After both girls had gone upstairs, Bianca and Remi enjoyed a bottle of Chianti on the veranda, the night’s chill softened by the wine and a throw blanket draped over their laps. Crickets hummed from the trees beyond the vineyard. Somewhere down the hill, soft music played lightly; it seemed to be coming from Leo’s veranda. Bianca had to admit she found him handsome but knew he hadn’t quite moved past his wife’s death. And she wasn’t looking for a man with that kind of baggage—not that she was all that interested anyway. Besides, he didn’t seem particularly interested in her, either.
Remi poured the last of the bottle between their glasses, swirling hers before taking a slow sip. “It feels good to just relax and do nothing,” she said.
Bianca nodded. “Feels like we’re always putting out fires lately.”
“Or hiding the smoke,” Remi said.
They both laughed.
The light flickered above them—the room where the girls were. Bianca shifted in her seat. “Is everything okay with Zoe?” she asked quietly.
Remi’s glass paused halfway to her lips. “She’ll survive.”
Remi had shared a bit about Zoe’s situation with Bianca.
“She’s been through a lot.” Bianca glanced upward, a faint yellow light glowing.
Remi exhaled slowly. “More than I realized.”
A stillness settled between them for a moment.
“I can’t believe I didn’t know about the baby,” Remi said softly, as if the night itself might be listening too closely. “All the signs were there. I knew something was going on … but I didn’t know what.” She hesitated. “I stumbled on a message on her phone. Can you believe that? It was like … it was meant for me to see.”
Bianca didn’t answer right away. She just reached over and placed a hand on Remi’s arm. “She’s young, Rem. Scared. Probably didn’t have the right words to share with you. And she sure as hell didn’t want Gerard to find out. She was his baby girl. And let’s be honest—Gerard thought the world of Bas. She probably didn’t want to blow that up either. You know how he was … he might’ve taken that boy’s head off.”
Remi gave a faint, bitter laugh. “You’re right. Bas would’ve been in deep trouble.”
“You know your husband didn’t play when it came to his favorite girls.”
“He did not. He would go to war over us.” Remi blinked at the stars above. “But it still hurt that I didn’t know. That she had to endure it alone. At least I could’ve had her back.”
“Did you tell her about Gerard 2.0?”
“Not yet. That’s a conversation for another time. But I will tell her. I think it will free her, in some ways.”
“I think so too.”
Bianca looked at her glass, then up at the sky. “Funny how we thought that grown-up life would be … easier. Like once we hit our forties, everything would just line up.”
“We were crazy.” Remi smiled weakly.
The girls’ laughter drifted down from the upstairs room—brief, high-pitched, untouched by the weight below. And for a moment, the world felt normal. But the feeling passed in a flash.
They sat for a while in silence; the kind only old friends can share comfortably.
Then Remi turned toward her. “What about you? Any more messages?”
Bianca nodded slowly. “Just one earlier today, when we were by the pool—when you were quizzing me.”
“I knew something was up.”
“I didn’t want to alarm the girls. Then there was one later, from a blocked number. It said,I know where you are. How’s the weather in Cali?”
“Shit, Bianca! That’s it, you’re calling the police in the morning. For all we know, he could’ve followed us here. He could be lurking in the shadows right now.” Remi’s voice was low but firm.
Bianca stared off into the darkness, as if she were looking for someone to emerge from the rows of vegetation. She didn’t tell her about the one that really shook her—the one that read:That little vineyard won’t protect you. I know everything. And I bet your daughter would love to know too.
“I promise I will tomorrow,” Bianca said.