Under The Tartosan Sun, Part Two

Chapter Five:

Liberty’s curiosity was piqued. She wandered into the kitchen, trying to tease more details from Matteo. “Tell me again, what did Allegra say?”

“Like I said before, not much. Asked me to set a place for her. Said she was fine. Not to worry. She’d explain later.” He turned his attention back to the cioppino. “That’s what you get for marrying a spy” he thought to himself with a smile. He couldn’t comprehend his wife's insistence on trying to unravel the mystery before Allegra arrived. “Oh, she said to give you her love" he added with a smile.

"You're no help." As he slipped past, she gave him a playful swat. ”But, you are kinda cute, so I'll forgive you." He was no detective, but his other qualities more than made up for it.

She was still stuck at square one. This felt impulsive, especially for Allegra. She was passionate and fiery, but she wasn't some giddy teenage girl always going off on a whim. Two short beeps of the taxi’s horn interrupted Liberty's thoughts. "Now we'll get to the bottom of this" she said as she went to greet Allegra. 

The scene Liberty found when she opened the door was familiar to anyone who knew Allegra. Her definition of traveling light was unlike anyone else's. As Liberty moved in for a hug she said, "Moving in I see?"

 "Only the bare essentials a woman needs for a couple nights away from home."

"You know I'm dying ask why you flew in on such short notice? Don't ge me wrong, I love seeing you and all."

"We have a lot to talk about. I have a big decision to make, and not much time to make it. I really need my sister, and I didn't want to do this over the phone." It was a testament to how close they had become since Liberty married into the Rossi family. As their little inside thing, they had long ago shortened sister-in-law to just sister.

As Liberty helped Allegra get settled she began to wonder if this had something to do with Venessa. Their relationship was just beginning, but seemed serious. Liberty quickly dismissed the idea. She was still baffled. Matteo had timed the meal to perfection. He was adding the finishing touches when Allegra came down to greet him. They quickly gathered everything up and headed for the patio. The warm evening breeze and the ocean made the perfect backdrop as they dined al fresco.

As they enjoyed the meal, the weather, and the company, Allegra gave them the short version of events.

“So that’s it. If I want to sing for the Tartosa opera, it’s as an extra or not at all. And I only have until Friday to decide.”

“That’s an insult” Matteo said, anger edging into his voice. He’d always been protective of Allegra. Sometimes too protective. As a child it had been sweet. As a grown woman, capable of defending herself, she found it less so. “Don’t they realize you’re a star!”

“Matteo, relax. Look, I’m good at what I do. But I’m not a star.” While Matteo was busy fuming, Allegra and Liberty exchanged a subtle look and smile at his theatrical display. As dinner went on and Matteo indeed simmered down, he tried to get more out of Allegra, but it was clear she'd told him all she intended to for now. The conversation remained casual and lighthearted, settling into comfortable small talk. Eventually Matteo began to feel he was the third wheel. Sensing the women were politely waiting for him to excuse himself, he did so with a kiss for each in turn. That was fine with him as he was actually dying to catch some midweek football on tv.

The women grabbed a bottle of amaretto and went to chat on the lower patio. More than once during dinner Liberty had noticed Allegra taking in the view of Porto Luminoso, a wistful look on her face. Something was weighing on her mind, and when she was ready Allegra would share it with her. For now it was just fun for them to all be together. As they sipped their drinks, the ladies enjoyed the idyllic setting. The evening was beautiful, like they always seemed to be here. Being in familiar and comforting surroundings with people she loved put Allegra at ease,  and she opened up.

“So I’ve been having second thoughts about where my life is headed. After that call, I was heartbroken." Allegra didn't mention the director's belittling tone. "Turning down the offer seems easy enough. I've worked too hard to just throw it all away and be an extra, basically. But...I realized I'm having doubts about staying in Windenburg too. The city, the people, the opera they're all lovely, but I’m not sure I want to be there anymore. I'm not sure I want to be in the opera either. One of the few things I am sure of, I miss Tartosa."

Liberty wasn't expecting that. “I'm not judging, but I always thought opera was your dream?"

“I thought so too. Now..." She stop with a shrug. "Maybe it's just the disappointment. I'm homesick and I got my hopes up. But it's not the first time I've questioned whether this is what I want out of life. Some days I feel like I'm just going through the motions."

The picture was becoming clearer for Liberty. She had occasionally wondered how Allegra had decided to go into that genre. She had a beautiful voice, but she didn't sound operatic. In fact nothing about Allegra had ever said opera in Liberty's mind. She wrote that off to her preconceived notions of what opera was. “So how did you decide to pursue an opera career? If you don’t mind me asking? We never really have discussed it, that I remember.”

“We haven't, have we?" She took a sip of amaretto, and seemed to gather her thoughts. "It started with our nonna Vittoria. Matteo and I would spend hours with nonna in the kitchen. She taught us both how to cook, but I discovered my love of music through her. She always sang while she cooked. I loved to sing with her. She’d also tell us stories about the family, including her uncles, who both sang for the Tartosa Opera. When nonna died I thought pursuing an opera career would honor her memory. And wherever she is she’d be proud of me.” 

“Did you think about an opera career before she died? Did you mention it to her?”

“Yes, but only a couple of times in the last few months before she died.” Liberty knew enough about Vittoria from stories to know her death had been sudden, unexpected, and had hit the family hard. “She knew how much I love to sing. She came to all of my theatre productions in school. She was very supportive of me following my dreams, which as a teen was simply be to a singer. Hopefully a rich and famous one" she said with a laugh. "I suppose it was my grief, and those memories of nonna and her stories that nudged me in that direction.”

“If your heart is telling you to do something else, I don’t think your nonna would think any less of you for chasing that dream instead. Sounds like she would be the first to tell you to go for it.”

“Sì, she would. But then I remember the look of love and pride on her face when she told stories of her uncles. That’s when I feel like I’d disappoint her, and them. That's my problem. I don't want to be a disappointment.”

“I don't think you could ever disappoint them. If you're doing what you love that will make them proud."

“That's sweet of you to say. I know this all sounds silly, but I knew you'd understand" Allegra said. “That's why I wanted to talk to you, and not my brother." There was more on her mind. On the flight here she had decided to keep it to herself. Now, looking at Liberty, she knew it was useless, she had to get it off her chest. "There's something else. It's about the offer from the Tartosa opera." Part of her was trying desperately to walk this back, to pretend like she hadn't just opened a Pandora's box.

"Allegra, what happened? You can always talk to me about anything, anytime.” 

“Oh no, nothing really. Just...the music director.” she said. 

"What did he do...?" Liberty waited while Allegra was clearly having an internal debate. "Talk to me. Please tell me what's bothering you."

"I didn't connect the dots until I was in the taxi headed home to pack." Again she was deep in thought. "If there are any dots to connect..."

"And..."

Allegra sighed then spilled the details. Her mom told her a story years ago about a man at University who had been infatuated with her. He was persistent, pushy, and refused to take no for an answer. At the time she had just begun dating Matteo and Allegra's father, Davide. He intervened and got the man to leave her alone. According to mom he wasn't happy about it, but at least he backed off. "The man's name was Antonio Costa. The music director of the Tartosa Opera is named...Antonio Costa. He was at my audition, and he looks about the right age. If it is him, I think he may have figured out who my mom is and he's blocking me for petty revenge. My suspicions were raised when I thought about how he seemed to enjoy giving me that horrible job offer."

"You didn't call your mom yet did you?"

"No. I didn't want to bother her. It's probably just me being overly emotional."

"I doubt that. That's not like you Allegra. I think you should mention it to your mom. In the meantime, I can do a little digging. It's frowned upon by the agency, but under the circumstances a little caution isn't unreasonable."

"My sister the 'spy'. Just promise me you won't tell her, and not one word to Matteo either. Especially Matteo."

"I promise. Besides I'm a 'spy', remember. Secrets are our specialty."

A moment later Allegra's phone lit up, her face lit up with it. It was a text from Venessa. "I hate to be rude and run, but Venessa is home from her film shoot. We wanted to have a Zoom chat before bed.”

 “Things are heating up with you two?” 

“You could say that" she said, feeling her cheeks getting warm. "She’s been talking about flying over so we can spend time together after her filming wraps.”

“Oh girl! You are so deep in love.”

“I am." Allegra couldn't hide her smile, even if she'd wanted to. She felt like she could float away. "Thank you for being here for me." She gave Liberty a kiss, "I’ll see you and Matteo at breakfast.”