Chapter 231

Daniel slowly shakes his head, putting a hand on Alessi’s shoulder. “We don’t know where dad is,” Daniel says, his voice filled with grief. He glances at me and I move to his side, impressed again at how good an actor Daniel can be. I slip what I hope looks like a comforting arm around my husband’s waist. “What?” Alessi says, shocked, looking between us.

“We left,” Daniel says with a sad shrug, “because we knew, when my father escaped, that they would lock us down – maybe even arrest us, even though we weren’t involved. So we fled, wanting to get here as soon as we could. To be with family in these hard times.” Alessi clicks his tongue and shakes his head, murmuring something mournful in Italian. “I had really hoped,” he says, putting his hands into the pockets of his linen pants, “that he would be with you. My old friend.”

“I know,” Daniel murmurs, shaking his head again and staring at the ground, looking like he carries a great deal of guilt on his shoulders.

Alessi, seeing his nephew sad, springs immediately to action. “Come in, come in!” he says, wrapping an arm around Daniel’s shoulders and leading us both forward. “It is good you are here early – we will cook you breakfast, eh? And then we will have a good long talk -get you set up here, in your home.”

“Who is here?” Daniel asks, and his face brightens as we enter the house and begin to walk through rooms that I know carry a great deal of nostalgia for him. I watch his face as much as I look at the incredible house around us. It’s wide and expansive, the most impressive house I’ve ever seen, with sweeping staircases and marble floors.

“Everyone is here!” Alessi responds as he leads us quickly through the main part of the house, which is empty, and through to what is clearly an older part of the home. We are soon in a small, slightly cramped, but remarkably cozy and cheerful kitchen that I am surprised and pleased to see is filled with people.