“Of course. So long as Rebecca agrees to watch Clare.”
Gabriel’s shoulders relaxed. “Good. We’ll leave for Edinburgh the third week of October, but it will be a short trip.”
“We need to be home for Halloween.”
Gabriel looked puzzled. “What’s so important about Halloween?”
“We need to take Clare trick-or-treating.”
Gabriel’s eye twitched. “Can we take a baby trick-or-treating?”
“Sure we can. Why not?”
Gabriel nodded slowly, as if the wheels of his mind were turning. “We need to choose an appropriate costume.”
“For her or you?”
“Very funny. Although I’m more interested in seeing you in costume.” He licked his lips.
Julia grinned. “All right, Professor. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good.” He cleared his throat. “Edinburgh pays its Sage Lecturers a large sum of money. The chairman of my department, along with the dean, has granted me a research leave for next year so that I can relocate to Scotland. But they’ll still pay my salary.
“I don’t need two salaries. We live very comfortably, so I was thinking . . .” He paused and searched Julianne’s eyes.
“The orphanage in Florence.” Her brown eyes lit up. “They do so much with so little. Imagine what they could do with a year of your salary.”
“I confess I had thought the same thing. I could continue on my salary from BU and donate the Sage money. It would allow the orphanage to help more children.”
“The Italian government won’t let us adopt a child until we’ve been married for three years. I know we spoke of adopting Maria.” Julia appeared saddened.
“I hope for her sake a family finds her before that.” Gabriel’s arm tightened around Julia’s waist. “But if we’re agreed, I’d like to donate to the orphanage.”
“But quietly.” Julia rested her head on his shoulder. “I’d rather no one knows but the orphanage and us.”
“Of course. Elena and her team do good work there. I’m glad we can support them.”
Julia yawned.
“I’m supposed to announce the subject of the Sage Lectures at the gala in Edinburgh,” Gabriel continued. “My book on the seven deadly sins is almost finished. But I’ve decided to write something else for the lectures. I considered writing a book-length comparison of the relationship between Abelard and Héloïse with that of Dante and Beatrice. But again, I think I’ll save that. For the Sage Lectures, I want to focus on The Divine Comedy, while bringing in sections from La Vita Nuova. What do you think?” He turned his attention more fully to his wife.
Julia made a noise that could only be described as a snore.
“Darling?” Gabriel touched her face, but she was fast asleep.
He smiled, gazing from one sleeping female in his arms to the other, who was fast asleep in her playpen. In this house, he was surrounded by women. And he’d never been happier.
“All right, little mama. Time for bed.” He lifted her into his arms and carefully carried her across the room. He placed her under the sheets and studiously tucked her in.
He brushed the hair from her forehead and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers.
“I’m glad you’re coming with me to Scotland.” He kissed her tenderly and switched off the light.
Chapter Twenty
Richard entered the kitchen just as Rebecca finished cleaning up after dinner.
“Would you like to join me on a walk?”
If Rebecca was surprised by his invitation, she hid it well.
“I’d like that.” Her tone was bright as she removed her apron. She hung it on a hook inside the pantry.
Richard gestured in the direction of the hall and she preceded him, patting her salt-and-pepper hair and straightening her dress.
He opened the side door for her and the two stepped out into the late September air.
Rebecca was tall at five foot eleven. She was almost as tall as Richard. Her features were plain but her eyes were pretty and so was her smile.
Richard situated himself so that he walked on Rebecca’s right, next to the road.
There were no signs of fall, at least not yet. The temperature was still warm in the evening. Although the cul-de-sac of Foster Place was thickly settled with older houses built very close together, it was quiet.
“Have you always lived in New England?” Richard began the conversation. They left the cul-de-sac and turned right on Foster Street.
“Always. My family is from Jamaica Plain, but my husband and I moved to Norwood when we got married. He passed away twenty years ago.”
“I’m so sorry.” Richard’s tone was sincere.
“He was a good man. When he died, my mother moved in with me and my son. I cared for her until she died. Gabriel hired me a few months after that.”
“I’m sorry you lost your mother. I’m very grateful for how you’ve looked after my son and daughter, and now my granddaughter.”
Rebecca smiled. “I’m the kind of person who needs to look after someone else. My son took a job in Colorado and moved away. My daughter lives in Sacramento. It made sense to rent out my house and move in with Gabriel and Julia. But he’s on the lookout for an apartment for me in Cambridge. Eventually, they will need their own space.”
Richard nodded thoughtfully.
She turned her body toward him. “And you’re a professor?”
“That’s right. I taught biology at Susquehanna University, but I retired when my wife died.”
“I’m sorry.” Rebecca made eye contact with him.
“Thank you.” He sighed. “I’m afraid I made rather a mess of things. I retired from Susquehanna and took a research position in Philadelphia, so I could be closer to my daughter and my son, Scott. But I never saw them. I found I missed the house I shared with my wife. So I resigned my post and moved back. Now I’m teaching one course a semester at Susquehanna as a professor emeritus.”
“I can understand you wanting to stay in the house,” Rebecca commiserated. “I can’t bring myself to sell our home in Norwood, although I know I’ll have to sell it eventually.”
Richard’s handsome face looked weary. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Not at all.”
“Does it get better?” Richard’s gray eyes were earnest.