“Maybe because she passed so young,” Bailey said.
“Here it is. Roberto Ferrante.”
Pris stared at her sister in shock. “Roberto? R?”
Dev shook her head. “Okay, I feel stupida. I didn’t even put that together. Could it be that easy? It’d make perfect sense he’d want to take care of the place for Mom!”
“Why don’t we go see him in person rather than a call?” Bailey suggested. “It’ll give us an opportunity to ask more questions.”
Dev recited the address. “Good idea. Better to spring all of us on him rather than give the man time to build a defense.”
Bailey laughed. “A defense against an affair with Mom? I doubt he’d worry at this point.”
Annoyance flickered. Pris tried hard to ignore it. “An affair points to cheating, and Mom didn’t cheat. The letters point to being with him during college—before she was married to Dad. There’s no other proof.”
“Except the letter that confirmed they’d meet on her sixty- fifth birthday,” Bailey said.
“Mom was already divorced. That’s not cheating. Plus, maybe she just wanted to reconnect and visit a place she loved again.”
Bailey sighed. “More questions than answers, that’s for sure.”
Dev lifted her phone. “I gathered a list of clues from the love letters so we can narrow down certain items we’re searching for.”
“Of course you did,” Bailey said.
Dev ignored her and ticked off the list. “Mom was in college, so that gives us a solid timeline of nineteen seventy-six through nineteen eighty when they met. I’m not sure of his age, though, so that could throw us off a bit. Also, R mentions fishing and tours, so he must have been employed by a boat charter. Maybe the ferry? His dad, name unknown, got sick and R had to step in. Which means they could have owned their own business, or he got promoted at a company.” She fell silent and looked up.
“That’s it?” Pris asked, a bit disappointed. “Not a lot of info to go on.”
“He mostly wrote about feelings and philosophy and memories they shared. Not a lot of hard clues within the letters. Bae, what else did Dad say?” Dev asked. “He had to give you some other information.”
“Not much. He didn’t remember Aunt Silvia and knew nothing about an actual house in Positano. He assumed Mom went to Rome when she—” Bailey broke off. A look of horror crossed her face before a mask slammed down. “I mean, Mom mentioned visiting Italy now and then, but he thought she meant Rome. Mom was big on art, remember?”
Pris narrowed her gaze. Her sister was holding back. “You said he assumed she went to Rome. Come on, Bae, don’t lie. Not about this.”
Bailey chewed on her lower lip, looking uneasy. Then spit out a curse. “I wasn’t going to tell you because you’d freak. Dad said there was a time when they had a brief separation and Mom went to Italy for a few weeks.”
Dread overcame her. “When?”
“When you were really young, Pris. Before kindergarten. Dad said they never discussed it because they were out of touch at the time, but he assumed she was in Rome and Florence. He didn’t know about Positano.”
“And he didn’t know about this guy either?” Dev asked.
Bailey shook her head. “Guess not.”
“Why were they separated?” Pris asked. “What happened?”
It was Bailey’s guilty silence that did it. Dev let out a humorless laugh and swished her wine. “Because Dad cheated. Of course.”
Pris wondered why disappointment cut through her. It wasn’t a stretch to think Dad would have cheated once before. “Did he say that, Bae?”
The uncomfortable look on her sister’s face pegged the truth. “He confessed they’d hit a difficult point in the marriage and he made a mistake.”
Dev huffed out. “Another one. Typical. Poor Mom never had a shot.”
“Poor Mom seemed to be just fine with her own secret lover,” Bailey cut in.
Pris raised a brow. “I can’t believe you’re trying to blame Mom for this.”
“I’m not! But you both have her in this box where she’s this perfect, fragile figure, and I think there was more to her than that! I mean, look at where we are now. Would you have ever believed she could have hidden such secrets from us? If we’re going to track down R and learn more about Mom, you both need to be more open to the possibility she made her own mistakes.”
Dev shook her head. “Why are you always defending Dad?”
“Why are you always so quick to blame him for it all? He may have cheated, but he was a good father. He never abandoned you or made you feel unloved, did he?” Bailey challenged. “Isn’t it time he’s forgiven for not being perfect?”
Pris sighed. “Maybe she’s right. I certainly don’t remember Mom crying about feeling betrayed after their divorce. It was almost like she’d accepted it a while ago. They grew apart. Mom never bashed him to me, not like so many of my other friends’ moms who divorced.”
“I don’t believe this. Dad was selfish. He destroyed their marriage and made us all feel like crap.” Dev blew out a breath. “Don’t you remember how we cried when we found out about the divorce? How we thought our lives were over? You can sit there and spout about how he should be forgiven, but I would’ve had more respect if he’d just left Mom because he wasn’t happy. Why cheat? Why hurt someone you love?”
Pris studied her sister, who seemed even angrier than her. Steam practically snorted from her nostrils. Dev had always seemed to take Dad’s betrayal the hardest, but Pris wondered if it was something deeper. Dev kept her secrets close and rarely shared, putting all her energy into her career. There had always been a wall around her sister, as if she was desperate to protect herself, yet she gave off such a tough, cool demeanor. You had to look hard to find the emotions swirling under the surface.
Once, Pris had both seen and respected her sister’s feelings.
Now? She had no idea who Dev really was anymore. She’d been too wrapped up with her own life and struggles. Guilt hit. Once, they’d all been so close.
She opened her mouth to console Dev, but Bailey interrupted.
“I didn’t forget. I just decided to forgive. But what if you found Mom also had an affair while she was married? Would you blame her as much as Dad?”
Dev jerked her gaze away and sipped her wine. “Yes. Cheating is a lie. Is it too much to demand truth from this family? Lies make you question what’s real and what isn’t. I’m not about to live that type of life. If Mom did, I’d be just as upset.”