Page 36 of This Memory (Moose Village #3)
“The baby, James!” I chided and placed my hands to either side of my stomach.
Everyone looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
James rolled his eyes. “I hardly think the baby understands what I’m saying, Brystol.”
I laughed, then looked around the room and smiled. “This really does look beautiful, you guys.” Walking over to Aurora, I pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you. You did a fantastic job.”
She kissed me on the cheek. “It was fun to do. I haven’t painted like this in a long time.”
“You’re really good at it,” James said. “You should do this for a living.”
“Then who would run the bookstore?”
“Your sister and aunt?”
Aurora laughed. “Hardly. ”
Gavin and James went to the teepee to see if they would fit. I hooked my arm with Aurora’s and led her down to the living room.
“Any news on how Liam’s doing? Have you seen him and Winnie?” I asked.
Aurora let out a long sigh. “Not in the last few weeks. Nathan said Liam’s doing the best he can. He said he sometimes feels like Liam’s living in a bubble, not accepting that Hope is gone.”
I shook my head. “Oh my gosh. That’s terrible.”
She nodded. “I know. Nathan says he’s been staying at the house to help Liam and also taking care of things at The Muddled Moose.”
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked.
Aurora shrugged. “Pray for them. Liam stopped the meal train. Nathan said he was hardly eating any of the food.”
“I’m so sorry. We should probably stop by. I just don’t know if it’s a good time or not.”
She gave me a sad smile.
“What about Aunt Judith? Is she doing anything to help?”
A look of fury transformed Aurora’s face. “She’s in Italy .”
Shocked, I asked, “What do you mean, she’s in Italy?”
“According to Nathan, Liam totally lost it with his mother. Said he no longer wanted to see her— ever . That was right before Christmas, I believe. Around the time they got the news about Hope’s prognosis. I guess she only just recently moved to Italy.”
“I can’t believe Mom didn’t tell me her sister moved to freakin’ Italy! ”
Aurora shrugged. “Maybe with everything you’ve had going on…or who knows? Maybe she doesn’t even know yet. I don’t think it’s even been two weeks since she left.”
“Maybe, but you would think she’d have told my mother she was leaving the country.”
Gavin and James came walking into the living room, laughing.
“Did you both fit?” I asked.
“Not even close,” Gavin said with a laugh.
Aurora glanced at her watch, then snapped her head up. “Um, we need to leave.”
“We?” I asked.
“Yes, James and I need to leave.”
“We do?” James squinted at her, clearly confused.
“Yes,” she hissed back. “We have things to do, James.”
As if a light bulb went off in his head, he said, “Shit. Yeah. We have things to do. Gotta go!”
He quickly made his way over, kissed me, then bent down and said, “Bye, Lily! Be a good girl for Mommy!”
Aurora grabbed her jacket and purse. “Glad you like the nursery!”
“Wait, you’re both just leaving?” I asked.
James put his coat on and opened the door. “Got things to do, Brystol. Things to do!”
And just like that, they were gone.
Frowning at Gavin, I asked, “What in the world was that about?”
He seemed just as confused and shrugged. “I guess they had things to do .”
I laughed. “You don’t think they’re… ”
“James and Aurora? No. Not at all. They’re like oil and water.”
“Why did they bolt out of here so quickly then?”
He shrugged. “Who knows? All I know is, our reservations are soon. I’m dying to try that new Italian restaurant.”
My hand went to my stomach when Lily kicked. I laughed, grabbed Gavin’s hand, and put it on my belly. “I think Lily is too.”
He winked. “Then let’s go feed my girls.”
The new Italian restaurant in Moose Village was just outside town and overlooked Moose Lake.
A local resident named Toni Rossi, born and raised in Moose Village, had left town to go to culinary school after graduating.
He lived in Italy for several years, then moved back to town and opened the restaurant.
His mother and father were both retired, but they helped at the restaurant as well.
“Have you ever met Toni?” I asked. “I’ve met his mom and dad several times, Toni Senior and Tina. I always thought their names were cute. Toni and Tina. I don’t remember their son, though. They would come in to buy gifts for their granddaughter. I’m guessing that’s Toni’s daughter?”
“Yeah, he has a little girl. I think she’s around seven.
Speaks both Italian and English. His wife is Italian.
I’ve met him a couple of times when he’s brought food in for us at the police station.
He’s a nice guy. His wife is also sweet.
I’ve met her once. He’s in his late thirties, so we wouldn’t have gone to school with him, and from what I know, he left Moose Village after high school and lived abroad for quite a while. ”
“That’s nice of him to bring you guys food.”
He smiled. “Yeah, he’s a great guy.”
We pulled into the parking lot, and Gavin found a spot near the front door. “Doris Day parking!” he said with a nervous laugh. I wasn’t sure if he was worried about how the food would be or because there were hardly any cars in the lot.
“It’s our lucky day.”
He looked over at me. “What? Why would you say that?”
I shrugged. “I dunno. You found a spot right up front. It’s just a saying.”
Visibly relaxing, he laughed. “Right. Let’s, um, let’s get some food. Good food. Italian food. From Toni!”
He opened his door, shut it, and ran around to my side. After he reached into the back seat to get our coats, he motioned for me to start toward the entrance.
“Why are you getting our coats? The door is just right there.”
He stared at the door, then at the coats, before shrugging. “It could be cold in there. You never know.”
Gavin had been acting strange all day, but this was the strangest yet. I brushed it off and took my coat. “I know I’m cold standing out here talking about our coats.”
He laughed and took my hand. “I heard the deck that overlooks the lake is beautiful. If we want to go out and take a look, now we’ll have our coats.”
I nodded. “Oookay.”
We started toward the door, and I stepped in when he opened it for me. The smells instantly had my mouth watering. Bread and pasta sauce filled my head instantly, and I moaned in utter delight .
“It smells so good in here!”
“Sure does,” Gavin agreed.
Tina, the mother of the owner and chef, made her way over to us. “Brystol! Gavin! Welcome to Rossi Trattoria!”
She hugged Gavin and then me. “May I?” she asked, pointing to my stomach.
“Of course,” I said with a grin.
Placing her hand on my baby bump, she said something in Italian. “Che Dio vi benedica!” She smiled at me. “A blessing for the baby.”
“That’s so sweet, thank you, Tina.”
“Of course. Come, I have a table with a beautiful lake view.”
We followed Tina to the table. Gavin held out my chair for me, and I sat down. It was only then I noticed hardly anyone was in the restaurant. It was a Friday night. It should’ve been way busier.
Tina gave us the menus, took our drink order, and headed off.
I leaned in and whispered, “Gavin, almost no one’s here. That can’t be a good sign. It’s Friday night! I mean, I know it’s March, but we do have winter tourists.”
He looked around and shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll pick up soon. It’s early yet.” He started looking at the menu as I gave one more look around.
Tina returned with our waters. “Have you had a chance to look at the appetizers yet?”
I opened the menu. “Gavin? See anything you want?”
“The garlic knots sound good.”
My tastebuds agreed. “Those do sound good. Lasagna sounds good too. ”
Tina smiled. “Do you need more time, Gavin?”
He shut the menu. “Chicken parm for me.”
She took both menus. “Sounds good. Let me put that in.”
“Tina?” I asked before she left. “Where’s the restroom?”
“Follow me, and I’ll show you.”
As we walked through the restaurant, I glanced through double doors to a room set up for a party.
“Private party tonight?” I asked.
She glanced back and smiled. “Yep! They rented out most of the restaurant, actually. But for our police officers, we always make room, so when Gavin called earlier, I made sure we had a table for you both.”
That explained why it was so empty. “That’s sweet of you.”
She pointed down the hall and said, “Second door on the left. Let me walk you there!”
I laughed. “That’s okay.”
“Oh, but I want to show you the Italian tile Toni Junior brought in. It’s beautiful!”
“What about our order?” I asked, hearing my stomach growl.
Waving off my question, she hooked my arm with hers and we walked down the hall together…leaving me to wonder how in the hell I was supposed to pee while she was talking to me about tile.