"What's with the serious faces?" Fabrizo asked. He looked from Jack to Rose. "Did something happen?"
"Yeah," Jack said. He brushed his hair back.
"It isn't—He didn't find us?" Fabrizo said.
"No, nothing like that," Rose said quickly. "We're safe. This is a good thing."
Fabrizo breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't think he could, but you never know."
"We were up in the attic a few days ago, and we found some papers that belonged to my parents," Jack explained. "Stock and bond certificates. We checked 'em out at the bank, and they're worth a lot of money. I mean, a lot of money."
"What're you saying, Jack? We're rick now?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Jack replied. "As far as I'm concerned, this money belongs to all of us. We're a family."
"You're like a brother to me too, Fabrizo," Rose added. "I never had one. It's nice having you in my life."
"I can't believe this," Fabrizo said slowly. "You never knew the money was there?"
"I had no idea," Jack said. He laughed. "If I'd known, we wouldn'tve been sleeping under bridges."
"Guess we never will again," Fabrizo said.
"We were thinking, maybe we'll go back to Europe next summer," Rose said. "You could see your family again."
"I'd like that," Fabrizo said. "I don't know if they'd have me after the way I left, though."
"They'll forgive you," Jack predicted.
"You haven't known many Sicilians, have you?" Fabrizo said.
"Still, you can always try," Rose said. She smiled wryly. "Unlike me."
"Your mother loves you, Rose," Jack said. "She'll figure out you made the right choice. It just takes time."
Rose didn't talk about her mother often. Lately, she didn't even think about her very much. She wondered what compelled her to mention Ruth.
"I was also thinking we can make some improvements to the house," Jack said. "Maybe build onto it and give ourselves a little more space."
"Good idea," Fabrizo said. "I guess we'll be the ones doing the building?"
"We have money now," Jack said. "We can hire people if we want."
"But you won't," Rose said. "We know you, Jack. You'd rather do things yourself."
"Is that bad?"
"No," she said, ruffling his hair.
"Well, I'm getting some servants," Fabrizo joked. "A valet or two. I'm tired of dressing myself every day."
"Having someone dress you isn't much fun," Rose said. "It always made me feel like a child, but then again, my clothes were too complicated to put on by myself. I doubt you have that problem."
"I might," Fabrizo said.
"Even the fanciest of men's clothes are simple compared to some of the dresses I was hooked and buttoned and laced into," Rose said. She shook her head. "You're lucky you don't have to deal with it." She breathed deeply, letting her lungs expand completely, unhindered by a corset and tight bodice. "I'll never wear anything like that again," she added quietly.
….
Rose stopped outside Fabrizo's room. He stood in front of the mirror, staring at himself. His black hair was freshly washed and combed. He wore a stiff, new shirt, and his shoes had been polished. "You look nice,' she said. "Whoever she is, I'm sure she'll love you."
He smiled. "Thank you, Rosa. A woman's opinion, it's helpful."
"You should bring her to meet us."
"I will," he said. "Soon, maybe. If this goes alright. I've never gone to meet a girl's family before."
"What about the girl you were supposed to marry?"
"That was all arranged by our families," he said. "I'd known them my whole life. If they didn't like me, they wouldn't have agreed to the marriage."
"Well, don't be nervous," Rose said. "If she likes you, they will too. You're a good man, Fabrizo, and if you think you aren't winning them over," she added with a smile. "You can always cook for them. I doubt anyone can resist your torta setteveli."
"Only those with no taste," he said. "Like the French."
She laughed. "That French cookbook hasn't changed your opinion of them at all?"
"A little," Fabrizo conceded. "The food's still not my favorite thing about that country," he added, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Yes, and I suspect the paintings weren't Jack's favorite part either," Rose said. "I'd rather not think about that." She offered him an encouraging smile. "Good luck."
As she turned to go, Fabrizo said, "There wasn't anyone else, Rosa. He only ever loved you."
"I'm not worried he doesn't love me," she said. "He's proven that more than anyone should ever have to. I don't mind that he has a past, a life before me. It wouldn't be fair to expect him not to, but-" Rose hesitated.
"But what?"
"I hope you're able to be that generous with this girl," Rose said. "You have a past, so you shouldn't mind too much if she does as well." She didn't quite know what made her say it. She suspected Lucy was the girl Fabrizo had been seeing, but she had no proof. Lucy definitely had a past. Jack hadn't told her exactly what happened between them, but Rose guessed most of it. She knew instinctively he made love with her. She wasn't bothered by that so much as the fact he left. It was the only thing she ever thought of reproaching him for, even if his staying meant never meeting her.
"You're right," Fabrizo said. "I'll try and remember that."
…
Jack sat at the kitchen table, the box of certificates open next to him. He studied a sheet of paper, a pencil between his fingers.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked. She kissed the top of his head. "Darling-Jack, you'll give yourself a headache," she went on, as she read over the paper with its hastily scrawled and crossed out figures.
"I'm just trying to see how much we can do," Jack said. "I don't want to sell them all. We don't need that kind of money. That idea about getting the dividends, I like that, and we can re-invest some of it."
Rose took the chair next to him. "You've given this a lot of thought, haven't you?"
"I want to do what's best for all of us. I know keeping the money invested means we could lose it," he said. "But it also means we can get more. It'd be nice to know it was there, just in case. And they kept this long without help from anyone."
'That's true," Rose said. "We don't have to do everything at once either. The house is fine the way it is."
"But if Fabrizo gets married, or we have children, we'll need more room," Jack pointed out. "Assuming he still wants to live with us, or she does."
Rose tried not to sound surprised. "Did you say children?"
"Well, yeah," he said. She couldn't hide the startled look in her eyes. "Do you not want them? I thought-"
"I do," she said. "I can't say I haven't considered what it would be like. With Cal, I didn't want any. I hated the thought of it. But with you…" She smiled.
Jack touched her hand. "It doesn't scare you with me?"
"Not a bit," she said. "I just wasn't expecting to hear you say it so soon. With things the way they are, I wasn't sure we'd have them yet."
Jack knew she was referring to her marriage, something he considered a minor technicality, when he considered it at all. "Rose, now that we've got this money, you don't hafta stay married to him," he said. "I hate admitting it, but this money'll keep us safe. We can find a way for you to divorce him, without him every knowing where we are."
Rose's heart fluttered. "Do you really think so?"
Jack nodded. "I know we can."
"That sounds too good to be true."
"So does finding the money," he said. "But we did."
"Even with all of it, we still won't have as much as he does," she argued. "And eventually, if we aren't careful, ours will run out. His won't."
"Rose, do you want him out of our lives? For good?"
"Jack, of course I do."
"Then trust me," he said. "We'll make it happen."
….
Lucy answered the door. She smiled nervously. "I was afraid you wouldn't come," she said.
"Why wouldn't I?"
She stepped aside, letting him in. "My brothers are a formidable lot," she said. "I wouldn't blame you for wanting to avoid them."
"That'd mean avoiding you. I don't want that."
Her smiled widened. "Let's, um, let's go into the kitchen," she said.
Dinner was being set on the table by Adam. Tom already sat at the table's head. Billy sat to his left. They all turned when Fabrizo and Lucy came in. She didn't remember ever feeling so anxious around her family. She had always been allowed a certain freedom; she was beloved by her bothers, an indulged kid sister. When Jack came around he was greeted like a fourth brother; his presence in her life wasn't only welcome, it was almost taken for granted. Lucy glanced at Fabrizo. He wouldn't have that luxury.
Tom stood up and held out his hand. "Tom McCullough," he said. His handshake was firm, but his tone was friendly. Fabrizo ventured a smile. "Fabrizo DiRossi." His accent sounded thicker in his ears. Was that the way they heard it? Tom nodded, and the round of handshakes continued.
"Well, are we gonna eat?" Billy said.
"You can sit next to me," Lucy offered. She resisted the urge to touch Fabrizo's hand.
"Thank you," Fabrizo said. "Who's that chair for?" he asked, indicating the empty chair at the far end of the table.
"Our Pa," Tom said. "He's not here, so you don't have that to worry about."
"He's in Boston visiting his brothers," Lucy explained.
"I think he's moved to Boston without telling us," Adam said.
"It's been a long time since he saw his brothers," Tom said. "Over twenty years. You can't expect a short visit."
"Is your family here?" Billy asked.
"No," Fabrizo said. "They're still back home."
"Where's that?" Tom asked.
"A village in Sicily, near Palermo," Fabrizo answered. "I left a while ago and traveled before coming to America."
"Why'd you come here?" Adam asked. "There's nothing out here. Unless you were born here, there's no reason to stay."
"I had friends here," Fabrizo said. "They offered me a home. I liked New York, but it was lonely. Meeting people, making friends, it's difficult in a strange place. And I like it here," he added, looking at Lucy. "I wouldn't say there's nothing here."
The brothers exchanged glances. "Who're your friends?" Tom asked. "I'm sure we know them."
"You do," Fabrizo said. "Jack and Rose Dawson."
"So, you're the guy living with them?" Billy said. "We heard about you. You're not like the descriptions."
"Billy," Lucy hissed through clenched teeth.
"What?" Billy said. "He's not."
"You shouldn't-"
"I don't mind," Fabrizo said. "What did you hear?"
"Nothing worth repeating," Tom said. "Like Billy said, you're not like what we heard."
It was a statement of approval, but Fabrizo didn't know how to feel about it. Were they willing to believe the gossip at first because they didn't know him yet, or because he was different, foreign, and had to prove the stories wrong before they would even want to know him? It was a question he tried not to think about.
…
"Don't you need something to eat?" Rose said. Jack stood before the blank canvas, staring. Others leaned against the fall, facing away from them.
"Yeah, I guess," he said distantly.
"What happened to these?" She turned one of the canvases around.
"Don't look at that," he said. "They're not any good."
"This one looks good to me." It was the house, but a future version with more rooms and a flourishing garden. The colors were vivid, the brush strokes bold. It wasn't like the scenes Jack normally painted; there was less realism. "Were you trying to do something different?" she asked.
"And failing at it."
"You didn't fail, Jack."
"It's really not good," he argued. "I'll probably get rid of it or paint over it."
"No, don't. I like it, and even if I didn't, you should keep more of your work. You'll be able to see your progress better that way."
"Believe me, Rose, I can see it," Jack said, frowning. "I'm not making any. I thought I was, for a while, but-" He shrugged. "That's over."
"How can you say that?"
"Because it's true," he said.
Rose shook her head. "It isn't. Your work is exquisite, even more so than when I first saw it. Maybe you're too close to it, and that's why you don't see the changes."
"Maybe." He didn't sound convinced.
She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Trust me, Jack. You're a wonderful artist."
"Did you mention something about eating?"
She kissed him again, longer this time. "Later?" she said. Her fingers moved through his hair. "I just realized we're alone."
Jack pressed her closer. "We haven't been alone in a couple months."
Her lips brushed his. "I know."
Having Fabrizo in the house didn't stop their lovemaking, but his presence definitely changed things. They were more self-conscious and took pains not to be overheard. Fabrizo's room was down the hall, and the walls were solid, but still neither of them could bear the thought of being found out. He knew; obviously, he had to know. That was one thing he and Jack never discussed, at least, not anymore. A tangled web of modesty and protectiveness kept them from it.
Jack lifted her off her feet and kissed her all the way to bed. "I've got paint on my hands," he said breathlessly. "I should-"
"I don't mind." Rose pulled him down with her. "They're artist hands," she whispered.
"I can't draw anything like this."
"Sure you can," she said. She kissed him. "We're the drawing, Jack."
….
Dinner was nearly over, and Fabrizo felt guilty for wanting it to end. They weren't unpleasant people. In fact, his suspicion that they approved of him had only grown stronger. That didn't stop their questions or the probing way they looked at him. They were searching for the hole in his story, the flaw that would undo their good opinion of him. He understood why. That didn't make it any easier. Fabrizo wished he could just tell them how much he cared for Lucy, how close they'd gotten. He wished he could say he loved her.
That was impossible, of course. Saying it to her was difficult enough. She gave him a reassuring smile. He returned it. "How long are you planning to stay?" Tom asked, watching their exchange.
"I haven't thought about it," Fabrizo said. "I have no plans to leave anytime soon. I do want to go back to Italy, someday, and see my family again. Not to live, though."
"You'll never live there again?" Lucy said.
"I don't think so," Fabrizo answered. "But you never know what will happen. I'd need a reason not to stay here," he added.
"And you can marry an American?" Billy asked.
"I don't see why not," Fabrizo said. "Why couldn't I?"
"It's just some people may not like it," Billy said. "You being-" He searched for the right word.
"Italian?" Fabrizo offered. "Foreign?"
Billy opened and closed his mouth without a word. "That's not exactly what I meant," he managed to sau.
"He wasn't trying to offend you," Tom said.
"I know," Fabrizo said.
"We like you," Tom went on. "If you want to see Lucy, you can."
…
"Jack?" He didn't respond. Rose lightly shook him. "Jack?" He tightened his arm around her and buried his face in the pillow.
"Jack, wake up." Her voice was thin with anxiety. She heard Fabrizo coming in downstairs. "Fine," she whispered, kissing Jack's hair. "I'll talk to him."
She slipped into her clothes and hurried downstairs. Fabrizo was in the kitchen. "How did it go?" she asked.
"It was fine," he said. He took down the kettle. "Do you want some tea?"
"Sure." She glanced at the clock. "It's later than I thought. It really must have gone well."
"They seemed to like me," he said. "I'm allowed to go on seeing their sister. They told me so." His eyes were heavy. He stared down into the tea tin.
"You aren't happy about that?"
"It was the way they said it," he replied.
"Well, most families feel they have to give permission," Rose said. "They don't let just anyone into the fold."
"I understand that. In Sicily, families are so close and so loyal. You'd never let your children marry anyone you didn't trust and approve of," Fabrizo said. "But it was like I had to try harder to get their approval, harder than I should've. I'm not like them. When they hard gossip about the Italian living with you two, they believed it, and I'm not sure it's because they didn't know me yet."
"Because you aren't like them," she said.
"Yes, Rosa."
'So they acted as though they were doing you a favor by treating you decently," she said.
Fabrizo nodded. "Yes. Exactly. How did you know?"
"That's how Jack was treated by the people I knew. They acted like they were so good, so generous for even speaking to him at dinner," Rose said. "I couldn't stand it."
"I couldn't stand it either."
"I'm sorry that happened," she said.
'Thank you, Rosa." He poured out the water for the tea. "Why are you up?"
"I had a dream," she said. "It doesn't matter."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"I was going to. I tried to wake Jack, but he's sound asleep," Rose said. "Besides, I shouldn't bother him. It was nothing."
"You sure? It got you up."
"It was about Cal," she said slowly. "He-He found us. Jack-" She closed her eyes. "I can't think about it."
"We're safe," Fabrizo said. "He won't find us."
"Jack wants to use some of the money to hire a lawyer. He wants me to divorce him. He thinks it can be done without Cal finding us," Rose said. "I want to believe that, but what if he's wrong? If Cal found us, if he hurt Jack, I couldn't live with myself."
"It wouldn't be your fault. Jack knew what he was getting into. He made that choice."
Rose took a sip of tea. "There's something else."
"What?"
"I may be pregnant," she said.
…..
The file kept nagging at him until Lovejoy gave it a closer look. There wasn't much, but what there was made him dig deeper. Finding any record of Jack was difficult, given how often he moved around, but it wasn't impossible. One by one, the pieces fell together.
"I have it," he announced triumphantly. He dropped the now-thick file on Cal's desk.
"You're sure?" Cal said. He flipped open the file. "This isn't another dead end?"
"It's him."
"This time I'll go myself," Cal said. "No more mistakes."
