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Cate and I were meeting the others at the restaurant. I instructed the soldier driving us to drop us off at the top of the town so that we could enjoy the stroll down the steep cobbled streets. Taking our time to soak up the atmosphere, we walked past the Church of Santa Adelina Assunta on our way to the restaurant which was located right on the beach.
After dinner, we wandered back through the narrow streets.
“Let’s go this way,” I announced. I wanted to show Anni and Clara something.
As we walked back up a set of stone steps, Clara gasped as she caught sight of what I had wanted to show her. “Uncle Alessio, look at all the pussycats,” Clara whispered.
I had taken them past a restaurant with a large metal roof. And there, lounging in the warm rays of the setting sun, were around thirty cats.
“They’re cats on a hot tin roof,” laughed Anni, making Clara giggle too.
“I thought you’d like it,” I grinned.
We carried on through the boutique-lined streets, where the girls couldn’t resist doing some shopping.
Juliana and Cate chose some ceramic bowls which were cobalt-blue and had a pattern in orange and yellow. “These will be perfect for our kitchen back home,” commented Juliana.
“They’ll remind us of our time here,” added Cate, shooting a secret smile at me which made my heart clench with love.
10 MONTHS LATER
CATE
I came down to breakfast and found the whole family already sitting around the kitchen island and tucking into their food.
“Hey, you don’t look great,” said Alessio with a frown.
“I feel really rough and so nauseous. I think I’ve got a stomach bug.” I collapsed into my usual chair and rested my head on top of my arms.
“Don’t tell me that you’ve got food poisoning, Cate,” interjected Camillo. “Juliana, I keep telling you that you shouldn’t be cooking—you’ll kill us all. Forget about the Fratellanza being the biggest danger in our lives, it’s got nothing on your lethal cooking skills.”
Juliana looked up. “I haven’t had time for cooking the last few days. Maximo has been taking up all my time. It was Marco who made dinner last night.” She said this as Marco bounced their son on his lap while she spooned porridge into the baby’s eager mouth. “Our son is proving to be a lot to handle—he never gives us a minute’s peace and I don’t know where he puts all this food.”
“He hasn’t slept through an entire night since he was born, so he needs to get his energy from somewhere,” grumbled Marco.
I had buttered a slice of toast for myself and had only taken two bites when my stomach started to churn violently. I pushed my chair back and leaped up from the table, running for the bathroom where I threw up. Alessio came after me and held my hair back from my face. “Oh God, I feel awful.”
After I’d finished, Alessio helped me to my feet, and I splashed cold water on my face and rinsed out my mouth.
“Come on, cara, let’s sit you down.”
Alessio put his arm around my waist and helped me back to the kitchen, and I gratefully sank back into my chair and let him pour me some tea. I looked at my food with despair. “I don’t think I can face anything to eat.”
Camillo looked at me. “Jeez, that’s the second morning this week that you’ve thrown up.”
I carried on sipping my tea and then felt everyone’s eyes on me. “What?” I said, feeling a bit uncomfortable with their stares.
“What’s wrong with you all?” I said, a bit louder.
Alessio grinned at me. “Do you think that maybe…maybe…”
My head was throbbing, and my stomach was still doing cartwheels. “For God’s sake, Alessio, just spit it out.” I’d never known him to be so lost for words.
“That you could be pregnant?”
I froze, with my cup halfway to my mouth. If Juliana hadn’t given me food poisoning, and I was being sick in the mornings, that could mean that I was expecting a baby. I crashed my cup down onto the table. “Oh…I didn’t think…I don’t know. I guess it’s a possibility but—”
Juliana didn’t give me a chance to say anything else. She grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the stairs. “Come on, Cate, I’ve got a couple of pregnancy tests in my bathroom. Let’s go find out.”
