The Villa

separated him from it.
    Then he crossed the tarmac to where he'd been told his driver would be waiting, and found it.
    "Dad!"
    Theo and Maddy sprang from opposite doors of the limo. The rush of emotion had him dropping his briefcase as he lunged toward them. He grabbed Maddy with his good arm, then had a line of pain spurting through his shoulder as he tried to hug Theo.
    "Sorry, bad wing."
    When Theo kissed him, surprise and pleasure flustered him. He couldn't remember the last time this boy, this young man, had done so. "God, I'm glad to see you." He pressed his lips to his daughter's hair, leaned into his son. "So glad to see you."
    "Don't ever do that again." Maddy kept her face pressed against his chest. She could smell him, feel his heart beat. "Not ever again."
    "That's a deal. Don't cry, baby. Everything's okay now."
    Afraid he was going to blubber as well, Theo pulled himself back, cleared his throat. "So, did you bring us something?"
    "You've heard of Ferraris?"
    "Holy shit, Dad! I mean… wow." Theo looked toward the plane as if he expected to see a sleek Italian sports car unloaded.
    "Just wondering if you'd heard of them. But I did manage to pick up a couple things that actually fit in my suitcases, which are right over there." David jerked his head.
    "Man."
    "And if you haul them for me like a good slave, we'll go car shopping this weekend."
    Theo's jaw dropped. "No joke?"
    "No Ferrari, but no joke."
    "Cool! Hey, why'd you wait so long to get shot?"
    "Smart-ass. It's good to be home. Let's get out of here and…" He trailed off as he looked back toward the car.
    Pilar stood beside it, her hair blowing in the wind. As their eyes met, she began walking toward him. Then she was running.
    Maddy watched her, and took her first shaky step toward adulthood by moving aside.
    "What's she crying for now?" Theo wanted to know as Pilar clung to his father and sobbed.
    "Women wait until it's over before they cry, especially when it's important." Maddy studied the way her father turned his face into Pilar's hair. "This is important."
     
    An hour later, he was on the living room sofa being plied with tea. Maddy sat at his feet, her head resting on his knee while she toyed with the necklace he'd brought her from Venice. Not a little-girl's trinket—she had a good eye for such things—but a real piece of jewelry.
    Theo was still wearing the designer sunglasses, and occasionally checked himself out in the mirror to admire his European cool.
    "Well, now that you're settled, I've got to get going." Pilar leaned over the back of the sofa, brushed her lips over David's hair. "Welcome home."
    He might have been handicapped, but his good arm was quick enough. He reached back, grabbed her hand. "What's your hurry?"
    "You've had a long day. We're going to miss you guys over at the main house," she said to Theo and Maddy. "I hope you'll keep coming around."
    Maddy rubbed her cheek on David's knee, but her eyes were on Pilar's face. "Dad, didn't you bring Ms. Giambelli a present from Venice?"
    "As a matter of fact."
    "Well, that's a relief." Pilar gave his uninjured shoulder a squeeze. "You can give it to me tomorrow. You need to rest now."
    "I rested for six thousand miles. I can't handle any more tea. Would you mind taking that into the kitchen, give me a minute here with the kids?"
    "Sure. I'll give you a call tomorrow, see how you're feeling."
    "Don't run off," he said as she began to clear the tray. "Just wait."
    He shifted on the couch, tried to put the words he wanted to use together in his mind as she took the tray out. "Listen… Theo, you want to sit down a minute."
    Obligingly, visions of sports cars dancing in his head, Theo plopped down on the couch. "Can we look at convertibles? It'd be so cool to tool around with the top down. Chicks really dig on that."
    "Jeez, Theo." Maddy turned herself around until she was kneeling, her hands resting on David's knees. "You don't score a convertible by telling him you're going to use it to pick up girls. Anyway, shut up so Dad can tell us how he wants to ask Ms. Giambelli to marry him."
    David's grin at the first half of her statement faded. "How the hell do you do that?" he demanded. "It's spooky."
    "It's just following logic. That's what you wanted to tell us, right?"
    "I wanted to talk to you about it. Any point in doing that now?"
    "Dad." Theo gave him a manly pat. "It's cool."
    "Thank you, Theo. Maddy?"
    "When you have a family, you're supposed to stay with them.