Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
R eese, Joel, Oriana, Lauren, Peter, and Tyler flew back to Martha’s Vineyard the following week after a glorious and invigorating time in Rome. They’d eaten heaps of pasta, plate after plate of pizza, bruschetta and mozzarella, and greasy street food. They’d shared bottles of wine, Italian sodas, and pistachio gelato. But it was finally time to return to their ocean home. It was finally time to enter the next phase of their lives together.
At the airport outside of Rome, Reese watched as Lauren helped Peter and Tyler count out their change to buy sandwiches for themselves. She did so with patience, then helped Peter and Tyler lay their amounts on the counter. Lauren smiled proudly.
She’s a good mother, Reese thought. And she loves my son so much.
Lauren guided Peter and Tyler back to where the family sat. She met Reese’s gaze and smiled. She knew he knew about her affair years ago. Maybe she’d decided not to have shame about the past. Perhaps Reese needed to take a page out of her book.
“It was a beautiful trip,” Lauren said.
“The boys tired me out.”
“They have a habit of doing that,” Lauren said with a laugh.
Joel approached with a bag of croissants filled with pistachio cream. “I can’t get enough of these.”
Lauren laughed and tugged one out of the bag. They sat side by side in the plastic waiting chairs near the gate and spoke under their breath. It was clear they had a rhythm that belonged to nobody else.
Oriana walked back and forth with her phone to her ear. She was chatting with a potential client in Manhattan. When she got off the phone, she told Reese that she had to go directly from Boston airport to New York.
“Maybe you can grab a ride with Joel?” she asked with a wince.
“Of course he can!” Joel called from behind him.
Reese smiled and sat down beside Peter. Tyler hopped up on his lap and started telling him a story about the long-dead emperor of Rome. How do children retain so much information? How does everything fascinate them?
Reese’s phone buzzed with a surprise message from Carlotta. He’d told her the day after the party that he and Joel were no longer interested in working with her. He wished her well. After that, she’d sent a series of irate messages, telling him that he owed her for all she’d done for him. Then she’d gone quiet.
Just two days ago, Reese spotted a celebrity gossip article titled Bobby Ringmaker Sighted with Young French Model.
Carlotta couldn’t hang onto him in the end. She’d fought so hard. But why?
Now he read Carlotta’s messages.
CARLOTTA: Wishing you a safe journey back to the United States. I imagine I will not return any time soon.
CARLOTTA: I wanted to thank you for your continued service over the years and your wonderful output.
CARLOTTA: I hope there are no hard feelings between us.
CARLOTTA: I have behaved very badly, and I am sorry.
Reese shook his head and handed the phone to Oriana so she could read them.
“She’s a confused woman,” Oriana said with a sigh. “I just hope she finds whatever it is she’s looking for.”
“I hope she finds peace,” Reese said.
Oriana placed her head on his shoulder. Together, they watched as a plane whizzed down toward the landing and rolled triumphantly down the airstrip. It was a miracle. It also happened every day, all over the world, hundreds of times.