Secrets & Lies

Chapter Four

When Gia went home for Christmas break she was just so overjoyed to be in the big city again. Christmas was always her favorite time of year. Everyone was happy at Christmas! The houses were decorated with beautiful trees and bright lights everywhere. Her favorite part was always the sweets. Gia, her mother and grandmother would spend an entire day baking every type of Christmas goodie they could think of. It included several different kinds of cookies; two types of fudge, roasted chestnuts and of course her family's famous Italian cookies. They always had an open house on Christmas Eve and everyone they knew would come over to eat, drink and celebrate Christmas. It was always the best party of the year. This year for the first time Gia's two best friends would be coming and she was excited to have them. Her family's house was large and in what people called a "well to do neighborhood". Her father was a lawyer and a partner in a large firm in downtown Denver, where he had met her mother who was also a lawyer. She no longer worked for that firm; she had left to help unfortunate women get out of horrible marriages or unfortunate situations. Gia's older brother Nicholas was on his way to joining the family business, and was now in his first year at Harvard Law School. Gia perceived her parents were disappointed in her because she wasn't going to follow them and be a lawyer, but they had their golden boy to follow in their footsteps. Italians in general tended to be patriarchal and somewhat hard on their boys, but ultimately left everything to them. Girls were princesses to be indulged and taken care of. They would be sold into marriage to another Catholic Italian where they would be taken care of their entire life.

Gia had just turned nineteen years old, and life seemed perfect. She was happy, healthy and she loved her family more than anything in the world. Her father was her hero and she could always count on him to be there for her. Gia loved just being with him, and he was very indulgent toward her. If mother said no, her Daddy always said yes. He was the best father a girl could ask for and she worshiped him. Now she had two of the greatest friends she could have ever asked for and it was her favorite time of year. She only longed for a special someone to love and who loved her back.

It was late at night after she returned home and was unpacking her school bag when she found the fellowship papers. Gia read them through again and again. She couldn't help but think maybe this was what she should do. Maybe this was her destiny. Gia walked down the hall on her way to the kitchen to get some water, when she saw her grandma's light on. Like Gia she was a night owl.

"Hey Nonna, what are you watching?" Gia's grandmother had lived with them since her grandfather had died suddenly when Gia was fifteen years old. Gia was overjoyed when her grandmother moved in with them, because she at least always listened to her when no one else would. As a teenager her grandmother would give her money to buy whatever she wanted or to go out with her friends, because Gia could never manage to spend her allowance wisely, and usually by the middle of the month Gia was broke.

"Oh nothing, what's the matter Tesoro? Not happy to be home?" Her Grandma always called her that, in Italian it meant sweetheart. Gia's grandmother had been born in Italy, but immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was young and they spoke only Italian in her childhood home. She taught her children and grandchildren quite a bit of Italian over the years, but never enough that they could ever be called fluent. They mostly spoke a mixture of English and Italian.

"No I love being home. I'm just tired I think."

"Well you should get to bed." She said with a smile.

"I was just going to get some water, would you like anything from the kitchen?"

"No grazie."

Gia walked down to the kitchen and got a bottle of water from the fridge. On her way back she stopped again, "Hey Nonna can I ask you a question?"