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“Only for brief visits, according to Tom.”
She looked away, forced a shrug. “Life changed direction. I got caught up in it and made a career overseas.”
“A life that doesn’t include something you love.”
“I have music in my life,” she said, trying to keep her tone even, desperate to keep out the defensiveness that she felt.
“Yeah?” he said, surprised. “What kind of music are you into nowadays?”
If he hadn’t sounded so genuinely interested, she would have shut him down with impressive knowledge of Italian opera and classical music. But now, she just sighed. “Opera, mostly. Giancarlo and his mother like it.”
“And you don’t?”
“I do,” she said, suddenly tired. “Some of it. I can’t say that it’s my passion now, but there are some beautiful arias.”
“Like ‘Visi d’arte’?” he asked, grinning.
She gave him a startled look. “You know that aria?”
He nodded. “Sure. My parents were into opera big time. It’s beautiful.”
“Yes,” she said, sighing, “it is. And there’s a lovely one inLa Bohème, too, that I like, ‘Si, mi chiamano Mimì.’”
“Yeah, I can get behind that.”
“You know that one, too?”
“Kate, my parents wanted me to play classical music, not this trashy stuff.”
She laughed. “No, I don’t suppose this music would have fitted their image.” She cocked her head, studying him. “But they are okay with you writing songs for that band, right? I mean not many can make it in the music business.”
It was Ethan’s time to study his hands. “It’s not the Boston Symphony, though, is it?” His nostrils flared. “Or my father’s business.”
There was something in his voice that caught her attention. It was more than the obvious struggle to achieve success that his parents would approve.
The back door opened again. This time Kate looked around and saw Giancarlo appear, puzzlement and concern on his face.
“Katerina. You are here. Is something wrong? I have been looking for you for a while. I had no idea where you’d disappeared to. One moment you were up on stage, the next you were gone. I finally asked Tom if he had any idea, and he suggested here.”
Kate and Ethan rose at the same time, turning to face Giancarlo. Ethan went up the steps, passing Giancarlo. “I’ll just go and help with the equipment,” he said, leaving the two of them alone.
Giancarlo moved down to her and took her in his arms. “Are you all right? You look pale.”
She gave him a wan smile. “No, no, I’m fine,” she said speaking into his chest. “I just felt overwhelmed, that’s all. You know, the funeral and everything.”
“Of course,tesoro,”he said. “It is only natural. Let’s get you back to your father’s house. It’s been a long day.”
She nodded and allowed him to guide her up the steps, trying not to think what it would be like, sleeping in the house without her father there, only Max.
Twenty-Five
Giancarlo, dressed in camel-colored pants and a Missoni sweater, was seated at the kitchen table glancing at his phone when Kate entered, yawning, still in her old pajamas, Max trailing behind her, his nails clicking on the linoleum. Max went to the back door and waited patiently while she opened it for him, and she watched him amble out, closing the door after him. She looked over at Giancarlo, noting the name on the cardboard coffee cup beside him.
“You went out for coffee?” she asked, surprised. Since he’d arrived he’d been drinking the coffee produced by their twenty-year-old coffee maker.
“I finally found a place that sells espresso,” he said. He took a sip and shrugged. “It’s not bad.”
She suddenly felt guilty. She should have thought of going out for coffee, or at least suggested it. She took a seat at the table opposite him and he reached into the paper bag beside him and withdrew another cup and pushed it to her. “I got you some as well.”
