The Complete Legacy Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 19

  Jemma took on a serious expression, as she did when she was thinking about such serious questions. “No. I will be a ballerina.” And at that she climbed out of her chair to display the tutu ensemble she’d chosen to put on after her nap. It was bright pink and perfectly suited her personality as she did a few twirls around the kitchen.

  “I think you will make a lovely ballerina,” Lia said from across the room.

  “You be sure to invite me to your first performance,” Gigi said, smiling at the little girl.

  “What about you, Ari? Will you come to watch me dance?” Jemma asked as she went over to take Arianna’s hand.

  Arianna’s eyes met Blu’s and she tried hard to hold back the instant tears. The room grew quiet and Arianna scooped the little girl up into her arms. “You know what I wish?”

  “What?”

  “I wish that you would put on your first performance for us tonight. After dinner.”

  Jemma’s eyes grew wide as she seemed to think about it.

  “Do you think you could go practice and come up with a dance to a song from my favorite opera?”

  Jemma nodded. “Yes, I think I could do it.”

  “Okay then, it’s a deal. You’ll have your first official performance tonight and we’ll all be there.” Arianna squeezed her tight before putting her down and watching her run off to practice.

  The three women looked at each other and smiled. Arianna could feel the sadness in the room. It was heavy. It was too much for her. “Okay then, speaking of music, let’s get some going around here. Douglas will be here any minute, and we want to have some nice Italian ambiance going.” Arianna laughed as she found the music that she wanted on the stereo in the corner. No sooner had she got it going than the doorbell rang. She looked over at Gigi, who was rushing out of the kitchen towards her room. Arianna guessed that she was going to freshen up, and it made her grin.

  She crossed the foyer to the door, opening it to a tired-looking but smiling Douglas, who greeted her with a kiss on both cheeks and a huge bouquet of flowers. “Douglas. It’s so great to see you. How was your flight?”

  “It’s good to see you too.” He seemed to be looking over Arianna’s shoulder. “And you, little ballerina,” he said to Jemma as she twirled over to give him a hug. He took a step forward to greet Blu, who had come out of the kitchen to say hello. “What an amazing place, Ari.”

  Arianna noticed Douglas’s eyes scanning the room, and she guessed that he was looking for Gigi.

  “My flight was good. Tiring, but now that I’m here, I feel like I’m getting a second wind. And something smells fantastic in here.”

  Just then Gigi came from her room down the hall. Arianna noticed that she had changed into a simple but lovely dress, and she watched Douglas’s reaction to seeing her. Oh, there was something between them. That was for sure. His eyes seemed to light up when he finally saw her, crossing the room to say hello with a quick kiss on both of her cheeks. Gigi seemed different too, and it was making Arianna really happy. Gigi left to get some drinks started while Arianna took Douglas to show him where he’d be sleeping and to give him a quick tour of the villa.

  They finished out on the main terrace, where Lia and Gigi were sitting with a glass of wine waiting for them. Arianna could see Blu and Jemma in the distance walking in the olive grove. Gigi poured two more glasses of wine, which Arianna and Douglas happily accepted as they took a seat at the big table.

  “Oh, this is so lovely,” Douglas said, raising his glass for a toast. “To Italy and the wonderful days ahead of us.”

  The three women raised their glasses and smiled.

  “Cheers to that,” Arianna said.

  “And to Arianna,” Gigi said, raising her glass for a second toast.

  “To Ari,” Douglas said, clinking glasses with Gigi and everyone.

  Lia leaned over and gave Arianna a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “Oh, I’m so happy to have you all here. It means everything to me.” Arianna could feel the tears behind her eyelids but she refused to let them fall. Not now. There’ll be time for tears later, but not now. She just wanted to enjoy her friends, grateful for the time they had together in this place.

  The four sat there for a while catching up with Douglas and telling him about the area, before Lia and Gigi excused themselves to go make the final preparations for the dinner that would be served shortly.

  Chapter 35

  When it was just Arianna and Douglas alone at the table, he reached out to touch her hand. Arianna didn’t pull away, and it even registered to her that it was just months ago that withdrawing had been her natural inclination when someone reached out to touch her. She’d come a long way; she knew it was all about trust, and a lot to do with Lia. She grasped Douglas’s hand.

  “I’m so glad you’re here. Really, Douglas.”

  He looked at her with such kind, caring eyes that for a moment it reminded her of her father. Not so much the kindness that she saw, but the memory of the two of them together, and she could almost hear her father laughing as he often did when Douglas had been around.

  “How are you doing, Ari? How are you feeling?”

  “I’m doing okay.” She smiled, as she knew better than to think that she could be anything but honest with him in this moment. “Well, I’m starting to have some bad days. The headaches are getting worse and they never really go away. I don’t say much to Gigi and Lia though. I don’t want to ruin this time for them.”

  Douglas squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry about any of us. This is your time, you know. All of this should be about you.”

  Arianna looked him in the eye. “It is. Honestly. Nothing is making me happier than having you all here. It’s all I wanted when I invited you.” She smiled. She sensed that Douglas believed her, which made her feel better.

  “You tell us when you need to do something different, okay? Just say the word and we can go home. I know that’s where you said you want to be. Is that still the case? Or I can find the help you need here, too, you know.”

  “I know. And thank you. It has crossed my mind, because I do love it here. But there are things I need to take care of. To do yet. And I think I need to be at home for—for the end.” She took a deep breath. “But I want you all there. The three of you—not Jemma. I think it would be too much for her. But I want you there too.”

  Douglas got up from his chair, guiding Arianna up as well so that he could give her a big hug. The kind I never got from my own father, she thought as the tears flowed freely.

  “Whatever you need, Ari. Anything at all.” He took a small step back so that he could look her in the eye, and Arianna saw the tears in his own eyes. “I love you, you know. I want you to know that. You’ve been like a daughter to me.”

  Arianna closed the space again as she gave him another hug. “And you’ve been like a father to me. I could never thank you enough, Douglas—for everything. And I love you too.”

  The two broke apart, and each wiped the tears off their face with their hands as Jemma came running up to the terrace with Blu right behind her.

  “What’s up, bean? You having fun?”

  “Yes, Mommy and I are having some adventures.”

  Arianna laughed and looked at Blu, who seemed to be moving kind of slowly. “I bet you are. It looks like Mommy might need a little rest.”

  “Mommy might need a glass of that wine,” Blu said, laughing, eyeing the bottle of wine on the table.

  Arianna laughed too, and Douglas was quick to pour a glass.

  “Sit.” Douglas said, pulling out a chair for Blu. “Jemma, what do you say about you and I going into the kitchen to see if we can find something refreshing for you to drink?”

  Jemma looked up at Douglas with a serious expression on her face. “Yes, I don’t drink wine yet.”

  They all laughed.

  “I think Gigi has some sparkling cider for you inside,” Blu said.

  “And if you ask her nicely, I’ll bet she’ll even put i
t in a wine glass like ours,” Arianna said.

  Jemma looked at Blu with wide eyes. Arianna knew, after she’d witnessed a few accidents at Blu’s apartment, that Jemma wasn’t typically allowed to use glass dishes.

  “Be careful,” Blu said.

  Jemma nodded and skipped away hand-in-hand with Douglas.

  “How are you?” Blu said when the two women were alone on the terrace. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.” Arianna said.

  “Okay, good. I just saw you with Douglas as we were walking up and it looked kinda intense.”

  “Well, yeah. I guess you could say it was a bit intense.” Arianna looked at her friend with a light smile. “But good intense.”

  “Okay, good.” Blu gave Arianna a small hug. “I love it here, Ari. I’m so glad you talked me into coming.”

  “Me too.”

  Hours later they were all sitting around the big table outside. Arianna looked around at all the happy faces and steaming plates of pasta and appetizers. The wine was flowing and Jemma was chattering away happily as she ate her pasta and bread. Arianna could not be happier, and as she looked at all the smiling faces, she felt that everything was perfect. She was with the very people that she wanted to say goodbye to. And she knew her time was coming.

  After that first night with everyone at dinner, Arianna grew much weaker very quickly. There were a few outings to Castellina. Lia and Arianna did have an opportunity to take everyone to Thyme, the little restaurant that they’d grown to love. Carlo and Sofia had become like a little family of sorts; and especially those last few visits there, Arianna was able to pull Carlo aside and get to know him a little better. Lia had grown comfortable there in the kitchen, and he was delighted to have her cook with him any time she was able to.

  Gigi, Douglas, Blu, and Jemma seemed to love it there as much as Lia and Arianna did. Jemma had become a welcome fixture, and the waitresses delighted in playing with her and getting out the paper and crayons whenever they saw her coming.

  It was a good time, and even though Arianna was growing weary and her headaches were getting worse, she wasn’t yet willing to give up the magic of the place. She hadn’t shared her situation with Carlo and Sofia. She didn’t want their pity, or anyone’s pity for that matter, and she wanted them to remember her as she was now.

  The day came soon after, though, when Arianna was slow to get out of bed one morning. Gigi had come up to check on her, coming over to her bedside when Arianna didn’t answer her knock on the door.

  “Bella, are you okay.”

  Arianna opened her eyes to a worried-looking Gigi that morning, thinking for a few moments before she answered. “No. I don’t think I am.” A single tear rolled down her face. “I’m not ready. I don’t think I’m ready.” She couldn’t stop the sobs as Gigi sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling her near to her chest.

  “Shhhh. It’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay, bella.” After a few minutes, Gigi smoothed Arianna’s sweaty hair off her forehead and tucked her back under her blankets. “Let me go talk to the others. I think it’s time to leave.”

  Arianna could only nod.

  Within the hour, Lia was by her side, letting her know that Douglas had made all of the arrangements. There was a doctor coming to the house to check on Arianna’s comfort and give her something stronger than the pills she was taking, so that the flight would be as comfortable as possible for her. Douglas would go ahead, flying that day. He would make all the arrangement so that there would be a nurse at Arianna’s house the next day when the rest of them arrived back home.

  Arianna smiled with gratitude, finally willing to be taken care of. She was so tired and the pain in her head was growing more intense. She hoped that she still had at least a few decent days left to finish the things she still had to do before it was time.

  She looked down at Jemma, who had curled up in bed next to her to take her nap. Blu had resisted when Jemma had asked, but Arianna had insisted, telling her best friend that it was exactly what she needed. The two of them had slept soundly for an hour, and Arianna had never appreciated the warmth of the little body next to her so much as during that time. It was a comfort to her.

  And all too soon it was time to leave. They had said their goodbyes to Carlo and Sofia the last time they’d been in for dinner, and even though Arianna had tried to insist that Lia go to the restaurant, she hadn’t wanted to leave the villa. They had helped Arianna outside that last day to the terrace overlooking the olive grove. With her dark sunglasses, the sun was bearable and didn’t make her head hurt too much more. And she wanted to breathe in the Tuscan air one last time before she left to go home.

  Douglas had done his best to make the arrangements as easy on everyone as possible. They had booked the whole section of first class, and the flight crew was aware of the situation. Arianna had been given something that would help her sleep soundly, once she was settled on the plane, and the flight itself went smoothly.

  Before long, the small group was arriving in San Francisco with Douglas and a driver there to meet them, taking them back to Arianna’s house in Sausalito. Arianna turned to Gigi, Douglas, and Blu, who were all sitting together in the car. “I’m so sorry your time in Italy was cut short.”

  They all shook their heads.

  “Don’t you even worry about that,” Gigi said. “Italy will be there. We’re exactly where we want to be.”

  Everyone nodded, and Blu gave Arianna’s hand a little squeeze. “You just focus on feeling better.”

  Arianna nodded and rested her head back against the car seat, closing her eyes for the duration of the trip home.

  They arrived home and Arianna met Nurse Sheila. Before her trip, and at Douglas’s insistence, they’d had a meeting with Arianna’s doctor so that she could get the information she needed to be able to spend her final days the way that she wanted to. She desperately wanted to be at home—to spend her last days there, rather than in a hospital—so they had made arrangements to have everything she needed when the time came.

  And Arianna wanted her friends there. She had tried to remain strong, but finally she was honest with herself about not wanting to die alone. It wasn’t that she was scared exactly. She’d made her peace about it. It was more that she felt in her heart of hearts that it would be the best thing for those she loved—Gigi, Blu, Lia, and Douglas—to be able to say their goodbyes to her, and for Ari to tell them the final things that were in her heart. She’d been busy making plans, and she needed to be sure that she allowed the time to explain these things.

  And Jemma. She’d debated how to handle the little girl. She didn’t want to scare her and she didn’t want Jemma’s last memories of her to be the image of Arianna sick in bed. But Jemma was smart. They had talked about Arianna’s being sick and that she was going to go to heaven soon. She would have one last time with Jemma, and she’d do her best to draw together the strength she had left to make it a happy time, with smiles and laughter.

  Between the nurse, Gigi, and Lia, they’d gotten Arianna settled into her bed with everything that she needed to be comfortable, including some pretty strong medications which she would have for at least right after the long trip. Blu and Jemma had taken the car and driver into the city to pack some things to stay at the house for a few days, and Douglas had gone to his home to do the same.

  Lia hadn’t left Arianna’s side, and Arianna knew that there’d be no convincing her to take a little time for herself.

  Chapter 36

  Arianna awoke with a start, looking at the lit clock next to her bed. 3:30. Was it morning or afternoon? She had no concept of how long she’d been asleep or even what day it was, but as she pulled the curtain back, she realized that it was dark out and the middle of the night. She suddenly felt panicked, and had a singular focus as she stumbled across the room towards the door.

  She rushed into her parents’ bedroom, no longer holding back her sobs. She was filled with such intense anger and sadnes
s—for everything that had happened to her and for the pain that she was afraid she’d caused. Why couldn’t her parents have listened to her? Let her have a voice?

  She began frantically searching through her mother’s things; she hadn’t bothered to do so before now. Gigi had told her that she would take care of it later—after Arianna was gone was what she meant, most likely. She tore through the dresser drawers, pulling out her mother’s expensive undergarments and the t-shirts that Arianna had rarely seen her wear.

  She made her way to the closet, pulling each expensive designer item off the hanger in a rage. She couldn’t hold her anger back any more. It was all too much bottled up inside her. Arianna screamed at the top of her lungs as she made her way to her mother’s desk in the corner of the spacious master bedroom.

  She flashed back to a memory of her mother sitting there looking out the window when Arianna had appeared after playing in her dressing room. Arianna thought she’d been about five at the time, and had gotten into her mother’s make-up drawer. She smiled for a single moment now as she seemed to recall that even then she’d drawn a perfectly red smile on, not coloring out of the lines of her already full lips.

  Her mother had looked up at her with the strangest look on her face, before she’d rushed up scolding Arianna and wiping everything off her face. She realized now that it was the look that had always divided her and her mother. Arianna wasn’t hers. Arianna was beautiful and could never have truly been hers.

  Arianna glanced up at the careful vases and china picture frames that lined the pretty shelf near her mother’s desk, and in one second she was on her feet screaming to let loose all of the rage she felt inside. Rage towards her parents and the inconsolable anger she felt towards herself for not having stood up for her own daughter—a daughter who might never know that she’d had a mother who loved her as much as Arianna did. The pain of it all was unbearable.