Page 2 of Nick

I definitely heard her chuckle,I confirmed. “Are we ready to leave?”

“I am,” Matt said with a smile.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Are you saying I can’t smile?”

Opal laughed out loud. I looked at her and smiled. I couldn’t help it; I knew she was trying not to laugh again. We walked out to my vehicle, and the two of us got into my car. I drove us over to my ex-in-laws as Matt followed behind.

“I’m going to see if I can come inside with you. Will you ask them for me?” I asked, getting out of the car with Opal.

“Yes, stay beside me. I’ll make sure you get to come in. She is your daughter, after all.”

I rang the doorbell, and Al answered the door. He frowned when he saw me, and then his eyes went to a smiling Opal. “Hello, my name is Opal Martin. I am Mr. Lombardi’s lawyer, but I’m not here as a lawyer. I’m here to have a conversation with you and your wife. May we come inside?”

I watched as a speechless Al stepped aside, and we walked inside their home. Who could blame him? When Maureen O’Hara asked to come inside, you let her in. That’s who she reminded me of, especially with that tight skirt and those heels. We followed him to the family room, where Loraine was watching television. She turned it off when she saw us and gave Al a look that saidwait until I get you alone. “Why don’t we all sit down?” Opal suggested, taking a seat on the sofa.

She patted the spot next to her, and I sat down.She smells so good. Get your mind on the matter at hand, Nick.

“You remind me of someone,” Loraine said, looking at Opal.

“I always get that. I have one of those faces. Like I told your husband, my name is Opal Martin. I’m Mr. Lombardi’s lawyer, but I’m not here in that capacity as such; I’m here to talk to you and your husband. I’ve been pondering your problem. Nick tells me you don’t have any other family here. Believe me when I tell you I know about family. I am very close to mine. I have three sisters and a seventeen-year-old son.” She paused and smiled at them as if she was reminiscing. “We all lived with my grandfather until recently. He lives in this massive Victorian home, and he wanted all of us to live together. Plus, I didn’t want to live away from my family. And boy will things change—whether we want them to or not. Don’t you find that to be true?”

“Yes, so many things have changed. First, our daughter got caught up in drugs… We all tried to help her, you know. We all did. I’m her mother; I did everything I could. Everything… Even after Nick and Susan were divorced, Nick tried helping her. He stayed here in Italy even though he was American. He didn’t want to take Julia away from us. He’s very kind, and we were so upset that he was no longer our son-in-law. But then our daughter took an overdose and died. Now Nick is moving back to America, and our only family is being taken away from us. My heart is broken and I don’t know if I can bear it. I can’t lose another daughter… Well, my granddaughter. I can’t lose my granddaughter.” She seemed to venture off deep in thoughts and none of us said a word. I could tell she was hurting. A wave of silence fell up on the room that seemed to last too long. “What started the changes in your family?” she asked suddenly.

It startled me.

I could tell Opal didn’t expect a question. She didn’t know Loraine. Before Opal was out of here, Loraine would know her entire life if she wasn’t careful.

“My sister, Amber, married the man she loved, and then Ruby got married after. That’s another of my sisters. My sister, Jade, moved to Montana and married a rancher. It left just me, Grandpa, Samuel, and his new wife. I decided it was time I let Jane take over the running of the house—even though grandpa still runs it. So I bought a house for my son and me. He’ll be off to college soon, and I’ll miss him like crazy. It makes me want to cry thinking about him going away. But he will be a man one day and has to make his own way in this world.”

“Tell me about Samuel?”

Opal smiled. “He raised us. We found our father a few years back, so I have many family members around me. This is what I think you should do…” Opal changed the subject, and I smiled. I couldn’t help it. “If you want to live near your granddaughter, you must move. Sell your house and move to America. That way, you will be there for Julia when Nick has to go away on a job.”

When she said my name, I turned and looked at her. The sound of my name on her lips gave me goosebumps. I shifted and waited for Loraine to say something.

“You are right,” she began with tears-filled eyes. “Al, that’s the solution. We are going to sell and move to America. I didn’t think Nick would want us following them to America but this is the perfect idea.” Loraine shifted herself in her seat and turned to look at Opal. “Can you start looking for a home for us when you get back?” I was sure it threw Opal off that my ex-mother-in-law would ask her to find them a home in America but was shocked when her face beamed instead of anything else.

“I will. This is my last job as a lawyer—”

“I thought you said you weren’t here as a lawyer,” Loraine teased.

The two of them laughed.

“I promise I’m not.”

“So what will you do for work? You look far too young to be retiring.”

“Not ready for retirement yet at all. I’m actually opening a bread shop on the pier; something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. So, tell me: Do you want to be on the water, or would you rather be a couple of streets over, and you can walk to my bread shop?” Opal asked with a wink.

“Oh, that sounds like fun. I think a few streets over, and then we can start walking for our health. I will share my grandmother’s bread recipe with you when we get there. I’m going to start packing right away. I can’t wait for this new adventure,” she said, clapping her hands. “Nick, darling, get Julia and tell her what’s going on. You’ll have to pack her room up because we are selling this house immediately. Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have some boxes here.”

“All she needs is a suitcase full. The rest you can give to charity. I don’t want to take a bunch of things with me. I still have my stuff to pack. I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll start looking for a home near mine just in case you decide you don’t have to be so near to Opal here.” Everyone laughed at that. “Thank you for taking the decision to move near us, Loraine. I’m sure Julia will be so happy… And so will—”

“Daddy, you’re here. I missed you,” Julia squealed as she jumped into my arms. I tickled and kissed her all over her face, making her giggle.

“I missed you too. I have some excellent news for you.”

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