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“Oh nice, Vinnie,” Lucia snaps. “Real nice.”
“What? She’s weird.”
I glare at him. “She’s perfect.”
Lucia pulls a face like she just saw a tiny kitten. “Aww, that’s so sweet. You must be in love to think that my sister is perfect.” She turns to her mother. “Ma, he came all this way. Tell him where she went.”
Maria shrugs. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me. She was afraid I’d crack under the pressure.” She nods a little, then says, “Which I would have. Look at that sad face. Do you want to come in and eat something?”
I glance at Enzo, who looks like he wants to slice me up with his garlic razor. “Do you think she’ll show up?”
“Not a chance. She packed an overnight bag and said she’d go straight to work from wherever she’s staying tonight.”
Fuck. She’s like the master of avoiding people she wants to avoid. I rub my hand over my mouth, trying to decide what to do. “All right, will you please do me a favor and tell her I was here, and that I really need to talk to her before she leaves for Zurich. It’s important.”
“I’ll pass the message along,” her mom says.
“Thanks,” I tell her. “See you, everyone. Take care.”
I turn and walk down the steps, then stand for a second, feeling completely lost. I pull out my phone and open the Uber app. I’m just about to request a ride, when I hear the front door shut. I turn, my heart in my throat, thinking maybe Allie is there after all, but it’s her dad. He points to his car, which is parked on the driveway. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride to the airport.”
Newp. Bad idea. Very bad idea. “That’s okay, sir. I don’t want to put you out like that.”
“Get in the car. I need to talk to you.”
We drive for a full five minutes before Enzo says anything. Five terrifying minutes, because he might be the worst driver I’ve ever seen. He nearly sideswiped a truck getting onto the freeway, and now he’s going ten under the speed limit in the fast lane. I grip my knees, hoping that we’ll make it to the airport alive while yet another car passes us on the right, honking at us.
“I don’t know what to think,” he says finally. “I was so sure you were pepper, but then you showed up here, which is not something a man who just wants to sprinkle pepper would do.”
“That’s because I’m not pepper.”
“Maybe not. I don’t know what you are then, which is troubling because, as a father, I should know. But you … you’ve got me all confused.”
“How about if I’m just a man who’s in love with your daughter and who screwed up and wants nothing more than to fix it?”
He over-steers and we almost hit a guard rail. I close my eyes, not wanting this to be my last car ride. When I open them again, he’s looking straight ahead, shaking his head. “I don’t know what’s going on. Allegra’s not saying much. Only that you’re taking credit for her discovery, which, if that’s true, is a pretty evil thing to do, Mr. Finch.”
“I’m not taking credit for anything, I swear.”
“Are you going to give a speech at the conference?”
“Yes, but not the one she thinks I’m giving,” I answer. “If I could just explain everything, she’ll understand why I’m doing this, but she won’t give me a chance.”
“Explain it to me. If I think you deserve a second chance, I’ll talk to her.”
I start to talk, telling him everything from the beginning. I tell him about my dyslexia and how hard I’ve worked to hide it my whole life, and how I’ve spent my entire life playing a role until I met her. I tell him about how I kissed her at the opera, but I skip what happened at Black Creek, for obvious reasons. I talk about how intimidated I was to work with her, but how close I felt to her that night at the hospital. I explain how I feel like I have to show up at the conference because I know I can get them international attention and the funding they need. I also tell him what I’m planning to say when I get there, and that I need her to be ready to present Frank, because I’m going to make that happen.
By the time we pull up at the airport, I’ve spilled it all to a man who, worst case scenario, can’t stand me and never will. He listens quietly without saying much. Then we park and he lets out a big sigh. “Okay, I’ll talk to her for you.”
“You will?” I ask, relief washing over me in a perfect wave.
He nods. “Yup. You’re tomato paste.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and I know why I was having a hard time figuring out what you are,” he says, giving me a hard look. “It’s because you didn’t know yourself. You tried to be pepper, but only because you were scared, which is the only reason any man pretends to be pepper. It’s a scary thing to love a woman. I know, because that’s how I felt when I met Maria. I’m still scared, but now it’s because we’re getting old and I know I won’t be able to live without her.” His eyes look glassy for a second, then he clears his throat, and when he talks again, his voice is deeper than it was before. “Anyway, that’s something you’ll have to face in the future. For now, you need to find a way to get Allegra to take you back. I’ll pave the way for you, but I can only do so much. She’s like her mother. She’s got a mind of her own.”
“Which is a good thing, if you ask me,” I say.
