She went back to sleep. The stewardess woke her when she served food. Jessie tried to eat, but nothing tasted good to her. She could feel the man’s eyes on her, so she shifted away to her own thoughts and her own private hell. But sleep eventually overtook her.
A long time later the stewardess gently shook her. “We’re fixing to land. Buckle up.” Jessie had lost track of time. She didn’t even know what day it was. Nor did she care. When the plane landed, the man quickly grabbed his bag and joined the exit line.
Jessie watched as if from a distance. Slowly, she got to her feet, the weakness returning. Somehow she made it through customs, even managed to change her money into euros. There was so much confusion, people speaking Italian and wanting answers. She just wanted to lie down and close her eyes. Someone directed her to a cab and she crawled inside.
“Dove vuoi andare?” the man asked.
She had no idea what he’d said, but she dug in her purse for the address and showed it to him.
“Sì. Benvenuti a Roma.”
The white cab took off at a dangerous speed. Jessie held on to the door. A busy ancient city flashed by so different from the world she’d left. Soon there were stone houses with English ivy growing up the sides, clothes hanging outside on a line, people on bicycles and everyone seemed to be shouting or gesturing.
The scenes faded in and out as dizziness assailed her. She tried to focus on the hilly Italian countryside of pines, orange and palm trees but couldn’t. The man braked to a sudden stop and she saw the big stone structure attached to a church with a bell tower. Children played in a courtyard.
The man flung out an arm. “The good sisters. You nun?” He said the words in English.
She shook her head, not wanting to talk to him. Not having a clue what to pay, she handed him some euros, hoping it was enough.
“Grazie. Grazie.” He happily nodded his head and she got out, clutching her bag. The temperature was chilly and felt good. The cab zoomed away and she stared at the cold, foreign building that had to be hundreds of years old.
What was she doing here?
Her eyes went to the bright blue sky and her head spun. Dizziness gripped her and suddenly she was falling, falling onto the cobblestones. And everything went black.
“CADDE, I’VE HEARD FROM Jessie!” Myra shouted, charging into the living room.
He was immediately on his feet. “When? What did she say?”
“I was in court so she left a message saying she’s fine and not to search for her.”
“But she’s not fine.”
“I know that and you know that, but it seems Jessie has to grieve alone. I say let’s give her some time.”
He gritted his teeth and against every instinct in him he said, “Okay.”
“I had the police on the lookout for her vehicle.”
“And?”
“They got a call from the Marriott Hotel that a silver Suburban had been parked in their garage for several days. It’s Jessie’s.”
“There’s no charge on her credit card for that. She must have used cash.”
“Yes. She checked out two days ago.”
Cadde eased onto the sofa. “Since she left the vehicle behind, I’m guessing she took a flight somewhere.”
“That’s my guess, too. I could continue checking, but I’m going to leave that up to you. Personally, I think we have to give her time and I believe she’ll come home.”
“I…uh…” Cadde wanted to find her as soon as possible, but Jessie didn’t want to see him. She’d made that very clear. Giving her space and time was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, except for losing his child. He drew a deep breath. “Okay. Tell the hotel I’ll pick up the car.”
Before Myra could leave, his cell buzzed and he reached for it. “Damn, thanks, Arnie.”
Slipping the phone in its case, he said to Myra, “I had Arnie, one of the accountants, checking credit card purchases. A charge for a rental car came through on Jessie’s. That’s how she came to the house undetected.” He sighed.
“Cadde, I’m sorry.”
“I know. I have to believe she’ll come home.”
That afternoon he called Kid. They brought the vehicle back to the house and parked it in the garage, in her spot, waiting for her return.
THE DAYS PASSED SLOWLY for Cadde. He didn’t have the mind-set to go back to work. Chance and Kid were doing fine without him. He went into town and bought the biggest Christmas tree he could find and placed it in the window where Jessie had wanted it. As he stared at the baby ornament in his hand, his throat closed up and he had to force himself to hang it high on the tree.