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He revved the engine, gave her a warm smile, then drove off.
Once again, he thought about Olivia. The family fortune. How were they related? Her last name was Carter, not Rusu. Her father was American and she said she’d never been to Romania before.
Maria Balan.She’d told him her mother’s name had been Maria Balan.
His mom would know something about the Balans, he thought, turning the van onto the small, but buzzing, market road as he headed for home.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
The scratching sound in the cracked ceiling above her could have been a rat scurrying over a broken wooden frame. But Olivia tried not to focus on that. The house seemed smaller and shabbier than she’d expected.
They sat around a wobbly table beside the kitchen and drank coffee. Olivia glanced at the colorful pile of clothes on the worn sofa. The house was run down, but there was no obvious mold or broken roof like Elena had mentioned. The pungent stench of cigarette smoke and thick perfume was hard to ignore, though.
“You will like some coffee,” Elena said. Olivia smiled with a nod, hoping it wasn’t as strong as what she’d had this morning. It had taken her an hour to get rid of that dizzy feeling. Alina made the coffee, setting the pot delicately on the table while she regarded Olivia. There was a book on the table, a thick text on biology and anatomy. Olivia picked it up just as Alina made to grab it.
“Is this yours?” she asked with a friendly smile, and Alina nodded. On closer observation, Olivia realized that Alina was actually quite beautiful. With a little less makeup, she’d be stunning. She had strangely elegant, long fingers and an appealing, confident smile.
“Anatomy?” Olivia flipped through the pages and saw notes crammed in the margins and large sections of text highlighted. It reminded her of her years in college.
“I would like to be a doctor someday,” Alina said. Olivia could hear the pride in her voice. She smiled and handed Alina the textbook.
“I’m sure you’ll make a great one.”
Elena cleared her throat. “Universities are expensive. Not for people like us.” She shook her head then smiled. “But let’s have coffee.” Elena let out another cough, covering her mouth as she did. Alina patted her hand and grimaced.
“Mother’s health seems to be worsening each day.”
“I’m so sorry about that,” Olivia said.
“I will be fine.” She took a deep breath to gather herself. “I just need some rest and things will be better.”
She looked up at Olivia and took a sip of her coffee, carefully wiping her lips with the tip of her pinky. “We are grateful to have you, Olivia, really.” She turned to Alina. “Ask Alina, she’ll tell you how happy I was to receive your letter. It was like the very heavens opened up above us.”
Alina nodded. “Mother almost fainted.”
“Not almost,” Elena chimed in, clearing her throat. She squeezed her daughter’s hand. “Ididfaint. Remember? Right there, by the door. You said, ‘Mother come and see this letter.’ I didn’t want to because I thought it was another bill.” She shook her head and let out a sigh. “We have so many of those.”
Olivia lifted her mug to her lips and inhaled the strong smell of coffee.
“But Alina promised this letter was different. So, I read the letter and there it was. You said you wanted to come to Romania and see us and give us a share of Andrei’s fortune. Suddenly everything else went ’round and ’round in my head and next thing I knew, I was waking up in Alina’s arms right there.” She pointed to the door just beyond the cramped living room.
“I’m so sorry,” Olivia said.
Alina looked from her mom to Olivia. “I have to be honest. I didn’t think you would really come, but Mother never doubted you. You’re like an angel, falling from the sky to save us. Even the smallest amount would help toward mother’s medical bills.”
Olivia squirmed in her chair, uncomfortable with the overwhelming amount of gratefulness. She didn’t feel like a savior. She felt like a fraud.
“Alina, stop it. It doesn’t matter how much, only that we were not forgotten,” Elena said, gazing at Olivia.
“No, you were not forgotten,” Olivia said. “I’ll have to wait for Mr. Stanley, my lawyer, for the details, but soon we’ll all sit down and things will change for you. I can promise you that much.”
Elena grimaced for a second, then bit her lip. She looked like she was either holding back one of her coughs or, strangely, like she was angry. But then she smiled softly. “Of course, we understand.”
Olivia knew this probably wasn’t how they wanted things to go. Their house was literally falling apart around them, and Elena didn’t sound like she was going to get better any time soon. Even Olivia was annoyed by this plan, but Mr. Stanley had been very clear with her before she left.
“You want to what?” his voice had raged through the phone. He was with her less than twenty minutes later, pacing around while she explained her intentions to him.
