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“I never met Ava before that night, I didn’t know who she was. I was so tired and just wanted to go home. I was coming off a seventeen-hour shift. Your father wanted me to come stay the weekend with him so I was driving into New Jersey.
“It was raining, the thunder shook my little Volvo with each boom. I barely heard the shot. I remember seeing the taillights of the other car speed away.
“At first, the Brooklyn in me saw that woman on the side of the road and said, nope, Pat, mind your damn business. But I took an oath, I was a surgeon, so I pulled over to see if I could help.
“Ava was shot in the shoulder. I wanted to get her to the hospital, but she told me it was too dangerous, and they would come back to finish her. She gave me an address that wasn’t that far away, and I took her there.
“I patched her up and was on my way, never thinking I’d see her again.”
“But you did, she’s the mother of my best friend.”
“Oh, Ava was much more than that. I was shocked when she and her father arrived at my wedding as friends of Gwen’s. Her gift, I was so naive I thought she was being generous because I saved her life and she wanted to thank me.” Mommy stops to look around the house. I gasp and my eyes grow wide.
“No,” I breathe.
“Yup, she purchased this house for us and along with it my loyalty. I thought I had gained a real friend. I didn’t question it. Your father, on the other hand, was skeptical. Ava made sure never to reveal herself to him. It didn’t dawn on me she was avoiding me introducing them.
“She knew I wanted into this neighborhood and the schools. I’d mentioned it as I patched her up. She kept me talking that night and I thought it was to distract herself from the pain.
“She and her charming father worked my wedding like pros. My family took right to them. I thought nothing of her father talking to Kington. If you can get my brother to talk to you, you’re someone special.
“Within weeks, promotions started to happen for your uncles. They worked hard, I thought it was due to that, so I didn’t question the timing. A year passed and Ava and I were both pregnant at the same time. Her with the twins and me with you.
“When you were born, she insisted on being your godmother. The way she spoiled you, I didn’t see why not. Ava weaved her way into our lives—playdates, birthday parties, getting you into the top school when I wasn’t light enough for them.”
I make a sound in the back of my throat. I hadn’t been light enough either. Elementary through high school, it was made clear I was well past the brown-paper-bag complexion they accepted. My father, being lighter, didn’t have that problem when he entered a room.
Mom starts to sob. “I didn’t know. Not until your aunt revealed it to me. A friend of theirs was hurt. He’d been shot in the stomach. Ava sent Gwen for me. I just barely saved his life.
“Ava told me he was a friend of her family’s and doing this favor would go a long way to help her. Your father had ranted about who your aunt worked for once she left the military, but I didn’t get it until that night.
“That’s when the playground visits started. My brothers used me as a go-between to deliver messages to Ava and she to them. I quickly learned they were who Ava wanted to begin with. She tied herself to me and my family in every way she could. She placed the world at your feet to gain my brothers’ trust.”
“But that still doesn’t explain why Daddy is so upset,” I huff.
The tears really start to flow. “Gwen was murdered. Your father lost everything. First his best friend, my brother and then his sister, Gwen. He has hated the Di Lorenzo family since.
“It’s gutted him for years that you’ve remained friends with Dario, but he tolerated it. He felt bad for the boys. And, after your accident. Dario was the first person you called for, the first person you remembered.”
I blink back tears. I tripped over my feet. I was trying to get to Dario. I overheard my mother talking about Ava’s disappearance and the boys being upset. I tripped going up the stone steps and cracked my head.
It took a while, but I got my memories back. Or so I thought. My head hurts as I try to remember my auntie Gwen. Suddenly, I feel like something else is missing.
However, one thought does click as my mother’s words sink in. “Daddy tolerated Dario until I left my residency and opened a business with their family. Shit,” I breathe.
