Argylle - The last chance

Chapter VII

It was getting dark outside when the door opened for the first time and Tamara's foster mother Giulia and her younger brother Matteo entered the house.
Giulia was a middle-aged, extraordianry small, woman with dark brown hair and even darker eyes. Nevertheless, her temper was even bigger and only a fool would dare to contradict her.
Matteo on the other hand was the kindest human being that had ever seen the light of day. He had the same dark hair as his mother, but the green eyes from his father, that were always looking kind and loving.
"Tam, siamo a casa!" (We're at home!) she heard her mother shout from the entrance.
"Okay, showdown," she looked at Aidan and mentally prepared herself for the lie she was about to tell. In this moment she thought that she might should have told him what her story was, so that he could act along, but on the other hand he was a spy – he should be able to improvise a bit.
"Ciao, Mamma. Come stai?" (Hello, Mom. How are you?) she asked, "Ehm, Mamma... abbiamo una visita di America." (Uhm, Mom... we have an american visitor.)
"Una visita?" (A visitor?) Giulia asked confused.
"Sì... he doesn't speak Italian, though, so if you don't mind, we speak English."
"No, it's alright," the woman said with a strong accent and entered the living room with the five-year-old Matteo by her hand. "Hello, my name is Giulia Moretti. It's nice to meet you, Mr..."
"Jonas. His name is Aidan Jonas, and he was sent by my lawyer in the US," she said before Aidan had the chance to say something. He shook Giulia's hand and  Tam explained to her in quick Italian, why this man was in their house.
"Oh, yes... I heard these things happen sometimes," Giulia commented, then she looked at Matteo, who was staring at Aidan carefully. "I will just put Matteo to bed and then we can talk about it. Ehm, Tam, tuo padre tornerà presto a casa con Anastasia, così potrai spiegarglielo di nuovo," she said, before leaving the living room.
"She just said that my father and my sister will return soon and that I should explain to them what's going on," Tam translated.
"Okay, and what is your genius lawyer story?" he asked.
"Well, I told her that some people messed up a couple of things concerning my heritage and therefore I need to go to the US and straighten things out. And you are an employee of the law firm and were sent to pick me up."
"That's the story?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Do you have a better idea? I don't think so. So, zip it, Aidan Jonas."
"Yeah, right. Why did you change my name?"
"Because they of course know that my surname was Wylde! And it would be far too suspicious if the lawyer's employee had the same name, wouldn't it?"
"You're right. Of course. My bad. It's a good story. And Alfie will be able to fake these kinds of certificates easily."
"That's what I thought."
In this moment the front door opened for a second time and her father Giuseppe, and her sister Anastasia entered the house.
"My father is stricter than my mother so please behave," she warned him, before she went into the hallway and greeted her family members, "Ciao, Papà e Stasia. Come va?" (Hello, Dad and Stasia. How are you?)
"Ciao, Tam. Sto bene, grazie. E tu?" (Hello, Tam. I'm fine, thanks. And you?) her father answered.
"Sto bene, grazie," then she started to explain to him exactly the things she had explained to her mother before.
"Non parla Italiano?" (He doesn't speak Italian?) he asked in the end and Tam shook her head.
"No, solo inglese." (No, just English.)
The man grumbled something incomprehensible, and then they entered the living room together, where Aidan was still sitting on the sofa. But as soon as Giuseppe entered, he rose from his seat.
"Hello, my name is Aidan Jonas," he introduced himself, "It's nice to meet you, Signor."
Giuseppe nodded. "Yes, nice to meet you, too. And you are a... a... Tam, come si chiama avvocato in inglese?" (Tam, how do you say "avvocato" in English?)
"Lawyer" she answered with a slight smile on her face. She knew that Giuseppe hated speaking English because he always had trouble finding the right terms for things.
"Right. So, you're a lawyer?"
"No, actually I am the lawyer's assistant," Aidan explained.
Suddenly the door opened, and Giulia entered the room, too. She went to greet her second foster-daughter and her husband before she turned to Aidan again.
"Okay, so... first things first: Did you have a dinner so far?"
Aidan looked at her quite confused, but then he shook his head, "No, not yet."
"Okay, then I will make some Pasta for you. Did you eat, Tam?"
"No" she admitted, "I didn't think of making food..."
"That's okay, that's why I am here. Giuseppe, vieni ad aiutarmi. (Come and help me.) You all can come to the kitchen and then we'll talk about everything."
For the next half an hour the four were sitting in the kitchen and talked about the mistakes the people had made concerning the heritage. Aidan and Tam explained that she would have to leave for a while, to attend some official negotiations.
"And what about school?" Giuseppe asked after a while, when the meal was already ready, and they were sitting around the table.
"The law firm will send you an official certificate to excuse her from school," Aidan answered.
"And when will you leave? And for how long?" Giulia wanted to know and the worry in her voice was obvious.
"We will have to leave tomorrow, and I really can't tell how long it will take. Maybe only a couple of days, maybe a week or even more. It depends on how the negotiations proceed," he explained.
Tam could see her mother's discomfort and felt obligated to add something to it, "But I can assure you, Mamma, I will return as fast as possible."
"I know, Cuoricina, I am just... concerned that you'll have to repeat the year. Because I know that you wouldn't want to."
"And there is no other way?" Giuseppe asked, "I mean the lawyer could come to us, couldn't he? When they... messed up something, you know."
Aidan nodded, "That would only be fair, that is correct. But I am afraid they won't admit that they messed up and by waiting for the lawyer to agree to come here everything could become even worse."
"Anch'io non voglio andarmene, non voglio lasciarti sola. Ma è meglio se la facciamo finita in fretta," Tamara told that she didn't want to leave but that it would be for the best if she did so.
Her mother sighed, "Alright. If you think it's for the best. You're almost an adult. You can decide. Do you need any help packing your things?"
"No. Grazie, Mamma. Grazie mille."