Page 5 of Their UnBearable Destiny

“Because my brother gave me the duty. I have missed Santa Biago. I lived here for the first eighteen years of my life. If Ana doesn’t want to see me beyond my official responsibilities, I will do my best to honor that. At the very least, I can hope to avoid her claws and teeth while I’m here.”

Uberto was going to blame it on the long flight, or maybe the winding road leading up into the valley, but his temper was already at the breaking point. “Will the meeting be held here or-”

“The meeting,” the older man scoffed, “will be held in the Damiano Bakery.”

Uberto held himself back from asking why they would interrupt business in the bakery for the better part of the day. If he asked, he was sure that Alfonse would find some reason to mock the question. It was easier to find his answers elsewhere. “Grazie, Alfonse. I will see you there in two days.”

As he left the older man’s house, he couldn’t help but think that Alfonse was only too happy to see him leave.

It hadn’t always been like this. When he was a child, the Bruno and Orsino families were very close to each other. Davide, the eldest child in Emiliana’s family had been Uberto’s closest friend. As toddlers they were inseparable for much of their time and rough-housing scamps when they thought they could get away with it. And when Emiliana was old enough to play with them, Uberto’s life was turned upside down. Uberto’s parents and Davide’s both insisted that they allow her to play with them.

The boys had been afraid that their games would have to change, that they would have to remain inside or perhaps even be forced to play with dolls, but Emiliana had been a surprise to them both. She loved to play in the dirt and under the bushes looking for berries, but instead of their pants and well-worn shirts, Emiliana wore her dresses and her hair was always pulling loose from her braids.

And as they grew, her dresses seemed to be just another part of their play time. She was just one of his friends and when he and Davide wore holes in the knees of their pants it was the hems of her dresses that suffered.

Uberto never wanted anything to change from that moment on, but life has a way of changing things in moments. And with each of those moments, there was a new obstacle to returning to those days when things were as simple as having a friend and choosing to spend time with them.

Shaking his head clear of the cobwebs, Uberto got into this car and started the engine. It would be a long drive to the Orsino house and he wanted to get there before dark. He was tired and hungry and the prospect of the next morning was looking more and more like the impending doom of a firing squad. He could only hope that there was a quiet evening awaiting him.

#

When Emiliana pushed open the kitchen door she saw her sister hard at work in the kitchen and inhaled the sweet, heavenly scent of a sauce flavored with basil and oregano. Just the indrawn scent of it worked quite a bit of stress from her shoulders. “Please tell me that’s all for me.”

“You know better than to ask that,” Felisa easily defended the largesse of her cutting board from her sister’s hand, “it can’t all be for you.”

“Yes,” Emiliana waited for her sister to turn and reach for the wooden spoon resting on the edge of the pot before she filched a few pieces of cheese and retreated back to the edge of the counter, “it can.”

She knew her sister heard the laughter in her voice. She saw the look of suspicion on her face when she turned around. “What did you- oh! Emiliana!”

Shrugging, she placed a whole sliver of cheese on her tongue and closed her mouth on a moan. “So good.”

Felisa’s sigh was filled with love. “Now that you’ve ignored the rules of my kitchen are you going to tell me what has you so upset?”

“Upset?” She knew there was no sense in trying to fool her sister. Felisa knew her moods better than she did. “Uberto is here.” She saw a whole myriad of expressions play across her sister’s features, as if Felisa was having a conversation all on her own. “Well?”

“You saw him?”

“You know I did,” she wished she could hold back the hard edge in her voice, but she was nearly shaking with anger as it was. “Ten years he’s gone. Ten long years and he walks into town like it’s his!”

Her sister’s mouth opened and closed when Emiliana narrowed her gaze at her.

“The town belongs to the people, Isa. Salvatore has always said so.”

“And because Uberto is one of ‘the people,’ Emiliana, the town does belong to him, too.” She began to slowly stir the pot before her on the old stove. “And as for the ten years, I do seem to remember you, on many occasions, telling me that if he never came back to Santa Biago it would be too soon.”

The last bit of cheese in her mouth felt like a lump in her throat. “That’s cruel, Isa.”

“Cruel?” Her younger sister’s laugh had never irritated her so much. “Why would you say that?”

“You’re using my words against me.” Emiliana tugged a stool out from under the kitchen island and found that her pencil skirt was probably not the right choice for that particular kind of seat. With a huff she pushed the chair back into place. “You’re supposed to be my sister.”

“I am your sister.” Felisa tapped the spoon on the side of the pot and set it down before she reached for a pot holder and the oven door. “Don’t forget that I was the one you came to after your… conversation with Uberto back then, before he left.”

“I said what I said because I meant it.” Emiliana felt a pang of regret deep in her chest. She was the one bringing up the old drama. And yet, she knew by the raw emotions rolling through her that the old drama was still very much the now drama. “I don’t know how I’m going to be able to keep calm with him around.”

Felisa turned the pans around and then closed the oven door before moving toward the refrigerator.

“Well?”

---