Page 14 of Summer Rush

“I’m in November, and Maggie’s in January,” Alyssa responded.

“Wonderful. Just wonderful.” Eva locked eyes with Janine, then added, “Mother must be very pleased?”

“Very pleased, yes,” Janine said, smiling.

“I truly wish Teresa could have known you,” Eva said, nodding first to Janine, then to Alyssa and Maggie. “She didn’t speak often of her son, Jack, but I know she felt a great deal of love and, of course, loss.” Eva swallowed, clearly thinking about her own son, who’d died so long ago. Janine wondered why Eva had never tried to have another child. Perhaps the pain had been too great.

Despite all Janine had lost, she’d never gone through something like that.

“Will you tell us more about her?” Alyssa asked.

“She was an incredible woman. An intellectual. A mystic. She had this way about her, of knowing what was going to happen next, which often terrified the rest of the family. For a little while, she ran a psychic service, and women from all over Italy came to her villa to learn about their fate or about how to avoid a fate she felt sure was coming for them.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Eva went on. “That she was a hack. That she made it all up. But I had enough experiences with her to recognize her incredible gifts.” Eva closed her eyes for a moment, taking short, clipped breaths. “Because you’re here, I suppose you know a large part of my story. When I was young, I gave birth to a little boy, who died a month later. After he died, I went to Aunt Teresa’s, and I asked her what I should do. How can I get through this horrific pain? And the things she told me, which I will not mention here, ultimately saved my life.”

Eva’s eyes were wistful, caught up in the past. Alyssa was captivated by her, while Maggie seemed more doubtful. Janine wasn’t sure where she stood.

“But even more than all that, she had a wicked sense of humor. She was a completely unique individual, someone I admired. When I was younger, I thought my mother was boring, stuck-up, but Aunt Teresa was always running with the wind, it seemed to me. When I was very young, she ran off with that American man, your grandfather.” Eva’s eyes met Janine’s for a moment as she added, “I can’t imagine what it must have been like to marry into a family like that. I suppose you know better than most.”

Janine’s throat was tight. Meekly, she said, “I felt like Cinderella at the ball for a little while.”

“I think Aunt Teresa did, too. Of course, she was never one to be taken advantage of, and she took the next plane she could when she learned of her husband’s affair.” Eva’s eyes were shadowed, and she folded her hands on her lap.

“It’s been strange, being here,” Janine finally offered. “Seeing the world that Jack never got to see. Sleeping in his mother’s house.”

Eva grimaced. “His death was tragic. He was much too young.”

Alyssa and Maggie stared at the floor.

“But Teresa never knew about it?” Janine asked.

Eva shook her head. “She was very sick the past few years. She saw very few people.”

“I assume she saw you?” Janine asked.

“She did, but not always,” Eva added tentatively. “It completely depended on her mood. I suppose, in that way, I already started to mourn her, even when she was still living just a few streets away.”

Alyssa squeezed Eva’s hand, and her eyes were moist, the tears threatening to spill.

“Oh, but we’re all here together now,” Eva said, sniffing. “I can’t believe it, really. When Teresa told me she wanted me to play a part in her little game, I said, ‘You really think these Americans are going to come all the way here? You must be mad!’ But she looked at me with that twinkle in her eye and said, ‘You wait. They’ll come.’ I should have known she was right.”

Eva stood and walked regally to the bookshelf, where she removed an entire shelf’s worth of books. One after another, she piled them on the table beside the shelf as Janine, Maggie, and Alyssa watched, captivated. When the books were cleared, Eva turned and gave them a secretive smile.

“It’s very old, you see. I can’t risk it being in too much sunlight.” She then opened what looked like a trapdoor behind where the books had been and procured a very thick leather book. It looked to weigh nearly twenty pounds.

“What is that?” Alyssa stood and walked toward her, mesmerized.

“Careful,” Eva said. “I’m going to find something to wrap it up safely in.” She placed the book delicately in Alyssa’s arms as though it was as precious as a baby and then hustled off to the next room.

When Alyssa turned with the book in her arms, she caught Janine’s eye. “What the heck is this?”

Janine shook her head. “What’s it called?”

Alyssa’s tone was overtly American. “The title is,La Nascita del Rinascimento e Dopo.”

Maggie chuckled into her hand. “Nice Italian accent, sis.”

“Is that the clue?” Janine asked.

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