebration'.” I laughed to myself.

He stared for a
moment as we rose from the table, but did not comment.

We left the evening
after bidding farewell to our hosts and lying terribly by telling
them how wonderful it all was. I wanted to laugh so much.

“
So, Emma,
home or out to eat?” Dominic asked as soon as we got in the
car.

“
What about
everyone else? Are you hungry?” I asked to the others in the
limo.

“
No, darling,
I couldn't touch anything without imagining that horrific meal,”
my mother said with a sneer on her face.

“
Sorry, dear.
Grandma and I are quite tired. We'd like to go home,” Grandpa
said with a frown.

“
Dad, what
about you?” I questioned my father.

“
Oh, honey, I
am not feeling that well.” He looked a little green around the
gills.

I would have asked
Dominic's family but he had taken care of that. Everyone wanted to go
home.

“
Well, that
solves that. Home it is.” I kissed his cheek and leaned my head
down.
Home.
It's funny how easily it comes out of my mouth in reference to where
I am just a guest.

Grandpa sat next to
me. He leaned over and whispered in my ear; “But it could be
your home,” and then leaned away.

How
does
he know what I am thinking? I sighed. Could it be my home? Could I be
so happy there? I was so miserable this morning … could I let
go of my life at home? I just don't know. It needs time.
I shook my head in agreement. Dominic tried to shift to make me more
comfortable, obviously misunderstanding my head movement.

“
Thank you,”
I whispered to him.

He smiled.

When we got home,
our company went to bed. Dominic and I went to change so we could eat
together in the kitchen. The cooks had gone home for the evening, so
we were in charge of feeding ourselves.

I met him in the
kitchen in my sweats. My feet ached from the heels, so the cool tiles
felt nice on my bare skin. He was already pulling things out of the
fridge.

“
So, what are
we making?” I asked as I looked over the ingredients-
artichokes, eggs, a lemon, some parsley, olive oil, dry white wine,
and salt and pepper.

“
We are not
cooking.
I
am cooking for
you
.
I am going to make you artichoke frittata. It is delicious. It is
like an omelette but different. You will enjoy it.” He sounded
absolutely sure of himself.

I sat and watched as
he prepared the artichokes and placed them aside in water and lemon
juice. Then as he beat the eggs and shook random amounts of salt and
pepper into them. He sautéed the artichokes in the oil and
wine. Then he threw in some more spices and then the eggs. It took
only a few minutes but it was amazing to watch. I had never had
someone close to me cook. Watching him cook was fun and exciting.

He cut it in half
when he was sure it was done and had cooled then he served it to me.
It looked a little on the scary side but I wouldn't let that stop me.
I took a fork full and chewed. It tasted great. It was thicker than a
regular omelette, but it seemed that this feature helped the flavor
of the artichokes come through. We ate in silence. I helped to clean
up afterwards through his insistent complaints.

“
You cooked,
I'll clean,” was all I said.

We said good night
and I went to bed. I thought to look for another email from Mike but
I didn't want anything to ruin the peaceful atmosphere that still
clung to me from the kitchen
.
I enjoy being around him sometimes. He brings a peace to me.
I closed my eyes.

I had planned to
spend the next day doing something outdoors, but it was still
pouring. Dominic and I decided to spend another day watching movies.
This time I let him choose something other than monster films. He
chose classics- he explained that these films were the ones that you
watched when you studied media and film. So we watched films from
each of the master directors. The day flew by in this fashion. I
didn't want to go back to my room because I knew I couldn't stop
myself from checking my email- which meant we ended up watching
movies until I fell asleep.

“
Mia
bella
.
Little Emma Bird.”
His
voice filled my head.

I blinked into the
darkened room as I looked up at Dominic. “Eh, it's still dark,
why are you waking me?”

“
I thought you
would like to shower and pack. Tomorrow you leave early and tonight
we have a big party to say
ciao
.”
He smiled at me upside down. It was odd to see his face turned upside
down. I sat up to rectify the situation.

“
Not another
party, Dom. Didn't we have enough of that before?” I pleaded
with him.

“
It is only
us. Well, our families close ones that is. I thought we could all go
to Bella Notte and have a little celebration.” He smiled at me
again. Now it looked right.

“
Wait …
back up … what did you say about
me
leaving tomorrow? What about you?” I asked as my heart seized
in my chest.
Interesting
reaction, Emma.

“
Well, I must
stay here for another week. I must take care of some business. But do
not worry, I will return. You won't even notice I am gone. You will
be back with Mike.” I could see the hurt on his face as he
tried to be reassuring.

“
Mike. Right.
But I will have to face Acacia alone then.” I sighed into my
hands.

“
Who or what
is that?” He snickered at the name.

“
It means
thorn, but she is really nice, I hear. And she is Mike's betrothed
who is now enrolled in my school. Even though she has tested out of
home school. AHHHH!” I let the small scream come out.

“
Feel better?”
He lifted a brow.

“
No, not at
all.” I wanted to cry and never leave here. I heard Grandpa's
words, “but it could be your home,” and I suddenly felt
very torn.

“
Well, do not
dwell. It will go well. You will see. And then he will forget her.
Now go pack and shower.” He sounded so logical and confident,
but I knew it hurt him to say it. I didn't want that pain to be
there, but I got up and listened.

The shower only
helped to loosen my stiff joints from sleeping on the couch. My mind
was still filled with fret as I shoved things into my bags. The first
thing to go in was my laptop.
Maybe
Dom could write me?
I held that hope as I put the electronic deep inside my bag.

Everything was
packed, but two outfits. One for this evening, which was a plain
black skirt and black sweater. The other was my last clean pair of
yoga pants and a t-shirt. I felt sad as I looked around the room for
anything I had left behind. I put all the gifts in the bag last, so I
could see the crystal necklace glowing from inside. I took it out and
put it on.
At
least I can have him near to me. Perhaps he will give me strength
this way?

The rest of the day
passed in a flash. I didn't want time to tick by and so it sped by. I
got dressed and we went to the club. There was nothing special about
the door tonight because it was opened for us.

Abner greeted us and
told Dominic how he had informed people that the club would not be
open tonight. I felt a twinge of guilt for taking away their safe
haven for even one night.
What
would they do now?
Dominic led us to where the booth had been and now a large table was
set up instead, with lots of food. Classical music was playing in the
air.

“
You've done
well, my son,” Dominic's father said.

I smiled. Dominic
noticed and held out a chair for me. All the men followed suit for
their companions of the evening.

It was a wonderful
way to end my perfect trip. Conversations continued the entire time.
Everyone spoke about everything and to everyone.