Page 33 of The Girl from Sicily

33

JESSICA, JULY 2005

Breathing deeply to calm her nerves, Jess stood on the pavement outside the modern office block in the centre of Palermo. She’d driven here a short time ago and was lucky to have found a parking space at the side of the busy street. The traffic and crazy driving in this city had made her feel as if she’d taken her life into her own hands and she’d broken out into a cold sweat while dodging cars, scooters and motorbikes coming at her from every direction. But she was here now and her heart filled with gladness that she was about to meet her grandmother’s lawyer.

She pressed the button on the entry phone, gave her name, and was buzzed inside. A receptionist greeted her on the first floor and took her through to Notaio Gentile.

‘ Buon giorno .’ He shook her hand. ‘A pleasure to meet you, Mrs Brown.’

‘Your English is excellent,’ she said to the middle-aged man with curly grey hair.

‘ Grazie .’ He smiled. ‘Please, take a seat.’

She sat opposite him at the wide glass and metal desk.

‘Your grandmother contacted us last year,’ the lawyer said. ‘I’m glad you’ve decided to accept your inheritance.’

‘Can I ask you about the funds Lucia left me to maintain the property?’ Jess asked. ‘It needs renovation, and I was wondering if the cash would cover it.’

‘Once the baglio is in your name, you’ll have access to one hundred thousand euros held by us in an account set up specifically for the purpose. All you have to do is send us invoices for expenses and we’ll settle them on your behalf.’

‘Oh, my goodness, that’s a lot of money.’ Jess couldn’t help her mouth falling open.

‘Indeed. It should pay for any work you’d like to have done on the place.’ He grinned. ‘Unless you envisage turning it into a palace, of course.’

Jess laughed at the lawyer’s attempt at a joke.

He asked for her documents, and she handed over her passport and the fiscal code she’d obtained in Caltanissetta yesterday.

While he went off to get her papers photocopied, Jess gazed out of the window. Time was going by far too quickly for her liking. Was it only three days ago she’d had lunch with Piero and his parents?

She lost herself in thought. The day after, she’d gone sightseeing on her own and had driven to the ruins of an enormous, elaborate Roman villa at Piazza Armerina, where she’d viewed a fabulous collection of stunning mosaics, beautifully preserved by the landslides that had covered them for centuries. When she’d returned to the winery, she’d had supper with Piero and they’d talked for hours about their lives and dreams for the future, and then they’d spent the night together – their lovemaking creating a deepening bond between them.

Yesterday, after she’d queued in a government office to obtain her codice fiscale , she’d done some shopping in Caltanissetta, buying deli foods and a box of artisan chocolates for Mel. While strolling through the town, she’d been delighted to find a trinacria wall hanging in a ceramics store. She’d bought it and would take it back to Bristol, where she’d place it in her kitchen.

Last night, Piero had seemed tired – he’d been busy preparing for the harvest and the upcoming wine exhibition in Agrigento. So she’d offered to make supper for him in her kitchenette. Her culinary skills could just about stretch to omelettes and she’d bought ready-made salads in Caltanissetta. They’d sat out on the portico, sipping the wine he’d brought, talking quietly and listening to the night crickets crooning their songs. Again, they’d slept together and, again, their lovemaking had brought them ever closer.

A sigh escaped her now as she thought about her imminent departure – she only had three days left before her flight home. From what Mel had texted her, the weather had turned chilly and wet. She wasn’t looking forward to returning to work, neither did she relish finding a flatmate. It might be best to put the apartment on the market and get somewhere smaller once her divorce was finalised…

The sound of the notaio coming through the door made her swivel round. He gave her a copy of the deeds to the baglio, the atto notarile , and went through the legalities with her.

After Jess had signed, he handed her a receipt for payment of his invoice – which had come out of her grandmother’s legacy – and a thick envelope with her name written on it.

‘What’s this?’ she asked, intrigued.

‘A letter from your grandmother. She wrote it to you last year. We had strict instructions only to give it to you once you’d accepted your inheritance.’

‘Oh my God.’ Jess clasped the envelope to her chest. ‘ Grazie .’

* * *

Jess took her leave of the notaio and headed for the first café she could find. It was a simple place, tucked between a motorcycle parts store and a video game shop, but at least it was air-conditioned. She found a table in the corner, ordered a cappuccino and, when her coffee had arrived, prised open the envelope, extracted flimsy sheets of paper, and started to read.

New York, September 10th, 2004

My dearest granddaughter,

It feels strange knowing that you will be reading this when I am gone. I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and found out soon after I heard about your parents’ tragic accident. Although contact between us has been impossible, I employed a private detective not long after you were born, who has kept me up to date over the years. I’m so proud of your accomplishments, darling Jessica, and wish I could have met you. Now that you have accepted my legacy to you, I think it’s important that you know about your Sicilian family’s history. As I’m the only person left who can recount it to you, please bear with an old woman’s rambling while I tell you everything…

Jess read on. She was fully immersed in Lucia’s story from the start, transported first to pre-war Brooklyn and afterwards to wartime Sicily. Lucia came across as a wonderful woman, brave, determined, with a loving heart.

Tears spilled from Jess’s eyes as she learnt about how Lucia had met Gero when they were children. Dinu had seemed harmless enough at first, but the more her grandmother described his Mafia ambitions, the more Jess disliked him.

She sobbed openly while reading Lucia’s poignant words describing how she learnt about Gero’s death, and how Carula’s birth was her only consolation. Her description of the rift between them, caused by Dinu, made Jess’s heart weep.

Her grandmother went on to write about how she coped after her only daughter had cut her off. Lucia immersed herself in her work, had made sure she saw as much as she could of Gero’s family, who were good to her, including her in all their celebrations. She formed close attachments to her nieces and nephews, and subsequently their children.

After Filomena and Alberto had passed away, Gero’s sisters showed no interest in running the business, so Lucia took over, not only importing movies, but videos and, later, DVDs. When the time came for her to retire, she sold the company. The proceeds were divided between her and the Bonannos, but there was more than enough for Lucia to live comfortably.

As for Lucia’s own family, her parents’ physical condition had declined rapidly after the Dinu debacle, and they’d died when they were both in their early seventies. Annita also suffered from ill-health and had passed away a couple of years ago. In the meantime, her son had moved into the baglio with his wife. They took good care of it until it become too much for them and they left Villaurora to live with their daughter in Licata. Thankfully, Giovanna and Angelo were able to look after the place and work on the land. Lucia expressed the hope that Jess would allow them to continue to do so.

It was my fault for sending your mother and father to meet my brother. I was so proud of Carula and wanted him to be proud of her, too. When I discovered he’d put out a contract on her, I couldn’t believe how evil he’d become. My priority was to keep Carula, Iain, and then you safe. I would have loved to have been in touch directly – I’m sure there were ways we could have managed it – but your mother had hardened her heart. I think what happened in Castronovo made her suffer from post-traumatic stress, which was never addressed. The more time passed, the more difficult it became for her to reconcile with me.

As for Dinu, I’m certain he is dead. No one has seen or heard of him for years. So, I feel confident leaving the baglio to you, Jessica, my only grandchild. I never remarried; I couldn’t love anyone as much as I loved your grandfather. I hope you will love the place as much as Gero and I did. We were so happy in the short time we had there and my dearest wish is for you to be just as happy as we were.

Your loving grandmother,

Lucia

* * *

‘What an incredible story,’ Piero said, handing Lucia’s letter back to Jess. They’d just had supper in his apartment and were relaxing together on the sofa. She’d been debating whether to show Piero the letter, then had decided not to hold anything back. Their relationship was becoming ever closer, after all.

‘What I don’t understand,’ she said, ‘is how Dinu could have been so malicious as to want to kill his own niece.’

‘You recall me telling you about omertà ? She’d clearly broken the code of silence.’

‘But she didn’t do it intentionally, I’m sure. How could she even have known about omertà ?’

‘Dinu acted in his own interests, it seems. He needed to come across as a powerful man and get his revenge. Otherwise, his enemies would have taken advantage of what they would have perceived to be weakness.’

‘But the child of his sister? His twin sister?’ It beggared belief.

‘That was how it was in those days, I’m afraid.’

‘I hope things have improved for the better, Piero.’

‘We no longer hear of so many murders, so I suppose you could say that.’ He put his arm around her and held her close. ‘The rift between your mother and grandmother is such a sad story. My heart truly goes out to you, sweetheart.’

She snuggled into him and soon they were kissing, and then they were heading for Piero’s bedroom to make love.

Afterwards, she pressed kisses to his chest.

‘I’m going to miss you so much when I go back to Bristol,’ she said, the realisation bringing a lump to her throat.

‘Then don’t leave.’

‘I have to.’ She sighed. ‘My job. My divorce. My flat. I have a life there?—’

‘You could make a new one here, darling. If you let yourself.’

Dare she do that? It would be such a big step.

‘I’ll think about it, I promise.’ She couldn’t help feeling tempted.

She kissed him and wished him goodnight. Before too long, his breathing deepened and he’d fallen asleep.

But, tired though she was, she couldn’t drop off. Her thoughts were filled with Dinu and his threats to her mother. If he weren’t dead, she would definitely give him a piece of her mind.