When We Found Home

Carmen insisted on carrying one of the suitcases. Callie had a brief impression of a giant foyer with a two-story ceiling and lots of rooms filled with expensive-looking furniture. She couldn’t seem to focus on anything but the fact that she couldn’t breathe or stop shaking. What had she been thinking? She didn’t belong here. So what if they were family—she wasn’t one of them.

Before she could bolt, Carmen grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers. “Alberto is so happy you’re here. He’s been waiting to find you.” She hesitated. “Your grandfather is a wonderful man. I hope you’ll grow to love him.”

Callie had no idea what to say to that.

“This way,” Carmen said.

They left the suitcases by the front door and walked by the wide, curved staircase, then down a hall and another hall. There was a turn and maybe a couple of bridges and a mountain, or so it felt. Finally they arrived at a book-lined study. An old, old man in a gray suit looked up from his book.

“Oh, Carmen, she is as beautiful as I imagined.” He stood and smiled. “Callie, at last. Welcome, child. Welcome to your home.”

He was taller than she’d expected—close to six feet—and despite his age, still handsome. She could see traces of the younger man he had once been. He looked strong and healthy and way too excited to see her.

“Mr. Carlesso,” she began, but he stopped her with a quick shake of his head.

“Grandfather Alberto,” he told her. “Or just Alberto if you’re not comfortable thinking of me as your grandfather just yet.”

He motioned to the sofa. “Come. Sit. We’ll get to know each other.”

She moved closer and sat on the sofa, as far from him as she could. He sank down, then poured them each a cup of coffee from the tray in front of him. Carmen smiled and left.

He handed her coffee and held out a plate of cookies. “Biscotti,” he said. “We make them here, in the city. It’s an old family recipe. They’re one of our best sellers.”

She looked at the weird cookie, then watched as he dunked it in the coffee before taking a bite.

“Best seller?” she asked.

“Alberto’s Alfresco. It’s the family company. I started it many years ago. We sell food and drink all over the world.”

She stared at him. “You mean the catalog company?” Of course she’d heard of them—probably on TV or something. Everyone had. They were an upscale company that sold delicious Italian food. “That’s you? I mean you’re that Alberto?”

“I am. You are, as well.” His gaze settled on her face. “You look just like my late wife. She was so beautiful. It’s been thirty years and I still miss her.” He smiled. “I’m so glad you’re finally here. You were not easy to find.”

Callie didn’t know what to say to that. Too much was happening too fast. She sipped her coffee and ignored her biscotti, all the while trying to get her breathing under control.

“How was your trip?” Alberto asked.

“Good. I’ve never flown before. It was different than I thought it was going to be. Everyone was very nice.”

Alberto’s expression was kind. “So much to get used to. I must remember that. If I move too fast, as you young people say, tell me. The lawyer said she told you about your father.”

“That he’s, ah, no longer with us?”

Alberto nodded. “Yes. It’s unfortunate. He was difficult at times, but still my son. And he gave me you and your siblings. Let’s see, there’s Malcolm. He’s a few years older than you, and Keira who is only twelve. We only found out about you girls a few months ago.”

“Shari, your lawyer, mentioned that.” She didn’t know much about her father but what she did know wasn’t very promising. Not that she was going to have to deal with him but still there were—

A man walked into the study. He was tall and looked enough like his grandfather for her to guess the relationship. Unlike Alberto, his eyes were not kind...or welcoming. If anything, he seemed resigned.

“Hello, Callie,” he said as he approached. “I’m your half brother, Malcolm.”

She didn’t know what to do. Stand? Sit and smile tightly? Run?

“Hi,” she said quietly. “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too.”

Like Alberto, he wore a suit and tie. If she’d seen him on the street, she would have assumed he was rich and successful and gone out of her way to avoid him.

Malcolm took a seat across from them and poured himself a cup of coffee. “I’m sure this is all overwhelming.”

“A little.”

“You can take as much time as you’d like to get settled. There’s a lot to explore.”

Alberto patted her hand. “Seattle is a beautiful city. You’ll want to see it and we’ll show you around the company, of course. The executive offices are very nice, but you should see the factory where we create our magic.”

She smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Keira is so excited to meet you,” Alberto continued. “She’s very happy to have a sister.”

Malcolm surprised her by grinning. “Yes, she’s made it clear that she would not welcome another brother. My fault, I’m afraid.” His smile faded. “Did you leave anything behind in Houston?”

The question was so vague, she didn’t know if he was referring to a job, a boyfriend, a dog or an apartment.

“I didn’t know what was happening,” she admitted. “I thought it was easier to make a clean break.” She supposed that if things didn’t work out here, she could always go somewhere else. There was nothing to return to in Texas.

“Good.” Malcolm rose. “Why don’t I show you to your room? Dinner is at six thirty and I’m sure you’ll want to take a little time to settle before then.”

She set down her coffee. Alberto rose, put his hands on her shoulders and kissed both her cheeks. “Welcome, my beautiful granddaughter. We are your family now. Always we will be here for you.”

His words sounded genuine. She saw tears in his eyes and felt the ice wall around her heart melting just a little. Then she turned and met Malcolm’s wary gaze. Maybe she was wrong but it seemed to her not everyone was thrilled by her arrival. If she had to guess, she would say Malcolm wasn’t happy to have a felon in the family. All things being equal, who could blame him? Certainly not her.

* * *

Malcolm left Callie to get settled, then walked the few feet to Keira’s door. His sister had been after him all day to let her know the second Callie arrived.

Just before he knocked, he paused to remember the awkward trip he’d taken down to Los Angeles when he’d gone to get Keira. He’d had no idea how to deal with a twelve-year-old, nor had he known what she would be like. He’d filled a backpack with snacks, an iPad loaded with games and a couple of Disney movies, headphones, and an activity book with puzzles and easy crosswords.

Keira had been waiting at her social worker’s office. Everything she owned had fit into a battered old-fashioned hatbox decorated with pictures of landmarks from around the world. She’d been wide-eyed, thin and silent as they’d been introduced.

He hadn’t known what to say beyond explaining he was her half brother, that she had a grandfather and that he was taking her to live with him in Seattle. He promised her her own room and a good school. At the end of his awkwardly stilted speech, she’d simply picked up her hatbox and looked at him as if waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

He should have done more, he thought nearly three months after the fact. He couldn’t say what, but he should have tried harder. They’d barely spoken on the two-and-a-half-hour flight. Maybe she’d been scared or nervous or hungry. But he’d only asked if she needed anything and when she’d said no, he’d believed her.

He remembered taking her to the airport gift shop and buying her a sweatshirt so she wouldn’t be cold, but he’d done little else to make her feel comfortable or safe. He swore silently—couldn’t he have offered her a candy bar or some chips? Something to show she was more than a chore he had to finish?

He thought about her phone. Asshole brother. He didn’t want to be that. Whether or not he’d gone looking for more family wasn’t the point. She was a kid and totally alone in the world. The least he could do was suck it up and give her some attention. So what if he was bad at it—at least he had to try.

He knocked on her door. She flung it open instantly as if she’d been waiting for him.

“Is she here? Is she here? What is she like? Does she look like me? Is she nice? Will I like her?”

Malcolm smiled. “You’ve been saving up those questions, haven’t you?”

Keira danced from foot to foot. “Yes, now tell meeeee!”

He studied his younger sister. According to her pediatrician, she was about average height, slightly underweight and perfectly healthy. Her hair was light brown, her eyes blue and Carmen had said more than once he and Keira shared the same smile.

“She has your freckles,” he told Keira.

She laughed, then ran to the mirror and stared at herself. “Really? All of them? I can’t decide if I like my freckles or not.”

He almost pointed out her opinion on her freckles didn’t matter—it wasn’t as if they were going away—but stopped himself in time.

“They’re cute,” he told her. “On you and on Callie.”

Keira spun to face him and beamed. “Really? I can’t wait to meet her. And I want to see her room.”

“Give her a couple of hours to get settled,” he said, repeating what they’d discussed the previous night at dinner. “We don’t want to overwhelm her. You’ll meet her at dinner. As to her room, you saw it yesterday, when everything was delivered.”

Keira gave him a look that implied he was incredibly stupid but she would indulge him this one time. She crossed to the bed and scooped up the kitten sitting there. “Maybe she’s scared. Maybe she needs a friend.”

“Maybe she’s tired from her trip and would like a few minutes before she has to deal with the whole family.”

“There’s only three of us, plus Carmen. That’s not a lot.”

“It might be to her.”

From what he’d read in the report on Callie, since getting out of prison, she’d lived a quiet life. She’d stayed in a halfway house for nearly nine months before moving to Houston. She worked her two jobs, volunteered at a cat shelter once a week and lived in a rented room. She didn’t seem to have many friends or much of a social life. As for what had gotten her arrested in the first place, from how she’d lived the last five years, that had been a one-time thing.

Keira sighed heavily. “Fine. I’ll wait until dinner.”

“Good. You seem to be feeling better. You have a lot of energy.”

“I’m excited. This is so fun. We have a new sister. I could barely sleep last night. Aren’t you excited?”

“Very,” he lied. He didn’t care about the trust fund his grandfather would set up for Callie or the potential division of the business. He already had enough. It was more that all these years later, he was still dealing with his father’s shit. When was it finally going to end?

“I’ll see you in a couple of hours,” he told Keira. “Until then, leave Callie alone.”

Keira batted her eyes at him. “I wouldn’t think of doing anything else.”

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