I walk past Aiden’s room. The lamp next to his unoccupied crib shines brightly. He and the nanny are playing in the middle of the room, doing a dance. Aiden is giggling with his hands in the air, holding hers, and stepping along the old floorboards. My darkness is overtaken by joy, for a moment, then my smile wavers.

I’m surprised and pleased by his comfort with Floriana. And I’m at a loss because she’s the one he’s so relaxed and playful with.

Aiden giggles again.

Floriana smiles and looks up at me. “He’ll be doing the two-step before you know it.”

I walk toward him and bend down. He gets serious and stops his stomping.

“I love you baby,” I say and give him a kiss and leave.

On the way to La Terrazza di Rossa, I feel numb. The glittering lights of the city in the valley below feel shallow. I turn sharply around the first major bend.

I remember when I got here. Aiden and I had traveled across the country, even into Germany, Switzerland, France, and Spain. I told the taxi driver to take us where we would feel the beauty of Italy in this town. He drove us up the very road I now descend.

I turn around the next corner, traversing the hillside. The elegant Italian village is quietly nestled into the sea’s cove, topped by brilliant groves of green hillsides, vineyards, and estates. It reminds me of when I was a little girl and my family would travel to Napa.

I looked at Aiden and said with a smile, “This is it. This is where we are going to stay.”

I slow for a moment, the city drawing closer with every passing curve. I knew it would be a great place for me to start a new beginning. The innocence of the valley and the large hillsides protecting the sea felt safe, like a perfect landing pad after our two-month journey and my breakup with John.

How in the hell could I let that asshole into my family? I snarl. Why didn’t I listen to my brother’s warnings?

The day John and Nolan returned from their hunting trip, Nolan told me how John’s eyes wandered constantly toward the waitress’s mid-section. I dismissed it since John did that with me all of the time.

I round the next bend. This time, my tires screech while passing through the apex of the corner.

Little did I know he was going to put his dick into everything and anything with a pulse.

The next bend comes, and I take the vehicle through it like a precision-guided missile. The tires screech. I can feel their grip stretched to the limits. My nostrils flare as I think of him schmoozing his penis into the unsuspecting lives of god knows how many women.

Oh no! I stamp my foot onto the accelerator, only to brake more aggressively into the next turn.

All the while, I was ignoring the signs. My best friend, Ashley, told me how he would stare at her too, and he was always asking so many questions about my dad’s and the family’s finances.

“Goddamn it!” I squeeze the leather on the steering wheel so tightly it compresses between my fingertips. I accelerate, darting through the twists and turns.

I let him into my family, and as a result, my father’s dead.

“Fuck!” I can’t contain myself.

My car skids into the center portion of the highway, and suddenly I’m staring into the headlights of oncoming traffic. I turn the wheel as aggressively as I can, but the tires don’t grip. My vehicle drifts farther into the other lane.

I yank the wheel as hard as I can and scream. The sound of a loud horn sends me into shock. I hit my brakes and close my eyes, hoping for the best.

The next thing I notice, my vehicle’s stopped but running, and there’s a rap at my window.

The rap at my window comes again. “Madame, are you okay?”

I blink, inhale, and look around. My headlights illuminate dust in the air. My vehicle is not on pavement, but the gravel incline on the side of the road. I roll my window down.

“I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. You were traveling a little fast.”

My heartbeat slows slightly. I extend my neck left so that I can get a look at the man. I squint; his vehicle is parked so that his lights are making it hard for me to see him.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

He steps back. The silhouette of his frame contorts to his left, and his head cocks. “Are you sure?”

Reality strikes me. I nearly made Aiden a motherless child.

I place my left hand back on the steering wheel and tighten my grip. I look forward. I take a deep breath before returning my gaze to the stranger. I smile. “Really, I’m fine. Please forgive me.”

He stands silently, head still cocked. “You are forgiven.”

I tell him thanks, and he stops traffic so that I can get back on the right side of the road. I wave to him one last time before watching his slender figure stroll back to his car.

The cars behind me honk, and I gently shift my vehicle into drive and delicately accelerate onto the dark road. The city lights are almost close enough to touch. A few corners later, I’m off the hillside.