Free A Family Affair: The Secret by Mary Campisi Page A

said, “Relaxed and in control of the situation.” She snatched the endive and said, “Sorry, but I’m not interested.” And with that, she matched his smile and walked away, leaving the flesh-and-blood Roman Ventori behind in the produce aisle of Sal’s Market.
    When she returned to the Heart Sent with two heads of endive and a confused look on her face, Mimi Pendergrass wasted no time inquiring. The shock of seeing Roman Ventori in person outweighed common sense and before Angie could stop herself, she blurted out, “I just met Roman Ventori.”
    Mimi’s blue eyes sparkled, captured hers with a knowing look. “Ah, yes, Roman.” Her voice dipped, softened. “Such a fine boy. It’s so good to see him again.”
    Boy? Hardly. “What’s he doing here?” In the same town with me?
    The woman paused, regarded Angie with a curiosity that said she was searching for layers of meaning behind the last question. “Why, he’s from here. Born and raised. His father took ill recently, heart attack, and Roman’s come home.”
    There was a hint of something in Mimi’s words that caught Angie’s attention. Sadness? Compassion? Was the father not going to recover? She couldn’t imagine something happening to her father, not when he’d been the most important person in her life. Maybe the sadness on Mimi’s face was about Roman Ventori, or his divorce? The possibilities snagged Angie’s attention and while it was none of her business, this was her opportunity to find out real-life information—instead of the tidbits in the latest edition of Chicago Nightlife Magazine— that might or might not hold a speck of truth in it. Finding out the scoop was like knowing the secret in a movie, and Angie couldn’t resist. “You sound so sad.” And then, because she had to know more, she pushed on. “Why?” She wanted to pinch herself for her nosiness, but that didn’t stop her from wanting an answer to the puzzle that was Roman Ventori.
    “I am sad.” Mimi nodded her salt-and-pepper head. “Grievously so. That boy has paid for the unjust accusations many in this town hoisted on him. I never believed they were true, still don’t, and I can’t say I blame him for not wanting to set foot here.” She sighed, set a plate of peanut butter cookies on the kitchen table and motioned for Angie to have one. “It’s a long story gathered up in lies and betrayal, and what that boy didn’t suffer all because of a lie is unthinkable.”
    “What lie?”
    “This one’s handkerchief-worthy, and his mama shed a lot of tears over it. Didn’t do any good, though, not when his own father believed the lie.” Mimi told her how Roman Ventori’s “Golden Boy” image was tattered when he refused to do right by a girl who claimed he’d gotten her pregnant. Gone were the kind words of the town looking for him to do great things in life; gone was the girlfriend he’d planned to marry once they finished college; gone too was the relationship with his father. Roman’s belief in the goodness of others? Gone. His conviction that doing right was noble and necessary? Gone. His hope to one day return to Magdalena so his children could know the value and importance of small-town life, a place that really was like a second family? Gone and gone.
    No wonder the guy had a rough time with relationships, not that Angie knew about that firsthand, but she could speculate, given the information Mimi just shared. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the guy would struggle with trust issues, women issues, family issues, letting anybody get close enough to hurt him. Oh, she understood that last one, multiplied by ten. Tabloid rumors said he’d been taken in a divorce, with numbers that would stun a normal person. Something about the ex-wife getting tired of his games, a.k.a. flirtations and maybe more, his refusal to start a family, his emotional unavailability. Yeah, given his history, that made sense. Men with this background never made good