Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
I t was no surprise that Sam Coleman changed her flight to the next available from Boston to Rome. She stomped down the hallway with the rage and fear only a mother could show, then melted at the sight of Darcy and Rachelle cuddled up in bed together. The doctor had said he wanted to monitor Darcy just one more night, and Rachelle had gotten another day off work. They’d already read what they could of Italian magazines and tasted nearly everything in the vending machine. Darcy was more than ready to get out of there.
Sam fell into the chair Oriana had occupied until that morning when she returned to the hotel to ensure everyone was all right. Sam took Darcy and Rachelle’s hands and demanded, “Tell me everything.”
Darcy burst out, “I’m pregnant.” And Sam burst into tears.
“I’m sorry!” Sam cried as her chest heaved. “It’s just too much.”
Rachelle laughed and hobbled off the bed to hug their mother. “Darcy was in over her head. Keeping secrets. Pretending everything was all right.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “Why?” she rasped. “I see you every other day! Why didn’t you tell me?” Her eyes twinkled with curiosity and hurt.
What could Darcy say? That she’d just wanted her mother to see her as a driven and business-minded individual? That she’d wanted to be the one with a career for a change?
That she’d wanted to feel special?
“I didn’t want everything to end before it got started,” Darcy finally said, then bit her lip and lowered her gaze.
“Oh, honey.” Sam squeezed her hand. “Everything is about to change, that’s true. But it’s all going to get so much better. Babies are always good. They bring hope.”
Darcy, Rachelle, and Sam spent that evening alone in the hospital room with an ancient DVD player Sam borrowed from a nurse. They watched old rom-coms Darcy had never seen, plus several that she had, and they spoke to the characters on-screen as though they were their friends. “You’re making a big mistake,” Rachelle yelled at the television as she ate a piece of chocolate from the vending machine. “You’re going to regret this!”
Rachelle and Sam insisted on spending the night at the hospital, for which Darcy was quietly grateful. It wasn’t nice to be in a hospital in a foreign country. Fear lurked beneath the surface of everything. They hunkered together in the dark as a violent Roman wind blasted against the building. It was clear they were so far from home. But they were together.
Darcy was preparing to leave the next morning when the flowers arrived. It was a brilliant bouquet of yellow roses and lilies. Darcy could barely wrap her arms around it.
“Did you tell Steven?” Rachelle asked, raising her eyebrows.
“No,” Darcy said. She hunted around the vase for a card and finally discovered it tucked beneath the foil at the base.
I haven’t learned anything in decades. But maybe I learned something from you.
C.
Darcy’s face broke into a smile of surprise.
“What? What is it?” Rachelle demanded. She took the card and furrowed her brow. “Don’t let that woman manipulate you into anything else.”
Sam wheeled Darcy out of the hospital as Rachelle chatted about what they could do over the next week of their vacation. Rachelle had to work several days, but she would do what she could to get out early and show her mother and sister Roma . As she was wheeled to the bright entrance, Darcy thought What a disaster this all was. Yet I truly believe I learned something from Carlotta. I learned something about standing up for myself. I learned something about what I really want.
Darcy still firmly believed in her app. She also firmly believed in her pitch.
Just because she didn’t want to pitch to any of Carlotta’s investor friends didn’t mean she couldn’t pitch to someone else back in the United States. It didn’t mean it was over.
Sam hailed a cab and helped Darcy into the back seat.
“How are you feeling?” the cab driver asked Darcy.
“Better than I should,” Darcy joked.
The driver laughed and adjusted his rearview. “Where to, senoritas?”
Rachelle announced the name of their hotel, then squeezed Darcy’s and Sam’s hands. “But tonight we’re going to a really good restaurant. I already called to make a reservation.”
“We have to make sure your sister feels all right,” Sam reminded her.
Darcy waved her hand. “I’m fine. Better than fine.”
It was true that she felt better than she had since she’d learned of the pregnancy.
And she was starving for the first time in a while. She could eat three plates of pasta without pausing. She could eat two scoops of gelato and go back for more.
She explained this to her mother and sister, and Rachelle laughed.
“Don’t worry. Here in Rome, your wish is my command,” Rachelle said.