Monday, April 6th
Vincent Clancy’s villa outside St. John, 8.30 am
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When Rachel got up the following morning, she immediately went downstairs to the large dining room that looked out on the patio. Her mother had asked the maid to prepare breakfast outside, because it was a sunny day, and it was not cold. Just a gentle breeze coming from the ocean cooled the air.
Rachel ran into the arms of the tall man who was sitting on a wicker chair, the newspaper spread on the table in front of him. All the disillusionment she experienced every time her father failed to come back or stayed away for weeks, all the intention to at least show her frustration and to force him to realize how he made her suffer, everything vanished, when she lost herself in his warm embrace. She adored her father, she cherished the moments she was able to spend with him, she loved to see him at home… Little did it matter that he never apologized for his long absences, that he never tried to explain, or better, that he considered himself justified because of his job…
Now, after a few moments, he gently freed himself from her embrace, he smiled at her and said:
“Don't you have lessons today, Rachel? Why are you at home?”
She looked at her father, and she wondered for a moment how he couldn't understand that she would have canceled any commitments to be able to spend a few hours with him. She thought: ‘Doesn’t he realize that HE doesn't give me any alternative, that I must make the most of every minute I can spend with him?’
A sudden resentment surfaced in her heart, and she answered, letting her annoyance show:
“And if I had gone to my lessons this morning, would I have been sure to find you at home tonight? Dad, don't you understand that I see you for just a few hours in a… week? A month?” There was exasperation in her voice, she went to sit on the chair opposite him, and, at that moment, her mother came onto the patio with a jug full of freshly squeezed orange juice. She noticed the troubled look on her daughter's face, she turned to her husband, but he had started reading his newspaper, as if nothing had happened. Olivia went to sit next to Rachel, she put an arm around her waist, and she asked:
“What’s the matter, darling?”
Rachel was really upset, because her father hadn’t tried to calm her down. She had tried to deny to herself that something had changed over the years, but now she was sure that her father didn't care about her. She stood up from her chair, and she said in a voice shaken by frustration:
“It’s useless, mum … It’s all useless. Why does he even come back?” She pointed at her father, who was now watching her in disbelief, “Mum, he doesn't care about us, he doesn't care about ME! He isn’t glad that I stayed at home to spend a day with him. He even asks me: ‘Why are you at home today?’”
She looked at her father, who had now put down his newspaper and was looking at his wife questioningly.
“Don’t you think that I want to stay with you? That I have grown up seeing you two or three days , maybe a week a month?”
Her frustration, her feeling of disillusionment was so strong now, that she couldn't stand to lock eyes with her father, she just couldn't stand to hear his reiterated excuses: his job, his business… She abruptly left the patio to go to her room.
Olivia was startled by her daughter's reaction. She reflected that her father was right when he told her that she had to talk to her husband, not only for their marriage’s sake, but also for Rachel, who had been suffering and longing for her dad's presence since she was a child.
Now she looked into the dark eyes of her man, of the man she was still madly in love with, and she asked him:
“What’s up, Brian? What did you tell her?”
Brian shrugged his shoulders and answered:
“I really don’t know. She embraced me, and I simply asked her why she was not at the college for her lessons. She had an exaggerated reaction. She reproached me for spending little time with her, but … what’s the matter with her? She knows what my job is, she has always accepted it and …. she is grown up now, she is no longer a child!”
He noticed that his wife was shaking her head, and he stopped. Olivia sighed deeply and tried to explain as calmly as she could:
“Brian, the fact that Rachel has never complained and always welcomes you with affection doesn't mean that she doesn't suffer. It doesn't mean that her life has been as happy as it should have been, if you had been more present. What she told you is true, and you can’t deny it. She has really seen you for no more than two, three days in a row, maybe a week during vacation. You can't expect it to be easy for her … And for me, too, Brian!”
As she was speaking, she saw that her husband’s expression was changing from startled to angry. The loving man she had welcomed home a few hours before, when he had come to their bedroom and gently kissed her, the man she had made passionately love with as soon as she had felt his presence next to her, was no more in front of her. Now there was an annoyed man, with a resentful expression on his face. She had seldom seen him like this, but, she reflected, for the first time, that she had always defended him and his job with Rachel, with her father … She had never faced him with his responsibilities before… What was happening? Didn't she have a right to discuss with him, to ask him to try to be more present in her life, in their daughter's life?
Now he said angrily:
“If I had known that, instead of a few hours of rest and family warmth, I would have to face reproaches, hysterical outbursts and discussions, I would have stayed in a hotel. I travel from one side of Canada to the other, I sometimes don't even have time to eat, I sleep little, I meet demanding customers all the time, and this is what I get from my wife and daughter?”
Olivia was really upset now, she couldn't believe that he was talking to her like that, after she had put up with being alone most of the time, with his continuous last-minute delays, with his hurried phone calls … She was so disturbed that she couldn't speak. She just sat there, in front of a man she could hardly recognise…
At that moment, his cell phone rang, he looked at the caller ID, and he started to sweat visibly. Olivia was afraid he was going to be sick, so violent was his reaction. He refused the call with a nervous movement of his thumb on the mobile phone touch screen, and, for a moment, he stared straight ahead, as if he didn't know where he was.
Olivia asked him:
“What’s the matter? A demanding customer?” There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice, even if she was worried about her husband’s reaction to that phone call.
He was visibly making an effort to regain his composure. He spoke as calmly as he could:
“I simply didn't want to interrupt our discussion, and I turned down the call. I will deal with it later.” He looked at his wife, and he added in a more conciliatory tone:
“Olivia, I know that I have been present in your lives less than I would have desired, but …” He stood up from his chair and went to crouch in front of his wife: “Listen, I am sorry, I know that you have always been on my side, I know that Rachel misses me … I only thought that now she is almost an adult, and she would have her studies, her friends …” Olivia was still shaking her head. Brian went on: “Olivia, I would really like to spend some time with you. Let me settle some affairs that are pending, and then … I promise to find the time to stay together … Maybe I will find another job that allows me to stay at home with you.”
“You know that you can always come to work in our company. Dad would surely be happy to have you…”
“Yes, I am thinking of this opportunity, also because I am tired of traveling around the country … And I miss you, Olivia…”
Olivia noticed that he hadn’t mentioned Rachel in this last part of his speech, but she thought that she would convince him later to go to talk to her…
***
Rosary, Trattoria Da Anna, 2.30 pm
Neil had arrived a few minutes early at Anna’s Trattoria, and he was chatting with her, when there was a gentle knock on the frosted glass door. Anna went to open, and Louise embraced her with affection. She whispered: “Thank you” in Anna's ear, because she knew that her friend was trying to help her family.
Louise looked at Neil, who had stood up from his chair to welcome her. She couldn't help feeling a mixture of respect and deference for a man who had received the most prestigious award from the governor for his courage. She had immediately liked him, when she had seen him on TV, so handsome in his uniform and, at the same time, so bashful, as if he didn't know why he was receiving a medal.
Now, in front of her she had a smiling handsome man with curly dark blond hair and expressive light blue eyes, who had a warm and firm handshake, which immediately inspired confidence and trust. She could understand why her granddaughter and her friends were charmed by him: it was not just a matter of going out with a handsome man, Daisy said that he was kind and funny at the same time, that he put everyone at ease, and that his friends looked up to him.
Anna went to the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee for her guests, while they were taking their seats facing each other at one of the smallest round tables in a corner. The other tables were already prepared with paper plates, glasses and bottles of water for the tasting that invariably followed the cooking lesson for children.
Neil told Louise kindly: “Anna has told me that you have lost your daughter two years ago. I am sorry, Madam.”
Louise answered immediately: “Call me Louise, and … Thank you. Yes, I am still trying to get over it. It was so sudden and unexpected, my daughter Grace was so full of life and …” Anna had come in with three cups of steaming espresso on a tray. She put a hand on her friend’s arm and said: “I know, Louise. We will never get over it completely, I think.” She instinctively turned towards the photo of her son Luca, which was hanging near the door of the Trattoria, next to the picture of Anna’s late husband, Mario.
Anna turned to Neil and asked him solicitously:
“Neil, did you have time to have lunch at the training center? Would you like something to eat?”
Neil smiled and answered:
“Don’t worry, Anna. I had lunch, and in little more than an hour, I will have a piece of cake after the cooking lesson …” He stopped for a moment and added with a sigh: “If I can convince Amy to come… I hope so!”
Louise commented:
“Poor girl! Have the Fredericton police found out anything about her past?”
Neil shook his head:
“No, nobody seems to be looking for her, but she surely must have had a terrible life…”
Anna turned to Louise and decided to go straight to the point:
“I asked you to meet Neil today, because we are worried about Daisy.” She looked at Neil, who was nodding. He thought for a few moments of the best way to talk to Louise without alarming her excessively.
He started:
“Yesterday we had a wonderful time at the lighthouse with Daisy and her friends, but, when we were going back to the car, Daisy saw something or someone that frightened her very much. She soon recovered, and she refused to tell us what had caused that reaction, but I am convinced … we are convinced that she is scared by … I don't know, a person or some people … Or she simply recalls a situation that frightened her. Lisa mentioned an episode that happened when Daisy still hadn't met her friends, when you lived in Fredericton. Lisa called it kidnapping, but Daisy immediately said that it was not!” Louise was looking at him with a troubled expression on her face, and Neil knew that what he was telling her was not comforting, but he wanted to help that sweet girl, and he didn't know what to do.
Anna told Louise softly:
“I didn't know you when you lived in Fredericton, but you have often told me about Daisy’s mishap or whatever it was…” Her voice trailed off because Louise’s expression was getting more and more troubled and uneasy.
It took the poor woman a few moments to overcome her emotions and be able to speak. She looked into the blue eyes of the Inspector, and she told herself that she couldn't go on pretending that what her son-in-law had imposed on her and Daisy was right. They needed help, Daisy needed help.
She slowly started, as if every word cost her a great effort:
“Six years ago … Yes, it was July almost six years ago, Daisy had gone to visit a friend of hers, who had recently moved to the outskirts of St. John. We lived in Fredericton at that time, I lived in a small apartment not far from my daughter and her family, and I spent a lot of time with her and Daisy. Luke worked in a company that then moved to Rosary. Daisy was so happy to stay for a few days at her friend's in St. John. She was to remain there for a week. She called home, and she sounded enthusiastic. She had met some boys and girls, and they spent a lot of time on the beach, or shopping in town.” Louise seemed to be reliving those moments, she sipped distractedly at her coffee, and then she resumed:
“One day they went to a nature reserve not far from her friend’s home. They walked for a while along a path, then they sat down outside a small refreshment point. Daisy said she would go to the toilet and to buy some snacks. Her friend was sitting on a bench outside with her parents and another girl. They waited, and when they realized that time had passed and Daisy had not come back, they began to ask around, but nobody had seen her. The person behind the counter said that she remembered seeing Daisy go to the toilet, but she hadn't come out. They thought she had felt sick, so they checked the toilets, but there was nobody. Near the toilets there was a backdoor, and it was open, while the staff said that they recommended everyone to keep that door closed.”
Neil was listening intently, and he was waiting for what Louise would say next. He perceived that the most difficult part of the story was coming, because Louise stopped for a few minutes and stared straight ahead, as if she was alone in the room. Anna’s heart went to her friend. She imagined the anxiety, the worry, the sleepless nights waiting for news …
Louise turned to Anna and said:
“What comes next is what my son-in-law has always forbidden us to say.” Neil raised an eyebrow, and Louise turned to him:
“I have decided to tell you, Inspector, because I can't go on … Daisy can’t go on like this. I hear her turning in her bed at night, and in the morning she looks upset. She is scared every time she walks alone, or even when she is sitting on our balcony in the evening… No, she can't go on like this.”
Neil put a hand on Louise's arm and said soothingly:
“Call me Neil, please. Tell me what happened next, because, from what you have said so far, it looks like a kidnapping, maybe a mistake, since they didn't ask for ransom, and she was released…”
“After little less than two days of useless search, the police in St. John received a phone call from a gas station north of St. John, approximately 100 kilometers from the nature park where she was with her friend's family and on the motorway that leads to Fredericton. The pump attendant said that he saw her walking to him, but he didn't see a car or a truck, apparently she had walked to the gas station alone from God knows where. She asked for help, she told him who she was, and she said that a man had driven her to a layby not far from the gas station. She told him that she had been detained for two days by that man and a woman, and then he had brought her there. Before leaving her, he had told her to walk to the pump and ask for help. The pump assistant said that she was scared, and she kept on looking in the direction she had arrived from, as if she was afraid someone would come to take her away!”
Now Neil was staring at Louise, and he couldn't help commenting:
“It was a kidnapping!”
Louise shook her head sadly. She bowed her head for a moment, and then she went on:
“This is what the pump attendant told the police. My daughter and I immediately went to the gas station. My son-in-law was already there, I don’t know how he got there so fast. He told us that he was on the road back from work, when he received the call, and he reached the gas station as fast as he could… He was comforting her, he had taken her to a bench in front of the gas station, and he was talking to her. Grace was still upset, and she left Daisy with her father. I tried to calm Grace down, and I left father and daughter alone. I thought he was trying to comfort Daisy. I saw that she was shaking her head, that instead of calming her down, he was upsetting her, and my daughter and I went to them…” Louise stopped, and her troubled expression testified to the terrible experience she had had.
She looked into Neil’s eyes, and she said:
“What I am going to say now is something I haven't told anyone yet. I had promised Luke not to tell, but I can’t help being worried, because I felt immediately that something was wrong, and my daughter did too… Luke had a really violent reaction, he said that he was trying to understand what had happened, and that we had to let him talk to Daisy without interfering. I remember that Grace was stunned by this reaction, but she gestured to me to do what Luke asked.”
Neil saw that reliving those moments was really painful for Louise, and he remained silent, while he waited for her to finish her tale.
“The police asked to talk to Daisy, and Luke demanded to be present, because, he said, the girl was still shaken and confused… What disconcerted me and Grace was that Luke cut us out completely. Grace embraced Daisy, and she asked what had happened, but Daisy shook her head, and she didn't speak. Then, when she spoke to the police officer, she told him that she had gotten lost, she had taken a bus to go back to her friend's home, but she had gone in the wrong direction. She had slept on a bench or in a small shelter she had found in the woods, and she had arrived at the gas station, where she had finally asked for help.”
Now Neil was really perplexed, because the story was difficult to believe. Anna was listening silently, because she had never heard the whole story.
Neil asked:
“But Daisy had told something completely different to the pump attendant, hadn’t she?”
“Yes, and he confirmed what he had told the police when they arrived, and what he had told us. Grace insisted that Daisy was frightened and shaken, she asked her what had really happened, because she was not convinced. But Daisy, from that moment, has kept on repeating the same version: she had got lost, and she had wandered for almost two days looking for help. She said that a man had given her a lift to the gas station - a man nobody was able to find - and that the pump attendant had certainly misunderstood what she had told him.”
Neil was shaking his head and stroking his chin thoughtfully. He knew for sure that there was something really serious and dangerous behind the whole story, and that Daisy’s father was involved. He didn't know how he could help the girl, but he thought the first thing he would do was talking to Luke Brown.
Anna exclaimed:
“This is why your son-in-law has never accepted to have Daisy visited by a psychologist or a psychiatrist! He was afraid she would change her version of what had happened.” She turned to Neil, and asked: “But why? If it was a kidnapping, why didn't he want to find the people behind it, even if Daisy was safe?”
Neil chose his words carefully, when he asked Louise:
“I would like to have your son-in-law's phone number. I want to talk to him and try to understand something, because I don’t like the way he handled the situation. What is his job?”
“He works in a company that deals with electronic equipment. It is called Electroworld. The company used to have its headquarters in Fredericton, but four years ago it moved to the outskirts of Rosary, that's why they moved here. Grace asked me to follow them, because she was worried about Daisy. I didn't want to leave Fredericton, but she implored me to support her, and I did.”
“Was your daughter afraid of something in particular?” Neil asked.
“From that incident, Luke has never been the same. He used to be a pleasant person, cheerful and nice. After that episode he became taciturn and irritable. Grace often told me that it was as if he had become a different person, that sometimes she didn't recognise him… And Daisy has never regained her serenity. She is a nice girl, she has a sweet disposition, she is generous and trustworthy, but she speaks little, she is often scared for no apparent reason, she jumps up when someone makes a sudden noise … I don't know …”
Anna intervened:
“Lisa and Denise met her four years ago, when you moved to Rosary, but they say that she has gradually shut herself off, that her fears have become worse since she lost her mother…”
Louise was nodding silently, and it was painful to see the anguish in her eyes. She dictated her son-in-law's phone number to Neil, who recorded it on his phone. He tried to look at her encouragingly, even if he was worried:
“Louise, don't worry. I will try to talk to Daisy's father. Maybe he can explain the reason for his behavior… Then I will try to find out what the police discovered at the time, even if they probably stopped investigating, since Daisy declared she had gotten lost… There is something strange in what happened, and I think Daisy can go on serenely with her life only if she faces the truth, whatever it is.” Anna and Louise exchanged a glance and nodded.
Neil went on:
“I firmly believe that what Daisy told the police is not what really happened, and I want to understand why she changed her version so fast.”
Louise had tears in her eyes, when she said:
“Thank you Neil. Please, be careful with Luke, because I had promised not to tell anyone … And, please, don't tell Lisa and Denise what I have told you!” There was fear in her words. Neil answered reassuringly:
“Don’t worry. I will only speak to Bob and Billy. I want to ask for their opinion, but we won't say anything to Daisy's friends … And, when I talk to Mr. Brown, I will refer to what happened last Sunday, without mentioning this conversation.”
Louise's sigh of relief testified to the predicament of the poor woman. Neil began to wonder what type of man Luke Brown was, if he was able to instill fear in his relatives.
***
St. John, Vincent Clancy's villa, 3 pm
Brian was sitting on the patio. The day at home had not been as he had expected. First, Rachel and her scene … What did she want from him? He had tried to come back home as often as he could. She had her mother and her grandfather who were constantly with her, she was not abandoned or alone in the world… And now she was an adult, she was twenty years old. She didn't need her father any more, did she?
Then the discussion with his wife. She had always been at his side, she had always supported and defended his choices, and now? Now he had promised to change jobs, but he knew he couldn't do it, he couldn't live constantly with his family …
Suddenly an idea crossed his mind. And if he hit two birds with one stone? He was beginning to think of a plan that could work, when his mobile phone rang. This time he didn't start to sweat, because he was sure he had something to offer. The only thing he had to do now was to buy time, he needed time to …
He moved to the far end of the garden, where nobody could hear, and he put the phone to his ear.
“I just wanted to remind you that you have a few days left!” A menacing voice at the other end of the line said, without waiting for him to speak.
He tried to keep his voice steady, because all the confidence he had felt a few minutes before had completely vanished.
“I have made up a plan to have all the money I need. But I have already told you, I need time. And maybe I will ask you for help in carrying out my plan. When can we meet to talk about it?”
For a few moments, he thought the call had been disconnected, because there was an alarming silence at the other end of the line.
“What is the plan you are talking about? I told you last Friday, you have a few more days. I have been waiting for that money for too long, Murray.”
Brian saw that his father-in-law was approaching him in the garden, and he disconnected the call. Had he been able to convince that powerful man?
Vincent had just come back from his company. He had a frown on his face, and Brian foresaw another discussion. Maybe Rachel and Olivia had called him to tell him what had happened in the morning…
“Brian!”
Another man who scared him, another powerful man, who could ruin him if he knew …
“Vincent”, he tried to sound nice and confident, “how are you?”
“I am alright, but I cannot say the same of my daughter and of Rachel. How long are you going to stay here? They need a husband and a father at their side, they need a real family …”
Yes, another discussion was starting. He braced himself and tried to keep his temper in check, when he answered;
“I will stay for a few days, I don’t know yet.”
“Good, because tomorrow I would like to talk to you in my study. I am waiting for some documents tomorrow morning, and I would like to talk to you about them…”
Brian tried not to show his alarm. What documents? He knew that one of Vincent's employees had seen him, while he was not where his wife and daughter thought he would be, but … Maybe that was the reason for the discussion in the morning… What had Vincent discovered? He was a powerful man, he had a lot of connections and acquaintances… The plan that Brian had just concocted was no more important… He had to disappear, and he had to disappear soon…
He hoped his fear didn't show, when he answered with apparent nonchalance:
“Ok, tomorrow I will be here, whenever you need to talk to me …” But he knew that he couldn’t be there the following day, that all his lies were bound to be discovered soon …
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***
Rosary school, 4.15 pm
Amy was coming out of school with her friend Giulia. In reality, the idea of ‘friend’ was new to her, because in her life up to almost seven months before there had never been friends. The previous night she had had another one of her horrible frightening nightmares: this time she had seen that face, the menacing face of a person she was used to calling ‘dad’ coming towards her with a belt in his hand, but, before he had been able to use it on her, another child had appeared, a little girl, younger than Amy, and he had started beating that girl fiercely. Amy had tried to stop him, but that man had left the poor girl unconscious beside Amy. She kept on calling: “Come on, wake up!” But the little girl with blond hair didn’t answer. Was she sleeping? Was she dead? Amy had woken up trembling uncontrollably, convinced that she had called that girl in her sleep . She had immediately looked at Lily, her roommate, but she was still sleeping. As usual, Amy had waited until she had calmed down, she had curled up in bed under the blanket and eventually fallen back to sleep.
Now she looked anxiously at the line of cars in front of the school building, all waiting to take the children back home or to the cooking lesson at Anna’s Trattoria. Giulia had told her that she could drive to the restaurant in her father’s car, but she had shaken her head with a frightened expression, and she had instinctively drawn back. She couldn’t help being scared, since she had never got into a car, apart from the sisters’ minibus, which they used to take the children to school or on short trips. When she looked timidly at the parents and relatives waiting outside the school, she felt her heart beat faster, and she had to resist the impulse to run into the arms of the smiling police officer with curly hair and blue eyes, who was the only person she trusted without reserve, she still didn’t understand why. Was he there for her? She had never had someone waiting just for her. The sisters came to pick up all the orphans, and she always envied Giulia or Alan who had their mother or their father smiling at them and embracing them with affection, when they came out of school.
Yes, she was sure Neil was there for her, he had stopped talking to Giulia’s father the moment he had spotted her among the children, and he had grinned at her. She walked to him, and she put her arms around his waist. She wasn’t afraid of the gun at his belt, she felt safe when he was with her, she knew that he wouldn’t let anybody hurt her, and she was relieved when she saw him, because it meant that nobody had tried to harm him … So far … She was so worried about him. But why? She was trying hard to remember what connected him to her previous life.
Neil said hello to some of his basketball players who approached him, always holding an arm around her.
Amy heard Giulia tell Neil:
“It’s a good thing that you came to pick up Amy. She didn’t want to get into dad’s car.” Amy was sorry because Giulia looked hurt by her refusal. Giulia was always kind to her, she never forced her to speak, she never tried to embrace her. Amy didn’t want to hurt her but … how could she explain that she didn’t know why, but she was always scared? How could a child like Giulia, who had a loving family, understand that not all children were as lucky as she was, that some children grew up in a terrible world, full of violence? When she tried to find the words to explain how she felt, she simply gave up … It was too difficult …
She heard Neil answer kindly:
“Giulia, don’t worry. Amy is trying hard to open up, but it takes time, doesn’t it, darling?”
He caressed her face kindly, and she looked up at him and nodded. Then Neil made her get into his car, and he sat next to her. When they were alone in the car, he turned to smile at her, he started the engine, and, while they were driving to the Trattoria, they remained silent. His presence next to her was so soothing, so comforting… They didn’t need to speak, he knew that she trusted him, and she knew that he would always protect her.
Neil parked his car in front of a small building. She had never been to the Trattoria, and she saw the other children arrive with their parents and the orphans, who would be their cooking partners. Neil looked at her, he smiled, and he asked:
“How are you, Amy? Everything ok at school?”
She had never told him about the nightmares she had at night, she was sure he would worry about her. She answered:
“Yes, I am ok. I don’t know …” She looked uncomfortably towards the entrance to the Trattoria, where a smiling Anna was welcoming her aspiring chefs.
“You mustn’t worry, Amy. You did so well last Monday at the orphanage. It is the same, only in a different place. Anna, Silvia and Jennifer are nice, and I will be waiting for your cake…” He smiled encouragingly, and he went on:
“Nobody will hurt you, Amy! You should try to trust the people in this community, they are all reliable, and if there is someone who reminds you of something, you must tell me immediately, ok? I will always be present, and I will keep an eye on you, I promise!”
She knew he would do that, but she was sure that he was in danger, too. She was aware that she could put him in danger, but she couldn't stop seeing him, she needed his reassuring presence, and she felt, she didn’t know why, that their lives were connected. He felt her fears, and, before getting out of the car, he embraced her to encourage her.
***
Anna's trattoria, 4:30 pm
Anna had prepared all the ingredients on the table. Every couple of young chefs had a cooking station on the large rectangular table in the spacious kitchen of the Trattoria. The little orphans had never seen the kitchen of a restaurant, and they looked around, fascinated by all the utensils hanging over the cooktop, all the plates piled up in the cupboards or on the shelves and the pans and pots in the cabinets.
Anna explained:
“Today we are going to prepare a cake typical of a region, Trentino Alto Adige, in the North of Italy. It is a very beautiful region, with high mountains called Dolomiti. It is strange, because many people in this region don’t speak Italian, they speak German, since they were many years ago a part of Austria. The cake has a German name.”
“Do you speak German, Anna?” Jim asked. He was the smallest orphan. Anna liked him, because he was eager to know, he always had questions, and he tried to do his best in anything he had to do.
“No, Jim, only in that region they speak both German and Italian. The cake is called strudel, and today we are going to make it with puff pastry,” she indicated two puff pastry sheets for every couple. The children turned their attention to the table, and followed her gestures, “brown sugar, apples …” In a bowl there were pieces of apple, already peeled and chopped. “Milk, eggs, salt and golden raisins. Jennifer and Silvia will help you. Have fun, children!”
All the children started working with the help of the two women, who took care of putting the baking trays into the ovens.
Anna went to the dining room, where the parents were sitting at the tables, with a plate and a glass in front of them. Neil had gone to sit with Anna’s son-in-law, Mark and Lieutenant John Steele at a large round table, and they were chatting pleasantly.
Anna went from table to table to say hello to everybody, and, if she had been a little anxious when she had started this cooperation with the orphanage, now she was sure that all the parents approved of her plan, and the children liked cooking together.
And she knew that she was fulfilling one of his son Luca’s dreams: involving the orphans in the life and activities of the community, making them feel part of a big family, making them feel the warmth of family life.
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