Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
When Alex picked Aria up for their date, she could tell that Alex wanted to say something but was struggling.
“Everything okay?” she asked as he drove.
“Aria, I need to tell you about a phone call I got last night from Bella.”
Twisting her hands together in her lap, she answered, “Oh?”
“She was calling to say goodbye. She apologized again and seemed genuinely happy for me that you and I found a way forward after that night on the boat.”
Aria could feel the tension melt from her shoulders at his words. She slid her hand into his free one.
“I’m glad to hear that. So, she won’t try to interfere again, you think?”
Shaking his head, he answered, “No. She understands that my heart belongs to you.”
He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it tenderly.
When they arrived at Leonardo's house, Aria looked around in wonder.
The Rossi home was an enormous villa-style home nestled in the hills near the city’s center. There was an expansive veranda on the second floor that spanned the front of the residence. Vines of several varieties wound their way over the facade, adding to its charm.
The front gardens were immaculately maintained, and the smell of roses permeated the air as they walked to the ornate wooden door which was decorated with metalwork.
Sofia and Leonardo greeted them with hugs when they entered the house. Alex and Aria followed them out into the back garden area, passing through open French doors with white gauze curtains flapping in the breeze.
“Aria, I’ve been waiting to spend some time with you again. Tell Alex he can’t monopolize all your time,” Leonardo said jokingly.
“I’m excited to spend time with you, too.”
“Same here. She was my friend first, guys, just remember that! Would you like some lemonade or some wine?” Sofia asked when they settled at a round table shaded by a wide, cobalt blue umbrella.
“Some lemonade would be great. Thanks, Sofia. Can I help?” Aria asked.
“No, no. Sit, it’ll only take me a minute,” she answered, her bare feet shuffling along the tile that led back into the house.
“Your home is lovely, Leonardo. Alex told me you and Sofia share it?”
“Yes, they both dote over me like I’m an old man,” he answered, making Alex chuckle.
“Not an old man at all. Just wanted to keep an eye on you is all,” Alex replied, winking at his father.
Waving his hand dismissively, Leonardo continued as he looked around the yard, “It’s way too big for me once Sofia moves out, but we will take care of that when the time comes.”
“Trying to get rid of me, Papa?” Sofia said with a smirk when she returned with a tray of glasses. Alex stood up to help her with it, passing them out.
“Never, my girl,” Leonardo answered lovingly.
“Tell us about your publishing business,” Sofia said when she sat back down. “Can’t say that it surprises me. You were the only girl I’ve ever known that could read day and night. I don’t think I ever saw you without a book in your hand.”
Nodding, Aria took a sip of the tart drink and answered, “It’s so true.
I can’t explain it. Reading books transports me to new worlds, you know?
We didn’t have a ton of money to vacation when I was growing up, but the stories I read as a kid took me to magical places all over the world.
As I got older, I craved not only the fantasy of it, but learning new things and about new people.
I love biographies and true stories as well as non-fiction. ”
“Alex loved adventure books as a kid too, but mostly he created his own adventures. He was always pushing the boundaries of my patience with his courageous acts of defiance. After he broke his leg jumping off the roof, he decided to take less chances,” Leonardo said as they all laughed.
“I hated that cast,” Alex scowled. “Definitely put a cramp in my superhero phase.”
“You would fit in well with my family. Santo, my brother, loved to climb trees, neighbor’s houses, fences, you name it.”
“Alex isn’t much different now. Just a big kid,” Sofia said, as Alex narrowed his eyes at her in mock defense.
“Sofia, this is delicious lemonade. Do I taste lavender?” Aria asked.
“Yeah, we grow it here in the garden. I’ll send you home with some. Dry the buds and you’ll be able to make them into a syrup.”
“I’d love that. I became interested in perfume making, and the idea of combining citrus and herbs fascinates me,” she said, taking another sip. “Tell me about Aura. I’ve been to the website, but I wanted to ask your opinion on what to start with first.”
“No need, I’ll pull some samples and give them to Alex for you.
Papa has been in the cosmetic business for many years, but when I came on board, I wanted to add an organic line.
After Mama passed, I got interested in holistic care and changed a lot of my habits.
Eating, homewares, essential oils. But I hadn’t thought about the impact of what we put on our skin.
After a conference in Milan, I was sold.
Papa let me head up the new organic line and it’s been a great success. ”
“Thanks for the offer, Sofia, that would be amazing. And it doesn’t surprise me one bit that you went into cosmetics. You were always our makeup guru in school, like Corinna. I’m more mascara and Chapstick,” Aria said, making them all laugh.
“Speaking of school, Aria, has Alex confessed to you yet that he bribed me to sign up as your study partner?” she said, teasing Alex as he playfully swatted her arm.
Laughing and a bit embarrassed, Aria said, “Yes, he did. I had no idea that he even noticed me back then.”
Leaning over and kissing her cheek, Alex said, “I think she finally understands how much I noticed her.”
Sofia made fun of his romantic move with loud kissing gestures, making Alex roll his eyes.
“I was telling Alex that your mom always made these wonderful cookies whenever I was here, Sofia. I’m not sure if I mentioned it back then, but my mom’s name is Maria also,” Aria said.
“Really? I didn’t know that,” Alex said, his eyebrows raising high.
“Yes, I remember that! Oh, those cookies were the best, weren’t they? She loved baking them for who she called special people,” Sofia said, her smile faltering slightly.
Leonardo said excitedly, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You’re the girl that Maria told me about.
Oh, my goodness. I just remembered that she told me about a girl who would often come to study with Sofia, but it was Alex who she noticed enjoyed the girl's company even more. So, she always made sure she baked the cookies for those visits. She didn’t make them often, so it had to be you. ”
“Yeah, Mama made them every time Aria came over,” Sofia said, suddenly excited.
All four of them sat there in stunned silence. Both Alex and Aria were on the brink of tears. She didn’t know what to say, but she had an idea of what she could do.
Standing up and offering Alex her hand, she said, “Let's go into the kitchen.”
Confused, Alex asked, “What?”
“Let's go make your mom's cookies, together,” Aria said as she looked at him and then at Sofia and Leonardo.
Nodding their heads in agreement and looking around at each other, Leonardo said, “It’s a wonderful idea. I think it's time.”
In the kitchen, Sofia took down her mom's antique wooden recipe box and smoothed her hand over it.
Filing through the many handwritten cards, she pulled out the cookie recipe, the card stained and bent in the corners.
The trio set out to find all the ingredients listed and began to assemble the batter.
Thirty minutes later, with Italian pop music in the background, flour was spilled everywhere, no one owning up to the mess.
The four of them laughed at Leonardo who was trying to roll out the cookies without pinching his finger.
He slapped Alex's hands away as he tried to eat all the chocolate chips.
With some effort, they successfully put a batch of Maria's famous cookies into the oven.
“Alex, you're cleaning this mess up,” Sofia said defiantly. “I have to get the flour you threw at me out of my hair. Aria, thank you so much for this. I’ll never forget it.”
Aria pulled her into a warm hug, and they giggled as some of the flour transferred to her clothes.
As they waited for the oven timer to go off, Leonardo took Aria by the hand, kissed it and said, “Thank you, Aria.”
When he walked out of the kitchen, Alex drew her into his arms and spoke softly to her.
“You’re the most beautiful thing in my life, Aria. You amaze me every single day. Thank you, for this,” he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion.
“You’re welcome.”
Leaning back to look in her eyes, he shook his head.
“What?”
“I just can’t believe.” He swallowed, his eyes misting. “She knew. My mom knew, even back then.”
Aria held him tightly and nodded. No words were necessary in that moment. The revelation was more than either of them could vocalize.
When Alex brought her home later that afternoon, he parked, turned off the car and turned to face her.
“I can’t thank you enough for what you did for my family today. You'll never know what that meant to us,” he said sincerely.
“I do, actually,” she said with a sad smile.
“My mom would force me out of the house on days when I couldn't get out of bed. She’d make me take a walk along the coast because Nicholas loved to do that. He loved to sit under the pine trees and watch the boats pass. It was a special place for us. She knew that I needed to draw strength from the good memories.”
“Tell me more about this place.”
“We honeymooned here in Positano and loved the laid-back culture. There’s a stretch of pines trees in a park near the edge of Positano right before Ravello.
We went there just about every day for a picnic while we honeymooned.
We loved our childhood in Rome, but we wanted to live somewhere near the water.
When we moved here, we went to that park every Sunday we could get off from the office. ”
“Those trees are incredible. I photographed some in that area a few years ago.”
“Nicholas told me some of them could live as long as 150 years! The area we claimed as our own had orange and lemon groves right at the edge of the park. The smells are intoxicating. The sound of the wind in the pine trees always sounded like music to me.”
Alex leaned over and kissed her cheek.
She shivered when he said near her ear, “Sounds wonderful, Aria.”
“Thank you for a wonderful afternoon. Sofia and your dad are amazing.” She could feel that pull again, the sparks flickering back and forth between them.
Before she could reach for the door, Alex jumped out and met her on the passenger side, holding her hand as they walked to her door.
“Corinna said she invited you guys to the beach tomorrow. I don’t want to make a big deal of my birthday. Those big days are still hard for me. I hope you understand.”
“No explanation needed. Just happy to spend the afternoon with you on your special day.”
He kissed her both cheeks before capturing her mouth once more, her knees growing weak.
“See you tomorrow, birthday girl.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After saying goodbye to Alex, Aria knew where she needed to go. It was still early afternoon so if she hurried, she could get there long before sunset. Telling Alex about their favorite spot made her want to be there again.
Packing a blanket and some water, Aria drove several miles to a remote area that was like a second home to her.
Pulling up to the deserted part of the coast, she grabbed her things and walked a bit until she got to a majestic maritime pine tree, one of hundreds that dotted the countryside near the Mediterranean Sea.
Hearing the crash of the waves as they hit the rocks along the craggy shoreline made her sigh contentedly.
She brushed her hand along the initials Nicholas had carved in one of the pine trees so many years ago on their honeymoon.
The smell of the flowers from nearby orange trees, the sound of the soft sway of the pine needles in the wind, brought joy to her heart as always.
She could always feel Nicholas there with her.
Visiting the cemetery was painful to her but here, under the trees, was where she felt his peaceful presence.
She could hear his voice, his laugh, and see his handsome face as if he were right there sitting across from her.
“Hey, my love. I was talking about you today to a friend. I needed to come see you. Amore, I need to tell you something, but I don't know what you're going to think about it.”
She swallowed and looked out at the sea, the sun glittering on the surface.
“Do you remember Alex Rossi from Rome International?
He's here visiting his family, and we ran into each other recently.
We've spent a lot of time together and he told me that he's falling in love with me. Nicholas, I don't know how to say this, but I kissed him. I kissed him and I didn’t want to feel anything, but I did.”
Aria fiddled with the stitching on the end of the blanket, looking up at the swaying branches.
“You know,” she continued, “I’ve thought about what I would want for you if it were you here instead of me. I couldn't stand the idea of you staying in this all-encompassing grief, but it's what I expect for myself, and I'm trying so hard to navigate that.”
She stood up and leaned her back on the tree, exhaling loudly.
“I just don't want to hurt you. You know that your mom moved to Brazil with your aunt Sariyda after you passed. She needed to be around family with you and your dad not here anymore. But I can’t imagine what she would think of this. And I haven't told my parents yet either.”
Walking around the tree, she raked her hands through her hair.
“My heart wants to open again, but I'm so scared. I need to know that you’ll be okay if it happens, Nicholas.”
Just then the wind picked up, so much so that an orange blossom from a nearby tree dropped onto the blanket. Aria closed her eyes and felt the wind on her face as it blew her hair back.
“Thank you, amore. I love you. So very much. And I miss you every single day.”
Placing the flower in her hair, she folded the blanket, touched their initials one more time before walking back to the car.