Page 210 of La Dolce Vita

She picked up the sheets and blankets. She spread them out across the bed. Then she joined him. He turned into her and pressed his face between her breasts. She held him close. "I know what you want. I can feel it, Carlo. The way your heart beats faster, your dick gets harder. You want me."

"Sleep. All I want is sleep," he said.

"For now," she whispered and kissed the top of his head.

***

"Do you have to go? You just got here. If it's about what I told you, then I'm sorry—”

"No Minnie. It's not you. Giovanni has business, and we have to get back home. I wish we could have stayed the full week," Mirabella said. She hugged Minnie close to her heart. She was so grateful to her for everything. But somehow she couldn't formulate the words to express it. To learn a truth as deeply buried as her mother's parentage rocked the foundation of her world. Nothing in her family was as she believed it to be. It would take months, maybe years to reconcile her emotions over it.

“Mia, there’s something you should know. I got a call from Andrea this morning.”

Mirabella frowned at Minnie’s whispered tone. “Cutter is dead.”

“What? Dead?” Mirabella gasped.

“Yes. They found him this morning. Andrea said he was in Pennsylvania. She doesn’t know what happened to him. I’m sorry honey. I thought you should know.”

Mirabella glanced over to Giovanni who laughed with Clyde. Her husband looked his usual, normal self. “Thank you for telling me.”

"Please promise you will come back? Those babies need to know their family. We need to heal as a family." Minnie let her go. She turned to Marietta and hugged and kissed her. Mirabella shifted her attention to Minnie's youngest daughter. The oldest was barely twenty-two, and the youngest was sixteen.

"How about you come to Italy? Would you like that? Come to Italy?" Mirabella asked.

The girls looked at each other with surprise and then back to her. They nodded that they would like to visit. But both of them seemed hesitant to believe the offer.

"I'll make sure it happens. Soon," Mirabella assured them.

Marietta wept.

Mirabella glanced over to her left and saw Marietta clung to Minnie as she cried. It was never hard for Marietta to express her emotions. She wore them as merit badges on her chest for the world to see. Mirabella put her hand to her sister’s back to soothe her.

"Thank you, Minnie. For everything."

"You have the photo albums?" Minnie asked when she let go of Marietta. "You have what I gave you?"

"Yeah, I have them," Marietta said.

"Well, then you have all the answers you need. I'm going to go up in that attic again. If I find anything more, I will send it to you. Anything of your mothers," Minnie promised.

"I would appreciate that," Marietta said.

Giovanni nodded at Clyde. The men didn't speak of the events from the night prior, but Giovanni was conflicted.

“Got a call this morning. Cutter’s dead.”

Giovanni arched a brow. “Dead? How?”

“Don’t know. Somewhere in Pennsylvania. He dealt with some nasty men. Guess it caught up to him.”

“Well it sometimes does,” Giovanni said.

"I want you to know that we never meant to hurt Mia. She's our blood. We protected that secret to protect her. I look after this land because I know it’a here to heal her. And Marietta. I think that happened this time. Take care of our Mia. And bring her to back to us."

"I'm glad to have met you, Clyde.A presto!" Giovanni extended his hand out of his window. Clyde shook it.

"Travel safe," Clyde said. "Goodbye, Lorenzo."

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