Page 97 of Lorenzo

“Ok,” says the kid, tensing up. I gather he doesn’t like a stranger to interrupt his precious time with his sister.

“How about we all go for an ice cream,” I say, breaking the silence. It’s near the school gates.”

“Yes, please,” he says.

As soon as Teddy has his ice cream in hand, his initial frosty demeanor toward me thaws.

At least a little.

Teddy and Emily can’t stop talking. They barely pay me any notice.

When we get to the end of our time together, I take the gift from my pocket.

“Do you have a keychain?” I ask him.

“No. I only have one key.”

“Well, that’s a start,” I say, giving him the gift. “Open it.”

Emily and I watch as he opens it. A smile lights up on his face when he sees the sparkling gold chain with Em’s picture on it.

“Cool!”

“Now when you use it, you can think of your sister and this day. Be certain to keep it with you always. Like in your pocket.”

“Thank you,” he says, looking up at us solemnly. “I will.”

Yet I’m a little relieved when we drop Teddy back off at the school.

Emily gives him a final embrace, then turns back to me once he’s gone.

Tears moisten her eyes.

“What’s the matter?” I say.

She shakes her head.

“It’s just so difficult,” she says. “It’s always been difficult being away from him. But now, with the future so uncertain …”

“Your uncle, you mean?”

“Yes. And who knows what’s going to happen next year with his tuition?”

That hits me hard. My automatic response is to tell her not to worry about it. That I’ll pay it without a second thought.

I automatically reach out to comfort her. Tell her it will all be taken care of. But I stop short of making that commitment.

Go slow, Lorenzo, my brother Dante had warned. Max, too, when he realized that this was beyond a game.

They could be right. Best to keep my cards in hand.

“Come on. Let’s see if this historic Berkshires Inn looks as good as the pictures.”

Once we arrive on the grounds of The Berkshires Inn, Em claps her hands in glee.

“Oh, my gosh. It looks just like Manderley.”

“What’s that?”