Chapter 18 - What Happened

"What happened?" Aadi asked softly.

"Wow, where do I start?" Mariah wondered. "I was angry about this for so long...

"I told you guys I grew up in Tartosa, with my dad and Janet... I loved my dad, and looking back now I know he loved me.

"He was a big, important businessman but he always made time for me... he even helped me with my homework. He always said how important a good education was. 'You're going to do great things, passerotta.' That's what he called me... passerotta... sparrow.

"The night it happened, I remember, he had some kind of business meeting at the house. It's funny, the way you remember things. They were talking and I was watching TV. I wanted to tell them to be quiet but dad always told me to polite when he brought business partners home. Me, the polite little girl. Can you imagine?

"No," Aadi grinned.

"Shhh," Genie hushed him.

"He went out late," Mariah continued. "He always worked so late. I was supposed to be in bed, but I stayed up... stayed up playing with my toys and hoping to see him when he got home. 

"Janet came running into my room... I expected her to scold me for staying up late. She was always scolding me for something. Instead, she told me to pack a bag... everything I needed... because we were going away. Quickly, quickly...

"It wasn't until we were outside that I realized dad wasn't there. I asked her... I asked where he was and she said," Mariah's voice shook, "she said he wasn't coming. She said he was gone and he was never coming back."

Mariah took a deep breath, "She never said... she didn't say anything else about it. She just rushed us to the airport. The next thing I knew, we were in Sulani. She never talked about him again.

"I thought he'd left us," Mariah continued. "For years, I believed it until...

"It was after... after Sulani... Actually, it was not long after the summer I met Miranda."

"I remember," Miranda said gently. "I remember when you called and told me."

"Right," Mariah sighed, "Anyway, I was looking for Danielle for some reason... I think it was dinner... Londyn sent me to get her... she was working on a new novel... Love in Silence."

"Oh, is that one with the artist who falls in love with the crime boss's daughter?" Genie said, then winced. "Sorry, I love that one."

"Fangirls," Mariah rolled her eyes. "I'm surrounded by fangirls... but yeah, that's the one. She had just started researching it and she always gets caught up and loses track of meals when she's working... so Londyn sent me to get her and there it was, a picture of my dad on her computer. 

"I lost it. I don't know what I was thinking... like I thought she was hiding things from me. I barely remember, but I know I was yelling at her... accusing her of horrible things...

"She was always so patient with me. She waited me out, talked me down... deep breaths... just breathe. Then she sat me down, and we talked.

"See, Danielle and Londyn didn't actually know much about my birth family. The State sealed the records, when I was adopted. What they knew about Janet, beyond the basic facts of my case, was what I'd told them. They didn't know anything about my dad.

"Danielle had been researching for her book... looking into the culture of the Families and the Code of Silence."

"I remember from the book," Genie said. "People don't talk about the crime families and their activities. When the lovers were on the run from the crime boss... no one would help them or even acknowledge they were in danger..."

"No one talks," Mariah nodded, "because they're either loyal to the Families or afraid of them... usually both. It's a real thing, especially in places like Tartosa where the Families have influence stretching back generations.

"So, Danielle was researching the mysterious death of Tony Basso, a prominent local businessman," Mariah said. "A death she remembered, from years before, but that no one had really talked about. My father's death."

"I told her what I remembered, about my dad and how he'd run out on us. About the night we left...

"Danielle said that this proved my dad hadn't left us. The timing lined up... he hadn't run out. He died.

"Anyway, we dug into my dad's story as much as we could," Mariah continued, "but there wasn't much more to find. It had been more than six years and news reports from the time didn't say anything about how he died. His obituary didn't even mention he had a daughter. There was nothing... but, Danielle said, the fact that my dad hadn't abandoned me. He loved me."

"It... it was part of everything in my life changing." Tears shone in Mariah's eyes as she looked at Miranda. "There was this crazy strega who said she loved me. Danielle and Londyn loved me. It turned out, my dad really had loved me. For the longest time I didn't believe people really cared about me... not really."

"I care," Miranda said.

"I care," Genie smiled.

"Girlfriend, you know I love you," Aadi said, "even if you do wear ratty boxers. Honestly, we have got to get you some lacy things!"

"Aadi Bheeda, you stay out of my underwear!" Mariah shouted, laughing away her tears.

It was true, she thought. They did care about her, loved her in their own ways. 

She was worthy.

Breathe.

Just breathe.