The end of August
βWe have to talk.β Joe made the statement in the office of their veterinarian practice before their workday began. It was a light, airy space, with carefully chosen wooden desks, file cabinets and a long couch on the far wall. Sheβd brought in fresh flowers so the scent of calla lilies surrounded them.
Biancaβs eyes narrowed in feigned anger. βIs it about those secret meetings and phone calls youβve been having? I swear Giuseppe Nicoli Lucchese, if you have a woman on the side, Iβll castrate you.β
βAs if, Tesoro.β For a moment, his dark eyes danced. βI havenβt looked at another woman since you fell into my arms coming down the steps of the administration building at college.β
Bianca knew that was true. The same thing happened to her. Love at first sight. And lots of lust, too. They couldnβt keep their hands off each other and were together every minute they could manage. βAll right. Tell me.β
He got that shadowed expression on his face that usually meant he had bad news. βI accepted a request from Veterinari Allβestero to inoculate wildlife in Africa.β
βWhat?β
βIβm going to work with the vets over there.β
She frowned. βWe were planning to do that together, sometime later, when the kids were older.β
βI have to go now. Running our home and practice throws us together too much.β
Merda, this was so unlike the past where they skipped classes to make love and he moved out of the dorm and rented an apartment for privacy and convenience.
She stared at him. She loved him. Butβ¦ βSo youβre going to run away from our problems?β
He stood, came around his desk, leaned against the edge and jammed his hands into his jeans pockets. Damn him for looking so good. βYouβre not listening, amore mio. We need a break from each other. I know I need a break from the pressure our Mammas put on us. We fight all the time about them.β
It was painful to hear what he was saying. There had been a lot of pressure and it had affected their relationship. Her voice was hoarse when she answered, βSo I get to stay here and deal with them all by myself?β
Joeβs brows knitted. βMamma will leave you alone if Iβm not here. Maybe me being gone will make her listen to me about interfering in our lives. But, yes, youβll have to deal with your mother.β
Carlotta Ricci was a force to be reckoned with. Since Biancaβs papΓ was never in the picture, she and her mother had been close. Very close. Too close. And Carlotta never liked Joe, but down deep Bianca knew she wouldnβt approve of any man her daughter had chosen.
She made herself sound strong. βIβll handle Mamma. What about the practice?β
βChristopher will take on more responsibility.β The fresh-faced, sweet man, Christopher Messina was just out of vet school when they asked him to join their team and had been a joy to work with.
βWe hired him so we could open a second office.β
βThat can wait.β
Her eyes filled. βI canβt believe youβd do this to me, Joey.β
βBianca, cara, we need time away from each other!β
βAt least you do.β
βYou do, too. And this way, we wonβt have to explain a separation to the kids.β
βAnd you wonβt look bad.β She stilled as another awful truth came to her. βYou were thinking of a separation?β
βNo, no, that came out wrong.β He took in a deep breath. Stared at her with midnight eyes that made her weak in the knees. βIβm going, for three months, starting in September.β
She tried to calm herself. βNot with my support.β
βCazzo! You donβt give an inch anymore. What happened to the girl I married?β
βShe was deliriously happy when she met you. You promised life would stay that way for us. We opened a successful practice, had two kids we raised together. Then you got distant.β
βThings change, Bianca.β
βApparently.β
βPlease do this for me. I need it.β
She loved this man above all else. She often consented to what he wanted to do in their life together. But she was mad! βAll right, Joey, go ahead. Leave the three of us alone.β Even to her own ears, she sounded totally rejected. In the past that would have killed him.
βWill you give me your blessing?β
βWhat do you think?β
#
Joe couldnβt concentrate all day. Even though heβd had several wellness checks, two sick puppies and a consultation about surgery, he was distracted. Not only had he hurt the only woman he ever loved, heβd sounded like a selfish bastard.
I need to get awayβ¦I want to goβ¦
But deep inside he knew that his marriage was heading for disaster if he didnβt shake things up. And he wasnβt sure he could live without Bianca in his life.
The fights had been epic.
First Carlottaβ¦
βYou are subservient to him, figlia mia. I warned you against this.β Still tall, imposing and statuesque at sixty-plus, her silvery gaze was cold.
βI am not, Mamma. We compromise.β
βHe always gets what he wants.β
βBecause I want it too.β
Her mother stared her down. Bianca knew an ace in the hole was coming. βDid you want another child?β
βI wanted to talk about it.β And Joe didnβt. So the idea got dismissed.
βNot that I thought having another was the right thing for you, but you had no choice when he objected. He takes that away from you.β
βJoe likes our life as it is.β
βI do.β His comment came from the doorway. βAnd Carlotta, I donβt appreciate how you hound your daughter. Iβve told you this before.β
βDo not speak to me like that.β
βThis is my home. Iβll speak however I want in order to keep you from hurting your daughter.β
Bianca said, βJoe, I can stand up for myself.β
Angry, heβd whirled on her. His eyes burned. βThen why donβt you?β
Then there was his mother, Rosalinaβ¦
βYou work too hard, Joey, and afterward, you run around with i figli. Your wife should stay home and take care of them and the house.β
Heβd crossed to the woman whoβd raised him. Who he loved dearly. βMamma, I know thatβs how you did things in your marriage, but thatβs not us. Not most people in Italy these days.β
She touched his face and he could see the veins of age in her hand. Small in stature, a bit overweight, she had the same dark eyes and hair as Joe, though hers was graying. βYou need more sleep. More relaxation. If she quit, youβd have peace.β
It was as if he hadnβt spoken. βSanta Maria, you donβt listen to me. Biancaβs not going to give up her career. I donβt want her to. Now, I wonβt talk about this again.β
But they had. And more than once heβd found her pressuring Bianca. His wife didnβt cower in front of his mother, but Rosalina triggered something in Bianca that made her not fight back very hard. That probably had to do with her own motherβs strong personality. He and his wife became more and more estranged.
A breaking point came for him the night before he was leavingβ¦
They were getting ready for sleep. He noticed lately sheβd been changing in the bathroom. He was stretched out on the bed, with his hands linked behind his head, wearing only his boxers, watching the overhead fan whir around. She came out in a nightgown buttoned up to her neck.
He said simply, βI want to make love.β
βI donβt feel like it.β
βYou havenβt felt like it in weeks.β Even now after nearly twenty years of marriage, sex had been frequent and imaginative.
βI know I havenβt.β She walked to a dressing table, sat down and began to brush her blond hair. She saw him in the mirror when he came up behind her. Put his hands on her shoulders. βYou wonβt make love with me because Iβm going to work with Veterinari Allβestero.β
She held his gaze in the glass. βThatβs right, Joe. This chasm between us opened up when you said you were abandoning us.β
Fury rose inside him. βYou always said you hated when women used sex to manipulate men.β
She turned around forcing him to step back. Her gaze narrowed on him. βI know. And I never thought Iβd feel this way about you.β
βWhat are you saying, that I killed our sex life?β
βHarsh, but probably true.β She stood and didnβt meet his height by six inches. βItβs not my fault that I no longer want you. Itβs yours.β
He was so angry he didnβt know what heβd do if he stayed. He stalked to the hamper, redressed in his clothes from the day, and stormed out of the room. He walked over to the street where his childhood friend, Tommaso Galati, lived and slept on his couch on the porch. He left the next day when he and his wife werenβt speaking to each other.
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