Page 49 of Three Times You

“Hey, everything all right?”

“Yes, I wanted to get this book. I remembered I had a copy, and I felt like reading it.” She shows her motherThree Bedrooms in Manhattanby Georges Simenon.

“Nice. I liked it when I read it.”

Gin turns to leave, and as she walks away, she thinks to herself, if I don’t tell my mother about this, then who can I tell? As she thinks it though, she answers her own question. You know what she’d say. She’d tell you to start treatment right away. She doesn’t want to lose her daughter any more than you want to lose yours.

Gin suddenly feels a surge of strength, and she turns around with firm conviction. “Ciao, Mamma. Let’s have dinner together sometime soon, okay?”

“Sure.”

Beaming, she leaves the apartment. Gin steps into the elevator, pushes the button, and as the doors slide shut, looks at herself in the mirror. Well, one thing is certain. I’ve improved as an actress. Then she decides to go for a drive around the city, heading nowhere in particular, turning on the radio and singing, doing her best to avoid red lights. When she does have to stop, every now and then, she can feel people looking at her. She looks straight ahead and just sings along to the radio. In the middle of a verse about the meaning of life, she suddenly bursts into tears. Why me, why now of all times? And she feels terribly alone.

Gin lacks the courage to share her pain with anyone else. What she wants right now is to be held, loved, and helped, to have no options, no choices available to her. But maybe that’s what horrifies her more than anything else, the thought that she could change things, make a different decision.But I want Aurora; I want Aurora more than anything else. And then I’m sure that everything will be all right anyway because God can’t…He couldn’t…He wouldn’t…

***

“Gin?”

“Huh?”

And suddenly she’s just woken up. She finds herself staring at Step. He’s standing in front of her, smiling.

“What were you thinking about? You had such a strange look on your face. At first, you were so tense, as if you were in the middle of some terrible argument, and then at last you smiled as if you’d found a solution for everything.” He lovingly strokes her face.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Are you sure that everything’s okay?”

“Yes, everything’s fine.”

“You want to go out tonight?” he asks. “I have an invitation to a party for a new Fox channel.”

“No, thanks, I’m a little tired. I had an exhausting day today. It’s just the new job. I’m not used to it.”

“All right, whatever you say. I’m going to take a shower.”

Gin finishes her fruit juice.I really do need this job at the law firm. Working will keep my mind busy, and most important of all, Dr. Flamini is right: my mind needs to remain calm and sunny for the baby.

Chapter 40

Babi hears Lorenzo enter the apartment. “Hi, I’m home!”

She meets him in the dining room where only one place is set with two covered dishes. She’s wearing a long black dress and carrying a small handbag, with her hair pulled up into an intricate hairdo. Babi notices her husband’s appreciative gaze and smiles at him. “Leonor told me you’d be coming back, so I had her make you some cold pasta, mozzarella and tomato, and vitel tonné. There’s salad, too, or else you can have some spinach warmed up. I chilled a blanche for you, if you like that, or else there’s a Jermann or a Donnafugata. Anyway, there’s plenty to choose from in the wine cellar. I didn’t open it because I didn’t know which you’d prefer.”

Lorenzo steps closer to her and smiles. “A blanche is perfect. You chose just right.” Then he caresses her arm. “You’re so beautiful. Do you want to keep me company while I eat?”

“No, I’m sorry, I’m going out. Massimo is asleep in his room, so try not to make noise. But if you want to go out, don’t think twice. Leonor is here keeping an eye on him, and if there’s any problem, she can reach us both on our cell phones.”

Then Babi turns to go, but Lorenzo grabs her arm and restrains her firmly. He squeezes her arm tight, intentionally. “You’re my wife. You can’t just do as you please. You never even told me you were going out.”

“I didn’t know you were coming home. I thought you’d stay out again tonight…with Annalisa Piacenzi.”

Lorenzo turns pale and lets go of her arm. “So you’re seeing Stefano Mancini again, your beloved Step. He saw me at Da Vanni, and I was with Annalisa, but he just jumped to unwarranted conclusions. What a pig. He’s just doing it so he can get you into bed. The man just can’t get you out of his mind.”

“I’m not seeing him, and I’m not in touch with him, and even if I’d run into him, he wouldn’t have said a thing. Too much of a gentleman, but that’s something you wouldn’t understand. My computer wasn’t working today, so I used yours. You left your chat open with all your lovely fantasies and everything that’s really happened between you two. Congratulations. You even told her that I want to make love on our terrace, that I insisted, and that you basically told me no. If it helps you, use me for your purposes. But be careful. Our son has learned to read, asshole.”

Babi turns on her heel.

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