Families Read online

  “Ric Santini, don’t you remember my mom had a dance studio in the neighborhood? All us girls went there.”

  He sat again relaxed in the chair. She obviously didn’t recall how lost he’d been in high school. The last thing he’d know about was a girls’ dance studio.

  “Sorry, that wasn’t too high on my ‘to know’ list.”

  “Entertainment company. Weren’t you the next famous big-league lawyer in the making after high school?”

  Ric started telling her his story of being married and his wife leaving after she had two miscarriages and how he bought the company that changed his life.

  Janet pulled the corners of her lips down. “Oh, sorry, Ric. I had no idea.”

  “And you, what are you doing?”

  She told of keeping up with her mother’s tradition, starting a dance troupe in Atlanta, Georgia. Her girls performed at parties, openings, and special occasions.

  “Really? Janet, I work for a guy who is building resorts. We have a grand opening in the Bahamas next month. If you’re interested in performing there…” He reached for his wallet and took out a business card. “Call me. We’ll put something together.”

  She took the card. “Hey, thanks. The Bahamas? Super.

  “Too bad you were late. Gini Anderson was here for the wedding, with her new husband. Did you know she and Franco are no longer married and Gini was in a terrible accident and has brain damage?”

  Ric threw back the rest of his drink. “Yes, I know it all. I saw them leaving when I came in. Robert’s a good guy. It’s good she’s with him.”

  “You know him? Then you know she’s pregnant.”

  Ric cringed and sat up straight. “I’m getting another.” He held up his drink. “You want something?”

  “Sure.” She handed him her wine glass.

  Robert and Gini were going to have a baby? It wasn’t fair. That’s all he had wanted, to be with her the rest of his life and have a family.

  He leaned on the drink bar waiting for his drinks. He shouldn’t have come. Seeing all the high school classmates was rubbing salt in the wound. He needed to get out of there.

  “Sir… sir, here’s your order.”

  Ric started to turn to leave the room. Janet met him. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes.” He picked up the glass of wine and handed it to her, then took his drink. She grabbed his hand and led him back to the table.

  “Maybe you should slow down on the bourbon,” she said.

  “Gini was pregnant when she had her accident, twins.”

  “Oh, how awful.”

  “They were.” He took his glass and downed it.

  “They were what?”

  “Gini and I were living together. She was having my child.”

  “Oh, Ric, no. You were with Gini in the accident?”

  “No.” He choked up. “I need to get out of here.”

  “Are you staying in the hotel?”

  “Yes.”

  “Come on, let’s go,” she said.

  He got up and headed to the door; she pulled his jacket off the chair back as she went with him.

  “You’re coming to the brunch in the morning?” Scott yelled out.

  “Yes,” Janet said, quickly following Ric.

  The drinks suddenly hit him, and he sidestepped. Janet put her arm around his waist and guided him to the elevator. It turned out their rooms were two doors from each other. By the time they got there, he was nearly hanging on her for support—feeling lightheaded and disoriented. She took him to her room since he couldn’t find his key. “I’ll order up coffee.”

  “No, I’m good.” He reached down around her body.

  “Okay, let’s get you to bed.”

  “Only if you come with me.”

  He stumbled a couple of times as he was led across the room, then fell onto the mattress. She went willingly when he pulled her with him, and they started kissing.

  Without much effort on each of their parts, they were quickly undressed and were rolling around the bed in furious sex.

  Later he woke draped over her body as she slept. Half the bedding was on the floor, the rest under them. He carefully removed himself, trying not to wake her, found his clothes, got dressed, and went to his room. There he paced the floor for a few minutes. Then he took a shower and went to bed to sleep.

  Janet woke and found Ric not there. She grabbed a robe out of the bathroom and quickly found her purse, digging through it to find the business card he had given her. She texted him:

  Ric, there’s a brunch in the restaurant downstairs. Go with me.

  Ric had been up for a while and was working on his computer. He had to keep busy to drown out seeing Gini and finding out she was having Robert’s baby. It was all too much. He had made a conscious attempt not to see her and rarely was in Boston. His heart still begged to be with her. He knew he would be with her if he had not been such a fool, a stupid, stupid fool. He could never love anyone the way he loved her then—and still did.

  He stared at the message, then got up and walked the room, rubbing his fingers over his lips. Sure, why not, he thought.

  He told Janet he would meet her at the restaurant. When he got there, Janet stood, waving to let him know where they were. He walked to the table of classmates. Next to Ronnie was a double stroller with his twins.

  “What do we have here?” Ric asked.

  “This is Sara and Sam,” Ronnie answered. “They just turned eighteen months.”

  Ric squatted down next to the stroller. The little girl’s eyes were fixed on him and followed his move. She reached out and handed him her sippy cup.

  “No, sweet baby, that’s for you.” He brushed his hand down the side of her head and arm. She grabbed his finger as he stood up.

  “They’re very cute,” Ric said, wrapping his hand briefly around Sara’s lower arm and then letting go and making his way to the chair Janet had saved for him.

  She watched how tender and kind Ric had been with the toddler. He would make a good father.

  The group chatted as they ate. The newly wedded couple made their way to the table, and there was more talk and laughter. A lot of the conversation was about how much Ric had changed since high school.

  “Who knew you had twinkle toes,” Scott said, sticking his chest out to show his manliness.

  “Oh, you just wish you could be so cool,” Jackie said.

  Surprisingly, there was no mention of Gini or Franco.

  Ken hugged his new wife from the back. “We’re off to our honeymoon in Hawaii. Thanks for coming, everyone.”

  “Yes,” Laura Ann said as she made her way around the table hugging and kissing her friends. “This has been a blast. Please, you guys, let’s keep in touch and get together again soon.”

  Everyone started to leave. Ronnie said goodbye, walking around the table carrying Sara in his arms. When they got to Ric, she reached out to go to him. Ronnie pulled her hands together and kissed them. “Not now, baby girl, it’s time to go.”

  Once again Janet saw the sweet look Ric gave the baby. Her heart ached knowing he had lost his children. She’d never thought much about him in high school. He was always with the group that ran together, but he was so quiet, never engaged. And now she saw a loving, caring, gentle man—it was appealing to her.

  Soon only Janet and Ric sat at the table.

  “Are you checking out today?” she asked.

  “No. I have more meetings on Monday. I’m here a couple of more nights.”

  “Good. I decided to take a mini-vacation and stay till tomorrow. I was going to spend the day in the city. Let’s go together; it’ll be fun.”

  “I have work to do.” He picked up his ticket and hers.

  “I can pay my own bill.” She put her face close to his with a determined look.

  He popped the paper on the end of her nose and put it with his, in the tray with his credit card.

  “Okay, then you have to let me buy dinner.”

  The two spent the
day walking Fifth Avenue, through Times Square, and then to the park. By evening they were holding hands and, on the way back to the hotel, he put his arm around her. They slept in her room that night.

  All day Monday, Ric thought about the cute little girl. A tear came to his eye when he remembered holding his own daughter, so tiny and frail. Jennifer and Jason would have been nearly the same age as Sara and Sam.

  When he walked through the lobby to go to his room, he was surprised to see Janet waiting for him. She put her arms around his neck, and they kissed.

  It was a whirlwind affair. Janet was a flaming redhead with the personality to go with it. She was feisty, exciting, and dramatic all wrapped into one. Ric never knew which Janet would be in his bed—the one who crawled all over him like a slinky cat and took him to new highs, the one who just wanted to lie next to him and talk all night, or the moody girl who had nothing good to say about the day’s events. That mood he could easily get her out of by holding her and agreeing with all she said. She kept him on his toes, but he liked the new adventure.

  Since the day his father died, all Ric had wanted was a family to be close to, a woman who loved him, and children he could hold tight, kiss when they skinned their knees, and teach the good things in life to. Even though Janet was hot-tempered at times, she was also loving and caring when he fought his emotions. And there were no complications, no other man, just the two of them in love.

  The more Janet got to know the new Ric, the more she fell in love with him. He was tender, romantic, and genuine. She had never been treated so well by any of the men she had dated. It seemed he wanted to do whatever it took to make her happy.

  Her troupe did do the opening in the Bahamas, and they spent the rest of the week there together. For weeks, they took turns going to Florida and Atlanta whenever they could be together. He even had her stay at the guest house with him on the estate rather than a hotel when she visited.

  On May Day, he asked her to marry him. The wedding was one month later on Val’s estate grounds in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a small get-together with the same classmates, Carol and James from Greystone Entertainment, and a couple of Janet’s friends.

  Janet wore a white gauze dress with some beading, and Ric wore a white linen shirt and pants. Everyone was surprised when Laura Ann walked in with a baby belly.

  “Well, that didn’t take long,” Scott said in his boisterous voice. “Thinking maybe there was a bun in the oven before the nuptials.”

  “Oh, Scott, do you always have to be a jerk?” Jackie asked.

  “Ow,” Scott said, after Laura Ann slugged him on the arm.

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “Sorry,” he mouthed, still rubbing his arm.

  “I wonder if Gini has had her baby yet?” Jackie asked. “I would think she’s due. Have you heard from her, Laura Ann?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “She was so sweet. I’m glad we got to see her.”

  “Me too.”

  Janet heard the conversation and looked to see if Ric could hear. He was talking to the guys a few feet away. She remembered how upset he had been at the Phillips wedding when he found out Gini was pregnant, and the sad stories about him losing so many children. When making the guest list, she had suggested inviting Franco and Gini and Dr. Young. Ric’s answer was short; he had no idea where Franco was, and he turned away from her when he said no to inviting Gini. He was trying to hide his emotions, but Janet could see him shaking. The accident had been unbearable for him, she could tell. It was terribly sad such an awful thing had happened to their good friend. Thankfully, Ric had not heard the girls chatting since he showed no reaction to their comments. Janet wanted everything happy on her wedding day.

  After a nice afternoon around the pool and the lush landscaping, Janet and Ric rode into the sunset down the intercoastal canal on Val’s yacht to spend two weeks in the Caribbean.

  A month later, Janet told Ric she was three months pregnant.

  Chapter 6—Three Girls

  Debbie and Gini often went to Lisa’s house to wait for Robert until it was time to go to either the builder’s office or walk the property. Timmy was just starting to scoot himself from one place to another. Debbie always spent some time on the floor with him when they were there. She loved his smile that lit up the room, his red hair—darker than Lisa’s but thick and curly like Lenny’s. And when he looked at her adoringly with his light brown eyes, or took her finger in his chubby little hand, it melted her heart.

  Lisa was proud of her son. He was a happy child, energetic and full of curiosity. She wondered if she’d ever been so joyous. She remembered feeling insecure in elementary school, not sure she was smart, not sure the other kids liked her, and was determined Timothy wouldn’t feel that way—or if he did, he wouldn’t go through it alone.

  It filled her heart to see Debbie playing with him. She had often thought back to the day she and Debbie had talked about arranging for an embryo implant and having Lisa carry the child they would raise together. She had to admit she had wondered more than once what their lives would be like now if Gini and Lenny hadn’t walked into their world. It would be a different child, for one thing. Impossible to imagine loving another one as much as she loved Timmy, but of course she would have. She would always love Debbie. But she was very happily married, and she loved Lenny—in a completely different way. The most important people in her life were Debbie, Lenny, Timmy, and Gini. She knew she couldn’t live happily without any of them.

  Most of the outside of the new house was up and done, and the inside was taking shape.

  Robert wouldn’t let Gini get near the place without proper protection. Debbie snapped off a picture on her phone of Gini in tied-up, sturdy boots; black-rimmed, wraparound protective glasses; gloves; and a bright yellow hard hat. She found it quite amusing with Gini’s baby tummy sticking out front.

  With each visit, Robert walked with Gini, leading her where they could go in the house on the first floor only, making sure she knew exactly which room it was.

  Gini felt like the mountain climber on one of Debbie’s adventure shows when she journeyed through the new house. The boots were heavy, and the clothing hot. But she knew Robert wanted to protect Jessica from harm. It was confusing to her how there was only one house but two places to live, one for Robert and Gini and one for Debbie. Gini shared her fears with both of them that Debbie wasn’t going to help her anymore. But nothing they said could convince Gini that was not the case until one day Debbie said the small separate quarters, or ‘Dee… bee, haus,’ was just a bedroom like the bedroom in the condo. A light went on in Gini’s head, and she finally understood, her uncertainties gone.

  There was one bedroom in the back of the house Robert had no description for. Each time Gini asked, he told her it was an extra room. Soon, Gini started calling it, “Rob… ber, roo.” He just laughed it off. Debbie teased that the room was his “doghouse.”

  One morning in the last part of June, Robert came out of his bedroom and met Debbie holding her electronic tablet for him to see. “Robert! There’s a picture of Gini in the news!”

  He took the tablet. Gini and Debbie were standing in a food checkout line. Gini had a brimmed hat on and dark glasses. Debbie was holding her hand. He read the story:

  It’s been a while since we have reported anything on Ms. Virginia Anderson. Many stories have floated around about what had happened to her and Mr. Santini. Ms. Anderson had become a popular figure in the Boston area for her politics and charity work. And when she connected with Ricardo Santini, a local, dashing young bachelor who managed high-profile events, they became a power couple of the city, drawing a lot of attention. Many think she is in Florida raising their twins. Imagine what I thought when I spotted her in Salumeria Italiana Market near the waterfront in North End, on Friday afternoon. When I called her name, there was no response from her, but the woman next to Ms. Anderson, holding her hand, turned in my direction. I could tell right away the
re was something very wrong with Ms. Anderson’s movements. Disabled, I’d say describes it best. So, I went on a hunt to find out the real story…

  The article went on to tell of Gini’s accident, her brain damage, and stay in New Haven Medical Center under her then married name Virginia Legotti.

  …now married to the renowned brain surgeon Dr. Robert Young.

  This is not the end to my story. I will keep gathering more information on her, on what happened to her first husband, Franco Legotti, and on where Mr. Ricardo Santini and Virginia’s twins are.

  Mary Lou Statton, Boston Globe

  “Did you speak to this lady?” Robert asked, handing the tablet back to Debbie.

  “No. I did hear someone call what I thought was Gini’s name, but no one seemed obvious. I had no idea she took our picture. Is that legal? To just snap off a picture and then tell the story to the whole world without permission?” Debbie dropped her tablet on the breakfast bar and huffed into the kitchen.

  “Deb, you knew this day would come.”

  “So what are we going to do about it?”

  “I’d say, just let it play out. Keep your eyes open when you are out in public. I think it’ll be fine. It’s been a long time since the accident.”

  Debbie was furious for a couple of days. But there didn’t seem to be any more attention drawn to them when they were out, even though Debbie had heard and seen other reporters talking about the wonderful couple and how they had just disappeared from the city. She wanted the stories to stop because they were putting a lot of focus on Gini and Ric. But the press was relentless, constantly reshowing Gini and Ric together, then the recent picture of Gini hugging close to Debbie in the market checkout line. And to make it worse, some of the reports were not kind, questioning why Gini was with another man—carrying his babies—when she was a married woman. Debbie was very uncomfortable about all the press on an old story. She didn’t want Gini to be hurt or gossiped about. Since there had been no evidence when they went on their walks that people recognized Ms. Anderson, Debbie figured the public was not interested, just the press.