Northern Moonlight (10 page)

“Well, good night, then.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”  He clipped.

Sabrina gave Pal a pat on the head, smiled at Gio, and felt safe again as he had not pushed past her invisible borderline.  Their eyes exchanged flames as she let herself out of the truck and walked back to the empty house. 

Chapter 5

A hammering rain pummeled the glass panes of Gio’s loft the next morning as he was awaking from a sound sleep.  Glancing at his alarm clock, he registered that it was already noon. He threw the sheets aside, letting his feet touch the cold floor as he stumbled toward the closet.  He put on a black terrycloth bathrobe and walked heavy footed into the kitchen where he retrieved a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator and poured a mug half full.  Memories and fantasies of the previous evening with Sabrina made the blood pound in his head as he chugged down the juice.  Determined not to let the seductive woman control his mind or heart, he ran the faucet and splashed ice cold water onto his face. 

Still in his bathrobe, he made his way downstairs to the mailbox, which was already full.  Gio frowned to find the usual array of utility bills, retail catalogs, and flyers.  At the bottom of the pile was a festive looking, hand written envelope with no return address.  Intrigued, Gio tore it open and pulled out a card decorated with confetti and balloons.  It looked to be an invitation of some sort.  He unfolded the card, skimmed it with a vertical movement of his eyes, and became indignant as he read its contents:

You’re invited to a surprise party!

Why
: Stefano Salvatore’s 60
^th
birthday

When
: Saturday, May 10, 1980
at 5:00 PM

Where
: Our apartment in Brooklyn

RSVP
: By phone to Helena no later than Saturday, May 3, 1980

Bring presents and a hearty appetite!

Gio searched inside for a personal note from his aunt, but there was none.  Typical, he thought.  Typical also how they were uncouth enough to
ask
people to bring presents.  Gio shook his head with disdain.  It was rare for him to spend even major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas with his uncle and aunt, so the invitation to a surprise birthday party seemed out of place.  Why should he celebrate the anniversary of that miserable man’s entrance into this world?  Stefano was a heartless old fool.   He had even been so selfish as to hold onto pictures of Marcello and Laura all these years, no matter how many times Gio had requested copies.  How Gio would be grateful to see
those beautiful faces again, as every family album, of course, had turned to cinders in the fire. 

Then, Gio had to admit to himself that he was obligated to tell Stefano about the information Bert Shanty had provided.  After all, they were still family, despite the coolness and infrequency of their interaction.  No matter that Stefano’s birthday party might not be the opportune time.  Gio frankly didn’t care.  It would be easier to deal with Stefano at a social function with a group of people rather than one-on-one.  He would invite Sabrina to the party and they could make an early departure to cut over to Manhattan and enjoy a night in the city.  Gio resolved to call Helena later in the day and accept her invitation with the provision that he would be allowed to bring a guest. 

Gio continued to stand in the torrential rain, letting it soak through the invitation until the black ink bled and smeared. 

*****

Sabrina hurriedly poured dry food into Softy’s bowl, ignoring the pieces that dropped to the floor.  The morning had been too rainy and overcast for Sabrina to take her tripod to Lake Champlain for a sunrise shot, so she had slept in.  Now she was scurrying around in an effort not to miss her one o’clock appointment with Darlene.  Sabrina only met with her supervisor about twice a month, and when she did, it was usually to discuss a travel opportunity.  So Sabrina dressed accordingly, in one of the few business suits she possessed, and carried her portfolio loaded with photographs from her successful five year career. 

“Bye, Softy!” She hollered.  “Let’s hope she sends me someplace sunny!”

Sabrina perched expectantly on the rim of her swerving chair in Darlene’s office as the woman spread out samples of her work on the desk.  Darlene was a willowy, attractive woman in her late thirties.  Her dirty blond hair was generally a riot of untamed ringlets that she wore around her oval face.  She was notorious in the office for wearing a pair of magenta framed spectacles that seemed more for style than vision correction.  Indeed, the woman’s appearance was as artistic as her position at the magazine.

Sabrina was fond of Darlene, who had replaced a male art director named Fred, detested in the office for his lecherous behavior towards all the female staff.  In the days of Fred’s reign, Sabrina’s assignments had been limited to local shoots at stunning, but familiar, places like Mad River Valley in central Vermont.  The only way to get a more exotic project would have been to compromise her principles.  When Darlene came on board, Sabrina had been ecstatic and quickly soared to top photographer status. 

“Your pictures are always impressive, Sabrina, I must say.  And so diversified.  You seem to take as eloquent a shot of a city monument as you do of a rose garden.  Very impressive, indeed.” Darlene marveled, smoothing her hand over a photograph Sabrina had taken at the
Tuileries
during her trip to Paris.

Sabrina was elated by the praise for her work.  “Thank you, Darlene.”

“You are very deserving of that praise.” Darlene assured.  “Now, let’s talk about why I set up this meeting for this afternoon.  We have some upcoming assignments that you may be interested in.  I have a short-term one that you would need to leave for this week and a long-term one that starts in July.”  Sabrina beamed at Darlene, eager to hear what these assignments would entail.

“The first assignment is a ten day cityscape project in Manhattan.  Since that’s your hometown, I thought you would be perfect for the job.  You would leave tomorrow, and the magazine can provide accommodations, but we’d prefer you make your own arrangements since you have family in the city.  How does that sound so far?”

“It sounds very good.” Sabrina fibbed, trying to hide her disappointment at the lackluster location that meant she was going to have to inhabit her old room she shared with Cara in their parents’ Lower East Side apartment. 

“Good.  Basically, you’ll be expected to produce at least one hundred shots for us to choose from.  They should show a gentler, less edgy side of New York.  No high-rise apartments or tourist landmarks.  We’re looking for something unexpected.  Go to the unexplored terrain, all the nooks and crannies Americans who aren’t New Yorkers would gasp to look at.  Do you follow me?” Darlene studied her employee from behind those magenta-rimmed glasses.

“Yes.  So far, I’m thinking that I could go deep into Central Park and take pictures of the horse drawn carriages, the greenery, maybe two lovers kissing under a tree---anything to show that New York is much more than just street lights and cement.”

“You’ve got the idea.  Yes, think simplicity, absolutely!” Clearly excited by Sabrina’s creative ideas, Darlene pushed a blond ringlet away from her face.   “To take it a step further, I would suggest using black and white film.  Really try to get an old world quality.  And that’s where I’ll stop because I don’t want to stifle your creativity.  You take control of this and be prepared to leave tomorrow morning.  We can arrange for a car to drive you to your abode.”

“Sounds fine with me,” Sabrina said, inwardly scheming how she could avoid talking to Mrs. Benjamin in order to get her to cat-sit again. 

“Alright.  Then it’s settled.  Now,” Darlene took a dramatic breath, “let’s get to the juicy stuff!  The long-term assignment I would like to send you on will be for eight weeks in Martinique.” 

Martinique!  Sabrina struggled to contain her excitement.  All her life, she had dreamed of vacationing to the Caribbean island and now she was going to be paid to spend two months there!  It hardly seemed possible. 

Darlene resumed, “You would leave in early July and return in late August.  I don’t have the exact dates yet, but I would be sending you alone or perhaps with one of our freelance writers to collaborate on a large-scale project that will be the cover story of our January issue next year.  The story is going to focus on untapped island gems, places that American tourists either have never heard of or at least have never been to.  We might have photographers visit some other islands too, but the focus is going to be on Martinique.  I thought this would be an especially desirable assignment for you since you speak French.”

“Yes!” Sabrina agreed emphatically.  “I had such a wonderful time using my high school French in Paris, and this sounds absolutely dreamy.” She was so enraptured by the romantic aspects of the assignment that the logistics of staying abroad for so long did not even cross her mind.  “Oh, Darlene!  I accept!  Thank you so much.” Sabrina stood up to shake the woman’s hand, then ran around her desk to give her an appreciative hug.

“Your enthusiasm matches your talent, Sabrina.”  Darlene said kindly.  “If you’ll excuse me now, I have another meeting to prepare for.”

“Absolutely, Darlene.  Thank you!”  Sabrina practically floated out of her boss’s office, envisioning the dazzling beaches and fascinating aquatic life she was going to photograph.  This was an assignment that could truly propel her career to heights she had not even dared to contemplate.  Her portfolio was becoming thicker by the hour! 

At that moment, an image of Gio swept over her, and she bit her lip uncertainly.  She had not even taken him into consideration when Darlene had offered her the assignment.  After all, their relationship had hardly begun and she couldn’t dare to predict the future.  They might not be together in July. 
But what if we are together?
  The question poked at her as she walked out to the parking lot.  She reasoned,
if we’re together, then he’ll
understand.
  As she turned the key in the ignition, Sabrina tried to convince herself that the distance could even stoke the fires of their relationship and make their hearts grow warmer.  But that hadn’t been the case with Kenneth.  Absence had made his heart grow treacherous and cold.  If a man were truly faithful, he would wait indefinitely.  And if he were a cheater at heart, a woman wouldn’t have to go more than a stone’s throw away to be betrayed. 

Besides, she didn’t want to have to choose between a man and a career.  The 1970’s had supposedly liberated women from such impossible choices.  No, she wouldn’t let a man dictate her decisions or detract from her elation about such a plum assignment. 

A few minutes later, Sabrina arrived home and ducked behind the steering wheel as she saw Mrs. Benjamin on her front lawn.  The old woman looked about to burst with some sort of story, and Sabrina was sure it concerned her.  Mrs. Benjamin waved to Sabrina, silently calling her over. 

Getting out of the car, Sabrina gave her a broad smile and chirped, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Benjamin!  Looks like the sun is coming out after all that rain we got.”