Page 64 of Under Her Skin
“Hear, hear,” said a voice behind them. Arturo and Hero turned to see two middle-aged people walking towards them. The womansmiled.
“Hello, Hero,dear.”
“Gillian … Roger …” Hero’s voice quivered, and for a second, everyone froze. Then with a sob, the two women threw themselves into each other’s arms and hugged as if their life depended on it. The man, his eyes red, stepped forward and shook Arturo’s hand. “You must be Arturo … we’ve heard a lot of good things about you,son.”
Arturo smiled at him. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir, and your wife. I wish I had met yourson.”
Roger Lambert nodded, his emotions close to the surface as he took his turn to hug his former daughter-in-law. “Hero, darling. We were so sorry to hear about the terrible goings on in Italy. Are you fullyrecovered?”
Hero, her face wet with tears which were quickly freezing, nodded. “Thanks toArturo.”
Gillian Lambert was kissing Arturo’s cheek. “You saved ourgirl.”
“She savedme,” Arturo said again, gently, “in so manyways.”
Hero tucked her arm back in his. “He’s too modest. How are youboth?”
They chatted politely for a few minutes then Roger rubbed his gloveless hands. “What say we go somewhere warmer and talk? No disrespect to Tommy and the Munchkin, but my butt is an icicle at thispoint.”
Settled in a warm hotel bar,Hero smiled. “Beth loved you so much, Grandpa. I bet she still hangs out with you, whatever plane she’son.”
Gillian nodded. “We still see her running around, messing with the dogs, and chasing butterflies. Beth was the spitting image of her mommy,” she told Arturo. “You’ll see when you havedaughters.”
Arturo and Hero shared a smile. “Hopefully, that day will come soon,” Arturo said, “when it does, we’d love it if you would … be de-facto grandparents again. If it’s not toopainful.”
Roger actually looked as if he might cry. Gilliandidcry. “That would be heavenly,” she said, her voice breaking. “We miss Beth somuch.”
Arturo was moved. “You don’t know how much I wish she could be here, Tom too, but without presuming, I would love for you to be involved in our family. Hero adores you both, is always talking about you, and it made me a little envious when she talked about her family back home. My parents are both dead, and I’m an onlychild.”
Gillian squeezed his hand. “We’ll always be family now,Turo.”
Roger was checking his watch. Hero nudged him. “Do you have to besomewhere?”
“Oh, no,” he said, coloring a little, and Hero narrowed her eyes athim.
“What are you up to? I know that look,Roger.”
“Nothing,nothing.”
Hero left it alone but was aware of Roger, Gillian, and even Arturo glancing at the door to the bar now and again. Something was going on, and when, a half hour later, her own father walked through the door, she was shocked. “Dad? What are you doinghere?”
William Donati greeted Tom’s parents and Arturo, before turning to his daughter. “Turo, Deirdre’s out in the car with … the surprise. Wouldyou?”
“Ofcourse.”
Arturo shot a grin at Hero, who was stillagape.
“What’s going on? I feel like I’m being ambushed bysomething.”
William put his arm around his daughter. “Sweetheart … for a couple of months, Melly has been looking into something. She had the idea at your wedding—thethirdone,” he laughed as Hero grinned, still wary. “And we’ve been talking about it, wondering if you would want this particular … surprise. I talked to Arturo and he agreed now is thetime.”
Arturo came in then with Deirdre and another woman, smaller than Deirdre, darker skinned, her long dark hair pulled up in an elegant chignon, her heavily padded jacket over a beautiful green sari. The resemblance between Hero and this woman was undeniable, and Hero felt a shock run through her. She looked at Arturo, then Deirdre, her father, the Lamberts before her gaze returned to thewoman.
The woman stepped forward, her eyes never leaving Hero’s face. “Hello, Hero,” she said, her Indian accent obvious. “I’m Priya. I’myour…”
“Mother …” Hero finished. Her mother. Her biologicalmother.
Priya hesitated before putting her hands on Hero’s arms. “Yes. I am so happy to meet you atlast.”
