Liam watched Erica leave her small desk in the lobby of her uncle’s office. She returned carrying a bowl of the fragrant soup.
“You’ve got a pot of the stuff back there?” Liam asked in disbelief.
“I always bring enough so Uncle Earn can have extra for a late dinner or breakfast.”
“Grazi,” Liam accepted the warm bowl. “Your mother is Claymore’s sister, yes?”
“Yes. Bettina George.” Erica smiled when she said her mother’s name. “She’s the middle girl in a family of boys.”
“Coincidence!” Liam raved. “That’s where I fall in with my brothers.”
“My uncle Mitch is the youngest, We’re the same age.”
They both laughed over that. Liam took a hearty spoonful of the soup and groaned his approval.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Erica settled in then to enjoy her lunch.
“How long have you been working for your uncle?” Liam asked when they’d been eating silently for about a minute.
“Over two years now, I suppose.”
He heard the slight twinge of stress holding her voice and wondered what he was more thrown by-that she was stressed or that he’d come to know her well enough to know when she was stressed.
He studied her covertly while sipping the soup, appreciating the poise in her movements when she tucked a thick, glossy lock of dark hair behind her ear.
“I didn’t mean to pry,” he said finally, quietly.
Erica shook her head. “You didn’t pry. Coming to work for Uncle Earn is the best thing I’ve ever done. Hmph...the reason I came to work for him in the first place is part of the worst thing I’ve ever done.” She cleared her throat and let her spoon hit the side of her bowl with a clatter.
“Marriage,” she huffed out the word while running her thumb across the silver wedding band adorning her finger.
“Is he out of work?” Liam asked, deciding not to inform her of what her uncle had shared of Erica’s husband.
She smirked, picking up the spoon and running it around the sides of the bowl. “Work is one thing Paul Lewis has more than his fair share of. He’s a seaman like my uncle. Trouble is, he has a love of working, yet forgetting that some of his paycheck should be used to feed his kids. It’s why I needed to go out and make money.”
“I’m sorry, Erica.”
“No...” she grimaced, losing interest in the soup. “I shouldn’t be going on about this. I don’t...not usually.”
“Sometimes it helps to talk,” he said in a calm tone which surprised him given the anger roused by her heartbreaking story.
“It really is alright,” Erica was saying, her voice carrying a resolved hopeful tone. “Uncle Earn is more than generous and I’ve always known the love and support of a very large family, so...”
“So...” Liam repeated, smiling when she rewarded him with a smile. “Tell me about the kids.”
Her smile became luminescent. “My world,” she said. “And the first grandkids so...a little spoiled, especially by my mother. Grandparents can be too much sometimes.”
“But I know people who can be worse. Uncles.” Liam decided. “And I know from experience!” He raved as laughter filled the office once more that day.
***
Athena was on the roof trying to decide whether it was time to give her work gloves a thorough washing. She was in her element there. The garden was proof of that. It had taken shape quickly during the few months since Liam had surprised her with it.
A few months...had it really been such a short span of time? She thought back to the garden at his home in Trento. They had seemed like two different people then. They had seemed like two people in love.
Is that what she felt for Giaimo Tesano now? Love? She didn’t think so. She may have thought so were it not for what she’d known with Liam. Regardless of the uncertainties now starting to take shape inside her marriage, she had and truly knew love with Liam Tesano.
There was however, the matter of what she felt for her husband’s brother. Lust? Most assuredly. Giaimo Tesano could spark that emotion in a nun, she mused. He was an incredible specimen and she wanted very much to go to bed with him. If Liam found out...Dammit! She’d told him she wasn’t worthy.
Athena moved from the radish crates and strolled closer to the roof’s edge while pulling away the smock she wore over a simple short sleeved dress of plum with cream buttons primly securing the front.
She had warned him of what she was, hadn’t she? Yes...she had never promised to change, had she? With a sigh, she focused on the distant rooftops. Puffs of smoke wafted above them toward the dim skies signalling nightfall.
Yes, she had warned him. Still, that didn’t mean she wanted to see the look in his eyes when he discovered she had betrayed him in the worst way possible. She dismissed the thoughts with an angry headshake. She hadn’t even slept with Giaimo for chrissake! Yet... Athena couldn’t fight the unspoken truth.
Her work appeared to be done in the garden for the time being. She had planted new seedlings for brussel sprouts and celery as well as the flowers she adored- lilacs, sunflowers and roses. She was eager to return to the empty apartment and treat herself to a hot bath and glass-glasses of wine. The boys were spending time with one of her seamstresses who lived on the 3rd floor. The woman had three of her own close to Humphrey’s and Aaron’s ages. They had all played together several times before and had great fun.
There was still about four hours before she had to go down and get them. She was determined to make the most of that time. She was certain Liam wouldn’t be home before then. He had been spending more and more time on business. With any luck, he’d soon be willing to trade the 5th floor walk-up for more spacious and appropriate accommodations.
Again, she shook off unsettling thoughts- ones that hinted of her husband’s hesitation to move being less about finances and more about her. Maybe Liam hadn’t truly forgiven her for all her transgressions after all. Perhaps, he didn’t think she deserved any better than a shabby 5th floor abode in a cramped building where they lived and worked. An animal like her would need to be locked up to keep out of trouble, right?
With a muffled cry of frustration, Athena balled her work gloves and threw them. Cavern deep chuckling followed the action and gave her a start when she spun around and saw Giaimo standing just past the roof’s access door.
“Why are you here?” She demanded.
“Came to see the boys.”
“They’re not here.”
