Chapter 16: Lucia's Version

My aunt called before I had finished reading the chat.

I sat up against the headboard with the sheet held to my chest and answered.

"Paola Gentile," she said. "You will call your cousin and apologize."

"Good morning, Aunt."

"Don't be smart with me. She cried until four in the morning."

"I know she did," I said. "She's very good at it."

Seth sat very still beside me and did not say a word.

"She told me what happened," my aunt said. "She said you stood in the street and attacked her."

"I stood on the sidewalk and told the truth, in front of you."

"You made her out to be a liar."

"She lied for two years, Aunt. Ask Dario. Ask Franco. Ask Tommy."

"I'm asking you to be the bigger person."

"I have been the bigger person since I was six," I said. "I'm tired of it, and I'm not calling her."

She hung up on me.

Seth waited until the line went dead before he spoke.

"Okay whatever, or okay yes?" he asked.

"Okay done," I said, and he laughed, and I put my head on his shoulder.

On Monday morning I walked into the office at ten to nine, in my camel coat.

The lobby was glass and gray tile, with a long reception desk and a row of low chairs.

Half the team stood near the elevators with their coffee, getting ready for the first standup of the new year.

The woman who ran our team lunch was holding the door for someone.

Then I saw who was coming through it.

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