Lessons Learned, Healing Hearts

Addressing the Elephant (Chapter 51)

Leaving with the boys, the conversation and laughter continued in their car. Being familiar with downtown Vancouver and knowing they would reach her hotel first, an impending sadness sat in her heart. Her time with Piero was ending, and she still hadn't achieved what she had set out to do. If she didn't take matters into her own hands, time would continue to be a cruel master. Taking a moment to check up on her kids, a surprise message came from Piero asking if she would be willing to go for a walk, just the two of them?"

Letting her response sit for a minute before she answered it, peeking over her shoulder and seeing him look up and smile, she sent back, yes.

"Marlow," Piero asked out loud, "are we close to the pier where we had our first race?"

"Uh, yeah, sort of. It's across the bridge," Marlow answered, pointing to the structure off in the distance. "If you're up to going with me, I would love to revisit that area with you?"

"Sure. But I don't want to recreate the race. I didn't bring my running shoes."

Piero humorously lifted his foot and revealed, "Neither did I."

Laughing and sitting back, she caught both his bandmates smirking at him.

***

"Here you go," the driver said, pulling up to the curb.

Quickly exiting the car, Piero raced around the back of the vehicle and opened Marlow's door.

"Marlow, be sure to keep in touch," Gianluca said, moving from the back seat to the middle.

"I will. I promise I will." Glancing over at Piero and then back at the passengers in the car, Marlow chuckled and added, "I have both your phone numbers now, so just don't ever change them."

***

Amidst the serenity of the night, an unspoken uneasiness lingered for the first time that evening. Engaging in casual conversation, Piero took the lead in asking most of the questions. Sharing with him the news that she had indeed purchased the house he had visited, it was made even more like home by the addition of Everett and Amelia.

"Those two are very lucky to have you as their Mamma. You know," Piero said, sighing, "I always thought I would be a father by now, but it turns out my soon-to-be ex-wife..."

"Your ex-wife?" Marlow interrupted, and the words, "I don't recall reading anything about you getting divorced," slipped out before she could stop herself.

"Yeah, she and I agreed to keep it under wraps until it was final."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Marlow sincerely said.

"Don't be. It's an amicable divorce. It's difficult to sustain a marriage when both partners have careers that require them to be apart for long stretches of time."

"She was... sorry," Marlow corrected, "she is an actress, correct?"

"Yes, and a very talented one. In the last year or two, her career has taken off and she is in high demand. The reality was that in the four years we were married, the number of days where we were both home at the same time, maybe added up to a year and a half in total. A year and a half out of four, that's not a great marriage.

"Well, it's good that it's amicable. You don't need that added to the stress you already have."

"Exactly." Smiling at Marlow, Piero winked. "So, getting back to you not knowing about my divorce," he said. "You said you hadn't read anything about it. Do you keep tabs on me?" he asked, enjoying the slight hint of darker pink across Marlow's face.

"Not really. Well, sort of, but only through the fan club page," she confessed. "It felt less stalkerish to me. And actually, Aubrey still keeps me posted every once in a while, too."