Page 15 of They Found Us (Found #5)

Katie

“Hi, Vanna. Just checking if I need to bring towels or anything for the boys?”

“No, we’ve plenty of towels. I’ve loads of snacks and food for us and Mark. Just get over here quick so we can have a cocktail.”

“Okay, great. I’ll be half an hour.”

After ending the call to Vanna, I rush about, packing everything but the kitchen sink for Zander.

I had forgotten how much stuff a new baby needs.

Mark now only has a little backpack with a few snacks and toys in it.

We are spending the day at Vanna and Alex’s.

I say “we,” but it’s just me and our boys.

Leo and Alex are having a lads’ day—well, lads’ afternoon, so Vanna has invited us to their house.

While our house is large and lovely, it’s more of family home and cosy.

Their house is extreme modern luxury with huge outdoor and indoor swimming pools and floor-to-ceiling windows.

We’ve popped in a few times but never stayed long.

Alex and Vanna usually come to our house, as it’s easier with the boys.

But today we are spending the day there, and I’m quite excited.

Mark is going to love playing in the pool all day, and Zander—well, he can sleep in the shade.

Vanna loves helping out, so I’m sure I’ll have time to put my feet up in the sun and drink a cocktail or two, seeing as Zander actually prefers a bottle.

The security system alerts us to someone at the door. Alex. Leo lets him in.

“Hi, Alex,” I greet him. “Looking forward to your lads’ day?”

“Yes, we’ve lots of fun things planned.”

“Oh yeah? What is it you’re actually doing? Leo hasn’t said.”

Alex seems on edge when he answers, like he is hiding something. “Oh, er, you know. Drinking. Watching sports. That kind of thing.”

They’re definitely not watching sports . What man calls them sports, anyway? They’d say football or rugby. They’re probably going shooting or something they think I won’t agree with. But I trust Leo, so I don’t let it bother me.

Leo helps me load the car with the boys’ bags. We then get them both strapped into their car seats. Leo checks and double-checks that their belts are firmly fastened and the seats securely fitted into the car.

“We are going now. Make sure you take your phone. I’ve got mine. I’ll check in with you later. Take care. Ti amo.” I love you.

He gives me a kiss and then gets in Alex’s car.

Alex beeps his horn as he drives away. I wave them off, cursing, as the noise has woken Zander, and he is now screaming in the back seat.

But as soon as I start the engine and set off, the movement of the car settles him back down.

Mark and I sing nursery rhymes on the short journey to Vanna’s.

Mark is very excited to see Vanna and play in her pool.

Vanna is waiting for us when we pull up to their house. She comes straight to the car and opens Marks door.

“Va Va!” Mark screams excitedly, pulling at his seat belt to get to her.

“Hello, handsome. I’ve been waiting for you.” Vanna unclips him and helps him out of the car.

Vanna and Alex’s home is like a show home.

Its pristine grey marble floors and white walls are almost clinical, which has me worrying about Mark’s sticky fingers.

There is a grand, open entrance hall which is flooded with light from the floor-to-ceiling windows and a staircase that looks to be floating in mid-air.

Vanna leads us through to the back of the house and into the large, white ultra-modern dining kitchen.

Huge bifold doors open out onto a pristine patio with tiles the same as those inside leading to the garden and infinity swimming pool.

The house is higher up on the island than ours.

We wanted to be able to walk straight from our garden and be on the beach.

But here the views are spectacular. You can’t tell where the swimming pool ends and the sea begins.

“Wow, Vanna, your home is beautiful.” I have been a couple of times before, but only to pop in, and I’ve always had my eyes on Mark. I knew it was lovely, but this is spectacular.

“Thank you, but it’s more the view that makes it special. Come, I’ve set up an area by the shallow end of the pool in the shade.”

“Perfect.”

While I get Zander settled in his pram, Mark pulls out of Vanna’s hand in excitement. He jumps straight into the pool. Luckily I know my son well and fastened his life jacket onto him before we got in the car.

“He’s no fear at all. Worries me to death, he does.” I sigh.

“Well, he’s got Guerra blood.” Vanna laughs.

“So, how long have you lived here?”

“Since we arrived, actually. We bought the land from the farm next door, just over that hill. There was only a small rundown cottage here then. We lived in that while we built this and then knocked it down to build the swimming pool.”

“Gosh, did you design it all yourself?”

“Yes—well, between me and Alex. We had a lot of time on our hands, so we did the majority of the work ourselves as well.”

“And now you own a gym?”

“Yes, Alex and I run the fitness centre. We needed something to do, and we are both into fitness. We mostly do strength training and self-defence classes. It seems to be very popular on the island.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Right, cocktails. What do you like?”

“Anything, really, but nothing too sweet and not strong. I’ve not had a drink since I got pregnant with Zander, and I need to drive home.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”

While Vanna crushes ice and squeezes lemons at the bar beside the pool, I give Mark his pool toys and splash about with him for a few minutes. He absolutely loves water. He can pretty much swim now, but I’d never let him in water without a vest just yet.

“Here we are. One lemon drop cocktail specially made by me.”

“Oooh, lemon drop. I don’t think I have had one of those before. What’s in it?”

“Just try it.”

As I take a sip, my taste buds are met with a delightful blend of sweet and tart.

“It’s good,” I say as I take another sip, enjoying the sharp, refreshing taste of lemon balanced beautifully with the sugar around the glass.

“I knew you would like it. Vodka, Cointreau, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, sugar on the rim, and a lemon wedge for garnish. But I didn’t put as much of the alcohol in yours, so I topped it up with a splash of soda water.”

“Thank you, it’s perfect.”

“It was my mother’s favourite drink. Although the lemons in Italy are much better than we can get here.”

“Yeah, that is true about Italy. We’ve be growing our own lemons, and Leo’s been doing everything exactly as he did back there, but they’re just not the same. He can’t get them to grow as big or be as sweet.”

Flashbacks of lemons in Italy fill my mind.

When Leo actually asked me to marry him, we were surrounded by his lemon trees.

He’d undressed me and laid me on the ground beneath them.

Then he’d pulled a lemon from the tree and sliced it open with a knife.

He’d squeezed it intensely, so the juice ran down his arm and on to my naked body.

He’d then proceeded to lick my body clean.

“Earth to Katie. Hello?” Vanna pulls me out of my memory just in time.

“Oh, sorry. I was miles away.”

“In Italy?”

“Yes, Italy.”

“I miss it too.” Vanna sighs.

“Really? But you’ve got the perfect life here.”

“We’ve got the perfect house with the perfect view. We’ve got jobs we enjoy and have enough money to have whatever we want. But those are things, not life.”

“No, I suppose not.”

“I love Alex, but I miss having family around me. Well, some of them. I miss having friends. What’s the point in having this big house if we have no one to share it with?”

“I understand what you mean. But you have us now.” I raise my glass in a toast to Vanna.

She accepts, and we clink glasses.

She’s smiling, but there’s sadness behind it.

“Anyone on the outside looking in would think this is the perfect life. But it’s like Groundhog Day or like going on holiday and staying there for the rest of your life.

It’s repetitive and boring. I have nothing to look forward to.

Every day is the same. Nothing will ever change.

Until I get old and can no longer do the things I can now. ”

Vanna speaks with real sadness. I’m taken aback and not really sure what to say.

“I wanted children,” she continues. “I wanted a family. But that has all been taken away from me.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve been trying for years. Nothing. We went to all the doctors we could, we’ve had test after test. Turns out, my reproductive organs are older than their years, and Alex has a low sperm count.”

“But there are things that you can do to help that, right?” I ask hopefully, but Vanna shakes her head.

“We’ve done all the fertility treatments the island has to offer. Medications, injections, supplements. Nothing worked. What we need is IVF, but the hospital on the island doesn’t have the facilities or specialist for that.”

“Oh, Vanna, I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks, but please don’t tell me it will happen eventually or to stop trying and it will happen, etc. I’ve had enough of that from councillors and random people, and it really doesn’t help.”

“No, of course.”

Vanna puts on her sunglasses and takes a big sip of her cocktail. I expect she’s covering the emotion in her eyes.

“Don’t give up hope, though, Vanna. Miracles do happen. I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason.”

“Yeah, we will see.” Vanna slumps back in her chair.

Leo

As soon as Alex pulls the car away from our house, I go into work mode. “The latest updates in Italy?” I ask.

“As of this morning, we have restored all connections and gained new trade deals. Van has the new recruits in training, and there has been a restructure in ranks. The Guerra is going to be bigger and stronger than ever.”

“Any more developments on the fact that I am still alive?”