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Alyssa scanned through a “family members” section of Eva’s page, but unfortunately, Teresa wasn’t listed.
“Given her age, I’m guessing she was a niece?” Maggie said.
“Not a bad guess,” Janine offered. “Was she ever married?”
“I don’t think so,” Alyssa said, “which means she had her baby out of wedlock. Wouldn’t that have been a pretty big scandal here in Italy back then?”
Janine nodded, a wave of sorrow flowing through her. “It’s not that the United States doesn’t have its own problems around shaming young women,” she began, “but I think in Italy, it was that much worse. Misogyny was and still is a huge problem.”
Alyssa and Maggie were quiet for a few moments, eyeing one another.
“I feel frightened, sometimes, about bringing a little girl into the world,” Maggie admitted. “Things have gotten so much better for us, but…”
“But there’s still work to do,” Alyssa affirmed. “And it’s up to us to do that.”
Janine’s heart swelled with pride for her girls. “You really don’t want to learn the sex?”
Alyssa and Maggie shook their heads, flashing gleeful smiles.
“I want it to be a surprise,” Maggie said.
“And Maggie gets what she wants,” Alyssa said. “She’s the mother, after all.”
There was a ding from Alyssa’s phone, and the three of them bent down with excitement to read:
Alyssa! Wonderful of you to reach out. Yes, we must meet. How long are you in Venice? Would you like to come to my home in two nights’ time? I will make you my mother’s recipe. (P.s. My mother was Teresa’s sister. I suppose that makes us cousins, of a sort.)
“I guess that answers that question,” Alyssa said. “You up for dinner with Eva?”
Maggie and Janine nodded exuberantly.
“I’ll do anything for that family recipe,” Janine offered. “All your grandmother passed to me was how to make Hot Pockets in the microwave.”
Alyssa and Maggie laughed gently, with Maggie adding, “Is that why you tried to pass on so many recipes to us?”
“They made it to you, Mags,” Alyssa joked. “I have a long way to go in the kitchen.”
Eva’s home was located along a canal a few waterways from Teresa’s villa. It was not difficult to imagine Teresa and Eva visiting one another, perhaps on the very water taxi the three of them now sat upon. Although it was still August, clouds rolled over the water-logged city, and, frequently, rain pattered across the canals, giving the city an eerie feeling. Janine eyed Maggie, then Alyssa, her heart jumping nervously. What on earth would Eva tell them about Teresa? And how long would they play along with Teresa’s game until they decided to go home?
Still, Janine couldn’t help but be excited, caught up in this adventure with her daughters.
The woman who opened the front door of the canal-side home did, in fact, look a great deal like Teresa. Although her hair was graying around her ears and crown, it was still sleek and thick, and she looked strong and agile despite her fifty-something years. When she first locked eyes on them, her face erupted with joy, and she leaped forward with hugs, kisses, and “buongiornos” until Janine’s cheeks burned with a mix of embarrassment and confusion. In the United States, people were friendly— but this was another level.
“I’m sorry,” Eva said, opening the door wider to let them in. “I loved my Aunt Teresa so, so dearly, and to have you three here in the wake of her death means a great deal.”
Alyssa, Maggie, and Janine followed Eva through the shadowed hallways toward a living room located on the opposite side of the house. Eva had hung beautiful, modern paintings that contrasted the antique feel of the rest of the city, and there was a liveliness to the furniture— a bright red couch, a navy chaise longue, a monstera plant. It was clear she was the kind of woman who never wanted to grow old.
“Please! Sit,” Eva instructed before disappearing to fetch cannoli and espresso. When she reappeared in the living room, she eyed Alyssa, then Maggie, and laughed. “You two will not take the espresso.”
“Unfortunately not,” Alyssa said. “We can drink small amounts of coffee, but…”
“But this is too much.” Eva placed the espresso cups and the cannoli on the coffee table, then hurried away to grab glasses of water instead. When she returned, she sat between Alyssa and Maggie and took their hands. “Both of you! Pregnant. Why did you not tell me?”
“It’s an awkward thing to bring up over text,” Alyssa said with a laugh.
Maggie blushed yet smiled in a secretive way. Janine knew that Maggie loved to talk about her pregnancy, about the expectation of tomorrow. Every time someone brought it up, she glowed.
“When are you due?” Eva asked.
