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I tap my cell phone against my leg, remembering the message Gabriella sent me this morning. Four simple words. "Can I go out?"
After her confession when I introduced her security team, I wondered what could have happened to make her change her mind so quickly. But finding her near the stables yesterday wasn't something I was expecting either. So, I said yes, she could leave, as long as she told me where she wanted to go.
The “I don’t know” I received as an answer made me laugh. I instructed the soldiers responsible for her safety to take her tothe city center. But, somehow, Gabriella managed to go out all day and not use the card she was given even once.
The door next to me is opened by Dario and I realize that, probably, the release notice was given at the electronic earpiece, and I simply ignored it. I get out of the car and walk the short distance to the main entrance door.
Luigia welcomes me, as always, and I hand her my jacket. I even take a step towards the bathroom but change my mind and turn back to the door I just entered through. Luigia looks at me with a frown.
“Dario,” I say to the electronic earpiece. “Bring the person in charge of Gabriella's security team to me.”
He confirms that he understands the order, and I cross my arms in front of my chest as I wait for the man in the mansion's entrance hall. The housekeeper looks at me, still holding my blazer, blinking, not knowing what to do.
“You are dismissed, Luigia.” She nods and turns to leave two seconds later.
It's a matter of minutes before Giordano is in front of me. The impeccable suit is not enough to hide, behind his alert posture, the nervousness he exudes.
“What did Gabriella do today?”
“We took her downtown, Don. As ordered.”
“And what did she do there?”
“She asked us to park as soon as we arrived at the beach. Thesignorinasat down on the sand.”
“And then?”
“Nothing. She spent the whole day sitting on the sand at the beach. At one point, a beach merchant approached and offeredher a beach umbrella, because she had been there for a long time, but that was all.”
“She didn't eat anything? Didn't she pay for the umbrella?”
“No, sir. She rose from the sand as the day began to darken. Thesignorinaeven tried to pay for the beach umbrella, but the man didn't accept it. Afterwards, she asked to be brought back.” I nod, dismissing the man.
Alone in the entrance hall, I laugh and expel the air through my teeth. Gabriella literally had the world in her hands, in the form of a small piece of thin black plastic, she could have bought whatever she wanted and still didn't spend a single coin.
I make my way towards the dining room where I am greeted with Tizziano's traditional complaint about my delay and an unconvincing expression of displeasure onMamma's face. She's not happy that I still haven't given her the hearing she's been asking for since Gabriella moved into my wing.
But why would I do it? I know exactly what she's going to tell me. Their performance doesn't last long, all it takes is for the starters to be served for the table to take on the usual tone of conversation and provocation.
My thoughts race to the girl sitting by the window upstairs. Gabriella has never had a relationship like this, and although for me, most of the time, dealing with my family is just an exercise in patience, I have no doubt that she would love it. It's a fleeting thought.
***
I climb the last step to my wing and cross the hallway to the kitchen and dining room. I'm surprised that the lights are off, and I look at the clock on my wrist, two o'clock in the morning,that's why the lights are off. After dinner, I went to the La Santa training center.
There were some actions that needed to be planned and I didn't want to fill the house with soldiers, not with Gabriella here. Her presence in my home is recent, but the changes that came with her are impossible to ignore. The girl has a serious problem with light. She turns on every light wherever she goes, no matter if it's day or night.
Probably an unconscious reaction to the lack of windows in her old house. It wouldn't be the first act to avoid remembering the life in Brazil that Gabriella would have.
As I pass by the kitchen counter, a small transparent dome catches my attention and I turn my face, noticing the plate of brigadeiros she made for me still there. I stop walking.
“Brigadeiro,” I murmur, testing the word.
I had already heard about the dessert, although I never tried it, the surprise is that she made them for me. And as I give in to the urge to approach the plate, I realize that it is untouched, even after days.
Gabriella didn't eat a single one. Whether it's because of a tantrum or because she considers them mine, I don't know. I narrow my eyes, completely ignorant of most of the things that are going on in the girl's head and I can't stop myself from lifting the small protection and taking one of the chocolate balls inside.
Holding the candy with the tips of my index finger and thumb, I bring it to my nose and smell it. Apparently, it is within its validity period. I stare at the brigadeiro placed in a little white paper mold for a long time, until Gabriella's laugh, during dinner atIl Precipizio, echoes in my thoughts.
