Page 10 of Blood and Penance
My gaze slides back to him. “Yes, Father Giraldi?”
“Do you need me to take over?” he asks with concern in his eyes. “If it is too much for you to continue, I can take your place.”
For a moment, I’m confused at his question, then I realize where I am and what I’m doing. I take a deep breath.
“No, Father Giraldi. I can continue.”
My eyes went back to where the woman is standing, but she’s no longer there.
It has to be my imagination.
I clear my throat. “I’m sorry. Let’s continue.”
My father glares at me, but I ignore him. Hopefully, he doesn’t see who I think I saw. I pray I don’t see her either.
“With faith and hope in eternal life, let us assist Anna with our prayers,” I continue even though my mind is no longer where it should be, but on the woman, I gave up years ago. “Let us also pray to the Lord for ourselves. May we who mourn be reunited one day with our sister Anna. Together may we meet our Lord when He who is our life appears in glory. Let us pray.”
For the rest of the service, I perform my duties like I’m on autopilot. While my mind should be on burying my mother, it’s not. Even though I know the scripture by heart, I open my Bible and recite it. I bless the burial site, commit my mother’s body to her final resting place, then do a final prayer for her. We all saythe Lord’s Prayer, then I offer a final blessing before dismissing everyone.
As the congregants leave, I look out over the crowd one last time, hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman I haven’t seen in over six years. If that had been her, what is she doing here? Why would she come back now?
Finally, my eyes land on a figure entering the backseat of a dark blue sedan. Someone closes the door behind her. The window is lowered only a few inches while she leans over to talk to someone I can’t see from where I’m standing. When she looks out the window, the breath is knocked out of me. She’s no longer wearing sunglasses when her eyes meet mine. She’s still that same beautiful woman I fell in love with all those years ago, but her eyes hold so much sadness.
A hand lands on my shoulder, and my trance is broken. “Gianni?”
I look at Father Giraldi who’s staring at me with concern. But I look back toward the woman, but the window is raised now, and the car is driving away.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Did you see that woman?” I ask, looking at him. “The one in the car that just pulled away?”
“I'm sorry. I did not.”
I let out of breath, trying to calm my nerves.
“Was it her?” he asks.
All I can do is nod. So many emotions are swirling inside me at this moment, and I don’t know what to do. Phoenix is back. Why is she back?
“Come,” Father Giraldi says, guiding me toward one of the cars away from the cemetery. “We must talk and prepare you for what comes next.”
Even though I have no idea what he means, I follow him as my mind still reels at the fact that the only woman I have ever loved is back in town. What does that mean for me? What does that mean for us?
Chapter Six
Phoenix
“How did it go?” Sera asks when I walk into the foyer of my new home after returning from the funeral of Gianni’s mother.
As soon as I decided to leave Lio, I purchased this house. Of course, it’s not in my name or anyone connected to my family just in case things don’t work out the way I want them to. I don’t want to leave any paper trail that will lead straight to us. I stashed enough money in an offshore bank account that will keep me and Giancarlo safe and with a steady cash flow for years.
Seraphina, or Sera as I like to call her, is my baby sister. She’s been nothing but amazing. Things got rough when Gianni broke things off with me. I spiraled into a deep depression thenI got pissed after I got through my sadness. There has been many times Sera has kept me from doing something stupid and showing my ass. Then when I met Lio and married him, which was just as stupid, she remained by my side.
Now, I know that I’d only been trying to push through the pain and filling the void left by Gianni with someone who didn’t love me. Sera warned me about Lio’s many red flags, but I ignored them. And when shit got rough, she was the first one to help me out. You’d think she’d be the one trying to find her footing in the world, but she’s got her shit together more than me.
“I went to pay my respects. That’s all.”
With a sigh of relief, I kick off my heels, remove my hat, toss it onto the couch, and sit down beside her.
