As she was finishing up, she heard voices in the other room and knew that Mia must have arrived. The noise finally woke Eva from her nap, so Claire changed her and put her in a cute pink-and-yellow dress to meet her aunt.
By the time they went into the living room, Luca and a pretty young woman were seated on the couch drinking wine. Luca immediately stood up and gestured toward his sister. "Claire, this is my sister Mia. Mia, this is Claire and my daughter, Eva."
Mia looked like a petite version of Luca, with long, curly brown hair, rich, olive skin and wide, dark eyes. It made Claire wonder if that was what Eva might look like when she grew up. She didn't have long to ponder, though. Mia launched up from the couch and embraced Claire before she could prepare herself.
"Oh my goodness," she declared as she pulled away and examined Claire. "She's beautiful, Luca! Why didn't you tell me how pretty she was?"
"Because I didn't want you scheming," Luca said with a smile.
"I would never," Mia argued with an equally wicked grin. She winked at Claire, then turned her attention to the baby. "And aren't you the most precious little girl I've ever laid my eyes on!"
The next thing Claire knew, Eva was in Mia's arms, bouncing happily. "You look just like your cousin Valentina, yes you do," Mia cooed, wandering away.
Claire felt a little helpless, but she tried not to show it. It was Eva's family after all, and her daughter seemed pleased with the adoration. It was Claire who needed to adjust to her new reality. For the first time, it really hit her that she wasn't just bringing a father into Eva's life, she was bringing in his whole family. Eva would have an identity, a sense of belonging, other than Claire. The thought made her happy for her daughter and anxious for herself all at once. She always seemed to be the outsider, so this was no different.
"Would you like some wine, Claire?" Luca asked.
"Yes." Definitely. He poured her a glass and they all gathered on the couch. They chatted for a while, then Luca returned to the kitchen to finish off dinner, leaving the ladies alone for a few minutes.
"So, Luca didn't tell me much about you, just the basics of how you two ended up having a child together. That's a pretty wild story."
"That's one way to put it."
"So if you don't mind me asking, what made you decide to go to a fertility clinic? My sister, Carla, was having some issues, too, but they were able to conceive with some medication. Now she's got three little hellions."
It seemed like a really personal question so early in the conversation, but she supposed that once everyone found out about Eva, it was a natural thing to ask. "My husband and I were having trouble and nothing was working, so we had to take the next step."
Mia's eyes widened, and she glanced at Claire's bare ring finger. "You're married?"
"Widowed."
Her hand clamped over her mouth. "I am so sorry." She turned to the kitchen. "Luca! Why didn't you tell me Claire was a widow and save me from asking a rude question?"
"I wouldn't have to if you weren't asking such nosy questions in the first place."
Mia muttered something in Italian under her breath. "I'm sorry. I was just curious about how all this came about. I know why Luca opted to go to the clinic, but not everyone has the same circumstances as he did, thankfully."
Claire perked up in her seat. She'd never directly asked Luca about his involvement with the clinic. Anytime the topic came up, he circumvented it somehow. She had no idea why a young, vibrant man would have stored his future chance at children at the clinic. Perhaps his sister could shed some light on the subject.
"I was so young at the time, but Mama told me how much he went through. She just hated to have him miss his chance at a family, too."
"Dinner!" Luca shouted with a large pasta platter in his hands.
Of course. Claire wasn't sure if Luca heard his sister talking or the timing was unfortunate, but the discussion came to a quick end with her once again not finding out the whole story about Luca. It was more than she knew before, though. He'd apparently had some kind of ordeal that might cost him a future with a family. Had he been ill? There wasn't anything lacking in the physical specimen she'd touched in the kitchen a few days ago. If he had been sick, it was a long time ago.
They gathered at the dining-room table with Eva in her high chair. She enjoyed a pouch of turkey and potato mush while the rest of them happily devoured the chicken tetrazzini. It was creamy and savory with the bite of parmesan and the fresh snap of the peas.
An hour passed as quickly as the first few minutes. Claire wasn't sure if it was the wine or Mia's easy nature, but before long they were chatting and laughing like old girlfriends. It was a relief for her, since she didn't have many friends and thought it might be a struggle. Mia was quite charming. They stayed mum on the topic of Luca, but since Mia had minored in art in college, she and Claire had a lot of other things they could discuss instead.
"He looks pouty," Mia said at last as she looked at her brother. "We should probably talk about something he likes."
Claire turned to Luca, who was politely, yet blankly, sipping his wine and listening to them chat.
He shook his head in protest. "No, please. I'm fascinated by the female bonding ritual. As long as you stay off the subject of female biological processes and grooming, I'm fine."
"Now that you mention it, I am cramping pretty badly today," Mia said.
Luca immediately stood up and started clearing plates. "And I'm out," he said.
Mia laughed and picked up a few of her own. "I'm just messing with you, fratello. Carla and I used to do that to the boys when they were pestering us," she explained to Claire. "I once chased Marcello and Giovanni through the house with a box of tampons. You'd have thought it was a snake."
"They would've preferred a snake. See, Claire, what you avoided by being an only child? We tortured one another until we moved out of the house."
"That didn't stop us, really. Angelo texted me a picture of a giant spider the other day. I swear that thing was bigger than my hand. My skin was crawling for hours."
Claire followed them into the kitchen and couldn't help the amused smile on her face. She didn't know what Luca was talking about. She hadn't avoided this by being an only child, she'd missed out on it. It was different, for sure, but she enjoyed the camaraderie Luca and Mia had. She'd never had that with anyone.
As she handed off her plate and the salad bowl to Luca, she realized, sadly, that Eva would likely have the same fate. She would have the benefit of all of her cousins on Luca's side, but there would be no siblings to play with or talk to around the dinner table.
Eva had been a miracle, but in that moment, she felt greedy enough to hope that she would be granted one more.
Seven
"When you said you got a babysitter and were taking me out today, I kind of imagined things going differently."
Luca laughed at Claire and pulled the Land Rover into the dim parking lot of the marina. It was just before sunrise, and the sky was a dusky gray with a hint of pink on the horizon. "What were you expecting?"
"I don't know. A spa day? Maybe a nice dinner or walking around town shopping. At the very least, leaving the house after the sun had risen."
"We may still do all that. We've got all day."
Claire glanced at her watch and nodded. "We certainly do." She looked out at the boats in the marina with a curious expression. "Are we getting on a boat?"
"Maybe." Luca parked the car and got out. When he opened the door to let Claire out, her frown was pinching her brows together. "Okay, yes. We're going out on a boat. You really don't like surprises, do you?"
"It's not that I don't like them, per se, I'm just not used to them. At least not good ones."
"I'm going to change that." Luca took her hand and led her to the dock. There, waiting for them, was a small crew on a catamaran.
"Good morning, Mr. Moretti. Are you ready to go see some whales today?"
Claire's eyes were wide as she took the sailor's hand and climbed onto the deck of the ship. "We're going whale watching?"
"That's where I'm going," the captain said. "Since you're on my ship, that means you are, too. We're about to head out into some of the best and most diverse waters for marine life. If all goes well, we should see humpbacks, fin whales, a couple species of dolphins and, maybe if we're lucky, a right whale. It feels like a lucky morning."