Crossed Fates
Chapter One
Milan, July 2022
Deborah had organized herself for the whole day. She should have followed a training course in Greek Literature at the State University of Milan, held by her old professor with whom she had graduated from that University, in Greek Literature, in November 2000. She had told her husband to bring her son 6 years old from his paternal grandmother because her parents could not keep him that day due to a medical examination. Her husband and son would not return until after 7pm and so she had thought of allowing herself a day all to herself in the Lombard capital: training course in the morning, quick lunch in a bar and then shopping in the streets of the center, like she hadn't done it for more than two years because of the terrible pandemic that had oppressed the whole world for so long. She was very enthusiastic about her program because she knew that she would surely meet her former college friends or former colleagues at the course and then, at least for a day, she would have a day all to herself, without having to cook, take the child to the park or other, absolute relaxation. She didn't know how special that day would be, it would change her whole life ... ..
She wore a little black dress with colorful flowers with short sleeves, despite the scorching heat of the month of July, because she did not want to be too exposed and lose her voice due to the air conditioning that would have been on the train and in the university classroom , that Saturday she was supposed to sing at a wedding (she had been singing in the church choir of her country for 31 years, since she was a teenager). She had paired a pair of black stiletto heel sandals and a green bag that recalled the flowers of the dress. She wore her long blond hair in a soft ponytail tied at the nape of her neck, from which the curls that she had had her hairdresser do on the occasion of her son's birthday a few days earlier fell. She put on makeup, perfumed herself and went to the station to catch the 7.45am train: the course would start at 9am and she wanted to reach the University on foot, without taking the subway. Since she had been forced into the house, like everyone else, for a long period due to the pandemic, as soon as she could she savored the pleasure of being outdoors and taking long walks, even in heels, which for her had never been a problem, indeed!
As expected, she arrived early, took her walk and once she reached the University, she took a seat in the lecture hall. She met few acquaintances actually, just someone she remembered seeing at some courses, but none of her colleagues and old companies. She was a bit disappointed, but then she told herself that it wasn't so strange: some colleagues were still busy in the final exams (Deborah was a Latin and Greek teacher in classical high school but she only had two-year classes) and some probably they had already left for the holidays. In fact, it was not very customary to hold a training course in July. She was not discouraged, she sat in her seat and listened with interest to the conference which lasted 3 hours but hardly noticed it, fascinated by the dialectic of her former professor.
At the end of the course, she queued to greet the speaker and was very happy when he remembered her. She had chatted with him for a while, informing each other of what they did in life, and then she decided to eat something at the fast food restaurant on Via Diaz before going downtown. She took a slice of pizza, an orange juice and a fruit salad, sent a voice message to her mother-in-law to say hello to her son and to find out if he was okay and then headed to Piazza Duomo to start her shopping trip. She was crossing the street near the 1900s Museum when she was suddenly hit by a man with a powerful physique who knocked her to the ground. Given her impetuous nature, she was ready to rail against him, especially when she noticed that he had bumped into her because he was typing on his cell phone and hadn't seen her, when she gasped. The man had approached her as soon as he saw her fall. He wore a sky-blue T-shirt that highlighted his statuesque physique, a pair of jeans and dark glasses. When he took them off, he turned to her saying: "I'm sorry! I didn't really see you, did you hurt yourself? Can I help you? ".
Deborah said to herself, not having looked at him yet: "He is also an English idiot, I don't understand anything!". Then she looked up, looked into his face and blanched: it couldn't be him! She was stunned and speechless, until he, a little worried that she was really hurt and noticing the people who were stopping around them, said again: "Are you okay? ". She suddenly recovered and said almost stammering: "Yes, yes, sorry" and tried to get up but felt a strong pain in her ankle. He immediately took her weight and helped her to stand up, then said to her: "Come and sit down for a moment and let's make sure your ankle isn't broken, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm an idiot, I was replying to a text and I really didn't see you ".
She tried to retrieve in her confused head some words of English she was learning thanks to her new friendships that blossomed during the pandemic and replied: "Thanks but it is not necessary, everything is fine". She hadn't uttered any of the words that had come to her mind when she was bumped, not even the ones she'd imagined so many times in her head. She had to ask him, she had to remove the doubt, also because, otherwise, she would always have been able to rant, even in Italian, she was sure that from her tone of voice and the expression of her eyes he would have understood the same!
But before she could formulate the question in English, he said again: "I insist, let's sit down for a moment in this bar and if everything goes well I'll let you go, I must be forgiven "
It took her a while to understand what he was saying to her, but luckily he articulated the words well and his pronunciation was clear enough, so that she was able to understand at least the overall meaning of the speech. She knew she had to take an English course: she had promised herself that when her son learned it at school from September she would study it with him, now she limited herself to some exercises on the internet and chatting with her friends.
She gave up and replied: "Ok", hoping that once they sat down she would be able to know if it was really him or not and she really hoped that her ankle that ached wasn't broken. People had begun to thin out when they realized he was fine and the two headed to the first bar within reach. He held his arm around her waist and helped her walk and she felt strange sensations because if it was really him….
He helped her sit in the chair and then took her ankle in his hand, feeling it to see if it was broken. She shivered at his touch, hoping he wouldn't notice.
He told her: "I think it's all right, but when you get home it will be better to put some ice on"
"Ok", she replied, searching again for the words to ask who he was, but again he preceded her: "Sorry, I haven't even introduced myself, I'm Gregg, and you?"
Gregg .... Then it was him, she wasn't wrong, the singer she had loved for 30 years, 31 to be precise, and who had recently disappeared from the scene to become a record company. His name and his incredible resemblance could not be a coincidence….
She plucked up courage and said: "Gregg, that Gregg, the famous singer and record company?"
“Not so famous now and not in Italy, but yes”, he said smiling and surprised that she recognized him. He looked at her curiously and raised an eyebrow, which she had always adored since she was a teenager.
Gregg was a famous American singer who drove little girls crazy when Deborah was 15. She had an unbridled passion for him as a teenager, she had seen all his concerts on TV and when she grew up, despite having changed musical genre, he had always remained in her heart and she continued to follow him from time to time, until the year of pandemic: closed at home during the rigid lockdown, between work and home she needed an outlet to keep from going crazy and she remembered the joy she felt as a young girl listening to the songs of her idol. With a quick search on Youtube, she found all his videos and discovered that he was registered on social media, so, without thinking twice, she started following him and was lucky enough that he sometimes mentioned her in the responses to his posts. . She had discovered many social groups dedicated to him and had signed up, developing new friendships and managing to emotionally survive the terrible period she was experiencing. If she hadn't gone crazy it was only thanks to him and now that it was all over, fortunately, she had continued to cultivate her passion. The fact of being there in front of him made her mad.
“Well, don't be so sure”, she answered almost without thinking, remembering how many women on social media followed him in Italy, “and in any case my name is Deborah”.
"Nice to meet you Deborah"
"I can't believe it's really you, I've been a fan of yours since I was a little girl, I follow you on social media and now I fight with you, beyond belief"
“Maybe it would have been better to know each other differently for your ankle, by the way, does it still hurt a lot?” He asked very sweetly.
Deborah had almost forgotten about the ankle and the pain, all wrapped up in that surreal situation.
"Oh, the ankle, yes, that is, no, the pain is passing, thanks, it was probably just the blow, but now it's better".
"Luckily, I'm happy" and pulled out that criminal smile that made her melt in photos, let alone live.
In the meantime, the ordering boy had arrived and Gregg asked her what she wanted, she tried to say that she was fine, but he insisted and she took an iced drink, she had to recover from the heat not only due to the high temperature in July …
When the boy was gone, he looked at her curiously and asked: "But do you really still follow me after more than 30 years?"
She smiled at his modesty, which she knew from what she had read about him, and replied: "Of course, I can say your songs have accompanied my whole life, especially the period of the pandemic, indeed, I even wrote it to you in a message, but obviously I have not received an answer ... ". She was amazed at herself, that she could communicate in a language she practically did not know, and that she was so blatant.
He looked at her even more intrigued but eventually his face twitched as if he remembered something: "Wait", he said and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He fumbled with it a bit, then showed her exactly the message she had referred to.
She blushed violently and didn't have the courage to speak, he understood the situation and told her: "I remember this message, it struck me a little"
Deborah said to herself: “Well, if you read it and it hit you, you could also answer…”, but obviously she didn't say these words.
She thought for a moment what to say and then she told herself that she had nothing to lose, she would never see him again, so she might as well be herself to the end.
"Oh my, what a shame, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I wish I hadn't sent it"
"Why?"
"Because I feel pretty stupid at my ripe old age"
"How old are you? Oh sorry, a woman should never be asked for her age "
“Oh no, I don't have these kinds of problems, I'm almost 46, 10 less than you and that makes me feel even more stupid. The pandemic made me an idiot, sorry "
He looked at her amused because, as they say in Italy, he was singing and playing them alone. He really liked that strange Italian woman. He decided to take her away from the embarrassment even though he found the whole situation very funny, now that he was calm about not hurting her by bumping her.
“You don't have to feel stupid, you wrote what you felt and you also had the courage, it's not for everyone, I assure you. You know how many stupid messages I have received over the years, women and men asking me if I am married, if I have children, if I wanted to be in a relationship with them and things like that. Your message was different ".
Deborah didn't quite understand everything, but it seemed to her that it was a compliment and she smiled embarrassed.
She decided to change the subject and asked him: "Why in Italy?" and in the meantime she heard a notification sound on her cell phone. She looked at it instinctively, in case it was her mother-in-law who needed something for her son, but saw that it was Gregg who had accepted the friend request she had sent him 2 years ago and which he obviously ignored. She smiled but said nothing and waited for him to answer while the boy returned with the orders. Needless to say, there was a quarrel about who should pay. In the end, however, he did, as compensation for hitting her.
Gregg answered her question about why he was in Italy: “I had wanted to visit this country for years but never had the chance. Now that I took a little break from work, I wanted to come here to look for my origins, a distant relative of mine was Italian, her mother was from northern Italy and married a pony express courier of Sweetwater "
She was amazed by this coincidence and replied: “What a coincidence! A distant relative of mine was first married to a woman who had an Italian mother, also from northern Italy. When she died in childbirth, he remarried an American after a few years and I am descended from that new family. The husband of this Italian woman was a Kiowa half-breed, they crossed a few races in those relationships "
Gregg was a bit stunned by this story, he found some strange coincidences, but he preferred not to say anything about it and simply said: "Really".
They chatted for a while and she asked him what he had seen in Milan, he told her he had been there for a couple of days and hadn't seen much yet because it had taken him a while to recover from the time zone and then asked her questions about her who told him about her family, her profession and her hobbies, including singing, and he was positively impressed.
"Would you like to go for a walk with me or do you have other commitments? You could show me something about Milan, as long as the ankle is okay "
It didn't seem real to her. She replied: “It just annoys me a little but I can do it. I had no particular plans, as I told you this morning I took a training course and I was thinking of doing some shopping downtown. I would be happy to guide you. "
"Let's go then"
They got up and walked towards the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.
She wore a little black dress with colorful flowers with short sleeves, despite the scorching heat of the month of July, because she did not want to be too exposed and lose her voice due to the air conditioning that would have been on the train and in the university classroom , that Saturday she was supposed to sing at a wedding (she had been singing in the church choir of her country for 31 years, since she was a teenager). She had paired a pair of black stiletto heel sandals and a green bag that recalled the flowers of the dress. She wore her long blond hair in a soft ponytail tied at the nape of her neck, from which the curls that she had had her hairdresser do on the occasion of her son's birthday a few days earlier fell. She put on makeup, perfumed herself and went to the station to catch the 7.45am train: the course would start at 9am and she wanted to reach the University on foot, without taking the subway. Since she had been forced into the house, like everyone else, for a long period due to the pandemic, as soon as she could she savored the pleasure of being outdoors and taking long walks, even in heels, which for her had never been a problem, indeed!
As expected, she arrived early, took her walk and once she reached the University, she took a seat in the lecture hall. She met few acquaintances actually, just someone she remembered seeing at some courses, but none of her colleagues and old companies. She was a bit disappointed, but then she told herself that it wasn't so strange: some colleagues were still busy in the final exams (Deborah was a Latin and Greek teacher in classical high school but she only had two-year classes) and some probably they had already left for the holidays. In fact, it was not very customary to hold a training course in July. She was not discouraged, she sat in her seat and listened with interest to the conference which lasted 3 hours but hardly noticed it, fascinated by the dialectic of her former professor.
At the end of the course, she queued to greet the speaker and was very happy when he remembered her. She had chatted with him for a while, informing each other of what they did in life, and then she decided to eat something at the fast food restaurant on Via Diaz before going downtown. She took a slice of pizza, an orange juice and a fruit salad, sent a voice message to her mother-in-law to say hello to her son and to find out if he was okay and then headed to Piazza Duomo to start her shopping trip. She was crossing the street near the 1900s Museum when she was suddenly hit by a man with a powerful physique who knocked her to the ground. Given her impetuous nature, she was ready to rail against him, especially when she noticed that he had bumped into her because he was typing on his cell phone and hadn't seen her, when she gasped. The man had approached her as soon as he saw her fall. He wore a sky-blue T-shirt that highlighted his statuesque physique, a pair of jeans and dark glasses. When he took them off, he turned to her saying: "I'm sorry! I didn't really see you, did you hurt yourself? Can I help you? ".
Deborah said to herself, not having looked at him yet: "He is also an English idiot, I don't understand anything!". Then she looked up, looked into his face and blanched: it couldn't be him! She was stunned and speechless, until he, a little worried that she was really hurt and noticing the people who were stopping around them, said again: "Are you okay? ". She suddenly recovered and said almost stammering: "Yes, yes, sorry" and tried to get up but felt a strong pain in her ankle. He immediately took her weight and helped her to stand up, then said to her: "Come and sit down for a moment and let's make sure your ankle isn't broken, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm an idiot, I was replying to a text and I really didn't see you ".
She tried to retrieve in her confused head some words of English she was learning thanks to her new friendships that blossomed during the pandemic and replied: "Thanks but it is not necessary, everything is fine". She hadn't uttered any of the words that had come to her mind when she was bumped, not even the ones she'd imagined so many times in her head. She had to ask him, she had to remove the doubt, also because, otherwise, she would always have been able to rant, even in Italian, she was sure that from her tone of voice and the expression of her eyes he would have understood the same!
But before she could formulate the question in English, he said again: "I insist, let's sit down for a moment in this bar and if everything goes well I'll let you go, I must be forgiven "
It took her a while to understand what he was saying to her, but luckily he articulated the words well and his pronunciation was clear enough, so that she was able to understand at least the overall meaning of the speech. She knew she had to take an English course: she had promised herself that when her son learned it at school from September she would study it with him, now she limited herself to some exercises on the internet and chatting with her friends.
She gave up and replied: "Ok", hoping that once they sat down she would be able to know if it was really him or not and she really hoped that her ankle that ached wasn't broken. People had begun to thin out when they realized he was fine and the two headed to the first bar within reach. He held his arm around her waist and helped her walk and she felt strange sensations because if it was really him….
He helped her sit in the chair and then took her ankle in his hand, feeling it to see if it was broken. She shivered at his touch, hoping he wouldn't notice.
He told her: "I think it's all right, but when you get home it will be better to put some ice on"
"Ok", she replied, searching again for the words to ask who he was, but again he preceded her: "Sorry, I haven't even introduced myself, I'm Gregg, and you?"
Gregg .... Then it was him, she wasn't wrong, the singer she had loved for 30 years, 31 to be precise, and who had recently disappeared from the scene to become a record company. His name and his incredible resemblance could not be a coincidence….
She plucked up courage and said: "Gregg, that Gregg, the famous singer and record company?"
“Not so famous now and not in Italy, but yes”, he said smiling and surprised that she recognized him. He looked at her curiously and raised an eyebrow, which she had always adored since she was a teenager.
Gregg was a famous American singer who drove little girls crazy when Deborah was 15. She had an unbridled passion for him as a teenager, she had seen all his concerts on TV and when she grew up, despite having changed musical genre, he had always remained in her heart and she continued to follow him from time to time, until the year of pandemic: closed at home during the rigid lockdown, between work and home she needed an outlet to keep from going crazy and she remembered the joy she felt as a young girl listening to the songs of her idol. With a quick search on Youtube, she found all his videos and discovered that he was registered on social media, so, without thinking twice, she started following him and was lucky enough that he sometimes mentioned her in the responses to his posts. . She had discovered many social groups dedicated to him and had signed up, developing new friendships and managing to emotionally survive the terrible period she was experiencing. If she hadn't gone crazy it was only thanks to him and now that it was all over, fortunately, she had continued to cultivate her passion. The fact of being there in front of him made her mad.
“Well, don't be so sure”, she answered almost without thinking, remembering how many women on social media followed him in Italy, “and in any case my name is Deborah”.
"Nice to meet you Deborah"
"I can't believe it's really you, I've been a fan of yours since I was a little girl, I follow you on social media and now I fight with you, beyond belief"
“Maybe it would have been better to know each other differently for your ankle, by the way, does it still hurt a lot?” He asked very sweetly.
Deborah had almost forgotten about the ankle and the pain, all wrapped up in that surreal situation.
"Oh, the ankle, yes, that is, no, the pain is passing, thanks, it was probably just the blow, but now it's better".
"Luckily, I'm happy" and pulled out that criminal smile that made her melt in photos, let alone live.
In the meantime, the ordering boy had arrived and Gregg asked her what she wanted, she tried to say that she was fine, but he insisted and she took an iced drink, she had to recover from the heat not only due to the high temperature in July …
When the boy was gone, he looked at her curiously and asked: "But do you really still follow me after more than 30 years?"
She smiled at his modesty, which she knew from what she had read about him, and replied: "Of course, I can say your songs have accompanied my whole life, especially the period of the pandemic, indeed, I even wrote it to you in a message, but obviously I have not received an answer ... ". She was amazed at herself, that she could communicate in a language she practically did not know, and that she was so blatant.
He looked at her even more intrigued but eventually his face twitched as if he remembered something: "Wait", he said and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He fumbled with it a bit, then showed her exactly the message she had referred to.
She blushed violently and didn't have the courage to speak, he understood the situation and told her: "I remember this message, it struck me a little"
Deborah said to herself: “Well, if you read it and it hit you, you could also answer…”, but obviously she didn't say these words.
She thought for a moment what to say and then she told herself that she had nothing to lose, she would never see him again, so she might as well be herself to the end.
"Oh my, what a shame, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I wish I hadn't sent it"
"Why?"
"Because I feel pretty stupid at my ripe old age"
"How old are you? Oh sorry, a woman should never be asked for her age "
“Oh no, I don't have these kinds of problems, I'm almost 46, 10 less than you and that makes me feel even more stupid. The pandemic made me an idiot, sorry "
He looked at her amused because, as they say in Italy, he was singing and playing them alone. He really liked that strange Italian woman. He decided to take her away from the embarrassment even though he found the whole situation very funny, now that he was calm about not hurting her by bumping her.
“You don't have to feel stupid, you wrote what you felt and you also had the courage, it's not for everyone, I assure you. You know how many stupid messages I have received over the years, women and men asking me if I am married, if I have children, if I wanted to be in a relationship with them and things like that. Your message was different ".
Deborah didn't quite understand everything, but it seemed to her that it was a compliment and she smiled embarrassed.
She decided to change the subject and asked him: "Why in Italy?" and in the meantime she heard a notification sound on her cell phone. She looked at it instinctively, in case it was her mother-in-law who needed something for her son, but saw that it was Gregg who had accepted the friend request she had sent him 2 years ago and which he obviously ignored. She smiled but said nothing and waited for him to answer while the boy returned with the orders. Needless to say, there was a quarrel about who should pay. In the end, however, he did, as compensation for hitting her.
Gregg answered her question about why he was in Italy: “I had wanted to visit this country for years but never had the chance. Now that I took a little break from work, I wanted to come here to look for my origins, a distant relative of mine was Italian, her mother was from northern Italy and married a pony express courier of Sweetwater "
She was amazed by this coincidence and replied: “What a coincidence! A distant relative of mine was first married to a woman who had an Italian mother, also from northern Italy. When she died in childbirth, he remarried an American after a few years and I am descended from that new family. The husband of this Italian woman was a Kiowa half-breed, they crossed a few races in those relationships "
Gregg was a bit stunned by this story, he found some strange coincidences, but he preferred not to say anything about it and simply said: "Really".
They chatted for a while and she asked him what he had seen in Milan, he told her he had been there for a couple of days and hadn't seen much yet because it had taken him a while to recover from the time zone and then asked her questions about her who told him about her family, her profession and her hobbies, including singing, and he was positively impressed.
"Would you like to go for a walk with me or do you have other commitments? You could show me something about Milan, as long as the ankle is okay "
It didn't seem real to her. She replied: “It just annoys me a little but I can do it. I had no particular plans, as I told you this morning I took a training course and I was thinking of doing some shopping downtown. I would be happy to guide you. "
"Let's go then"
They got up and walked towards the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.
Chapter Two
Sweetwater, June 1870
How much desolation around them, it seemed that the war had ended recently and not for a few years. Deborah was afraid that her house and that of her friends had been completely destroyed and she didn't dare hope to find something still standing, she and Buck would have to rebuild everything and probably Kid and Lou would have to do it too. The two couples would soon be reunited in their old homes, built before the war near the pony express station. Deborah and Buck had returned from Rock Creek, where they had spent the last few years with their 4 children, 8-year-old Ulisse, 7-year-old Calipso, 5-year-old Nausicaa and 3-year-old Achille. Buck, when the war broke out, had avoided for a couple of years to take part, aware that he was not well liked as a half-breed, but then he was forced to enlist and fought for the North. Before leaving, they had left Sweetwater and moved to Rock Creek, where Rachel and Teaspoon had been since the war, because Buck didn't want his wife to be alone with small children. Lou and Kid had moved to Virginia because Kid had enlisted for the South. The two young men had prayed never to face each other in battle.
Deborah had been through the time Buck had been away very badly, but luckily she was comforted by Rachel who had been very helpful with the children.
After some time, Buck, seriously injured in the leg, decided to return and drop the case. After he was completely healed thanks to the loving care of Deborah and Rachel, he had worked as a deputy sheriff of Rock Creek because he was still afraid to move his family to Sweetwater, due to the Indian guerrillas and violent fighting that took place everywhere.
Deborah missed her previous life a lot and so Buck, once the war was over and things calmed down, after saving some money, decided to return to Sweetwater, where Kid and Lou were also coming, like this last he had written in a letter to Deborah. The two women, as they could, had always kept in touch. Soon, Rachel and Teaspoon would be back too.
They were traveling with a caravan, the 4 children were sleeping inside, while Buck and Deborah were seated in the front. She was completely immersed in her thoughts and Buck asked her, "What are you thinking honey, are you worried?"
Although they had been married for 9 years now and he had been marked by the experience of the war, he continued to love her as on the first day and was always worried that she was happy and well.
"No love, I was just remembering the good times before the war broke out and I feel a little nostalgia, it will never be the same again and we will probably have to start all over again, but this time there will be no more boys to help us build. our house"
“Don't worry, we'll make it. Kid and I will help each other and pay someone to give us a hand and as soon as the house is rearranged, we will start our ranch. You could find a job if you want, I know how much you liked to feel useful, but only if you feel like it and if it makes you feel good, you know that luckily money is not a problem for now "
“Thanks honey, I know. I really wanted to tell you about it. It would be nice if I could go back to work at school, as I used to do, but if that wasn't possible, I'll find something else. I love to take care of you and our children, but you know I want some independence ".
“Anything you want love, I just want us to be happy and leave this bad experience behind. We will then return to Italy to visit your family as soon as possible, okay? "
“Thanks Buck, I love you like the first day. It seems like an eternity has passed since that afternoon in our little house, remember? "
“How could I forget it? You seduced me with your wonderful body ... "
"Stop it, I didn't seduce you, it was you who started it!"
"Do I have to remind you who kissed me first?"
"It's true, I kissed you, but the rest ..."
“The rest was so natural…” and he kissed her passionately, remembering their first time.
They had a wonderful relationship, they supported each other, they confided in each other, they loved to make fun of each other and they loved each other passionately: this was the strength of their marriage.
They soon arrived at the old Sweetwater pony express station: the shack had practically been smashed and destroyed by fire, but the three houses, theirs, Rachel's and Lou and Kid's, were still standing miraculously. At least they shouldn't have started from scratch! They approached their house with the caravan: Deborah was very excited and anxious to see how it was reduced inside. The window panes were broken, the veranda railing no longer existed, around there was only scrub, but the walls were still standing and this was already a great thing!
Buck got out first and helped his wife. The children were still sleeping, it was now sunset, and they decided to leave them in the caravan to rest while they came in to take a look. When they were in the doorway, they paused for a moment, looked into each other's eyes, remembering the first time they walked through that door as a husband and wife, they smiled and he lifted her into his arms.
“What are you doing Mr. Cross?” She asked laughing.
“What does it look like to you, Mrs. Cross? I'm respecting tradition again! From today a new life begins in this house, so it is as if we were married again ”.
Deborah looked at him in her beautiful black eyes and kissed him greedily.
"Unfortunately, this time we won't be able to head straight to the bedroom, also because we don't even know if we have one left ...", he said a little dejectedly.
They entered, placed it over the threshold, and looked around. The furniture was still there, but the curtains were gone, the sofa was broken down and there was a lot of desolation. The staircase leading upstairs was devoid of some steps and a bit unsafe but allowed you to go up to the rooms. In the kitchen the sink was broken and the oven was no longer functional, but it was not completely damaged. They took courage and went up: the bedroom no longer had the chest and the bed was without sheets but still standing, the tub remained in the bathroom, even if filthy. Probably the soldiers who had taken refuge there had used it.
Tears came to Deborah's eyes seeing their love nest so violated. Buck noticed it and said softly to her, “It could have been worse honey, we knew it, but nothing and no one can take away the good times we spent here, where we brought Ulysses into the world together. Do you remember the shocked faces of our friends when we announced that I would attend the birth? ”.
They both laughed, then she said, “You have been a support to me and always will be. We will rebuild our nest and we will return to love each other as in the past "
"Well, technically the bed is there, we brought the sheets with us, the children are asleep, time to arrange them at home and then we could start the dances ..."
"Buck Cross, I love your indecent proposals which I absolutely share" and laughed heartily, relieved that things really could have been worse.
They went to the nursery which had been left empty because they had taken everything away when they moved to Rock Creek and thought about how to arrange the children.
Buck went into the caravan to get some beds they had brought with them and the linen trunk. Deborah tried to sweep and clean the two rooms and the bathroom as well as possible and then helped Buck carry the children to their room.
They put the sheets on their bed and Buck said, "Here we are, back to square one!"
He walked over to her and began to unbutton her dress. Deborah did the same with her shirt. Every time they undressed and made love, they always felt very strong emotions, as if it were the first time. She loved the touch of his fingers on his skin and he shivered at the touch of his hands on his chest. They slowly undressed, savoring every minute moment in their home they had dreamed of for so long. He placed her gently on the bed and told her. "Welcome home Mrs. Cross" and then they made love greedily and sweetly, merging as always their souls as well as their bodies.
The next morning they were awakened by the cheerful cries of the children who, after the long and restful sleep, were full of energy. Deborah tenderly kissed Buck and quickly put on yesterday's dress, just for the time to go to the boys and tell them to stay a little quiet in their room until breakfast was ready.
“But mom, we want to explore the new house!”, Said Ulysses pleading. When her son looked at her with those big eyes she couldn't say no and conceded: “Okay, but be careful, don't go out alone and give me and dad time to get ready and get off. We haven't slept as many hours as you have and we are still a bit stunned. Pay attention to the staircase because there are some steps missing "
"Promised mum and I'll take care of Achilles too!".
"Bravo my little man of the house," smiled Deborah ruffling his brown hair.
"Am I on a war footing already?" Buck asked as she entered the room.
“Yes, they want to play little explorers but Ulysses promised me that they will be careful and they will not come out. I managed to gain some more time just for us, "she said, locking the door behind her.
"Mmm, it seems like an indecent proposal ..."
"It is Mr. Cross!" and took off her dress and slipped back into bed where he was happy to oblige. They heard the cheerful voices of their children playing in the house and believed they were almost in a dream.
Deborah got up, went to the bathroom and got ready by taking the first comfortable clothes that had come into her hand from the trunk.
“I go down to prepare breakfast with the few provisions we have left. Today we will first have to go to the general store in the city "
“Yes, I've already thought about it. While you prepare the boys, I will do a quick inventory of the things we will also need for the house and then we will go to town. Ready to start over? "
"I can't wait," Deborah exclaimed, kissing him tenderly on the cheek.
Then she went down to the kitchen but on the stairs she was attacked by her children who wanted to inform her of all their discoveries.
“Hey, hey, calm down, one at a time,” he said, laughing at their enthusiasm.
"Mom, but the house is dirty, the glass is broken and all the curtains are missing," Calypso noted.
"I know honey, we've been away for a long time but today we'll go to town with dad and buy everything back, you'll see"
“Shall we go to town? How beautiful! Can I buy myself a new doll? ”Nausicaa asked hopefully.
"Honey has a lot of them!"
"I know mom, but I don't have one of this place."
Deborah sighed and just said, “We'll see, we'll ask Dad. Now let me prepare breakfast ”.
Meanwhile Buck had come down the stairs and he too was attacked by his children: "Dad, can I buy a new doll please, Mom told me to ask you!"
"Sure darling you can, but wouldn't you prefer something else since you already have so many as your mother said?"
“Oh I don't know,” the thoughtful little girl replied.
Buck proposed while he was picking up his youngest son: "Let's do this, when you are at the general store you will choose what to buy, okay?"
"Yes dad, thank you"
"Me too, me too," said the other children in chorus and Buck nodded amused as Deborah went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, immensely happy with her family and finally back home.
After breakfast, as planned, Deborah washed and dressed the children and Buck made a list of the first things to buy in town. They took the wagon and headed for Sweetwater, curious to see what had changed in their absence.
When they arrived, they found some things as they had left them, but some houses and some shops had been replaced by others. They went to the general store and felt a pang when they saw the new owner because they couldn't help but remember Mr. Tompkins, who also moved to Rock Creek but then died in an ambush while out of town.
The new manager, Mr. Adams, welcomed them by asking if they were passing through or if they had just moved, and Buck told him that they had returned home after the war. Mr. Adams, while meeting the requests on the list, asked them a few questions about what the city was like before the war and in turn updated the couple on the latest changes.
Meanwhile Deborah accompanied the children in choosing their small gift and evaluated what she could add to the list to fix the house.
When they finished in the shop, Buck wanted to go to the sheriff's office to introduce himself and the latter was happy to see him because he had been told very highly of the ex-boys of the pony express.
The sheriff, Mr. Parker, offered Buck to be his deputy because he was left without one, as the man who had joined him in recent years had married and had just moved to his wife's town, but Buck declined. offer: he had had enough of shooting and violence, he wanted to build his ranch with Kid and finally live peacefully. The deputy understood but told him that his offer would stand if he changed his mind.
Buck, Deborah and their children returned home and in the afternoon the woman began to rearrange one room at a time. She started from the kitchen, the most essential, after Buck had arranged the sink, and was helped by Calypso and Nausicaa who felt like little women of the house, while the children accompanied Buck who began to rearrange the exterior of the property.
The first days were spent working hard to restore their love nest, but Buck and Deborah, despite the physical fatigue, were very happy because they saw their life and history rise from the ashes like a phoenix.
Deborah had been through the time Buck had been away very badly, but luckily she was comforted by Rachel who had been very helpful with the children.
After some time, Buck, seriously injured in the leg, decided to return and drop the case. After he was completely healed thanks to the loving care of Deborah and Rachel, he had worked as a deputy sheriff of Rock Creek because he was still afraid to move his family to Sweetwater, due to the Indian guerrillas and violent fighting that took place everywhere.
Deborah missed her previous life a lot and so Buck, once the war was over and things calmed down, after saving some money, decided to return to Sweetwater, where Kid and Lou were also coming, like this last he had written in a letter to Deborah. The two women, as they could, had always kept in touch. Soon, Rachel and Teaspoon would be back too.
They were traveling with a caravan, the 4 children were sleeping inside, while Buck and Deborah were seated in the front. She was completely immersed in her thoughts and Buck asked her, "What are you thinking honey, are you worried?"
Although they had been married for 9 years now and he had been marked by the experience of the war, he continued to love her as on the first day and was always worried that she was happy and well.
"No love, I was just remembering the good times before the war broke out and I feel a little nostalgia, it will never be the same again and we will probably have to start all over again, but this time there will be no more boys to help us build. our house"
“Don't worry, we'll make it. Kid and I will help each other and pay someone to give us a hand and as soon as the house is rearranged, we will start our ranch. You could find a job if you want, I know how much you liked to feel useful, but only if you feel like it and if it makes you feel good, you know that luckily money is not a problem for now "
“Thanks honey, I know. I really wanted to tell you about it. It would be nice if I could go back to work at school, as I used to do, but if that wasn't possible, I'll find something else. I love to take care of you and our children, but you know I want some independence ".
“Anything you want love, I just want us to be happy and leave this bad experience behind. We will then return to Italy to visit your family as soon as possible, okay? "
“Thanks Buck, I love you like the first day. It seems like an eternity has passed since that afternoon in our little house, remember? "
“How could I forget it? You seduced me with your wonderful body ... "
"Stop it, I didn't seduce you, it was you who started it!"
"Do I have to remind you who kissed me first?"
"It's true, I kissed you, but the rest ..."
“The rest was so natural…” and he kissed her passionately, remembering their first time.
They had a wonderful relationship, they supported each other, they confided in each other, they loved to make fun of each other and they loved each other passionately: this was the strength of their marriage.
They soon arrived at the old Sweetwater pony express station: the shack had practically been smashed and destroyed by fire, but the three houses, theirs, Rachel's and Lou and Kid's, were still standing miraculously. At least they shouldn't have started from scratch! They approached their house with the caravan: Deborah was very excited and anxious to see how it was reduced inside. The window panes were broken, the veranda railing no longer existed, around there was only scrub, but the walls were still standing and this was already a great thing!
Buck got out first and helped his wife. The children were still sleeping, it was now sunset, and they decided to leave them in the caravan to rest while they came in to take a look. When they were in the doorway, they paused for a moment, looked into each other's eyes, remembering the first time they walked through that door as a husband and wife, they smiled and he lifted her into his arms.
“What are you doing Mr. Cross?” She asked laughing.
“What does it look like to you, Mrs. Cross? I'm respecting tradition again! From today a new life begins in this house, so it is as if we were married again ”.
Deborah looked at him in her beautiful black eyes and kissed him greedily.
"Unfortunately, this time we won't be able to head straight to the bedroom, also because we don't even know if we have one left ...", he said a little dejectedly.
They entered, placed it over the threshold, and looked around. The furniture was still there, but the curtains were gone, the sofa was broken down and there was a lot of desolation. The staircase leading upstairs was devoid of some steps and a bit unsafe but allowed you to go up to the rooms. In the kitchen the sink was broken and the oven was no longer functional, but it was not completely damaged. They took courage and went up: the bedroom no longer had the chest and the bed was without sheets but still standing, the tub remained in the bathroom, even if filthy. Probably the soldiers who had taken refuge there had used it.
Tears came to Deborah's eyes seeing their love nest so violated. Buck noticed it and said softly to her, “It could have been worse honey, we knew it, but nothing and no one can take away the good times we spent here, where we brought Ulysses into the world together. Do you remember the shocked faces of our friends when we announced that I would attend the birth? ”.
They both laughed, then she said, “You have been a support to me and always will be. We will rebuild our nest and we will return to love each other as in the past "
"Well, technically the bed is there, we brought the sheets with us, the children are asleep, time to arrange them at home and then we could start the dances ..."
"Buck Cross, I love your indecent proposals which I absolutely share" and laughed heartily, relieved that things really could have been worse.
They went to the nursery which had been left empty because they had taken everything away when they moved to Rock Creek and thought about how to arrange the children.
Buck went into the caravan to get some beds they had brought with them and the linen trunk. Deborah tried to sweep and clean the two rooms and the bathroom as well as possible and then helped Buck carry the children to their room.
They put the sheets on their bed and Buck said, "Here we are, back to square one!"
He walked over to her and began to unbutton her dress. Deborah did the same with her shirt. Every time they undressed and made love, they always felt very strong emotions, as if it were the first time. She loved the touch of his fingers on his skin and he shivered at the touch of his hands on his chest. They slowly undressed, savoring every minute moment in their home they had dreamed of for so long. He placed her gently on the bed and told her. "Welcome home Mrs. Cross" and then they made love greedily and sweetly, merging as always their souls as well as their bodies.
The next morning they were awakened by the cheerful cries of the children who, after the long and restful sleep, were full of energy. Deborah tenderly kissed Buck and quickly put on yesterday's dress, just for the time to go to the boys and tell them to stay a little quiet in their room until breakfast was ready.
“But mom, we want to explore the new house!”, Said Ulysses pleading. When her son looked at her with those big eyes she couldn't say no and conceded: “Okay, but be careful, don't go out alone and give me and dad time to get ready and get off. We haven't slept as many hours as you have and we are still a bit stunned. Pay attention to the staircase because there are some steps missing "
"Promised mum and I'll take care of Achilles too!".
"Bravo my little man of the house," smiled Deborah ruffling his brown hair.
"Am I on a war footing already?" Buck asked as she entered the room.
“Yes, they want to play little explorers but Ulysses promised me that they will be careful and they will not come out. I managed to gain some more time just for us, "she said, locking the door behind her.
"Mmm, it seems like an indecent proposal ..."
"It is Mr. Cross!" and took off her dress and slipped back into bed where he was happy to oblige. They heard the cheerful voices of their children playing in the house and believed they were almost in a dream.
Deborah got up, went to the bathroom and got ready by taking the first comfortable clothes that had come into her hand from the trunk.
“I go down to prepare breakfast with the few provisions we have left. Today we will first have to go to the general store in the city "
“Yes, I've already thought about it. While you prepare the boys, I will do a quick inventory of the things we will also need for the house and then we will go to town. Ready to start over? "
"I can't wait," Deborah exclaimed, kissing him tenderly on the cheek.
Then she went down to the kitchen but on the stairs she was attacked by her children who wanted to inform her of all their discoveries.
“Hey, hey, calm down, one at a time,” he said, laughing at their enthusiasm.
"Mom, but the house is dirty, the glass is broken and all the curtains are missing," Calypso noted.
"I know honey, we've been away for a long time but today we'll go to town with dad and buy everything back, you'll see"
“Shall we go to town? How beautiful! Can I buy myself a new doll? ”Nausicaa asked hopefully.
"Honey has a lot of them!"
"I know mom, but I don't have one of this place."
Deborah sighed and just said, “We'll see, we'll ask Dad. Now let me prepare breakfast ”.
Meanwhile Buck had come down the stairs and he too was attacked by his children: "Dad, can I buy a new doll please, Mom told me to ask you!"
"Sure darling you can, but wouldn't you prefer something else since you already have so many as your mother said?"
“Oh I don't know,” the thoughtful little girl replied.
Buck proposed while he was picking up his youngest son: "Let's do this, when you are at the general store you will choose what to buy, okay?"
"Yes dad, thank you"
"Me too, me too," said the other children in chorus and Buck nodded amused as Deborah went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, immensely happy with her family and finally back home.
After breakfast, as planned, Deborah washed and dressed the children and Buck made a list of the first things to buy in town. They took the wagon and headed for Sweetwater, curious to see what had changed in their absence.
When they arrived, they found some things as they had left them, but some houses and some shops had been replaced by others. They went to the general store and felt a pang when they saw the new owner because they couldn't help but remember Mr. Tompkins, who also moved to Rock Creek but then died in an ambush while out of town.
The new manager, Mr. Adams, welcomed them by asking if they were passing through or if they had just moved, and Buck told him that they had returned home after the war. Mr. Adams, while meeting the requests on the list, asked them a few questions about what the city was like before the war and in turn updated the couple on the latest changes.
Meanwhile Deborah accompanied the children in choosing their small gift and evaluated what she could add to the list to fix the house.
When they finished in the shop, Buck wanted to go to the sheriff's office to introduce himself and the latter was happy to see him because he had been told very highly of the ex-boys of the pony express.
The sheriff, Mr. Parker, offered Buck to be his deputy because he was left without one, as the man who had joined him in recent years had married and had just moved to his wife's town, but Buck declined. offer: he had had enough of shooting and violence, he wanted to build his ranch with Kid and finally live peacefully. The deputy understood but told him that his offer would stand if he changed his mind.
Buck, Deborah and their children returned home and in the afternoon the woman began to rearrange one room at a time. She started from the kitchen, the most essential, after Buck had arranged the sink, and was helped by Calypso and Nausicaa who felt like little women of the house, while the children accompanied Buck who began to rearrange the exterior of the property.
The first days were spent working hard to restore their love nest, but Buck and Deborah, despite the physical fatigue, were very happy because they saw their life and history rise from the ashes like a phoenix.
Chapter Three
Milan, July 2022
Deborah, still incredulous about what had happened and with her ankle a little sore, drove Gregg to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, telling him everything she remembered about it and leading him to the classic and superstitious ride on the bull. She was very clumsy because she struggled to organize sentences in English and didn't want to appear ridiculous. She apologized several times to him for her inability to articulate complex sentences but he told her: "Don't worry, if I had wanted an expert guide I could have gone to the agency, but I like visiting these places in your company much more, it is certainly more fun ".
Deborah resented a little in front of this statement and replied: "Sorry, are you telling me I'm ridiculous?"
He understood the misunderstanding and tried to justify himself in the simplest possible way to make her understand that his words were meant to be a compliment: "Absolutely not, I'm sorry if you misunderstood my words. I just wanted to say that it is nicer and more fun to visit the city with such a kind and informal woman than with a guide. I didn't want to offend you or make fun of you. I just wanted to tell you that I find you very nice and I enjoy spending time with you, that's all "
“Oh, ok, sorry. I'm happy of that "and blushed a little from the misunderstanding but also because, if she had understood correctly, he had just told her that he liked spending time with her.
They took some photos and Deborah obviously didn't miss the opportunity to take some selfies with him, a memory that would have been priceless.
She took him to piazza della Scala and showed him Palazzo Marino, then took him to the church that Alessandro Manzoni used to frequent, they went back and walked along corso Vittorio Emanuele towards piazza San Babila. Gregg was fascinated by how she tried to explain everything to him, in a simple but colorful way and he was increasingly intrigued by this woman, also because that coincidence about their ancestors kept buzzing in his head. Before saying goodbye he would surely say something to her, but now it was still early.
While strolling along the street, they came across some street performers playing famous songs, attracting a lot of people thanks to their skill.
For Gregg it was like a call, it was like he couldn't stay away from the music. He walked over to them, complimented them when they finished their piece and then told them something that Deborah couldn't understand because he spoke in a very low voice.
Suddenly he came back to her and asked her: "Do you know the words of Cohen's Hallelujah?".
"Yes, why?"
Gregg didn't answer her but gave his cell phone to a boy, asking him to record a video, then took her hand, brought her close to the guys playing and told her. "Let's go!"
Deborah was appalled: he was dragging her into a duet in the middle of the street in front of everyone and mostly recorded. She felt herself faint. The boys began to play and Gregg went off with the first verse, looking her straight in the eyes. She felt like she was dying, she felt like she was living in a surreal situation in a parallel universe, but at that point she understood that she would make a bad impression to back down. When it was her turn, not even knowing how, she began to sing and hearing her voice come out of her lips she began to smile, shaking her head as if saying: "I can't believe I'm really doing this!".
She also continued with the second verse and then he joined in the chorus, eyes to eyes, they shook hands enraptured by the melody and the words and when it was time for the final vocalization, they brought their foreheads together in a barely audible whisper. When the music stopped, they looked into each other's eyes for a second that lasted years, before hearing the applause of those present and being brought back to reality.
Deborah removed one hand from Gregg's, continuing to squeeze the other, and brought it to her face, to hide her shame, while the boy handed Gregg the cell phone with the registration. The boys of the group complimented both of them, then Gregg realized that Deborah was very embarrassed and that he was putting her in difficulty, so he greeted politely and moved towards Piazza San Babila always holding her hand.
When they were out of sight of the people, Gregg stopped. Deborah was as if in shock and hadn't uttered a word, she just followed him, incredulous of what had just happened.
Gregg looked at her and said softly: "You were very good but maybe I shouldn't have done it, I embarrassed you too much, sorry".
She looked at him again a bit dazed, then burst into a loud laugh and said: "You are crazy, Gregg! If someone else had dragged me into this absurd thing I would have killed him, but it was so funny and .... beautiful, extremely beautiful! Thank you. Oh my God what a crazy! ".
They both laughed and dulled the tension.
“I absolutely want to see that video, so I will be so ashamed for life!” She told him.
“Come on!”, He replied pulling her towards a free bench. They sat down and he played the video: the boy had been very good at filming and you also want that the quality of Gregg's phone was the best, it almost felt like a professional recording. The two watched the video in silence and when it was finished, he said: "It's not that bad, in fact, it really turned out good"
“Indeed,” she said. "Let me review it, please!".
The two concentrated more on the details and when they had finished the vision, they looked at each other: they were both thinking about the strong understanding that the music had created between them and the look they had while they sang. They remained so, in silence, looking at each other and trying to understand what was happening. Deborah's heart was beating wildly and she didn't know what to do, but she couldn't take her eyes off his magnetic eyes.
Suddenly he brought his face close to hers and started to kiss her. Deborah instinctively drew back. She knew she couldn't do it, she was married and had a baby, she couldn't behave like that, yet she couldn't control her feelings and emotions.
"I can't", she just said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't have to".
"It's ok, but ..." and she looked him in the eyes again. Suddenly she dropped all her defenses and it was she who kissed him. He kissed back, at first lightly, but then it got deeper and deeper until they realized they had to stop.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening to me, I'm not like that, I'm married, I have a baby, I can't do it, but the sensations I felt before and now that I kissed you, here, make all my certainties waver "
“Sorry, it was my fault, I dragged you into this embarrassing situation. I'm not like that too, I don't kiss the first woman I meet, on the contrary, I go very slowly, but with you I'm experiencing sensations that destabilize me "
They looked into each other's eyes again and couldn't help but kiss. He got up, took her hand and without saying anything led her to his hotel. When they were in front of the hall he told her: "Only if you want it too"
Deborah's head was heavy, she no longer recognized herself. Rationally, she knew she shouldn't do it, but her heart, her senses and her body said something else. She had in front of her the man she had adored for 31 years and still adored, she could not leave. Instinctively she nodded a yes with her head. Gregg led her inside, took the key to his room, and they went upstairs. He opened the door, she entered, both of them in silence. Deborah took a few steps, then placed her bag on one of the bedside tables, turned and looked again at Gregg, who was undecided on what to do. He would have liked to hold her and make love with her, he felt something strong and irresistible towards this woman he had met by chance and he was a little scared. She was in exactly the same state of mind, with the added sense of guilt that oppressed her. Then she thought back to what she had experienced during the previous two years, to the promise she had made during the pandemic: she would never give up on anything, on any opportunity that life held for her. Every day could be the last of normal, we couldn't know what would happen the next day: Friday 21 February 2020 everything was normal. On Monday 24 February she had been blocked at home and a nightmare had begun: she would no longer have remorse, she would have lived moment by moment letting herself be guided by instinct and now instinct told her to kiss that wonderful man and to make love with him. Later she would think about the rest. She approached him, kissed him greedily and this encouraged Gregg who returned her kiss, hugged her and asked her again: "Are you sure?".
She in response kissed him on the neck and began to tinker with his shirt and took it off. He grabbed the hem of her dress and did the same. The two continued to kiss with desire and in a moment they found themselves lying on the bed. She broke away from his kisses for a moment, not because she was regretting it, but because she wanted to savor every moment and look again into Gregg's eyes, full of passion and desire, still incredulous.
He stopped in turn and asked her: “Everything is alright?”, worried that she had changed her mind. Deborah replied: "Yes, I just wanted to look into your eyes and make sure it was all true".
He smiled, kissed her again, and they finished undressing. He was very sweet in taking her and she savored every moment, enraptured as in a dream that came true.
He lay down beside her and looked at her without speaking. Deborah returned his gaze and said softly, a little worried: "Now I'm asking you, is everything okay?".
“Wonderfully. I've never been overwhelmed by a woman like this in my life and I'm a little upset about it. It was wonderful "
She pointed out: "But please, with your fame who knows how many women you had at your feet"
"I didn't say I've never had women, but I've never felt what I'm feeling now"
"And what do you feel?"
"Very strong emotions that prevent me from letting you go"
She smiled, kissed him and just said "Thanks", but said nothing more. She knew that things couldn't go on and that it would never happen again.
They remained snuggled in each other's arms for a while, then Gregg made up his mind and said to her: "Do you remember when we were talking about our ancestors?"
“Yes, why are you talking about this now”, she asked in amazement.
“I failed to tell you one thing. My Italian ancestor had married a half Kiowa Indian who worked for the pony express "
"I know? Even the mother of my ancestor's first wife ... oh my God, do you think ... "
"I don't know, but it's a strange coincidence"
“So if that were true, the two of us would be related, albeit distantly?”, She asked almost horrified.
Gregg, realizing where she was going, reassured her by saying: "Technically no, you are descended from the second wife of that man and you have no blood relations with the two founders".
Deborah heaved a sigh of relief, the only thing missing from all the mess she was getting into was that she was guilty of half incest ...
Gregg added: "I think the only way to know is to retrace the story of that woman who married the pony express courier"
"How can we do?"
"I have actually already done some research on it, I told you that one of the reasons why I came here to Italy is this, even if I had not foreseen the latest implications ..."
"Oh my God what a mess I got into ..." Deborah exclaimed.
Gregg darkened his face and looked into her eyes: "Have you regretted us?"
Deborah took his face in her hands and softly replied: “How could I? It was wonderful and I wish I would never leave this room, but you know better than I that it won't have to happen again. I don't know how I'm going to stay away from you after today, but it's necessary and you know it. "
"I don't want to let you go, not after what happened. And then we have to understand if destiny really binds us "
"Yes, I did not say that we should no longer see or hear each other, as long as you want to, but what happened today will never have to happen again and no one will ever have to know. Swear it to me. "
“You're tearing my soul apart Deborah, but if that's what you want, that's fine. We will focus only on our research "
"Thanks" and kissed him as if to say goodbye.
Deborah resented a little in front of this statement and replied: "Sorry, are you telling me I'm ridiculous?"
He understood the misunderstanding and tried to justify himself in the simplest possible way to make her understand that his words were meant to be a compliment: "Absolutely not, I'm sorry if you misunderstood my words. I just wanted to say that it is nicer and more fun to visit the city with such a kind and informal woman than with a guide. I didn't want to offend you or make fun of you. I just wanted to tell you that I find you very nice and I enjoy spending time with you, that's all "
“Oh, ok, sorry. I'm happy of that "and blushed a little from the misunderstanding but also because, if she had understood correctly, he had just told her that he liked spending time with her.
They took some photos and Deborah obviously didn't miss the opportunity to take some selfies with him, a memory that would have been priceless.
She took him to piazza della Scala and showed him Palazzo Marino, then took him to the church that Alessandro Manzoni used to frequent, they went back and walked along corso Vittorio Emanuele towards piazza San Babila. Gregg was fascinated by how she tried to explain everything to him, in a simple but colorful way and he was increasingly intrigued by this woman, also because that coincidence about their ancestors kept buzzing in his head. Before saying goodbye he would surely say something to her, but now it was still early.
While strolling along the street, they came across some street performers playing famous songs, attracting a lot of people thanks to their skill.
For Gregg it was like a call, it was like he couldn't stay away from the music. He walked over to them, complimented them when they finished their piece and then told them something that Deborah couldn't understand because he spoke in a very low voice.
Suddenly he came back to her and asked her: "Do you know the words of Cohen's Hallelujah?".
"Yes, why?"
Gregg didn't answer her but gave his cell phone to a boy, asking him to record a video, then took her hand, brought her close to the guys playing and told her. "Let's go!"
Deborah was appalled: he was dragging her into a duet in the middle of the street in front of everyone and mostly recorded. She felt herself faint. The boys began to play and Gregg went off with the first verse, looking her straight in the eyes. She felt like she was dying, she felt like she was living in a surreal situation in a parallel universe, but at that point she understood that she would make a bad impression to back down. When it was her turn, not even knowing how, she began to sing and hearing her voice come out of her lips she began to smile, shaking her head as if saying: "I can't believe I'm really doing this!".
She also continued with the second verse and then he joined in the chorus, eyes to eyes, they shook hands enraptured by the melody and the words and when it was time for the final vocalization, they brought their foreheads together in a barely audible whisper. When the music stopped, they looked into each other's eyes for a second that lasted years, before hearing the applause of those present and being brought back to reality.
Deborah removed one hand from Gregg's, continuing to squeeze the other, and brought it to her face, to hide her shame, while the boy handed Gregg the cell phone with the registration. The boys of the group complimented both of them, then Gregg realized that Deborah was very embarrassed and that he was putting her in difficulty, so he greeted politely and moved towards Piazza San Babila always holding her hand.
When they were out of sight of the people, Gregg stopped. Deborah was as if in shock and hadn't uttered a word, she just followed him, incredulous of what had just happened.
Gregg looked at her and said softly: "You were very good but maybe I shouldn't have done it, I embarrassed you too much, sorry".
She looked at him again a bit dazed, then burst into a loud laugh and said: "You are crazy, Gregg! If someone else had dragged me into this absurd thing I would have killed him, but it was so funny and .... beautiful, extremely beautiful! Thank you. Oh my God what a crazy! ".
They both laughed and dulled the tension.
“I absolutely want to see that video, so I will be so ashamed for life!” She told him.
“Come on!”, He replied pulling her towards a free bench. They sat down and he played the video: the boy had been very good at filming and you also want that the quality of Gregg's phone was the best, it almost felt like a professional recording. The two watched the video in silence and when it was finished, he said: "It's not that bad, in fact, it really turned out good"
“Indeed,” she said. "Let me review it, please!".
The two concentrated more on the details and when they had finished the vision, they looked at each other: they were both thinking about the strong understanding that the music had created between them and the look they had while they sang. They remained so, in silence, looking at each other and trying to understand what was happening. Deborah's heart was beating wildly and she didn't know what to do, but she couldn't take her eyes off his magnetic eyes.
Suddenly he brought his face close to hers and started to kiss her. Deborah instinctively drew back. She knew she couldn't do it, she was married and had a baby, she couldn't behave like that, yet she couldn't control her feelings and emotions.
"I can't", she just said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't have to".
"It's ok, but ..." and she looked him in the eyes again. Suddenly she dropped all her defenses and it was she who kissed him. He kissed back, at first lightly, but then it got deeper and deeper until they realized they had to stop.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening to me, I'm not like that, I'm married, I have a baby, I can't do it, but the sensations I felt before and now that I kissed you, here, make all my certainties waver "
“Sorry, it was my fault, I dragged you into this embarrassing situation. I'm not like that too, I don't kiss the first woman I meet, on the contrary, I go very slowly, but with you I'm experiencing sensations that destabilize me "
They looked into each other's eyes again and couldn't help but kiss. He got up, took her hand and without saying anything led her to his hotel. When they were in front of the hall he told her: "Only if you want it too"
Deborah's head was heavy, she no longer recognized herself. Rationally, she knew she shouldn't do it, but her heart, her senses and her body said something else. She had in front of her the man she had adored for 31 years and still adored, she could not leave. Instinctively she nodded a yes with her head. Gregg led her inside, took the key to his room, and they went upstairs. He opened the door, she entered, both of them in silence. Deborah took a few steps, then placed her bag on one of the bedside tables, turned and looked again at Gregg, who was undecided on what to do. He would have liked to hold her and make love with her, he felt something strong and irresistible towards this woman he had met by chance and he was a little scared. She was in exactly the same state of mind, with the added sense of guilt that oppressed her. Then she thought back to what she had experienced during the previous two years, to the promise she had made during the pandemic: she would never give up on anything, on any opportunity that life held for her. Every day could be the last of normal, we couldn't know what would happen the next day: Friday 21 February 2020 everything was normal. On Monday 24 February she had been blocked at home and a nightmare had begun: she would no longer have remorse, she would have lived moment by moment letting herself be guided by instinct and now instinct told her to kiss that wonderful man and to make love with him. Later she would think about the rest. She approached him, kissed him greedily and this encouraged Gregg who returned her kiss, hugged her and asked her again: "Are you sure?".
She in response kissed him on the neck and began to tinker with his shirt and took it off. He grabbed the hem of her dress and did the same. The two continued to kiss with desire and in a moment they found themselves lying on the bed. She broke away from his kisses for a moment, not because she was regretting it, but because she wanted to savor every moment and look again into Gregg's eyes, full of passion and desire, still incredulous.
He stopped in turn and asked her: “Everything is alright?”, worried that she had changed her mind. Deborah replied: "Yes, I just wanted to look into your eyes and make sure it was all true".
He smiled, kissed her again, and they finished undressing. He was very sweet in taking her and she savored every moment, enraptured as in a dream that came true.
He lay down beside her and looked at her without speaking. Deborah returned his gaze and said softly, a little worried: "Now I'm asking you, is everything okay?".
“Wonderfully. I've never been overwhelmed by a woman like this in my life and I'm a little upset about it. It was wonderful "
She pointed out: "But please, with your fame who knows how many women you had at your feet"
"I didn't say I've never had women, but I've never felt what I'm feeling now"
"And what do you feel?"
"Very strong emotions that prevent me from letting you go"
She smiled, kissed him and just said "Thanks", but said nothing more. She knew that things couldn't go on and that it would never happen again.
They remained snuggled in each other's arms for a while, then Gregg made up his mind and said to her: "Do you remember when we were talking about our ancestors?"
“Yes, why are you talking about this now”, she asked in amazement.
“I failed to tell you one thing. My Italian ancestor had married a half Kiowa Indian who worked for the pony express "
"I know? Even the mother of my ancestor's first wife ... oh my God, do you think ... "
"I don't know, but it's a strange coincidence"
“So if that were true, the two of us would be related, albeit distantly?”, She asked almost horrified.
Gregg, realizing where she was going, reassured her by saying: "Technically no, you are descended from the second wife of that man and you have no blood relations with the two founders".
Deborah heaved a sigh of relief, the only thing missing from all the mess she was getting into was that she was guilty of half incest ...
Gregg added: "I think the only way to know is to retrace the story of that woman who married the pony express courier"
"How can we do?"
"I have actually already done some research on it, I told you that one of the reasons why I came here to Italy is this, even if I had not foreseen the latest implications ..."
"Oh my God what a mess I got into ..." Deborah exclaimed.
Gregg darkened his face and looked into her eyes: "Have you regretted us?"
Deborah took his face in her hands and softly replied: “How could I? It was wonderful and I wish I would never leave this room, but you know better than I that it won't have to happen again. I don't know how I'm going to stay away from you after today, but it's necessary and you know it. "
"I don't want to let you go, not after what happened. And then we have to understand if destiny really binds us "
"Yes, I did not say that we should no longer see or hear each other, as long as you want to, but what happened today will never have to happen again and no one will ever have to know. Swear it to me. "
“You're tearing my soul apart Deborah, but if that's what you want, that's fine. We will focus only on our research "
"Thanks" and kissed him as if to say goodbye.
Chapter Four
Sweetwater, 1870-1871
About ten days after their arrival, Deborah received two letters: one from Lou informing her that she and Kid would be arriving in a couple of days, and one from Rachel informing her that she and Teaspoon would soon be joining them too.
Deborah joined Buck in the stable and said: “Honey, judging by the dates of the letters, Kid and Lou will be here the day after tomorrow, while Rachel and Teaspoon are in a few days. How do we organize ourselves? "
Buck, delighted by the news, replied: "Maybe we could clean the two houses and make them a little more presentable, so as not to make them feel the disappointment we felt. Then we will go to town to buy some supplies for them, in order to facilitate them. I will also start moving to build the new ranch, I don't want to stay inactive for long, I want to resume our life completely ".
She agreed and kissed him saying: "You always know what is the right thing to do my love"
"Oh yes? Well here, now I know that we should take advantage of the fact that the children are resting to enjoy our privacy a little ... "
"Buck Cross, you are awful"
"No, I'm just crazy about my wife" and he knocked her over laughing on the hay. They made love passionately, enjoying their new life after many difficulties.
In the afternoon they began to fix Lou and Kid's house by cleaning it up and fixing what they could, without invading their privacy by making changes to what had been destroyed or stolen. They just gave it the appearance of a tidy house, knowing that Lou and Kid would have to, as they had done, redesign some things.
The next day they went to the general store and did the shopping for everyone.
Kid and Lou arrived in the late morning and as soon as they heard the caravan, Deborah and the children rushed out to greet them.
Deborah sent Ulisse to call Buck, who probably hadn't heard them coming, making a noise while he was cutting wood to build the fence for the new ranch. The two girls hugged their mother's skirt a little ashamed and Achille wanted to go in her arms. They had heard their parents talk a lot about the upcoming family but seeing them was another thing. Lou and Deborah hugged each other tightly, as if they didn't want to break away and wept with joy. It was then Kid's turn who hugged Deborah and hugged Buck too when he arrived.
After Emma and Jed, the couple had two more twins, Ike and Sam, two years old, and Lou told friends that Jeremia and Teresa, Lou's brother and sister, now grown up and eager to make a comeback, would soon join with their sister.
Deborah and Buck were delighted, introduced all the children and then took them to see their home. Tears came to Lou's eyes and she thanked her friends for fixing it as best they could.
"We did some shopping for you for the first few days, so you can recover from your trip before going to town", Deborah informed her.
Then she added to Kid: “Buck has already bought the land nearby to build the ranch and is already working on it, but you take all the time you need for the house and for your family, in the meantime he will take care of it. The sooner we leave and the sooner we'll leave that bad experience behind. Ah, in a few days Rachel and Teaspoon will be here too, we are going to get their house back on track too ”.
Kid hugged Deborah and shook Buck's hand in gratitude. Deborah offered to look after the children while the two young friends unloaded their belongings with the help of her husband.
After an initial moment of childish embarrassment and shame, the children began to play together and it seemed that Ulisse and Emma recognized each other, after all as children, before the situation worsened, they had grown up together and spent their days playing as brothers.
Lou and Kid settled their things and in the evening they all dined together at Deborah and Buck's house, remembering the old days.
In a few days Teaspoon and Rachel also returned and went to live in the old house of the woman because the bunkhouse had been destroyed and Teaspoon would have no place to stay. The house was big enough for both of them and Teaspoon could have slept in the room that had been Deborah's before she married Buck.
Little by little they recovered their lives and as soon as the work on the two houses, theirs and Rachel's was finished, Kid also began to take care of the ranch. Buck had already marked off the land with a solid fence and was building the barn for the animals.
The three women decided one day to go to town to look for a job. They were looking for something that didn't keep them busy all day, so that they could then look after the children, but that would allow them to have some independence. Lou had again had to struggle to convince Kid to let her find a job, but in the end he too had given up.
They were lucky because Lou and Rachel found employment at a fabric shop looking for help: one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, without any particular constraints, so they could take turns taking care of the children. Deborah tried her luck at the school, she wanted to see if she could resume her teaching job. For the time being, she was able to work alongside the current teacher who would keep the job for another year and then leave the job because she felt too old by now. Deborah would have replaced her and she was delighted.
Everything was going well: the ranch had started and was starting to bear fruit, the three women took turns in childcare and housework and soon, as planned, Lou's brother and sister also arrived in town, who took a little house of their own. Neither of them had settled down yet, though it seemed that Teresa had a suitor she didn't disdain. Lou was happy about it, but she didn't want to force her hand. Jeremia did not want to have a family, he was very marked by the story of his father, which Lou had ended up revealing to him, and he preferred to take care of his sister. For a living he hired Buck and Kid on the ranch. The two men were delighted to have him with them.
A serene and peaceful year passed during which all the balances were settled. Sometimes they would get news of Cody and Jimmy and their adventures and hoped that sooner or later they would be able to meet them again.
Deborah and Buck would have wanted more children, but they had not arrived and in the end they told each other that maybe it was right, four was a good number and despite the commitment they gave, the two of them always managed to carve out moments of intimacy; the passion between the two had never failed and every now and then they asked Kid and Lou or Rachel to keep the children to sleep with them to organize romantic evenings just the two of them, during which they loved to talk to each other from the heart, to exchange their thoughts deeper, discuss topics that did not have time to address in the presence of children, spend moments simply embraced in front of the fireplace enjoying each other's company and making love tenderly. Deborah was increasingly in love with Buck and felt that he too felt the same. The years passed and the difficulties faced had not affected their love and Buck thanks to her had completely defeated his demons. He felt so happy with her and their children that he couldn't have asked for more.
One morning, while Buck was at the ranch, he saw a gig coming in his direction and he thought it was his wife who was returning from school and had decided to drop by to say hello. Usually he and Kid had lunch at the ranch to save time, even though they were practically attached to the house. They did not want to burden their wives with the commitment of lunch and were content to bring something that Lou and Deborah had prepared for them.
As the gig approached, Buck realized that it was not Deborah, but a woman with long black hair. He was stunned when the woman got out of the gig, approached him and throwing her arms around his neck said: "Oh Buck, I finally found you, I didn't hope for it anymore!".
Kid saw the scene and watched what was happening.
Buck broke away from the woman's embrace and said: "Do we know each other lady?"
"Have I changed and grown so old that you don't recognize me anymore? Yet once we were inseparable and promised"
Buck understood and with a huge smile he said: "Oh my God, Camille!" and he embraced her in turn.
Kid, hearing the woman's name, was not happy at all. He remembered what had happened the last time she had been to them and did not want them to create misunderstandings again. He decided to ignore it and wait for Buck to call him.
"Sorry, I didn't recognize you, I certainly wasn't expecting your visit, how nice to see you", Buck told her.
"You absolutely must be forgiven, it will mean that you will invite me to dinner"
"Yes, sure", Buck replied, but he regretted it the moment he said those words. He knew that Deborah would not take Camille's presence well after the last time, even though it had been ten years now. He suspected that Deborah still hurt remembering what had happened, but he certainly couldn't tell Camille that he couldn't stop for dinner for something she probably didn't even remember anymore.
"What are you doing here Camille and where is Billy? Did he stay in the city? How long will you stay? ”Buck asked.
Camille's eyes filled with tears, she hugged Buck tightly and said: "Billy died in the war, since then I am alone, I have wandered here and there doing all kinds of work, we have not had children unfortunately or fortunately, I don't know me neither. I tried to find you but they told me you left Sweetwater and went to war. When I came to Rock Creek I heard about you and I got to know you were back here, so I thought I'd join you, did I hurt? "
“No, you did well, I'm very sorry for Billy. I was also injured in the war but I was luckier than your husband. Come on, let's go say hello to Kid, do you remember? We run this ranch together, he got married to Lou ”.
“Wait Buck. What about you? Have you made a family? Did you then get married to that girl? You didn't hear from me after I left "
“Yes, I got married to Deborah shortly after you left. We live here in our house back then and have 4 children. "
“So did you manage to move on? I'm happy for you ”, Camille said with a note of disappointment in her voice. Buck noticed it and knew that this would not do any good, but he could not abandon her, not again after what had happened in his youth, he would still be overwhelmed with guilt.
“Thanks, I was very lucky. Let's go to Kid's now "
She nodded and followed him. In the meantime, Kid, who had witnessed the whole scene, had moved away a bit so as not to make it clear that he had seen everything.
“Hey Kid, look who came to visit us! You remember Camille, don't you? ”Buck said.
"How could I not remember, there was a real commotion the last time you came to see Buck! How are you? "
“Hi Kid, nice to see you again. I'm pretty good, thanks. As I told Buck I lost my husband in the war, but I survive "
"I'm very sorry Camille." Kid pretended to be surprised.
“Can you stay at the ranch, Kid? I take her home to meet the children, Deborah should arrive any moment "
"Of course, there's no problem, I should just talk to you about something before you go, if you can"
“Definitely. Camille, can you wait for me on the wagon please? I solve the problem with Kid and I’ll arrive "
"Oh yes, of course" and she went to take her place in the gig.
"What is it Kid? Any problems with animals? "
"No, everything is fine here"
"So what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Can't you imagine it?"
"Camille…"
"Exact. Last time you risked losing Deborah for her and you know that just hearing her name puts her in a bad mood again after 10 years. Are you sure what you are doing? "
“I know Kid, but how can I abandon her? Last time my sense of guilt was making me lose the love of my life, I could not bear to live with such a weight again. She lost her husband, she is alone, a few days here she will not be able to cause damage. I know it will be difficult for Deborah, but she knows that I love her and that I would never betray her "
"If you say so ... Just be careful Buck"
“Thanks Kid, I'll do it. See you later"
Buck joined Camille, thinking worriedly about his friend's words. He knew that Kid was right, but he also had to deal with the impossibility of abandoning an old friend. He hoped that everything was fine and that Deborah understood.
"Are you all right, Buck?" Camille asked him.
“Yes, Kid just wanted to inform me of a doubt he had, I hope it's all resolved. Here we go"
Camille looked at him cautiously, she had guessed what the nature of the two friends' speech had been. She had hoped that Buck was still in love with her, so that she could start a happy life again, but sadly he had moved on. She did not know what had really happened after her departure, it had left Buck scared to death by the absence of Deborah and Jimmy who had punched him accusing him of breaking her heart. Billy had insisted on leaving immediately, and Buck hadn't replied to her letters since. She didn't know what to expect. Her disappointment had been great when he had told her that he was finally married.
They arrived in a moment at Buck and Deborah's house. The children were playing in the yard with Lou's children and Buck saw that Deborah's gig was there, so she must be back by now.
He turned to Ulisse asking him: "Honey, where is mom?".
"She went to Aunt Rachel's for a moment to get something, she told us it would arrive immediately"
"Thanks, you are such a little man." Buck stroked his son's head and ruffled his hair. In a moment he was also surrounded by the other three and Calypso said to him hugging him tightly: "How nice that you are at home Dad." Then she turned to Camille: "Who is this lady dad?"
"She is an old friend, sweetheart, her name is Camille. On children, say hello. Emma, Ike, Sam, Jed, meet our friend Camille, come and say hello to her too ”.
Then he turned to Camille and explained: “These 4 are my beloved children, the others are Lou and Kid's children. Lou is now at work; she, Rachel and Deborah take turns and all three look after them together. We have achieved a beautiful balance ". Buck went out of his way to make Camille understand that he was happy now and that he wanted things to stay that way.
Camille nodded but inside her was bitten by a tinge of jealousy.
Suddenly there was a noise coming in the direction of Rachel's house: Deborah had dropped the tub with the laundry to do. When she left Rachel's house, she heard the screams of the children and Buck's voice. She hurried to join them, fearing that something had happened because her husband almost never returned home before dinner time. When she approached and recognized Camille, the shock was enormous and she dropped the tub she was carrying, as if suddenly thrown back 10 years. She felt a pang in her heart and everything that had happened the previous time passed before her eyes. She felt exactly the same pain as when she had decided to leave.
Buck, Camille and the children whirled around.
"Mom, what happened, are you okay?", Nausicaa joined her.
Deborah recovered and hugging her daughter said: "Yes, darling, I'm fine, I just tripped over a stone and I dropped everything, I'm the usual careless" and kissed her daughter.
Then she turned to Buck: “Honey, what a nice surprise, I heard your voice from Rachel's house. But, do I see well? Is it Camille? "
"Yes, it's me, nice to see you again Deborah" the woman said.
Deborah did not return the courtesy but merely said to her: “How long! Why are you here?" and then turned to Buck.
"I came to see you a few days, I got Buck an invitation to dinner as punishment because he didn't recognize me, I hope you don't mind."
Deborah gritted her teeth hard and it took all her self-control not to tremble: “You are welcome. I see you've already met all the children "
“Yes, they are very sweet”, Camille said.
"As Buck's children, it couldn't have been otherwise, don't you think?"
"Yeah", she replied, looking down.
Buck realized on the fly that Kid was right on all fronts, it was going to be a very tough situation to handle. He walked over to Deborah, kissed her and said: “Honey, Camille lost Billy in the war, she wasn't as lucky as we are. She knew we were back here and decided to come and visit us. Is it okay for you if she stops by for dinner and then we'll take her to the hotel? ”. Buck took her hand and squeezed it, as if to let her know she didn't need to worry.
Deborah understood that he was trying to calm her down and replied: "No problem. Come, take a seat ".
Meanwhile, Rachel, who had heard the noise of the fallen tub, had left the house and witnessed the scene. She understood that Deborah and Buck needed to talk to themselves for a moment and went up to the woman saying: “Camille, what a pleasure to see you again, how long! Would you like to come to my house for tea while Deborah prepares for dinner? "
“Oh sure, gladly Rachel. I'm happy to see you too "and she started in the direction of the woman.
Buck took Deborah by the hand and led her into the house, not before saying to the children: "Guys, please, stay around here and play and don't go away, I'll be in for a moment at home with your mother, okay? Ulisse, Jed, I'm counting on you "
"Sure dad, don't worry"
When they were inside, Deborah sat without speaking on the sofa, shocked. Buck approached her gently, sat down next to her and said: "Honey, I know Camille's sudden visit upset you, but what could I do? She arrived without warning, she invited herself to dinner, she told me she was left alone, should I have sent her away without an explanation? Besides, she doesn't know what happened between us. I swear everything will be fine, you know I love you right? "
Deborah looked into his eyes and saw all her husband's love and concern, but said: "I know you are doing good and you don't want to feel guilty anymore, but please don't let her get on with it new among us. If she looked for you, it was because deep down she hoped you were still tied to her and when a woman bets on a married man, the consequences are never positive "
"Honey, she knows I love you, I told her and made her understand in every way and then she's not that kind of woman"
"Before maybe, but now she is alone and I am an obstacle in her way"
"In a few days she will go away and we will continue with our life"
"I really hope so", but Deborah feared that things would turn out differently ...
Deborah joined Buck in the stable and said: “Honey, judging by the dates of the letters, Kid and Lou will be here the day after tomorrow, while Rachel and Teaspoon are in a few days. How do we organize ourselves? "
Buck, delighted by the news, replied: "Maybe we could clean the two houses and make them a little more presentable, so as not to make them feel the disappointment we felt. Then we will go to town to buy some supplies for them, in order to facilitate them. I will also start moving to build the new ranch, I don't want to stay inactive for long, I want to resume our life completely ".
She agreed and kissed him saying: "You always know what is the right thing to do my love"
"Oh yes? Well here, now I know that we should take advantage of the fact that the children are resting to enjoy our privacy a little ... "
"Buck Cross, you are awful"
"No, I'm just crazy about my wife" and he knocked her over laughing on the hay. They made love passionately, enjoying their new life after many difficulties.
In the afternoon they began to fix Lou and Kid's house by cleaning it up and fixing what they could, without invading their privacy by making changes to what had been destroyed or stolen. They just gave it the appearance of a tidy house, knowing that Lou and Kid would have to, as they had done, redesign some things.
The next day they went to the general store and did the shopping for everyone.
Kid and Lou arrived in the late morning and as soon as they heard the caravan, Deborah and the children rushed out to greet them.
Deborah sent Ulisse to call Buck, who probably hadn't heard them coming, making a noise while he was cutting wood to build the fence for the new ranch. The two girls hugged their mother's skirt a little ashamed and Achille wanted to go in her arms. They had heard their parents talk a lot about the upcoming family but seeing them was another thing. Lou and Deborah hugged each other tightly, as if they didn't want to break away and wept with joy. It was then Kid's turn who hugged Deborah and hugged Buck too when he arrived.
After Emma and Jed, the couple had two more twins, Ike and Sam, two years old, and Lou told friends that Jeremia and Teresa, Lou's brother and sister, now grown up and eager to make a comeback, would soon join with their sister.
Deborah and Buck were delighted, introduced all the children and then took them to see their home. Tears came to Lou's eyes and she thanked her friends for fixing it as best they could.
"We did some shopping for you for the first few days, so you can recover from your trip before going to town", Deborah informed her.
Then she added to Kid: “Buck has already bought the land nearby to build the ranch and is already working on it, but you take all the time you need for the house and for your family, in the meantime he will take care of it. The sooner we leave and the sooner we'll leave that bad experience behind. Ah, in a few days Rachel and Teaspoon will be here too, we are going to get their house back on track too ”.
Kid hugged Deborah and shook Buck's hand in gratitude. Deborah offered to look after the children while the two young friends unloaded their belongings with the help of her husband.
After an initial moment of childish embarrassment and shame, the children began to play together and it seemed that Ulisse and Emma recognized each other, after all as children, before the situation worsened, they had grown up together and spent their days playing as brothers.
Lou and Kid settled their things and in the evening they all dined together at Deborah and Buck's house, remembering the old days.
In a few days Teaspoon and Rachel also returned and went to live in the old house of the woman because the bunkhouse had been destroyed and Teaspoon would have no place to stay. The house was big enough for both of them and Teaspoon could have slept in the room that had been Deborah's before she married Buck.
Little by little they recovered their lives and as soon as the work on the two houses, theirs and Rachel's was finished, Kid also began to take care of the ranch. Buck had already marked off the land with a solid fence and was building the barn for the animals.
The three women decided one day to go to town to look for a job. They were looking for something that didn't keep them busy all day, so that they could then look after the children, but that would allow them to have some independence. Lou had again had to struggle to convince Kid to let her find a job, but in the end he too had given up.
They were lucky because Lou and Rachel found employment at a fabric shop looking for help: one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, without any particular constraints, so they could take turns taking care of the children. Deborah tried her luck at the school, she wanted to see if she could resume her teaching job. For the time being, she was able to work alongside the current teacher who would keep the job for another year and then leave the job because she felt too old by now. Deborah would have replaced her and she was delighted.
Everything was going well: the ranch had started and was starting to bear fruit, the three women took turns in childcare and housework and soon, as planned, Lou's brother and sister also arrived in town, who took a little house of their own. Neither of them had settled down yet, though it seemed that Teresa had a suitor she didn't disdain. Lou was happy about it, but she didn't want to force her hand. Jeremia did not want to have a family, he was very marked by the story of his father, which Lou had ended up revealing to him, and he preferred to take care of his sister. For a living he hired Buck and Kid on the ranch. The two men were delighted to have him with them.
A serene and peaceful year passed during which all the balances were settled. Sometimes they would get news of Cody and Jimmy and their adventures and hoped that sooner or later they would be able to meet them again.
Deborah and Buck would have wanted more children, but they had not arrived and in the end they told each other that maybe it was right, four was a good number and despite the commitment they gave, the two of them always managed to carve out moments of intimacy; the passion between the two had never failed and every now and then they asked Kid and Lou or Rachel to keep the children to sleep with them to organize romantic evenings just the two of them, during which they loved to talk to each other from the heart, to exchange their thoughts deeper, discuss topics that did not have time to address in the presence of children, spend moments simply embraced in front of the fireplace enjoying each other's company and making love tenderly. Deborah was increasingly in love with Buck and felt that he too felt the same. The years passed and the difficulties faced had not affected their love and Buck thanks to her had completely defeated his demons. He felt so happy with her and their children that he couldn't have asked for more.
One morning, while Buck was at the ranch, he saw a gig coming in his direction and he thought it was his wife who was returning from school and had decided to drop by to say hello. Usually he and Kid had lunch at the ranch to save time, even though they were practically attached to the house. They did not want to burden their wives with the commitment of lunch and were content to bring something that Lou and Deborah had prepared for them.
As the gig approached, Buck realized that it was not Deborah, but a woman with long black hair. He was stunned when the woman got out of the gig, approached him and throwing her arms around his neck said: "Oh Buck, I finally found you, I didn't hope for it anymore!".
Kid saw the scene and watched what was happening.
Buck broke away from the woman's embrace and said: "Do we know each other lady?"
"Have I changed and grown so old that you don't recognize me anymore? Yet once we were inseparable and promised"
Buck understood and with a huge smile he said: "Oh my God, Camille!" and he embraced her in turn.
Kid, hearing the woman's name, was not happy at all. He remembered what had happened the last time she had been to them and did not want them to create misunderstandings again. He decided to ignore it and wait for Buck to call him.
"Sorry, I didn't recognize you, I certainly wasn't expecting your visit, how nice to see you", Buck told her.
"You absolutely must be forgiven, it will mean that you will invite me to dinner"
"Yes, sure", Buck replied, but he regretted it the moment he said those words. He knew that Deborah would not take Camille's presence well after the last time, even though it had been ten years now. He suspected that Deborah still hurt remembering what had happened, but he certainly couldn't tell Camille that he couldn't stop for dinner for something she probably didn't even remember anymore.
"What are you doing here Camille and where is Billy? Did he stay in the city? How long will you stay? ”Buck asked.
Camille's eyes filled with tears, she hugged Buck tightly and said: "Billy died in the war, since then I am alone, I have wandered here and there doing all kinds of work, we have not had children unfortunately or fortunately, I don't know me neither. I tried to find you but they told me you left Sweetwater and went to war. When I came to Rock Creek I heard about you and I got to know you were back here, so I thought I'd join you, did I hurt? "
“No, you did well, I'm very sorry for Billy. I was also injured in the war but I was luckier than your husband. Come on, let's go say hello to Kid, do you remember? We run this ranch together, he got married to Lou ”.
“Wait Buck. What about you? Have you made a family? Did you then get married to that girl? You didn't hear from me after I left "
“Yes, I got married to Deborah shortly after you left. We live here in our house back then and have 4 children. "
“So did you manage to move on? I'm happy for you ”, Camille said with a note of disappointment in her voice. Buck noticed it and knew that this would not do any good, but he could not abandon her, not again after what had happened in his youth, he would still be overwhelmed with guilt.
“Thanks, I was very lucky. Let's go to Kid's now "
She nodded and followed him. In the meantime, Kid, who had witnessed the whole scene, had moved away a bit so as not to make it clear that he had seen everything.
“Hey Kid, look who came to visit us! You remember Camille, don't you? ”Buck said.
"How could I not remember, there was a real commotion the last time you came to see Buck! How are you? "
“Hi Kid, nice to see you again. I'm pretty good, thanks. As I told Buck I lost my husband in the war, but I survive "
"I'm very sorry Camille." Kid pretended to be surprised.
“Can you stay at the ranch, Kid? I take her home to meet the children, Deborah should arrive any moment "
"Of course, there's no problem, I should just talk to you about something before you go, if you can"
“Definitely. Camille, can you wait for me on the wagon please? I solve the problem with Kid and I’ll arrive "
"Oh yes, of course" and she went to take her place in the gig.
"What is it Kid? Any problems with animals? "
"No, everything is fine here"
"So what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Can't you imagine it?"
"Camille…"
"Exact. Last time you risked losing Deborah for her and you know that just hearing her name puts her in a bad mood again after 10 years. Are you sure what you are doing? "
“I know Kid, but how can I abandon her? Last time my sense of guilt was making me lose the love of my life, I could not bear to live with such a weight again. She lost her husband, she is alone, a few days here she will not be able to cause damage. I know it will be difficult for Deborah, but she knows that I love her and that I would never betray her "
"If you say so ... Just be careful Buck"
“Thanks Kid, I'll do it. See you later"
Buck joined Camille, thinking worriedly about his friend's words. He knew that Kid was right, but he also had to deal with the impossibility of abandoning an old friend. He hoped that everything was fine and that Deborah understood.
"Are you all right, Buck?" Camille asked him.
“Yes, Kid just wanted to inform me of a doubt he had, I hope it's all resolved. Here we go"
Camille looked at him cautiously, she had guessed what the nature of the two friends' speech had been. She had hoped that Buck was still in love with her, so that she could start a happy life again, but sadly he had moved on. She did not know what had really happened after her departure, it had left Buck scared to death by the absence of Deborah and Jimmy who had punched him accusing him of breaking her heart. Billy had insisted on leaving immediately, and Buck hadn't replied to her letters since. She didn't know what to expect. Her disappointment had been great when he had told her that he was finally married.
They arrived in a moment at Buck and Deborah's house. The children were playing in the yard with Lou's children and Buck saw that Deborah's gig was there, so she must be back by now.
He turned to Ulisse asking him: "Honey, where is mom?".
"She went to Aunt Rachel's for a moment to get something, she told us it would arrive immediately"
"Thanks, you are such a little man." Buck stroked his son's head and ruffled his hair. In a moment he was also surrounded by the other three and Calypso said to him hugging him tightly: "How nice that you are at home Dad." Then she turned to Camille: "Who is this lady dad?"
"She is an old friend, sweetheart, her name is Camille. On children, say hello. Emma, Ike, Sam, Jed, meet our friend Camille, come and say hello to her too ”.
Then he turned to Camille and explained: “These 4 are my beloved children, the others are Lou and Kid's children. Lou is now at work; she, Rachel and Deborah take turns and all three look after them together. We have achieved a beautiful balance ". Buck went out of his way to make Camille understand that he was happy now and that he wanted things to stay that way.
Camille nodded but inside her was bitten by a tinge of jealousy.
Suddenly there was a noise coming in the direction of Rachel's house: Deborah had dropped the tub with the laundry to do. When she left Rachel's house, she heard the screams of the children and Buck's voice. She hurried to join them, fearing that something had happened because her husband almost never returned home before dinner time. When she approached and recognized Camille, the shock was enormous and she dropped the tub she was carrying, as if suddenly thrown back 10 years. She felt a pang in her heart and everything that had happened the previous time passed before her eyes. She felt exactly the same pain as when she had decided to leave.
Buck, Camille and the children whirled around.
"Mom, what happened, are you okay?", Nausicaa joined her.
Deborah recovered and hugging her daughter said: "Yes, darling, I'm fine, I just tripped over a stone and I dropped everything, I'm the usual careless" and kissed her daughter.
Then she turned to Buck: “Honey, what a nice surprise, I heard your voice from Rachel's house. But, do I see well? Is it Camille? "
"Yes, it's me, nice to see you again Deborah" the woman said.
Deborah did not return the courtesy but merely said to her: “How long! Why are you here?" and then turned to Buck.
"I came to see you a few days, I got Buck an invitation to dinner as punishment because he didn't recognize me, I hope you don't mind."
Deborah gritted her teeth hard and it took all her self-control not to tremble: “You are welcome. I see you've already met all the children "
“Yes, they are very sweet”, Camille said.
"As Buck's children, it couldn't have been otherwise, don't you think?"
"Yeah", she replied, looking down.
Buck realized on the fly that Kid was right on all fronts, it was going to be a very tough situation to handle. He walked over to Deborah, kissed her and said: “Honey, Camille lost Billy in the war, she wasn't as lucky as we are. She knew we were back here and decided to come and visit us. Is it okay for you if she stops by for dinner and then we'll take her to the hotel? ”. Buck took her hand and squeezed it, as if to let her know she didn't need to worry.
Deborah understood that he was trying to calm her down and replied: "No problem. Come, take a seat ".
Meanwhile, Rachel, who had heard the noise of the fallen tub, had left the house and witnessed the scene. She understood that Deborah and Buck needed to talk to themselves for a moment and went up to the woman saying: “Camille, what a pleasure to see you again, how long! Would you like to come to my house for tea while Deborah prepares for dinner? "
“Oh sure, gladly Rachel. I'm happy to see you too "and she started in the direction of the woman.
Buck took Deborah by the hand and led her into the house, not before saying to the children: "Guys, please, stay around here and play and don't go away, I'll be in for a moment at home with your mother, okay? Ulisse, Jed, I'm counting on you "
"Sure dad, don't worry"
When they were inside, Deborah sat without speaking on the sofa, shocked. Buck approached her gently, sat down next to her and said: "Honey, I know Camille's sudden visit upset you, but what could I do? She arrived without warning, she invited herself to dinner, she told me she was left alone, should I have sent her away without an explanation? Besides, she doesn't know what happened between us. I swear everything will be fine, you know I love you right? "
Deborah looked into his eyes and saw all her husband's love and concern, but said: "I know you are doing good and you don't want to feel guilty anymore, but please don't let her get on with it new among us. If she looked for you, it was because deep down she hoped you were still tied to her and when a woman bets on a married man, the consequences are never positive "
"Honey, she knows I love you, I told her and made her understand in every way and then she's not that kind of woman"
"Before maybe, but now she is alone and I am an obstacle in her way"
"In a few days she will go away and we will continue with our life"
"I really hope so", but Deborah feared that things would turn out differently ...
Chapter Five
Milan, July 2022
They remained a bit close to each other without speaking, then it was Gregg who unlocked the situation: "So what are we going to do now?"
Deborah let out a long sigh and replied: "I don't know. We must first find the courage to get up from here and promise that it really won't happen again, no matter how hard it is, at least for me. "
"I know you have a hard time believing it, but it is for me too. You hit me like a hurricane and I don't know how to get out "
She tried to play down because she was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt towards her husband but also tormented by the idea of ending that dream: "Well, technically, you are the one who overwhelmed me"
He smiled bitterly and said: "Seriously, I respect your decision and I understand it, I don't want to upset your life, but I'm here and if you change your mind I'll wait for you"
She replied: "Gregg, in a few days you will return home, we will share an ocean, you will return to your life and your interests and I will have been an Italian adventure"
“You forget that perhaps there is something that binds us and that we need to discover. I promised not to see you full of lover, but not as a friend or research partner, as long as you want it and don't prefer to forget "
Deborah was blown away by Gregg's attitude, she really still struggled to realize everything that happened, but she knew that she too wanted to keep a bond with him alive and was curious to find out if their destinies were really intertwined, so she replied: " I don't want to forget anything, I will live a long time of this beautiful memory and yes, I want to look for that connection and I want to continue to hear you ".
He kissed her and she let him, realizing it was a tender goodbye kiss. They got out of bed and got dressed, but before leaving the room, he asked her for her mobile number and sent her all the photos and video they had taken. Deborah would have jealously guarded them.
They held each other hand in hand and went downtown, it was already late afternoon and Deborah should have returned home soon. They sat down at a bar to decide what to do and how to get around. Gregg told her that the following days he would go to the archives of the region to see if he could find anything and Deborah said that she would talk about it with her husband and especially with her family to find out if her parents were aware of any connection with America. Deborah told him that she had planned a trip to the places of the pony express some time ago for the following month and that they could continue the research there too.
Before going they looked at the video shot in San Babila and he teased her saying: “Well, if you want to change jobs in the future, just let me know, I could hire you as a singer”.
She patted him on the cheek and told him she had to go back to the station. Gregg accompanied her and when they arrived, they hugged each other tightly, looked into each other's eyes, and Deborah's filled with tears. They didn't say anything for a moment, then he whispered: "Talk to you soon, good return and tanks for the wonderful moments spent together"
“Thanks to you for making me dream. Let's keep up to date with our findings. Ciao ”and got into the train carriage. He stayed on the platform watching her until the train left.
Deborah leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes and let her tears gush, so much so that an elderly gentleman sitting in front of her asked her: "Excuse me if I allow myself, lady, is everything okay?"
“Yes, thank you, I just said goodbye to a friend. It's very kind of you, I'm fine ".
The gentleman got off at the next stop and Deborah picked up the phone to call one of the friends with whom she shared her passion for Gregg: she needed to let off steam with someone who understood her. She'd asked Gregg to swear he wouldn't say anything to anyone, but she had to pour her guilt onto someone who didn't judge her. She called her friend Laura and explained the whole situation to her. The woman tried to console her and advised her to enjoy what she was going to have, after all until that morning he had been only a dream. Deborah thanked her and greeted her. Laura was right, but she couldn't quite understand what she was feeling.
A few minutes passed and her cell phone rang: she looked at the screen and couldn't believe it: it was already him. She answered trying to compose herself.
"Sorry if I call you already, but I have to tell you something: I don't know what you are going to tell your husband, but if I were you I would not omit the part of the video .... it's spoofing on Youtube and has already had several views. I think someone recognized me, filmed us and uploaded the video "
“Oh my God, what a shame. My mother will kill me as reserved as she is! Where should I look? And are you sure they haven't posted anything else? ”Deborah said very worried.
Gregg told her how to find the video and then reassured her: he had already asked the hotel and was reassured that no one had asked any questions or had introduced himself to ask about him. At worst the American media would have talked about this video but then the thing would have died there.
Deborah was not very calm, the sense of guilt increased more and more. She greeted Gregg, put on her earphones and searched for the video on Youtube: Gregg hadn't lied to her ...
She arrived home an hour before the return of her husband and son and decided to take a relaxing bath, while thinking about what to tell about the day. When they arrived, Deborah kissed and hugged her son, asked him what his grandmother had done and then kissed her husband with great embarrassment. She tried to be as natural as possible despite being devoured by guilt. At dinner, she told of the meeting / clash with Gregg and her husband, who was informed of his wife's passion for the singer, teasing her told her: "Are you sure you didn't make up the story of the training course because you knew it was a Milan?".
Deborah used all her strength not to blush and just threw a napkin at her husband. She continued her story and informed him of both the Youtube video and the possibility of a distant link with Gregg. Her husband teased her again about the story of the video: "Apparently I have to deal with a future celebrity"
"Fool", she replied. "As for the other question, what do you think?"
"Honestly, I'm a bit skeptical, but if you want to investigate, go ahead, especially as we have to go to those places"
While they were arguing, the television was on the news and suddenly the child exclaimed: "Mom, it's you!"
Other than American media, apparently Gregg was not so unknown in Italy and in fact the amateur video shot in Milan was shown with a thousand conjectures about who was the mysterious woman who sang with the American celebrity.
In the following days, Deborah had to face questions from relatives and friends about the video and after calming her mother's fury, she found the right moment to ask her and her father about a connection with America.
At first they were both stunned by their daughter's story, but then the mother remembered that Deborah's grandmother had sometimes mentioned an old American uncle. Deborah asked her if she had kept anything useful and her mother told her she should look in her attic where all of her grandmother's old things were stacked.
Deborah, as soon as she had this information, sent a message to Gregg that in those days, as they had established, he had been searching the region and he too had found information. Neither, as promised, had mentioned their afternoon together anymore, but they had limited themselves to exchanging their findings and comments on the video that continued to circulate.
Somehow, a reporter had managed to trace her name and wanted to interview her. She did not want to face this thing alone, she talked about it with her husband who innocently advised her to do the interview with Gregg. She was uncertain what to do: she wanted to see him again, but she didn't know what reaction she would have and she was afraid that the reporter would notice something.
She took courage and called Gregg, who was delighted to hear her: “Ciao, come stai? Che bello sentirti!". He had started learning a little Italian and so he made an effort to use it with her.
“Anche per me è bello. Scusa se ti disturbo, ma devo chiederti un favore”.
“Sorry, can you speak English? I am not able to understand you yet “, he asked kindly. His voice penetrated her bowels and she felt herself dying.
“Oh yes, sorry. I wanted to ask you a favor. A newspaper would like to interview me about the video on Youtube. Would you like to do the interview with me? I would feel safer if you were there too, you know how to deal with reporters "
"Sure, don't worry, I'll be there, let me know where and when. I am happy to be able to see you again. We could also take the opportunity to discuss our findings "
"Thanks Gregg and I'm happy to see you again"
Deborah communicated to Gregg when the interview would be held and the two decided to meet first to agree on what to say in case they were asked too personal questions.
The reporter wanted to see them in the lobby of Gregg's hotel and it was very difficult for Deborah to go there: she still had that afternoon together in her mind and she struggled not to feel guilty but also not to regret the fact that it would never happen again.
Mr. Ardenghi, the journalist, greeted them and then turned to Deborah: "So madam, can you tell me about your meeting with Gregg?"
Deborah told exactly how things had gone, at least about that she shouldn't have been lying. Gregg had a simultaneous translator who translated everything that was said to him and sometimes tried to intervene in the most natural way possible. He too was very tense because he had always tried to keep his private life out of the spotlight and he feared that everything would now come out and that it could harm Deborah and above all he feared that his stay in Milan would be influenced by the fact that he had been recognized.
As they expected, Mr. Ardenghi suddenly asked Deborah: "So Deborah, I can call her that, right?"
"Sure" she replied.
"A question that many Gregg fans are asking: is there something between you two?"
"Absolutely not. As I have already told you, we collided by chance and everything happened by chance, absurd, it is true, but completely by chance. We had never seen each other before and we don't have any kind of relationship "
Deborah was very tense as she answered this question, but using these words, she had finally told the truth: they didn't know each other before and above all they were not in a relationship. Gregg confirmed her words and the reporter pretended to believe the claims.
"Well, dispelled this doubt, what are your intentions for the future?"
Deborah replied: "Surely to continue with our lives, I don't think there is anything else to do"
"What about you Gregg?"
"The same".
"So your singing association won't last?"
"There was no singing association, we met some street artists (San Babila is full of them) and Gregg had this bizarre idea, that's all"
"Despite the success of the video on Youtube?"
"Exactly"
"Gregg, no plans at all?"
"For now, no, in the future you can never tell"
Deborah looked at him questioningly but said nothing more.
Mr. Ardenghi asked Deborah a few more questions about her life and then took his leave.
Deborah and Gregg left the hotel and went to a park to talk quietly.
“Gregg, what did you mean by << now no, in the future you can never say >> when the reporter asked you the question about our musical future?”, Deborah asked still intrigued by this statement.
"Mr. Ardenghi actually mentioned something I was thinking about: why don't we work together in the music field? You're good "
"Are you serious? First of all I already have a job and I am not a professional singer, second, and not least, we live almost on opposite poles of the world, if you had forgotten. "
"I have not forgotten, but given that according to our plans for the research of our ancestors we will have to keep in touch often, I do not see why we could not even do something together. I'll be honest, Deborah, I don't want to lose you and if we can't be together, at least I want to do something that binds me to you in some way "
“Oh Gregg, you make me dizzy, too many things all at once. I would say to start working with our research and then we'll see. I don't want to completely upset my life, I am not able to. I also don’t want to lose you and I still want to have a bond with you, even if I do not hide from you that it is difficult, but we do one thing at a time, please. "
"Okay, but I won't give up thinking about something that could involve you trying to upset your life as little as possible, okay?"
"Okay"
Deborah told Gregg that the next week she would search through the paperwork in her mother's attic to see if she could find any clues.
Gregg, for his part, told her that he had discovered in the region that in fact, at the beginning of the last century, an American family with Italian ancestry in the female line had lived for a period in Italy, but when the war broke out, They were returned to America. He had recovered the names and once back in America he would have tried to do some research in Nebraska, where it seems that everything had begun.
Deborah listened with interest and promised Gregg that in a few days she would update him on her research.
Gregg offered to take her to the station and Deborah agreed.
When they arrived, before she got on the train they hugged and kissed each other on the cheek, like two good friends, but that kiss burned for both of them. They looked into each other's eyes and that look was worth a thousand words, but they both knew that things had to go this way by now.
Deborah let out a long sigh and replied: "I don't know. We must first find the courage to get up from here and promise that it really won't happen again, no matter how hard it is, at least for me. "
"I know you have a hard time believing it, but it is for me too. You hit me like a hurricane and I don't know how to get out "
She tried to play down because she was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt towards her husband but also tormented by the idea of ending that dream: "Well, technically, you are the one who overwhelmed me"
He smiled bitterly and said: "Seriously, I respect your decision and I understand it, I don't want to upset your life, but I'm here and if you change your mind I'll wait for you"
She replied: "Gregg, in a few days you will return home, we will share an ocean, you will return to your life and your interests and I will have been an Italian adventure"
“You forget that perhaps there is something that binds us and that we need to discover. I promised not to see you full of lover, but not as a friend or research partner, as long as you want it and don't prefer to forget "
Deborah was blown away by Gregg's attitude, she really still struggled to realize everything that happened, but she knew that she too wanted to keep a bond with him alive and was curious to find out if their destinies were really intertwined, so she replied: " I don't want to forget anything, I will live a long time of this beautiful memory and yes, I want to look for that connection and I want to continue to hear you ".
He kissed her and she let him, realizing it was a tender goodbye kiss. They got out of bed and got dressed, but before leaving the room, he asked her for her mobile number and sent her all the photos and video they had taken. Deborah would have jealously guarded them.
They held each other hand in hand and went downtown, it was already late afternoon and Deborah should have returned home soon. They sat down at a bar to decide what to do and how to get around. Gregg told her that the following days he would go to the archives of the region to see if he could find anything and Deborah said that she would talk about it with her husband and especially with her family to find out if her parents were aware of any connection with America. Deborah told him that she had planned a trip to the places of the pony express some time ago for the following month and that they could continue the research there too.
Before going they looked at the video shot in San Babila and he teased her saying: “Well, if you want to change jobs in the future, just let me know, I could hire you as a singer”.
She patted him on the cheek and told him she had to go back to the station. Gregg accompanied her and when they arrived, they hugged each other tightly, looked into each other's eyes, and Deborah's filled with tears. They didn't say anything for a moment, then he whispered: "Talk to you soon, good return and tanks for the wonderful moments spent together"
“Thanks to you for making me dream. Let's keep up to date with our findings. Ciao ”and got into the train carriage. He stayed on the platform watching her until the train left.
Deborah leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes and let her tears gush, so much so that an elderly gentleman sitting in front of her asked her: "Excuse me if I allow myself, lady, is everything okay?"
“Yes, thank you, I just said goodbye to a friend. It's very kind of you, I'm fine ".
The gentleman got off at the next stop and Deborah picked up the phone to call one of the friends with whom she shared her passion for Gregg: she needed to let off steam with someone who understood her. She'd asked Gregg to swear he wouldn't say anything to anyone, but she had to pour her guilt onto someone who didn't judge her. She called her friend Laura and explained the whole situation to her. The woman tried to console her and advised her to enjoy what she was going to have, after all until that morning he had been only a dream. Deborah thanked her and greeted her. Laura was right, but she couldn't quite understand what she was feeling.
A few minutes passed and her cell phone rang: she looked at the screen and couldn't believe it: it was already him. She answered trying to compose herself.
"Sorry if I call you already, but I have to tell you something: I don't know what you are going to tell your husband, but if I were you I would not omit the part of the video .... it's spoofing on Youtube and has already had several views. I think someone recognized me, filmed us and uploaded the video "
“Oh my God, what a shame. My mother will kill me as reserved as she is! Where should I look? And are you sure they haven't posted anything else? ”Deborah said very worried.
Gregg told her how to find the video and then reassured her: he had already asked the hotel and was reassured that no one had asked any questions or had introduced himself to ask about him. At worst the American media would have talked about this video but then the thing would have died there.
Deborah was not very calm, the sense of guilt increased more and more. She greeted Gregg, put on her earphones and searched for the video on Youtube: Gregg hadn't lied to her ...
She arrived home an hour before the return of her husband and son and decided to take a relaxing bath, while thinking about what to tell about the day. When they arrived, Deborah kissed and hugged her son, asked him what his grandmother had done and then kissed her husband with great embarrassment. She tried to be as natural as possible despite being devoured by guilt. At dinner, she told of the meeting / clash with Gregg and her husband, who was informed of his wife's passion for the singer, teasing her told her: "Are you sure you didn't make up the story of the training course because you knew it was a Milan?".
Deborah used all her strength not to blush and just threw a napkin at her husband. She continued her story and informed him of both the Youtube video and the possibility of a distant link with Gregg. Her husband teased her again about the story of the video: "Apparently I have to deal with a future celebrity"
"Fool", she replied. "As for the other question, what do you think?"
"Honestly, I'm a bit skeptical, but if you want to investigate, go ahead, especially as we have to go to those places"
While they were arguing, the television was on the news and suddenly the child exclaimed: "Mom, it's you!"
Other than American media, apparently Gregg was not so unknown in Italy and in fact the amateur video shot in Milan was shown with a thousand conjectures about who was the mysterious woman who sang with the American celebrity.
In the following days, Deborah had to face questions from relatives and friends about the video and after calming her mother's fury, she found the right moment to ask her and her father about a connection with America.
At first they were both stunned by their daughter's story, but then the mother remembered that Deborah's grandmother had sometimes mentioned an old American uncle. Deborah asked her if she had kept anything useful and her mother told her she should look in her attic where all of her grandmother's old things were stacked.
Deborah, as soon as she had this information, sent a message to Gregg that in those days, as they had established, he had been searching the region and he too had found information. Neither, as promised, had mentioned their afternoon together anymore, but they had limited themselves to exchanging their findings and comments on the video that continued to circulate.
Somehow, a reporter had managed to trace her name and wanted to interview her. She did not want to face this thing alone, she talked about it with her husband who innocently advised her to do the interview with Gregg. She was uncertain what to do: she wanted to see him again, but she didn't know what reaction she would have and she was afraid that the reporter would notice something.
She took courage and called Gregg, who was delighted to hear her: “Ciao, come stai? Che bello sentirti!". He had started learning a little Italian and so he made an effort to use it with her.
“Anche per me è bello. Scusa se ti disturbo, ma devo chiederti un favore”.
“Sorry, can you speak English? I am not able to understand you yet “, he asked kindly. His voice penetrated her bowels and she felt herself dying.
“Oh yes, sorry. I wanted to ask you a favor. A newspaper would like to interview me about the video on Youtube. Would you like to do the interview with me? I would feel safer if you were there too, you know how to deal with reporters "
"Sure, don't worry, I'll be there, let me know where and when. I am happy to be able to see you again. We could also take the opportunity to discuss our findings "
"Thanks Gregg and I'm happy to see you again"
Deborah communicated to Gregg when the interview would be held and the two decided to meet first to agree on what to say in case they were asked too personal questions.
The reporter wanted to see them in the lobby of Gregg's hotel and it was very difficult for Deborah to go there: she still had that afternoon together in her mind and she struggled not to feel guilty but also not to regret the fact that it would never happen again.
Mr. Ardenghi, the journalist, greeted them and then turned to Deborah: "So madam, can you tell me about your meeting with Gregg?"
Deborah told exactly how things had gone, at least about that she shouldn't have been lying. Gregg had a simultaneous translator who translated everything that was said to him and sometimes tried to intervene in the most natural way possible. He too was very tense because he had always tried to keep his private life out of the spotlight and he feared that everything would now come out and that it could harm Deborah and above all he feared that his stay in Milan would be influenced by the fact that he had been recognized.
As they expected, Mr. Ardenghi suddenly asked Deborah: "So Deborah, I can call her that, right?"
"Sure" she replied.
"A question that many Gregg fans are asking: is there something between you two?"
"Absolutely not. As I have already told you, we collided by chance and everything happened by chance, absurd, it is true, but completely by chance. We had never seen each other before and we don't have any kind of relationship "
Deborah was very tense as she answered this question, but using these words, she had finally told the truth: they didn't know each other before and above all they were not in a relationship. Gregg confirmed her words and the reporter pretended to believe the claims.
"Well, dispelled this doubt, what are your intentions for the future?"
Deborah replied: "Surely to continue with our lives, I don't think there is anything else to do"
"What about you Gregg?"
"The same".
"So your singing association won't last?"
"There was no singing association, we met some street artists (San Babila is full of them) and Gregg had this bizarre idea, that's all"
"Despite the success of the video on Youtube?"
"Exactly"
"Gregg, no plans at all?"
"For now, no, in the future you can never tell"
Deborah looked at him questioningly but said nothing more.
Mr. Ardenghi asked Deborah a few more questions about her life and then took his leave.
Deborah and Gregg left the hotel and went to a park to talk quietly.
“Gregg, what did you mean by << now no, in the future you can never say >> when the reporter asked you the question about our musical future?”, Deborah asked still intrigued by this statement.
"Mr. Ardenghi actually mentioned something I was thinking about: why don't we work together in the music field? You're good "
"Are you serious? First of all I already have a job and I am not a professional singer, second, and not least, we live almost on opposite poles of the world, if you had forgotten. "
"I have not forgotten, but given that according to our plans for the research of our ancestors we will have to keep in touch often, I do not see why we could not even do something together. I'll be honest, Deborah, I don't want to lose you and if we can't be together, at least I want to do something that binds me to you in some way "
“Oh Gregg, you make me dizzy, too many things all at once. I would say to start working with our research and then we'll see. I don't want to completely upset my life, I am not able to. I also don’t want to lose you and I still want to have a bond with you, even if I do not hide from you that it is difficult, but we do one thing at a time, please. "
"Okay, but I won't give up thinking about something that could involve you trying to upset your life as little as possible, okay?"
"Okay"
Deborah told Gregg that the next week she would search through the paperwork in her mother's attic to see if she could find any clues.
Gregg, for his part, told her that he had discovered in the region that in fact, at the beginning of the last century, an American family with Italian ancestry in the female line had lived for a period in Italy, but when the war broke out, They were returned to America. He had recovered the names and once back in America he would have tried to do some research in Nebraska, where it seems that everything had begun.
Deborah listened with interest and promised Gregg that in a few days she would update him on her research.
Gregg offered to take her to the station and Deborah agreed.
When they arrived, before she got on the train they hugged and kissed each other on the cheek, like two good friends, but that kiss burned for both of them. They looked into each other's eyes and that look was worth a thousand words, but they both knew that things had to go this way by now.
Chapter Six
Sweetwater, June 1871
Buck hugged Deborah to make her feel all his love and to reassure her again, but she said to him: “Buck, I don't know if I can. If it's just a dinner that's ok, but if she were to stay here for a while or worse forever, I would always live in anxiety, not because I don't trust you, I know you love me, but I feel insecure, I don't want to feel like a fallback "
"A fallback? You know I wouldn't have built a life with you if I hadn't really loved you! That day, in our abandoned house, I definitively understood that you were the woman of my life and I swear to you that I would not change my past and my future with you. You complete me, you improve me, you love me tenderly and immensely. I would never give up on all this "
“I know Buck, sorry, you know I've always been a fragile woman from that point of view. You are so special that sometimes I think I don't deserve you "
Buck hugged her again and kissed her. He decided to also invite Rachel, Teaspoon, Lou, Kid and the children to dinner to avoid tension and Deborah agreed. Buck went to tell it Rachel and Camille offered to help Deborah prepare. He walked her into the house and on the way she asked him: “Are you alright Buck? I do not want to create problems"
“Don't worry Camille, you are welcome, everything is fine. Tonight we will remember the old days a little! "
Camille came in and Buck said to Deborah: “I'm going back to the ranch to help Kid and tell him we're expecting them for dinner. See you later honey ”and tenderly kissed his wife.
Deborah was grateful and greeted him with a smile.
When he was gone, Camille said to Deborah: “Are you sure my presence doesn't bother you? You seemed a little upset "
Deborah, although Buck had told her that Camille had no plans for him, knew that if she had been looking for him it was to try and get him back now that she was left alone and did not want to show signs of weakness that she could take advantage of. Therefore he replied: “I want to be honest with you, Camille. When you last came here, I left Buck because I thought he was still in love with you. I wanted and have always wanted a man who was completely devoted to me, I never accepted half measures. I practically left my ex boyfriend on the altar for this. If I decided to go back with him it is because I felt that there was a special bond between us, which still exists after 10 years and has not faded. It was he who begged me to marry him when I packed up and left. I saw all the love he felt for me and I understood that I was not a makeshift. Seeing you today, I went back 10 years, but only for a moment because you caught me off guard. Ours is a solid marriage, gone through many difficult trials, Buck also risked dying before the war and we were separated for a long time because of that conflict, but nothing has ever changed between us. So yes, Camille, everything is fine, stay as long as you want, there is no problem "
Deborah lied about this, but she didn't want to give that woman points.
Camille replied: "I'm sorry if my presence caused problems then, it won't happen again"
“Actually the problem was mine alone, Buck never had doubts, but I came out of two difficult stories and I was afraid. Now it can no longer happen ”.
She turned, took the vegetables, handed them to her and said: "And now let's do it: when they get back from the ranch Kid and Buck are very hungry!"
The two women began to prepare the vegetables for the stew. There was an awkward silence between them and Deborah tried to put an end to it by asking Camille a few questions.
"If it doesn't hurt too much, would you like to tell me what happened after you and Billy left and got married?"
"Sure. We were happy and our life was beautiful. I took care of the house and him and Billy tried to be with me for as long as he could. After a while we tried to have children but they didn't arrive. I suffered a lot, I wanted a large family, but things went differently. Now I don't know if it was good or bad. When Billy left for the war I wanted to have children who would remind me of him day after day, but then he died in an armed confrontation and my life hasn't been easy since then. I had to support myself, I sewed, cleaned, did all kinds of respectable jobs and with children I don't know how I would have done it. "
"I'm really sorry Camille"
"Thank you. When the war was over I came back here, I don't hide from you that I tried to track down Buck, he was the only person I knew who was left to me. After the wedding I never heard from him, he never replied to my letters and I didn't know what to think "
“I'm sorry, I think it was my fault. I didn't know you wrote him, really "
“Don't worry, I understand you and thank you for telling me honestly. When I got here they told me that the pony express no longer existed, that Noah was dead and that there was no one left, but they couldn't tell me more. I went around several places and then I came across Rock Creek. One day I went to the marshall to report a small theft I had suffered and he said that the man was an old acquaintance that the previous deputy, Mr. Cross, had arrested several times. It seemed like a sign from heaven to hear of Buck. I inquired but they only told me that he had left for Sweetwater and so I came here "
“Hoping to find him still available”. Deborah had decided to play the cards in the open, she no longer wanted misunderstandings.
"Maybe yes". Camille also wanted to be honest. “Maybe I was hoping deep in my heart that he didn't have a family. "
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure"
“Have you ever really loved him? I mean, I know you were promised, but did you love him as he loved you? "
"I think not and I understood it when I returned to live among my people. I missed him as a friend and as a support, not as the man in my life "
“And why did you let the guilt wear him down for so long? Couldn't you have written to him what you told him after he saved you? He believed for years that if they didn't take you away and if he had been there that day you would have built a family together "
"And it probably would have gone like this because it was decided and I would have learned to love him"
“Camille didn't deserve it, sorry for telling you but you were cruel. If he had known the truth he would have suffered less "
“I know, maybe I was being selfish and I wanted to somehow keep him tied to me. So did he tell you everything about that day in the camp and about the day he saved me with Penna Bianca? "
“Yes, we don’t hide anything, even the things that can hurt or hurt us. We know that if we talk about it we can overcome them together. Silences kill a relationship "
"I envy you, you know?"
"I was lucky"
"Already. What about your life? How have you spent these years, if you want to tell me? "
“We got married shortly after your departure in June. We too would have wanted children right away but at first they seemed not to arrive. Then we decided to leave everything to chance and we had Ulysses, Nausicaa, Calypso and Achilles after the war. We would have wanted more but there are no more. Obviously we are happy like this. Buck, as I told you before, once risked dying from an Indian ambush, but thanks to his brother Red Bear he managed to survive. After the closure of the pony express he worked as a deputy marshall but then he had to enlist too, for the North, and we moved to Rock Creek where I could have the support of Rachel and Teaspoon who had settled there. Buck left but was then seriously injured in the leg and returned. Being of Indian origin, he was not obliged to return to the front and decided not to. We stayed in Rock Creek until last year and he worked as a deputy marshall there as well. We've always wanted to come back here and build our own ranch, so when we learned that Lou and Kid, who had moved to Virginia, also wanted to come back, we decided to make a new life here together and Rachel and Teaspoon joined us too. That's all"
"I'm really happy for you"
"Thank you"
Meanwhile they had finished preparing vegetables and stew. Suddenly, Ulysses and Jed entered the house like two furies: "Mom, Grandpa Teaspoon is back, can we go with him to get Dad?"
Teaspoon entered at that moment and was amazed to see Camille.
“Camille, what a nice surprise” but immediately he looked at Deborah who smiled to calm him down.
The two said goodbye and Deborah informed him that in the evening there would be a dinner with her and Buck and that Rachel was already preparing the dessert.
Teaspoon was delighted and then told her he was going to take the two young men and Ike to Kid and Buck if she agreed.
"Sure Teaspoon, but don't be late, please"
"At your orders madam"
Deborah and Camille set the table and then Deborah said to her: "Take a seat where you want and make yourself at home, I go up to prepare a bath and some clean clothes for Buck, I'll be right"
"Thank you"
While in their bedroom, Deborah after preparing the tub water, some clean clothes and towels, tried to search through Buck's things because she was intrigued that Camille had said that she had sent her husband some letters to which he had never answered. She searched a bit at random, until she found the bundle of letters intact at the bottom of a trunk. Buck had never opened them. She felt terribly guilty for having unwittingly denied him to maintain relations with Camille and promised to speak to him that same evening. But she understood why he had done it and realized at that moment that she was a fool: he loved her so much that he cut off relations with a person who in his youth had been very important to him, one of the few positive notes in his life. .
When she went downstairs, as she went to the kitchen to heat the water for the tub, she found Camille in the living room looking at the portrait that an artist had made for them in New York during their honeymoon and that Deborah had carefully preserved and relocated in its old place. Deborah said nothing but Camille, with great melancholy, said to her: "You are really a beautiful couple".
Deborah just said thank you. The cheerful voices of the children announced the return of Teaspoon, Buck and Kid and in fact Buck entered immediately afterwards with Achilles in his arms and the girls stuck to his legs. "Guys, let your dad breathe, he's tired"
"Don't worry, you know I love it when they attack me like this on my return" and she smiled. Then he placed the gun and knife on the top shelf so the children couldn't pick them up, attached the hat to the hook and went to kiss Deborah.
"Are you okay here?", He asked a little anxiously.
“Yes honey, we made dinner and had a chat. I have already prepared a hot bath and clean clothes for you, I immediately go up to bring you water. Children, would you like to stay here a moment with Camille? "
"Yeeeeeeeee" they said in chorus and Camille smiled.
Deborah went up with Buck and poured him hot water into the tub. Buck took her by the waist, drew her to him and said: "Too bad we can't take a bath together"
"Thanks Buck"
"About what?"
"To love me so much"
"Oh it's a pleasure ... and tonight we will recover this moment, children permitting ..." and he kissed her passionately.
"I can't wait", she replied, "but now I have to go down unfortunately"
Deborah came down the stairs smiling and found Camille playing with the children. She joined them for a moment but then began to put something on the table for dinner. Soon Buck got out and Deborah said: "I'll go up to fix the bathroom, the others will be here shortly"
"I've already done it, don't worry"
"You are a treasure, thank you"
"But imagine, rather, tell me what to do to help you"
“Sit quietly and chat with Camille and the children. Get some rest, I'll do it here "
Buck smiled at her and sat down on the sofa, attacked by the children who wanted to play with him.
They arrived shortly after Rachel and Teaspoon. The latter went into the living room with Buck, Camille and the children, while Rachel went to bring the cake to the kitchen.
"How are you Deborah?"
“Well Rachel, better than I thought. Buck reassured me and I was honest with her, I think I have nothing to fear "
"Buck adores you and would do nothing to crack your relationship, don't worry"
"I know, he's a wonderful man"
Meanwhile Buck came in with a bottle of wine that Lou and Kid had just brought: “Hey you two, what are you talking about? I heard my name "
Deborah took him by the arm and replied: "I was just telling Rachel that you are a wonderful man, but you know that, don't you?" and kissed him.
"Yes, but tell me again, it's nice to hear it", he joked.
She kissed him again.
"I'll leave you to your chat, I'll go over there"
Meanwhile, Lou came into the kitchen who hugged Deborah and asked her: "Are you okay?"
"Yes Lou, for now yes, thank you"
They said no more because they saw Camille arrive: "Can I help you?"
“Absolutely not, you all go there, you are my guests and you have to sit down. I'll be right with the stew "
The women obeyed and joined the others. As they sat down at the table, Deborah arrived with the stew.
Camille, after tasting a bite, said: "It's really good, congratulations"
Buck jokingly said to her: "Are you serious or are you just saying it out of courtesy?"
Deborah, catching the irony, gave him a little nudge on the back of the head and said: "Ok, ok, I'm not going to be as good as Rachel, but I don't think I starved you in ten years, and besides, it's not a mystery that I don't really like cooking, I have other qualities "
"Oh, I know, I know, qualities that I really appreciate ..." and he patted himself on the shoulder again.
Everyone laughed and began to eat. Lou and Teaspoon asked Camille to tell her story and then Lou and Kid told theirs. When the stew was finished, Deborah got up to clear the table and Buck got up with her.
"Honey, sit down, I'll do it, it's not necessary"
"I do it with pleasure"
"You're a perfect husband, Buck", Camille noted.
Deborah marked the territory: “Wonderful, even my Italian friends, when they came to see me, could hardly believe that Buck always helps me with chores, something unthinkable for their husbands. Buck is so spontaneous and natural and I love him very much for it "
“And you can see it, you are a beautiful couple”, Camille said wistfully
“Well, it's time for some dessert, right? Let's make our palate with Rachel's pie”.
Buck took a new pat on the back, followed by a sweet kiss.
The two went into the kitchen and immediately returned with the cake.
Chatting had gotten a little late and Deborah told the kids to get ready for bed but they protested, so Rachel proposed: "Look guys, if your parents agree, how about sleeping at my house and at grandpa tonight? "
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" they exclaimed in chorus.
"But Rachel, it's not necessary and then there's school tomorrow"
“I promise to get them to go to bed at a decent time. Then?"
"All right"
"Hurray!"
"What about us Aunt Rachel?" asked the children of Lou and Kid
"Of course you too, if mom and dad agree"
"Could we say no?" Lou exclaimed.
"Well, decided then, let's go"
"Thanks Rachel", Deborah said to her friend, having realized that she wanted to leave her and Buck alone that night.
Rachel squeezed her arm in agreement.
“I think it's time for me to go too, too many news and emotions today, I need to rest” Camille said.
“Miss, will you let me take you back to the hotel?”, Teaspoon asked, and both Deborah and Buck heaved a sigh of relief.
“Oh sure, if it's not a nuisance”, she replied.
"No trouble, there is nothing better for an old ex-marshall like me than to escort a sweet and beautiful girl", said Teaspoon.
Everyone said goodbye and when they closed the door, Deborah looked at Buck and breathed a sigh of relief.
Buck anticipated: "We have to thank Teaspoon, he took us out of a really awkward situation"
"Do you think so too?"
“Well, yes, it wouldn't have been easy if I had brought her back. I think I would have ended up in a very uncomfortable situation "
"Do you know that this confrontation will have to happen sooner or later?"
“Better then, when we are all calmer. Come on, let's not waste the opportunity that Rachel gave us "
"She was a treasure, she understood that we needed to be alone for a while. Let me fix the kitchen and I'll go up "
Buck encircled her waist with his strong arms, kissed her greedily and told her: "We'll do it first ..."
She smiled and they went together to tidy up the kitchen.
“Did you really tell Camille that I practically don't know how to cook? I can't believe it ”, she said jokingly.
"Come on, it was a joke to ease the tension"
“I know, that's why you don't have a black eye!”, She said teasing him.
When they had finished tidying up the kitchen, Buck took her hand and led her upstairs. They entered their room and he took her by the waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her greedily and then said: "Finally ...". He began to unbutton her dress and she did the same with his shirt. She ran her hands over his strong chest, caressing him and began to move her kisses from his mouth, to his neck and along his chest, as she began to fumble with his pants. He interrupted her by taking off her dress and underwear and then he let himself be touched and pampered by her who pushed him onto the bed and lowered his pants, took off his boots and then mounted him astride. He put his hands on her hips and guided her towards him. She ran her hands through his black hair, moving at his own pace, until she was exhausted. She then lay down next to him and they looked into each other's eyes without saying anything for a moment, then he took her face in his hands and said: "You must never doubt the love I feel for you, without you I would miss the air, I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I got lost ”.
“You will never lose me, I have no intention of going anywhere, much less letting you go. I know you love me and today I had yet another proof of this, not that I needed it. I spoke very frankly with Camille and she did the same too. She didn’t deny that she hoped you were still free and told me that she didn’t know anything about us because she sent you letters that have never been answered. I found those letters, Buck. I'm sorry, I didn't have the right to deprive you of the only link with the past that you had left. You should have told me, we would have talked about it and I would have encouraged you to read them. I feel terribly guilty "
“You don't have to feel guilty. It was my choice, I had to decide whether to keep relations with an old friend by making my wife suffer or cut with the past and dedicate myself to my new wonderful life: I had no doubts about what to do "
"Thank you, I don't deserve to have you as a husband"
"Don't talk nonsense, I am what I am thanks to you"
"Why don't you take the time to read them?"
“I don't feel the need, maybe I will or maybe not, it's not my priority. Now my priority is to keep my wife up all night making love "and he got on top of her and took her again.
The next morning they were awakened by the screams of the children on their way home. They had fallen asleep exhausted in each other's arms and had not woken up in time. They quickly put on their clothes, then Buck said with a sly laugh: “Since it was my fault that I exhausted you, you stay here and get ready, I'll go down to the kids and make breakfast. They will have already eaten. Let's try not to be late for work! " and kissed her.
“Thank you love, you are my salvation”.
In the afternoon, Deborah and Lou decided to go into town to visit Camille, so as not to make her feel alone. They accompanied her to do some shopping and since the next day would be Saturday, Lou decided to invite her to a picnic. Camille accepted with joy.
When Buck returned in the evening, Deborah informed him of the picnic and said: "Maybe it could be the right occasion to talk to Camille"
"You're right, it would certainly be easier."
"The sooner you resolve any doubts, the better it will be for everyone, but especially for her, so she can close with the past and rebuild a life" Buck nodded.
The next day, as decided, they all went to the river for a picnic. They had a great time and the day was very relaxing. Buck, while the girls were making plans for the kids for the upcoming summer vacation and the kids were busy playing with Teaspoon and Kid, took the opportunity to talk to Camille.
"Would you like to take a walk or would you rather be bored hearing our plans for the children?"
"I am happy to come", Camille replied.
Deborah saw them out of the corner of her eye and in her heart she prayed that everything was fine.
After walking for a while in silence, Buck asked Camille: "So, what are your plans for the future?"
"Are you in a hurry to send me away?"
"No", Buck replied a little embarrassed, "I just wanted to know if you already had something in mind"
Camille decided to be honest, she owed it to him, to Deborah and also to herself.
“You know Buck, when I decided to come looking for you I selfishly hoped that you didn't build a family and that we could live our future together. Now I know that I have been naive, I have not come to terms with the time that has passed and with the changing feelings "
"Camille, I will always love you, you were my childhood companion and I carried you in my heart for many years, but as you told me ten years ago, we were destined for different people and I found my destiny . I fell in love with Deborah the first time I saw her, I waited in silence for a whole year because she was with my friend and when she told me she fell in love with me I couldn't believe it, it seemed like a miracle. I almost lost her once because of my feelings of guilt towards you and twice because of wounds received in an ambush and in the war, but our love has survived it all. I'm sorry to tell you these things and disappoint you, but that's the way it was meant to be. I am immensely sorry that you lost Billy, but he was your destiny, not me ”.
Her eyes had filled with tears as he spoke, but she knew Buck was right: “You don't have to feel sorry for me, I'm happy if you are too. But can I ask you why you never replied to my letters? ". Deborah had told her it but she wanted to hear it from him.
Buck hugged her and explained his reasons and she understood.
“You really are a special man, too bad you didn't understand in time. I think I'll leave in a couple of days, maybe I'll move to San Francisco and try to rebuild a new life "
"I hope you can find your way Camille"
"I hope so too. If I write to you this time will you answer me? "
"Yes, now yes, everything has been clarified" and he hugged her.
"We better come back now, I don't want to create any more misunderstandings", she said.
"There won't be any, I'm sure."
The two set off and went back to the others. Buck joined the children to play their games and Camille sat alone on the blanket until the other women called her to eat some cookies with them.
When it got late, they prepared to return, but before setting off, Camille felt the need to greet everyone; she had decided to leave immediately on Monday.
“I would like to thank everyone for your hospitality, you have been wonderful to me. On Monday I will leave for San Francisco to start a new life, but I hope to keep in touch with you sometime, and if you happen to hear from Jimmy and Cody, say hello to them "
“Good luck Camille”, Deborah told her and the others joined in her wish.
At home, after dinner, when the children were asleep, Buck called Deborah next to him on the sofa and said: "I want to tell you about today"
She sat next to him, leaned her head against his chest and replied: "You don't need to honey"
"I want to do it, I want to share everything with you"
She kissed him tenderly and then listened to her husband's story and understood Camille's decision.
"I love you Buck"
"I know, I love you too. If you come up I can prove it ... "
"I can not wait…"
He picked her up and carried her to their bedroom where they enjoyed their love.
On Monday morning, as scheduled, everyone gathered in town to say goodbye to Camille.
"A fallback? You know I wouldn't have built a life with you if I hadn't really loved you! That day, in our abandoned house, I definitively understood that you were the woman of my life and I swear to you that I would not change my past and my future with you. You complete me, you improve me, you love me tenderly and immensely. I would never give up on all this "
“I know Buck, sorry, you know I've always been a fragile woman from that point of view. You are so special that sometimes I think I don't deserve you "
Buck hugged her again and kissed her. He decided to also invite Rachel, Teaspoon, Lou, Kid and the children to dinner to avoid tension and Deborah agreed. Buck went to tell it Rachel and Camille offered to help Deborah prepare. He walked her into the house and on the way she asked him: “Are you alright Buck? I do not want to create problems"
“Don't worry Camille, you are welcome, everything is fine. Tonight we will remember the old days a little! "
Camille came in and Buck said to Deborah: “I'm going back to the ranch to help Kid and tell him we're expecting them for dinner. See you later honey ”and tenderly kissed his wife.
Deborah was grateful and greeted him with a smile.
When he was gone, Camille said to Deborah: “Are you sure my presence doesn't bother you? You seemed a little upset "
Deborah, although Buck had told her that Camille had no plans for him, knew that if she had been looking for him it was to try and get him back now that she was left alone and did not want to show signs of weakness that she could take advantage of. Therefore he replied: “I want to be honest with you, Camille. When you last came here, I left Buck because I thought he was still in love with you. I wanted and have always wanted a man who was completely devoted to me, I never accepted half measures. I practically left my ex boyfriend on the altar for this. If I decided to go back with him it is because I felt that there was a special bond between us, which still exists after 10 years and has not faded. It was he who begged me to marry him when I packed up and left. I saw all the love he felt for me and I understood that I was not a makeshift. Seeing you today, I went back 10 years, but only for a moment because you caught me off guard. Ours is a solid marriage, gone through many difficult trials, Buck also risked dying before the war and we were separated for a long time because of that conflict, but nothing has ever changed between us. So yes, Camille, everything is fine, stay as long as you want, there is no problem "
Deborah lied about this, but she didn't want to give that woman points.
Camille replied: "I'm sorry if my presence caused problems then, it won't happen again"
“Actually the problem was mine alone, Buck never had doubts, but I came out of two difficult stories and I was afraid. Now it can no longer happen ”.
She turned, took the vegetables, handed them to her and said: "And now let's do it: when they get back from the ranch Kid and Buck are very hungry!"
The two women began to prepare the vegetables for the stew. There was an awkward silence between them and Deborah tried to put an end to it by asking Camille a few questions.
"If it doesn't hurt too much, would you like to tell me what happened after you and Billy left and got married?"
"Sure. We were happy and our life was beautiful. I took care of the house and him and Billy tried to be with me for as long as he could. After a while we tried to have children but they didn't arrive. I suffered a lot, I wanted a large family, but things went differently. Now I don't know if it was good or bad. When Billy left for the war I wanted to have children who would remind me of him day after day, but then he died in an armed confrontation and my life hasn't been easy since then. I had to support myself, I sewed, cleaned, did all kinds of respectable jobs and with children I don't know how I would have done it. "
"I'm really sorry Camille"
"Thank you. When the war was over I came back here, I don't hide from you that I tried to track down Buck, he was the only person I knew who was left to me. After the wedding I never heard from him, he never replied to my letters and I didn't know what to think "
“I'm sorry, I think it was my fault. I didn't know you wrote him, really "
“Don't worry, I understand you and thank you for telling me honestly. When I got here they told me that the pony express no longer existed, that Noah was dead and that there was no one left, but they couldn't tell me more. I went around several places and then I came across Rock Creek. One day I went to the marshall to report a small theft I had suffered and he said that the man was an old acquaintance that the previous deputy, Mr. Cross, had arrested several times. It seemed like a sign from heaven to hear of Buck. I inquired but they only told me that he had left for Sweetwater and so I came here "
“Hoping to find him still available”. Deborah had decided to play the cards in the open, she no longer wanted misunderstandings.
"Maybe yes". Camille also wanted to be honest. “Maybe I was hoping deep in my heart that he didn't have a family. "
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure"
“Have you ever really loved him? I mean, I know you were promised, but did you love him as he loved you? "
"I think not and I understood it when I returned to live among my people. I missed him as a friend and as a support, not as the man in my life "
“And why did you let the guilt wear him down for so long? Couldn't you have written to him what you told him after he saved you? He believed for years that if they didn't take you away and if he had been there that day you would have built a family together "
"And it probably would have gone like this because it was decided and I would have learned to love him"
“Camille didn't deserve it, sorry for telling you but you were cruel. If he had known the truth he would have suffered less "
“I know, maybe I was being selfish and I wanted to somehow keep him tied to me. So did he tell you everything about that day in the camp and about the day he saved me with Penna Bianca? "
“Yes, we don’t hide anything, even the things that can hurt or hurt us. We know that if we talk about it we can overcome them together. Silences kill a relationship "
"I envy you, you know?"
"I was lucky"
"Already. What about your life? How have you spent these years, if you want to tell me? "
“We got married shortly after your departure in June. We too would have wanted children right away but at first they seemed not to arrive. Then we decided to leave everything to chance and we had Ulysses, Nausicaa, Calypso and Achilles after the war. We would have wanted more but there are no more. Obviously we are happy like this. Buck, as I told you before, once risked dying from an Indian ambush, but thanks to his brother Red Bear he managed to survive. After the closure of the pony express he worked as a deputy marshall but then he had to enlist too, for the North, and we moved to Rock Creek where I could have the support of Rachel and Teaspoon who had settled there. Buck left but was then seriously injured in the leg and returned. Being of Indian origin, he was not obliged to return to the front and decided not to. We stayed in Rock Creek until last year and he worked as a deputy marshall there as well. We've always wanted to come back here and build our own ranch, so when we learned that Lou and Kid, who had moved to Virginia, also wanted to come back, we decided to make a new life here together and Rachel and Teaspoon joined us too. That's all"
"I'm really happy for you"
"Thank you"
Meanwhile they had finished preparing vegetables and stew. Suddenly, Ulysses and Jed entered the house like two furies: "Mom, Grandpa Teaspoon is back, can we go with him to get Dad?"
Teaspoon entered at that moment and was amazed to see Camille.
“Camille, what a nice surprise” but immediately he looked at Deborah who smiled to calm him down.
The two said goodbye and Deborah informed him that in the evening there would be a dinner with her and Buck and that Rachel was already preparing the dessert.
Teaspoon was delighted and then told her he was going to take the two young men and Ike to Kid and Buck if she agreed.
"Sure Teaspoon, but don't be late, please"
"At your orders madam"
Deborah and Camille set the table and then Deborah said to her: "Take a seat where you want and make yourself at home, I go up to prepare a bath and some clean clothes for Buck, I'll be right"
"Thank you"
While in their bedroom, Deborah after preparing the tub water, some clean clothes and towels, tried to search through Buck's things because she was intrigued that Camille had said that she had sent her husband some letters to which he had never answered. She searched a bit at random, until she found the bundle of letters intact at the bottom of a trunk. Buck had never opened them. She felt terribly guilty for having unwittingly denied him to maintain relations with Camille and promised to speak to him that same evening. But she understood why he had done it and realized at that moment that she was a fool: he loved her so much that he cut off relations with a person who in his youth had been very important to him, one of the few positive notes in his life. .
When she went downstairs, as she went to the kitchen to heat the water for the tub, she found Camille in the living room looking at the portrait that an artist had made for them in New York during their honeymoon and that Deborah had carefully preserved and relocated in its old place. Deborah said nothing but Camille, with great melancholy, said to her: "You are really a beautiful couple".
Deborah just said thank you. The cheerful voices of the children announced the return of Teaspoon, Buck and Kid and in fact Buck entered immediately afterwards with Achilles in his arms and the girls stuck to his legs. "Guys, let your dad breathe, he's tired"
"Don't worry, you know I love it when they attack me like this on my return" and she smiled. Then he placed the gun and knife on the top shelf so the children couldn't pick them up, attached the hat to the hook and went to kiss Deborah.
"Are you okay here?", He asked a little anxiously.
“Yes honey, we made dinner and had a chat. I have already prepared a hot bath and clean clothes for you, I immediately go up to bring you water. Children, would you like to stay here a moment with Camille? "
"Yeeeeeeeee" they said in chorus and Camille smiled.
Deborah went up with Buck and poured him hot water into the tub. Buck took her by the waist, drew her to him and said: "Too bad we can't take a bath together"
"Thanks Buck"
"About what?"
"To love me so much"
"Oh it's a pleasure ... and tonight we will recover this moment, children permitting ..." and he kissed her passionately.
"I can't wait", she replied, "but now I have to go down unfortunately"
Deborah came down the stairs smiling and found Camille playing with the children. She joined them for a moment but then began to put something on the table for dinner. Soon Buck got out and Deborah said: "I'll go up to fix the bathroom, the others will be here shortly"
"I've already done it, don't worry"
"You are a treasure, thank you"
"But imagine, rather, tell me what to do to help you"
“Sit quietly and chat with Camille and the children. Get some rest, I'll do it here "
Buck smiled at her and sat down on the sofa, attacked by the children who wanted to play with him.
They arrived shortly after Rachel and Teaspoon. The latter went into the living room with Buck, Camille and the children, while Rachel went to bring the cake to the kitchen.
"How are you Deborah?"
“Well Rachel, better than I thought. Buck reassured me and I was honest with her, I think I have nothing to fear "
"Buck adores you and would do nothing to crack your relationship, don't worry"
"I know, he's a wonderful man"
Meanwhile Buck came in with a bottle of wine that Lou and Kid had just brought: “Hey you two, what are you talking about? I heard my name "
Deborah took him by the arm and replied: "I was just telling Rachel that you are a wonderful man, but you know that, don't you?" and kissed him.
"Yes, but tell me again, it's nice to hear it", he joked.
She kissed him again.
"I'll leave you to your chat, I'll go over there"
Meanwhile, Lou came into the kitchen who hugged Deborah and asked her: "Are you okay?"
"Yes Lou, for now yes, thank you"
They said no more because they saw Camille arrive: "Can I help you?"
“Absolutely not, you all go there, you are my guests and you have to sit down. I'll be right with the stew "
The women obeyed and joined the others. As they sat down at the table, Deborah arrived with the stew.
Camille, after tasting a bite, said: "It's really good, congratulations"
Buck jokingly said to her: "Are you serious or are you just saying it out of courtesy?"
Deborah, catching the irony, gave him a little nudge on the back of the head and said: "Ok, ok, I'm not going to be as good as Rachel, but I don't think I starved you in ten years, and besides, it's not a mystery that I don't really like cooking, I have other qualities "
"Oh, I know, I know, qualities that I really appreciate ..." and he patted himself on the shoulder again.
Everyone laughed and began to eat. Lou and Teaspoon asked Camille to tell her story and then Lou and Kid told theirs. When the stew was finished, Deborah got up to clear the table and Buck got up with her.
"Honey, sit down, I'll do it, it's not necessary"
"I do it with pleasure"
"You're a perfect husband, Buck", Camille noted.
Deborah marked the territory: “Wonderful, even my Italian friends, when they came to see me, could hardly believe that Buck always helps me with chores, something unthinkable for their husbands. Buck is so spontaneous and natural and I love him very much for it "
“And you can see it, you are a beautiful couple”, Camille said wistfully
“Well, it's time for some dessert, right? Let's make our palate with Rachel's pie”.
Buck took a new pat on the back, followed by a sweet kiss.
The two went into the kitchen and immediately returned with the cake.
Chatting had gotten a little late and Deborah told the kids to get ready for bed but they protested, so Rachel proposed: "Look guys, if your parents agree, how about sleeping at my house and at grandpa tonight? "
"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" they exclaimed in chorus.
"But Rachel, it's not necessary and then there's school tomorrow"
“I promise to get them to go to bed at a decent time. Then?"
"All right"
"Hurray!"
"What about us Aunt Rachel?" asked the children of Lou and Kid
"Of course you too, if mom and dad agree"
"Could we say no?" Lou exclaimed.
"Well, decided then, let's go"
"Thanks Rachel", Deborah said to her friend, having realized that she wanted to leave her and Buck alone that night.
Rachel squeezed her arm in agreement.
“I think it's time for me to go too, too many news and emotions today, I need to rest” Camille said.
“Miss, will you let me take you back to the hotel?”, Teaspoon asked, and both Deborah and Buck heaved a sigh of relief.
“Oh sure, if it's not a nuisance”, she replied.
"No trouble, there is nothing better for an old ex-marshall like me than to escort a sweet and beautiful girl", said Teaspoon.
Everyone said goodbye and when they closed the door, Deborah looked at Buck and breathed a sigh of relief.
Buck anticipated: "We have to thank Teaspoon, he took us out of a really awkward situation"
"Do you think so too?"
“Well, yes, it wouldn't have been easy if I had brought her back. I think I would have ended up in a very uncomfortable situation "
"Do you know that this confrontation will have to happen sooner or later?"
“Better then, when we are all calmer. Come on, let's not waste the opportunity that Rachel gave us "
"She was a treasure, she understood that we needed to be alone for a while. Let me fix the kitchen and I'll go up "
Buck encircled her waist with his strong arms, kissed her greedily and told her: "We'll do it first ..."
She smiled and they went together to tidy up the kitchen.
“Did you really tell Camille that I practically don't know how to cook? I can't believe it ”, she said jokingly.
"Come on, it was a joke to ease the tension"
“I know, that's why you don't have a black eye!”, She said teasing him.
When they had finished tidying up the kitchen, Buck took her hand and led her upstairs. They entered their room and he took her by the waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her greedily and then said: "Finally ...". He began to unbutton her dress and she did the same with his shirt. She ran her hands over his strong chest, caressing him and began to move her kisses from his mouth, to his neck and along his chest, as she began to fumble with his pants. He interrupted her by taking off her dress and underwear and then he let himself be touched and pampered by her who pushed him onto the bed and lowered his pants, took off his boots and then mounted him astride. He put his hands on her hips and guided her towards him. She ran her hands through his black hair, moving at his own pace, until she was exhausted. She then lay down next to him and they looked into each other's eyes without saying anything for a moment, then he took her face in his hands and said: "You must never doubt the love I feel for you, without you I would miss the air, I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I got lost ”.
“You will never lose me, I have no intention of going anywhere, much less letting you go. I know you love me and today I had yet another proof of this, not that I needed it. I spoke very frankly with Camille and she did the same too. She didn’t deny that she hoped you were still free and told me that she didn’t know anything about us because she sent you letters that have never been answered. I found those letters, Buck. I'm sorry, I didn't have the right to deprive you of the only link with the past that you had left. You should have told me, we would have talked about it and I would have encouraged you to read them. I feel terribly guilty "
“You don't have to feel guilty. It was my choice, I had to decide whether to keep relations with an old friend by making my wife suffer or cut with the past and dedicate myself to my new wonderful life: I had no doubts about what to do "
"Thank you, I don't deserve to have you as a husband"
"Don't talk nonsense, I am what I am thanks to you"
"Why don't you take the time to read them?"
“I don't feel the need, maybe I will or maybe not, it's not my priority. Now my priority is to keep my wife up all night making love "and he got on top of her and took her again.
The next morning they were awakened by the screams of the children on their way home. They had fallen asleep exhausted in each other's arms and had not woken up in time. They quickly put on their clothes, then Buck said with a sly laugh: “Since it was my fault that I exhausted you, you stay here and get ready, I'll go down to the kids and make breakfast. They will have already eaten. Let's try not to be late for work! " and kissed her.
“Thank you love, you are my salvation”.
In the afternoon, Deborah and Lou decided to go into town to visit Camille, so as not to make her feel alone. They accompanied her to do some shopping and since the next day would be Saturday, Lou decided to invite her to a picnic. Camille accepted with joy.
When Buck returned in the evening, Deborah informed him of the picnic and said: "Maybe it could be the right occasion to talk to Camille"
"You're right, it would certainly be easier."
"The sooner you resolve any doubts, the better it will be for everyone, but especially for her, so she can close with the past and rebuild a life" Buck nodded.
The next day, as decided, they all went to the river for a picnic. They had a great time and the day was very relaxing. Buck, while the girls were making plans for the kids for the upcoming summer vacation and the kids were busy playing with Teaspoon and Kid, took the opportunity to talk to Camille.
"Would you like to take a walk or would you rather be bored hearing our plans for the children?"
"I am happy to come", Camille replied.
Deborah saw them out of the corner of her eye and in her heart she prayed that everything was fine.
After walking for a while in silence, Buck asked Camille: "So, what are your plans for the future?"
"Are you in a hurry to send me away?"
"No", Buck replied a little embarrassed, "I just wanted to know if you already had something in mind"
Camille decided to be honest, she owed it to him, to Deborah and also to herself.
“You know Buck, when I decided to come looking for you I selfishly hoped that you didn't build a family and that we could live our future together. Now I know that I have been naive, I have not come to terms with the time that has passed and with the changing feelings "
"Camille, I will always love you, you were my childhood companion and I carried you in my heart for many years, but as you told me ten years ago, we were destined for different people and I found my destiny . I fell in love with Deborah the first time I saw her, I waited in silence for a whole year because she was with my friend and when she told me she fell in love with me I couldn't believe it, it seemed like a miracle. I almost lost her once because of my feelings of guilt towards you and twice because of wounds received in an ambush and in the war, but our love has survived it all. I'm sorry to tell you these things and disappoint you, but that's the way it was meant to be. I am immensely sorry that you lost Billy, but he was your destiny, not me ”.
Her eyes had filled with tears as he spoke, but she knew Buck was right: “You don't have to feel sorry for me, I'm happy if you are too. But can I ask you why you never replied to my letters? ". Deborah had told her it but she wanted to hear it from him.
Buck hugged her and explained his reasons and she understood.
“You really are a special man, too bad you didn't understand in time. I think I'll leave in a couple of days, maybe I'll move to San Francisco and try to rebuild a new life "
"I hope you can find your way Camille"
"I hope so too. If I write to you this time will you answer me? "
"Yes, now yes, everything has been clarified" and he hugged her.
"We better come back now, I don't want to create any more misunderstandings", she said.
"There won't be any, I'm sure."
The two set off and went back to the others. Buck joined the children to play their games and Camille sat alone on the blanket until the other women called her to eat some cookies with them.
When it got late, they prepared to return, but before setting off, Camille felt the need to greet everyone; she had decided to leave immediately on Monday.
“I would like to thank everyone for your hospitality, you have been wonderful to me. On Monday I will leave for San Francisco to start a new life, but I hope to keep in touch with you sometime, and if you happen to hear from Jimmy and Cody, say hello to them "
“Good luck Camille”, Deborah told her and the others joined in her wish.
At home, after dinner, when the children were asleep, Buck called Deborah next to him on the sofa and said: "I want to tell you about today"
She sat next to him, leaned her head against his chest and replied: "You don't need to honey"
"I want to do it, I want to share everything with you"
She kissed him tenderly and then listened to her husband's story and understood Camille's decision.
"I love you Buck"
"I know, I love you too. If you come up I can prove it ... "
"I can not wait…"
He picked her up and carried her to their bedroom where they enjoyed their love.
On Monday morning, as scheduled, everyone gathered in town to say goodbye to Camille.
Chapter Seven
Northern Italy, end of July 2022
Deborah went to her mother to do her research: she went to the attic and she showed her the trunks which contained all the memories of her grandmother. Deborah was excited but also agitated, she didn't know what she would find. On the one hand she hoped that there was a bond, albeit indirect, between her and Gregg, but on the other hand she feared it, because it would mean having him forever in her life and although she wanted him strongly, she knew that sooner or later this would destroy her emotionally. She loved her husband and her family, but what she had felt with Gregg and what she felt now was something special and the guilt didn't help her.
While immersed in these thoughts, she found the bundle of letters her mother had mentioned. They really existed then. They were very old and a little worn, but they still read well.
She didn't have the courage to open them right away. She went downstairs and told her mother that she had found what she was looking for and that, once she read it, she would let her know if there really was any connection with Gregg's family.
She went home with her son, who in the meantime, while she searched, had been playing with her grandparents, and when he went for an afternoon nap, she first texted Gregg: “Letters found, I read them and let you know ".
Almost immediately she received the answer: "Ok, I miss you"
Instinctively she replied: "You too", then silenced the phone and with her heart in her mouth, she opened the first letter.
First of all, she discovered that her mother's American uncle was named Achille and that he was a 3rd degree uncle. She quickly read the pleasantries and then quickly scanned to see if there was any interesting information. In the first she didn’t find anything relevant, Achille told his life and his business in California.
Going on with the reading, at one point Achilles was referring to the fact that he was not a blood uncle to Deborah's grandmother but that he felt connected to his family as if he were.
She read still other letters until she found something: in the first that Achille had sent, he explained why he had contacted Deborah's grandmother: he had learned that his sister's husband, after remarrying, had moved for a period to Northern Italy to work and that his second daughter had never returned with him to America, but had remained in Italy because she had fallen in love with a young Lombard and had decided to build a family there: this woman was Deborah's great-grandmother.
Heart beating fast, Deborah opened other letters and found a reference to Nebraska: Achille was the son of a former pony express courier who had married an Italian woman who had moved to America. He had an older brother named Ulysses and two sisters, who are also older: Calipso and Nausicaa, the youngest, who had died at the age of thirty and her husband had remarried three years later with that woman of Italian descent.
Deborah was excited: the accounts were adding up. She wanted to call Gregg immediately to inform him, but she realized she was unable to explain all this intertwining of relationships in English, so she decided to write him a long message: she opened Google Translate from her mobile phone, wrote what she meant, copied and pasted and she sent the message to Gregg, explaining her linguistic difficulty in saying the situation in person.
Gregg shortly after called her: “Hi Deborah, what you discovered is very interesting. We need to meet to compare names and dates and to see if they match ".
“Yes, but this time you have to come here, I can't leave my son with my parents anymore. You could come tomorrow in the afternoon and stop for dinner if you want "
"Do you think that's the case after what happened? Won't it be difficult in your husband's presence? "
“Sure, but if we really have this bond, I have to live with it. The sooner I face it, the better it will be "
"All right. I'll come around 3.30 pm, okay? "
“Perfect. Have a nice day Gregg "
"You too, bye"
Deborah texted her husband to inform him and called her mother to update her. She wanted to meet Gregg, but Deborah asked her to stall, first they had to check the sources.
The next afternoon, Deborah was in great anxiety and tension. When he arrived, she let him in, they kissed on the cheek and she tried not to look him in the eye, it was too hard. She introduced him to her son who immediately took a liking to him and wanted to play a little with him. Deborah was happy, but then she explained to him that her mother had to work with her friend and he started playing for a while.
Deborah showed the letters to Gregg which he obviously didn’t understand and she tried to explain to him as best she could, using the translator, the information reported.
Gregg then informed her about his discoveries: the family who had lived in Italy for a while was more or less the age of his paternal grandmother, but he had never known that his grandparents had been there for a while. He knew his grandfather had Indian roots, but that was all. His father was dead, so either his mother knew something, or they would have to fend for themselves. The coincidence was that the names of that family coincided perfectly with the names of his paternal grandparents.
"Gregg, can't you call your mother and ask her for news? Do your brothers or sisters know nothing? "
"No, I don't think they know anything, I can hear my mother".
"Is your mother early in the morning? If so you can try calling her while I put the baby to sleep "
"Usually yes, I can try"
Deborah took the baby to bed and when she returned she found Gregg still on the phone with his mother.
When he hung up he said that in fact she seemed to remember that her in-laws had spent some time in Italy, but she wasn't entirely sure.
“At this point, the only thing to do is go to Nebraska and search the archives, if anything still exists. According to our tour, my family and I should be in Nebraska around August 12/13 "
"I have to go back to America in a week, I could start the research"
"Ok"
Deborah offered him an ice cream and then silence fell between them. It was Gregg who broke it: "Have you thought about my proposal about the possibility of starting to sing seriously?"
“No, I haven't really thought about it. With everything going on right now, it's the least of my thoughts "
"So you give up on us like that?"
“There is no US Gregg. I wish there was, but it's not possible, it's not right. I don't deny what happened between us, but it can't go on "
"You told me over and over, but I can't give up on you. Yes, we will hear from time to time, especially if we discover that we are somehow connected, but it is not enough for me. I fell in love with you and given my age I don't say these things lightly. "
Deborah's heart skipped a beat. How many times in her fantasies, especially as a young woman, had she dreamed of hearing these words from him, but now it was different, she had her family she didn’t want and could not give up. At that moment, however, she realized that cutting him out of her life would mean not living anymore, it would no longer be her because she could not forget.
She was silent for a moment looking into those deep magnetic eyes and realized that she could not let go.
“I don't want to lose you Gregg, I feel something very strong for you, I don't know what it is, but I don't want you to leave my life. However, I would no longer be able to live as before. Maybe you are right, maybe we should try the path of music to share something that can unite us, but there can be nothing else between us. What happened the other day must never happen again. This must be the condicio sine qua non "
He took her hands and drew her to him. He looked into her eyes and said: "All right, but at least give me the last kiss"
She nodded her head yes and their mouths joined in a long, passionate kiss goodbye.
“Obviously I have to talk to my husband first and I don't want to leave my job or Italy. If you really want to try this path, it must be here, otherwise nothing is done about it. I know I ask you a lot, but I can't do otherwise "
"I am willing to do anything to have you in my life in some way".
They discussed how to handle it and Gregg told her that the next day he would contact his agent if Deborah's husband accepted. They then planned how to get around once they went to America for research.
When Deborah's baby woke up they played a bit together until her husband arrived. Deborah officially introduced the two men, with extreme embarrassment and prayed that her husband would not notice anything and so it was. Deborah had never given him reason before to doubt her, so he would never have thought of his extramarital affair, despite knowing the passion she had for Gregg.
At dinner, they discussed the discoveries made and organized everything. The next week Gregg would leave and begin consulting the archives. Within 7/8 days they would have reached him and would have gone together to see the places where perhaps their families had lived.
When all the details were finalized, Deborah's husband was absent for a moment because he received a phone call and Gregg took the opportunity to tell Deborah that he would raise the other matter upon his return. Deborah agreed.
“Who was it?” Deborah asked when her husband returned.
"My colleague, who won't be there tomorrow, told me to take care of some tasks for him."
Gregg took advantage of a moment of silence to introduce the speech: "There would be another thing we would like to talk to you about, an idea that came to me and that I exposed to Deborah"
"What?" He replied.
“I think you realized that your wife sings well and the video we casually shot and that ended up on the net proves it. I proposed to work with me, to sing with me here in Italy, without completely upsetting her life and her work. I believe it can be successful ".
He, amazed by this proposal, turned to Deborah and said: "Is he serious?"
"Of course he is, do you think I'm joking?"
"Well, this thing seems absurd to me"
"Why, I've always liked to sing and he offers me to make a job out of it, why shouldn't I accept?"
"Maybe because you already have a job?"
"So, you heard what he said, there will be no sensational upheavals, we'll just have to reorganize something"
"Maybe we should talk about it in private at another time, don't you think?"
"Okay, but I would care a lot".
Deborah broadly explained the conversation with her husband to Gregg and told him they had to talk about it privately before making a decision.
The rest of the evening passed quietly talking a bit of everything and returning several times to the topic of the future trip. Gregg then said goodbye and returned to Milan.
In bed, Deborah wanted to resume the discourse on music: “Listen, I really want to try this path, maybe it won't lead to anything, but I don't want to have regrets. I told him that I will continue to work as before and that I don’t want to move from Italy and he has agreed. If his manager manages to set something up, I want to try, please ”.
"I don't know Deborah, we have reached a certain stability and balance, why change everything?"
"Because these balances can jump from one moment to the next, we have lived with the pandemic. I no longer want to preclude myself from life, I have been clear about this. I just ask you to try, if it is not feasible I will give up. Please, make me happy, let me try "
“Okay, I know that if I were to oppose you, you would never forgive me” and he kissed her. Deborah thanked him and kissed him back, but realized that something between them had changed forever.
The next day Gregg called his agent who took him for crazy when he heard his proposal. Gregg was adamant: either he found a way to put his plan into action or he would find another agent who would do it for him. This would be his new life, he would move to Italy and try his luck there, whether he wanted to or not, this was not a topic of discussion. His agent tried to reason with him, but faced with his stubbornness and the prospect of a sudden dismissal, he agreed to work out a work plan.
Gregg told Deborah who in turn informed her husband. The collaboration was supposed to begin in late August, as soon as she returned from the trip to America, so as to give Gregg time to arrange all his things and organize the transfer.
The following days were hectic because Deborah was thrilled by all the news and the upcoming journey in search of her origins; for his part, Gregg had begun to call everyone involved with him, relatives, friends and colleagues to communicate the news.
On the day of departure, Deborah accompanied him to the airport, while her husband had preferred to stay at home with the baby so as not to shake him too much, as he would soon have to face a long journey.
Deborah and Gregg greeted each other with a candid kiss on the cheek but shook hands in a way that communicated something else and their eyes spoke for them.
"See you in a few days", she told him in Italian, as Gregg had to learn it and they had agreed that she would speak to him in her language to help him learn it as soon as possible.
“I look forward to seeing you” he replied.
They embraced once more, then he turned and walked through the gate: a new life was about to begin for both of them.
While immersed in these thoughts, she found the bundle of letters her mother had mentioned. They really existed then. They were very old and a little worn, but they still read well.
She didn't have the courage to open them right away. She went downstairs and told her mother that she had found what she was looking for and that, once she read it, she would let her know if there really was any connection with Gregg's family.
She went home with her son, who in the meantime, while she searched, had been playing with her grandparents, and when he went for an afternoon nap, she first texted Gregg: “Letters found, I read them and let you know ".
Almost immediately she received the answer: "Ok, I miss you"
Instinctively she replied: "You too", then silenced the phone and with her heart in her mouth, she opened the first letter.
First of all, she discovered that her mother's American uncle was named Achille and that he was a 3rd degree uncle. She quickly read the pleasantries and then quickly scanned to see if there was any interesting information. In the first she didn’t find anything relevant, Achille told his life and his business in California.
Going on with the reading, at one point Achilles was referring to the fact that he was not a blood uncle to Deborah's grandmother but that he felt connected to his family as if he were.
She read still other letters until she found something: in the first that Achille had sent, he explained why he had contacted Deborah's grandmother: he had learned that his sister's husband, after remarrying, had moved for a period to Northern Italy to work and that his second daughter had never returned with him to America, but had remained in Italy because she had fallen in love with a young Lombard and had decided to build a family there: this woman was Deborah's great-grandmother.
Heart beating fast, Deborah opened other letters and found a reference to Nebraska: Achille was the son of a former pony express courier who had married an Italian woman who had moved to America. He had an older brother named Ulysses and two sisters, who are also older: Calipso and Nausicaa, the youngest, who had died at the age of thirty and her husband had remarried three years later with that woman of Italian descent.
Deborah was excited: the accounts were adding up. She wanted to call Gregg immediately to inform him, but she realized she was unable to explain all this intertwining of relationships in English, so she decided to write him a long message: she opened Google Translate from her mobile phone, wrote what she meant, copied and pasted and she sent the message to Gregg, explaining her linguistic difficulty in saying the situation in person.
Gregg shortly after called her: “Hi Deborah, what you discovered is very interesting. We need to meet to compare names and dates and to see if they match ".
“Yes, but this time you have to come here, I can't leave my son with my parents anymore. You could come tomorrow in the afternoon and stop for dinner if you want "
"Do you think that's the case after what happened? Won't it be difficult in your husband's presence? "
“Sure, but if we really have this bond, I have to live with it. The sooner I face it, the better it will be "
"All right. I'll come around 3.30 pm, okay? "
“Perfect. Have a nice day Gregg "
"You too, bye"
Deborah texted her husband to inform him and called her mother to update her. She wanted to meet Gregg, but Deborah asked her to stall, first they had to check the sources.
The next afternoon, Deborah was in great anxiety and tension. When he arrived, she let him in, they kissed on the cheek and she tried not to look him in the eye, it was too hard. She introduced him to her son who immediately took a liking to him and wanted to play a little with him. Deborah was happy, but then she explained to him that her mother had to work with her friend and he started playing for a while.
Deborah showed the letters to Gregg which he obviously didn’t understand and she tried to explain to him as best she could, using the translator, the information reported.
Gregg then informed her about his discoveries: the family who had lived in Italy for a while was more or less the age of his paternal grandmother, but he had never known that his grandparents had been there for a while. He knew his grandfather had Indian roots, but that was all. His father was dead, so either his mother knew something, or they would have to fend for themselves. The coincidence was that the names of that family coincided perfectly with the names of his paternal grandparents.
"Gregg, can't you call your mother and ask her for news? Do your brothers or sisters know nothing? "
"No, I don't think they know anything, I can hear my mother".
"Is your mother early in the morning? If so you can try calling her while I put the baby to sleep "
"Usually yes, I can try"
Deborah took the baby to bed and when she returned she found Gregg still on the phone with his mother.
When he hung up he said that in fact she seemed to remember that her in-laws had spent some time in Italy, but she wasn't entirely sure.
“At this point, the only thing to do is go to Nebraska and search the archives, if anything still exists. According to our tour, my family and I should be in Nebraska around August 12/13 "
"I have to go back to America in a week, I could start the research"
"Ok"
Deborah offered him an ice cream and then silence fell between them. It was Gregg who broke it: "Have you thought about my proposal about the possibility of starting to sing seriously?"
“No, I haven't really thought about it. With everything going on right now, it's the least of my thoughts "
"So you give up on us like that?"
“There is no US Gregg. I wish there was, but it's not possible, it's not right. I don't deny what happened between us, but it can't go on "
"You told me over and over, but I can't give up on you. Yes, we will hear from time to time, especially if we discover that we are somehow connected, but it is not enough for me. I fell in love with you and given my age I don't say these things lightly. "
Deborah's heart skipped a beat. How many times in her fantasies, especially as a young woman, had she dreamed of hearing these words from him, but now it was different, she had her family she didn’t want and could not give up. At that moment, however, she realized that cutting him out of her life would mean not living anymore, it would no longer be her because she could not forget.
She was silent for a moment looking into those deep magnetic eyes and realized that she could not let go.
“I don't want to lose you Gregg, I feel something very strong for you, I don't know what it is, but I don't want you to leave my life. However, I would no longer be able to live as before. Maybe you are right, maybe we should try the path of music to share something that can unite us, but there can be nothing else between us. What happened the other day must never happen again. This must be the condicio sine qua non "
He took her hands and drew her to him. He looked into her eyes and said: "All right, but at least give me the last kiss"
She nodded her head yes and their mouths joined in a long, passionate kiss goodbye.
“Obviously I have to talk to my husband first and I don't want to leave my job or Italy. If you really want to try this path, it must be here, otherwise nothing is done about it. I know I ask you a lot, but I can't do otherwise "
"I am willing to do anything to have you in my life in some way".
They discussed how to handle it and Gregg told her that the next day he would contact his agent if Deborah's husband accepted. They then planned how to get around once they went to America for research.
When Deborah's baby woke up they played a bit together until her husband arrived. Deborah officially introduced the two men, with extreme embarrassment and prayed that her husband would not notice anything and so it was. Deborah had never given him reason before to doubt her, so he would never have thought of his extramarital affair, despite knowing the passion she had for Gregg.
At dinner, they discussed the discoveries made and organized everything. The next week Gregg would leave and begin consulting the archives. Within 7/8 days they would have reached him and would have gone together to see the places where perhaps their families had lived.
When all the details were finalized, Deborah's husband was absent for a moment because he received a phone call and Gregg took the opportunity to tell Deborah that he would raise the other matter upon his return. Deborah agreed.
“Who was it?” Deborah asked when her husband returned.
"My colleague, who won't be there tomorrow, told me to take care of some tasks for him."
Gregg took advantage of a moment of silence to introduce the speech: "There would be another thing we would like to talk to you about, an idea that came to me and that I exposed to Deborah"
"What?" He replied.
“I think you realized that your wife sings well and the video we casually shot and that ended up on the net proves it. I proposed to work with me, to sing with me here in Italy, without completely upsetting her life and her work. I believe it can be successful ".
He, amazed by this proposal, turned to Deborah and said: "Is he serious?"
"Of course he is, do you think I'm joking?"
"Well, this thing seems absurd to me"
"Why, I've always liked to sing and he offers me to make a job out of it, why shouldn't I accept?"
"Maybe because you already have a job?"
"So, you heard what he said, there will be no sensational upheavals, we'll just have to reorganize something"
"Maybe we should talk about it in private at another time, don't you think?"
"Okay, but I would care a lot".
Deborah broadly explained the conversation with her husband to Gregg and told him they had to talk about it privately before making a decision.
The rest of the evening passed quietly talking a bit of everything and returning several times to the topic of the future trip. Gregg then said goodbye and returned to Milan.
In bed, Deborah wanted to resume the discourse on music: “Listen, I really want to try this path, maybe it won't lead to anything, but I don't want to have regrets. I told him that I will continue to work as before and that I don’t want to move from Italy and he has agreed. If his manager manages to set something up, I want to try, please ”.
"I don't know Deborah, we have reached a certain stability and balance, why change everything?"
"Because these balances can jump from one moment to the next, we have lived with the pandemic. I no longer want to preclude myself from life, I have been clear about this. I just ask you to try, if it is not feasible I will give up. Please, make me happy, let me try "
“Okay, I know that if I were to oppose you, you would never forgive me” and he kissed her. Deborah thanked him and kissed him back, but realized that something between them had changed forever.
The next day Gregg called his agent who took him for crazy when he heard his proposal. Gregg was adamant: either he found a way to put his plan into action or he would find another agent who would do it for him. This would be his new life, he would move to Italy and try his luck there, whether he wanted to or not, this was not a topic of discussion. His agent tried to reason with him, but faced with his stubbornness and the prospect of a sudden dismissal, he agreed to work out a work plan.
Gregg told Deborah who in turn informed her husband. The collaboration was supposed to begin in late August, as soon as she returned from the trip to America, so as to give Gregg time to arrange all his things and organize the transfer.
The following days were hectic because Deborah was thrilled by all the news and the upcoming journey in search of her origins; for his part, Gregg had begun to call everyone involved with him, relatives, friends and colleagues to communicate the news.
On the day of departure, Deborah accompanied him to the airport, while her husband had preferred to stay at home with the baby so as not to shake him too much, as he would soon have to face a long journey.
Deborah and Gregg greeted each other with a candid kiss on the cheek but shook hands in a way that communicated something else and their eyes spoke for them.
"See you in a few days", she told him in Italian, as Gregg had to learn it and they had agreed that she would speak to him in her language to help him learn it as soon as possible.
“I look forward to seeing you” he replied.
They embraced once more, then he turned and walked through the gate: a new life was about to begin for both of them.
Chapter Eight
America, since 1899
Ulisse went with a heavy heart to the home of Peter, the husband of his sister Calipso, indeed the ex-husband, because Calipso had died only a few years earlier due to a fever that no one had been able to cure. His mother Deborah had been heartbroken and it was no longer her. The love of her father Buck and her 3 other children had failed to save her. She let herself die day after day and after about a year and a half she died of starvation. His father had been heartbroken. He had never recovered. The death of his beloved daughter had been a hard blow for him too, but seeing the wife he loved more than his own life, who had always been a strong and vital woman, die more every day had broken him. After Deborah's death he had simply given up on living. Their children were grown up and able to live independently and then they would have the support of friends Lou and Kid and their children.
Buck had acted like his wife and was gone in a few months. Ulisse, Nausicaa and Achille had suffered greatly from the triple loss but they knew that their father without his wife would no longer be able to live and perhaps it had been better this way. They were all buried close together in Sweetwater Cemetery.
Peter, Calipso's husband, moved to Rock Creek after a year to serve as marshall with Calipso's only daughter, Elizabeth. In Rock Creek he had met a woman of Italian descent, Maria, (many Italians were emigrating to America at that time) and a few years later he married her. Ulisse and his brothers went to visit them every now and then, to be close to their niece.
Peter had had a son and daughter from his second marriage, Isaac and Rosa (in honor of Maria's Italian origins). Ulisse was going to Peter precisely to celebrate Rosa's birth: it would have been an opportunity to also see his brothers who had remained in Sweetwater, while he had moved to Seneca with his family and ran a ranch. He had had a son, Noah, in honor of his father's and mother's friend.
He knocked on the door and Maria came to open it for him.
"Welcome Ulisse, it's nice to have you with us again, come in, your brothers and nephews have already arrived"
Nausicaa was married and had two daughters (Lucy and Abigail) and a son, Franklin, while Achille, also married, had a son (Tom) and twins (Rachel and Susan).
“Hello everyone”, he greeted after entering. He hugged his family and they exchanged pleasantries. Ulisse immediately went to Rosa: she was a beautiful little girl, very sweet and quiet.
They all had lunch together and told each other their latest news.
Buck and Deborah's children had gladly accepted Peter's new family, who had always been respectful towards them, had fostered their relationship with Elizabeth and they knew that he had also remarried to give their granddaughter a new mother. , while always keeping the memory of Calipso alive. Maria had been very sweet to Elizabeth and never tried to take Calipso's place. They were a beautiful extended family.
After the celebrations for the birth of Rosa, Ulisse, Nausicaa and Achille decided to go to dinner together with their families to recall the old times.
“Remember when we lived in Sweetwater with Mom and Dad before the war? You Achille were not yet born and you Nausicaa were little, but you should have some memories ”, suddenly burst out Ulisse.
"Yes, I remember playing with Emma and Jed and once a week we all got together for dinner with Grandpa Teaspoon, Aunt Rachel and the others, Cody, Jimmy and Noah, but it's all a bit hazy, I was so little!" exclaimed Nausicaa.
“Mom and Dad were very happy, I never heard them argue seriously. They were always cheerful and in love, they never missed an opportunity to pamper each other and show each other their affection. When dad was out for his runs, mum was always a little worried but as soon as she heard him return her eyes would light up. Their love was unique ”.
"Tell me a little more about that ì period, Ulisse, you are the only one who has clear memories now that Calipso is gone", Achille asked.
"Mom was a teacher in town and on Saturday nights she sang with dad in the saloon. Even though they had 3 children, they didn't want to give up this passion. They didn't consider it a job, they had a lot of fun and at home they often sang the songs they performed with. They were in tune with that too. Then when the war broke out and we moved to Rock Creek they had to give up this passion. "
“I have a hard time imagining dad singing in public. He was so reserved ”, Achille noted.
“Mom told me they sang together for the first time at Aunt Lou and Uncle Kid's wedding and the saloon owner noticed their skill and understanding and decided to hire them. In fact, dad was hesitant but mom gave him confidence and once I asked him exactly the same question as you, Achille, he replied that mom was his strength. When he sang with her it was like he was in a world of their own, where no one else existed. Too bad they then stopped ”.
"I too remember the melodies that sometimes rang through the house", said Nausicaa.
“You know what I came up with, guys? I would like to collect all the letters and cards from mom and dad, the ones they exchanged during the war, the Christmas and birthday cards and after reading them carefully, bury them near their graves, as if they could accompany them to theirs travel together even in death ”, said Ulisse.
“Do you know it's a nice thought? But I'd like to copy them first, to have a memory to reread every now and then, as if their love also protected our families and could be our guide ”, Nausicaa argued.
“Oh well, sister, this is a job for you though”, Achille joked.
“I do it willingly, especially since I live right in our old house”.
"Then we agree, when you return home you will copy them and then we will all meet together, even with Elizabeth and her uncles, to put this thing into practice", said Ulisse.
“I thought it would be nice to contact Uncle Cody as well and tell Aunt Rachel and Grandpa Teaspoon as well. I think it will do him good to remember the old days and find his old friends, also because I do not think that ailments will spare him for much longer unfortunately, Aunt Rachel says that he gets weaker every day ”, observed Achille.
“That would be cool, but I don't think Uncle Cody will be there, he's so busy with his show. Instead it's a great idea for Grandpa Teaspoon, he had to face the deaths of so many friends: Uncle Ike, Uncle Noah, Uncle Jimmy, Mom, Dad and Calipso. His heart must be torn apart”, remarked Nausicaa.
Ulisse greeted the brothers with the promise that he would soon visit them with all his family.
When Nausicaa arrived home, she told her husband that she wanted to look for her parents' letters and cards right away and retired to her room to tidy them up.
It took her nearly three months to copy all of them and when the job was done she informed her brothers. Achille took charge of contacting everyone to organize the ceremony and the following month they found themselves at the graves of Buck and Deborah to remember them and bury with them the signs of their love. Everyone was present, including Peter and his new family. Only Cody was missing who had not been able to be present but had sent a note in which he said he remembered everyone with great affection.
Nausicaa wanted to read a few passages of the parents' letters to remember their strong bond and then they dug a small hole between their two graves and buried a box containing the couple's writings.
Teaspoon was deeply moved by it and in the evening he wanted to invite everyone to dinner with him and Rachel to remember the old days. He entertained all the guests by telling episodes and anecdotes of the pony express and the lives of his "boys", as he still called them, supported by Lou and Kid who loved to rethink their youth.
A few months later, Ulisse and Peter received the news of Teaspoon's death: old age had taken over even his strong skin. Everyone gathered again and this time Cody was also present, who had returned from Italy and told about the beauties of Deborah and Maria's country of origin.
Cody's stories aroused a lot of curiosity in Nausicaa and Maria who for some time had been planning to visit the Bel Paese one day and now became even more convinced that they wanted to tackle this journey.
Maria managed to convince Peter to go to Italy the following year: she wanted to spend time in her family's country of origin and Peter agreed.
They left in June of the following year, convinced to return after some time. Maria, however, did not want to return: she had discovered that she had relatives in Northern Italy and wanted to track them down and try to recover a relationship with them. Peter agreed, especially as he had only his in-laws left in Rock Creek and could easily find work in Italy.
So they moved there and went to live in Lombardy. Their children grew up and Rosa fell in love with an Italian boy whom she married after a few months and from their marriage two children were born: Luca and Piera.
Ulisse, Achille and Nausicaa were very saddened at not being able to see Elizabeth again and this convinced Nausicaa even more to undertake the long-awaited journey to Italy: she convinced her husband to join Peter and his family for a short time. Nausicaa wanted to visit all the places of her mother's childhood and fell in love with Italy so much that she returned there other times to visit, also accompanied by the brothers Ulisse and Achille with their families.
When Franklin, son of Nausicaa, got married, he decided to spend the first years of his marriage in Italy, in Milan, to reconnect with his cousin Elizabeth and Peter's other children, but when the war broke out, he returned with his wife in America and settled in Michigan with his family.
The years passed and little by little the bonds between the single families broke: the sons of Ulisse, Nausicaa, Achille and Peter took very different paths and no one was left in Sweetwater. Lou, Kid and Rachel, once dead, had been buried near their friends and the couple's children had also moved to different cities, some in California, some in Missouri, some in Virginia.
The homes of Deborah, Lou and Rachel were still there, abandoned but standing, filled with memories that someone would sooner or later bring back to life.
Buck had acted like his wife and was gone in a few months. Ulisse, Nausicaa and Achille had suffered greatly from the triple loss but they knew that their father without his wife would no longer be able to live and perhaps it had been better this way. They were all buried close together in Sweetwater Cemetery.
Peter, Calipso's husband, moved to Rock Creek after a year to serve as marshall with Calipso's only daughter, Elizabeth. In Rock Creek he had met a woman of Italian descent, Maria, (many Italians were emigrating to America at that time) and a few years later he married her. Ulisse and his brothers went to visit them every now and then, to be close to their niece.
Peter had had a son and daughter from his second marriage, Isaac and Rosa (in honor of Maria's Italian origins). Ulisse was going to Peter precisely to celebrate Rosa's birth: it would have been an opportunity to also see his brothers who had remained in Sweetwater, while he had moved to Seneca with his family and ran a ranch. He had had a son, Noah, in honor of his father's and mother's friend.
He knocked on the door and Maria came to open it for him.
"Welcome Ulisse, it's nice to have you with us again, come in, your brothers and nephews have already arrived"
Nausicaa was married and had two daughters (Lucy and Abigail) and a son, Franklin, while Achille, also married, had a son (Tom) and twins (Rachel and Susan).
“Hello everyone”, he greeted after entering. He hugged his family and they exchanged pleasantries. Ulisse immediately went to Rosa: she was a beautiful little girl, very sweet and quiet.
They all had lunch together and told each other their latest news.
Buck and Deborah's children had gladly accepted Peter's new family, who had always been respectful towards them, had fostered their relationship with Elizabeth and they knew that he had also remarried to give their granddaughter a new mother. , while always keeping the memory of Calipso alive. Maria had been very sweet to Elizabeth and never tried to take Calipso's place. They were a beautiful extended family.
After the celebrations for the birth of Rosa, Ulisse, Nausicaa and Achille decided to go to dinner together with their families to recall the old times.
“Remember when we lived in Sweetwater with Mom and Dad before the war? You Achille were not yet born and you Nausicaa were little, but you should have some memories ”, suddenly burst out Ulisse.
"Yes, I remember playing with Emma and Jed and once a week we all got together for dinner with Grandpa Teaspoon, Aunt Rachel and the others, Cody, Jimmy and Noah, but it's all a bit hazy, I was so little!" exclaimed Nausicaa.
“Mom and Dad were very happy, I never heard them argue seriously. They were always cheerful and in love, they never missed an opportunity to pamper each other and show each other their affection. When dad was out for his runs, mum was always a little worried but as soon as she heard him return her eyes would light up. Their love was unique ”.
"Tell me a little more about that ì period, Ulisse, you are the only one who has clear memories now that Calipso is gone", Achille asked.
"Mom was a teacher in town and on Saturday nights she sang with dad in the saloon. Even though they had 3 children, they didn't want to give up this passion. They didn't consider it a job, they had a lot of fun and at home they often sang the songs they performed with. They were in tune with that too. Then when the war broke out and we moved to Rock Creek they had to give up this passion. "
“I have a hard time imagining dad singing in public. He was so reserved ”, Achille noted.
“Mom told me they sang together for the first time at Aunt Lou and Uncle Kid's wedding and the saloon owner noticed their skill and understanding and decided to hire them. In fact, dad was hesitant but mom gave him confidence and once I asked him exactly the same question as you, Achille, he replied that mom was his strength. When he sang with her it was like he was in a world of their own, where no one else existed. Too bad they then stopped ”.
"I too remember the melodies that sometimes rang through the house", said Nausicaa.
“You know what I came up with, guys? I would like to collect all the letters and cards from mom and dad, the ones they exchanged during the war, the Christmas and birthday cards and after reading them carefully, bury them near their graves, as if they could accompany them to theirs travel together even in death ”, said Ulisse.
“Do you know it's a nice thought? But I'd like to copy them first, to have a memory to reread every now and then, as if their love also protected our families and could be our guide ”, Nausicaa argued.
“Oh well, sister, this is a job for you though”, Achille joked.
“I do it willingly, especially since I live right in our old house”.
"Then we agree, when you return home you will copy them and then we will all meet together, even with Elizabeth and her uncles, to put this thing into practice", said Ulisse.
“I thought it would be nice to contact Uncle Cody as well and tell Aunt Rachel and Grandpa Teaspoon as well. I think it will do him good to remember the old days and find his old friends, also because I do not think that ailments will spare him for much longer unfortunately, Aunt Rachel says that he gets weaker every day ”, observed Achille.
“That would be cool, but I don't think Uncle Cody will be there, he's so busy with his show. Instead it's a great idea for Grandpa Teaspoon, he had to face the deaths of so many friends: Uncle Ike, Uncle Noah, Uncle Jimmy, Mom, Dad and Calipso. His heart must be torn apart”, remarked Nausicaa.
Ulisse greeted the brothers with the promise that he would soon visit them with all his family.
When Nausicaa arrived home, she told her husband that she wanted to look for her parents' letters and cards right away and retired to her room to tidy them up.
It took her nearly three months to copy all of them and when the job was done she informed her brothers. Achille took charge of contacting everyone to organize the ceremony and the following month they found themselves at the graves of Buck and Deborah to remember them and bury with them the signs of their love. Everyone was present, including Peter and his new family. Only Cody was missing who had not been able to be present but had sent a note in which he said he remembered everyone with great affection.
Nausicaa wanted to read a few passages of the parents' letters to remember their strong bond and then they dug a small hole between their two graves and buried a box containing the couple's writings.
Teaspoon was deeply moved by it and in the evening he wanted to invite everyone to dinner with him and Rachel to remember the old days. He entertained all the guests by telling episodes and anecdotes of the pony express and the lives of his "boys", as he still called them, supported by Lou and Kid who loved to rethink their youth.
A few months later, Ulisse and Peter received the news of Teaspoon's death: old age had taken over even his strong skin. Everyone gathered again and this time Cody was also present, who had returned from Italy and told about the beauties of Deborah and Maria's country of origin.
Cody's stories aroused a lot of curiosity in Nausicaa and Maria who for some time had been planning to visit the Bel Paese one day and now became even more convinced that they wanted to tackle this journey.
Maria managed to convince Peter to go to Italy the following year: she wanted to spend time in her family's country of origin and Peter agreed.
They left in June of the following year, convinced to return after some time. Maria, however, did not want to return: she had discovered that she had relatives in Northern Italy and wanted to track them down and try to recover a relationship with them. Peter agreed, especially as he had only his in-laws left in Rock Creek and could easily find work in Italy.
So they moved there and went to live in Lombardy. Their children grew up and Rosa fell in love with an Italian boy whom she married after a few months and from their marriage two children were born: Luca and Piera.
Ulisse, Achille and Nausicaa were very saddened at not being able to see Elizabeth again and this convinced Nausicaa even more to undertake the long-awaited journey to Italy: she convinced her husband to join Peter and his family for a short time. Nausicaa wanted to visit all the places of her mother's childhood and fell in love with Italy so much that she returned there other times to visit, also accompanied by the brothers Ulisse and Achille with their families.
When Franklin, son of Nausicaa, got married, he decided to spend the first years of his marriage in Italy, in Milan, to reconnect with his cousin Elizabeth and Peter's other children, but when the war broke out, he returned with his wife in America and settled in Michigan with his family.
The years passed and little by little the bonds between the single families broke: the sons of Ulisse, Nausicaa, Achille and Peter took very different paths and no one was left in Sweetwater. Lou, Kid and Rachel, once dead, had been buried near their friends and the couple's children had also moved to different cities, some in California, some in Missouri, some in Virginia.
The homes of Deborah, Lou and Rachel were still there, abandoned but standing, filled with memories that someone would sooner or later bring back to life.
Chapter Nine
America / Italy 2022
The day came for Deborah and her family to leave. Deborah's heart was overwhelmed by a thousand emotions: the joy of discovering her origins and the journey she had postponed for two years due to the pandemic, anxiety about what she would discover, a desire to see Gregg again and a sense of guilt towards her family. In short, it was a bundle of nerves that walked. Her husband had noticed her agitation but attributed it to the thrill of carrying out her research and nothing else.
In those days she had exchanged messages with Gregg who had consulted the archives of Rock Creek, Seneca and Sweetwater, the places that Achille had mentioned in his letters. He had for the moment left out California because Achille had only been there in the last few years and therefore he thought that there was nothing relevant and moreover Deborah would have concluded her journey there, where by the way he also lived, so they would have taken care of it at a later time.
The archives actually reported names and dates corresponding to their information. Gregg had marked all the addresses and once Deborah arrived, they would start searching.
In the meantime, his agent had managed to organize his transfer to Italy: they would have started with small concerts in the squares between the end of August and the beginning of September with songs by Gregg and covers to test the reaction of the public and if things went well, they would produced new pieces together. The idea was to have them also participate in some talk shows to spread their projects and to make Deborah known. Gregg had realized that, contrary to his expectations, as Deborah had pointed out, even in Italy he was enjoying some success. His agent had also taken care to get him an apartment in the center where he would live by the end of August.
When Deborah and her family arrived, Gregg picked them up at the airport and arranged for their transfer to Sweetwater : they would start there.
During the last few days in Italy, Deborah had bought some books on the pony express to get information and names about this old activity, so as not to arrive completely unprepared.
The meeting between Deborah and Gregg was exciting: their embrace and their chaste kiss on the cheek burned in their hearts but after a first embarrassment they tried to compose themselves so as not to arouse suspicion.
They all stayed in the same hotel and rested to work off the time zone.
The next morning, Gregg showed them the address he had found in the archives: it corresponded to the old station of the pony express that no longer existed but by asking around he had known that the place had remained as it was, with its ruins and remains of the old buildings, because it had become a tourist spot.
The excitement was sky high: they decided to go to the place early in the morning, to avoid the possible crowd of tourists, despite the mayor had told Gregg that in reality, at that time of year, due to the high temperatures, there was no 'were many visitors.
In fact, when they arrived, they met no one.
They found the remains of a bunkhouse that must have been the headquarters of the station, very badly reduced, and the ruins of three neighboring houses which, according to the stories of their uncle Achille, should have been the homes of his parents, the owner of the station and the friends of parents of Achille.
“So, where do we start?” Gregg asked.
“I would exclude the hut, now there is nothing left. But what exactly are we looking for? ”Deborah asked. He spoke English and she answered in Italian, so they both tried to learn each other's languages.
“I don't know, we're so caught up in research that we don't even know what to look for. Documents, objects, letters or photos that can confirm the stories of your uncle Achille I suppose ”, replied Gregg.
"Which is more related to yours than mine apparently ...", Deborah pointed out.
Her husband understood that this had to be their moment and said to his wife: "Take all the time you need, I'll take a ride with the baby and let him play a little, otherwise he'll get bored"
“Thanks honey”, Deborah said and kissed him on the cheek, feeling very embarrassed. She saw that Gregg was also very embarrassed and that he had looked away.
She wondered if she would sustain this situation for a long time but decided not to think about it now.
They first entered the house which looked the oldest but which was closer to the bunkhouse. They looked around as they entered and were disappointed to find that cords were being pulled to prevent visitors from touching the furniture or antiques.
“What do we do now?” Deborah asked.
"I think we'll have to ask the mayor for special permission to conduct research. We will have to explain the situation to him and ask him to allow us to rummage through the remaining things ”, stated Gregg.
Deborah nodded in disappointment.
He took her hand and said: "You will see, we will find what we are looking for, it will be just a little more complicated than expected".
They decided to just go on a patrol tour, trying to figure out who those houses belonged to based on Achille' stories.
Deborah informed her husband of the unexpected and after taking some photos, they returned to the city.
While Deborah rested her son, her husband accompanied Gregg to the mayor. Gregg was very embarrassed, especially since the man was not very talkative, so he tried to bring the topic to research.
The mayor, after hearing the whole story, said he couldn't allow them to touch the artifacts and objects, because it would have to involve the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the time would be long.
Gregg, very disappointed, thanked him and the two men went back to the hotel.
When Deborah found out about it, she exclaimed: “I'm sorry but stupid laws won't stop me. I didn't come here for nothing. Tomorrow will be Monday and if today, which is Sunday, we haven't found anyone, let alone tomorrow. Love, ”she said to her husband and immediately regretted having called him that,“ you will be the stake while you play with the baby and Gregg and I will look for what we need ”.
"But we can't do it, if they find us they'll arrest us", protested her husband. "Gregg, tell her something, make her understand you can't break the laws!"
But Gregg replied: "In fact, I agree with her, we need to understand if it's all true."
The man shook his head and after protesting for a while, being in the minority, he surrendered.
The next day they went back to the site and as agreed, Deborah's husband stayed outside to let the baby play and make sure no one came, while she and Gregg entered. They moved furniture, opened drawers, looking for they didn't even know what. In the first house, at a certain point, they found a drawing in a drawer, a drawing that depicted some boys and two girls, in a party dress. There was the signature and the date: Ike, 1861. Ike .... one of the names mentioned by Achille in his letters. It was already a start. Stuck in the same drawer they found the photo of a blonde woman and an elderly man: they assumed that it was the owner of the station, Teaspoon Hunter, and the woman who took care of them, Rachel. So that was to be the woman's house.
They found nothing else. They went out, showed the drawing and the photo to Deborah's husband who hid them in his backpack and then entered the second house, the one closest to the first.
When they entered, they felt a shiver that ran down their backs, as if they felt they were in the right place. They looked down to the ground floor but found nothing but insignificant objects. They then climbed a staircase that led to the upper floor, which had been built to replace the original to allow tourists to visit the upper floor as well. They entered the first room they encountered, which must have been the bedroom. They dared not look each other in the eyes, prey to their emotions. They opened the chest in front of the bed but there were only old clothes. Deborah then went to the wardrobe next to the bed: she opened it and began to rummage and suddenly, hidden behind a broken panel, she saw like the side of a box.
"Gregg, come here, maybe I found something."
Gregg walked over to her, knelt beside her and helped her move the panel. A large abandoned box emerged that had probably never been found because the cabinet panels had given way and had buried it. They looked at each other and instinctively kissed each other, shivering at the touch of their mouths. Deborah immediately drew back and said: "Come on, let's get her out."
Meanwhile, Deborah's phone rang; was her husband: "What is it? Is someone coming? "
"Yes, tourists are coming, you'd better not be found rummaging".
"All right thank you. We found a box. We take it out immediately pretending that it is ours. Until the tourists have gone, we will visit the other house ".
Then she informed Gregg and they left immediately. They managed to be out before the newly arrived couple made their way to the house they had come from and they made their way to what must have been the third couple's house. They knew they had some time before the two tourists arrived, so they started rummaging here and there and even there they found old photos stuck between the furniture.
They decided to go back to the previous house as soon as it was free to see if there was still something, but they found nothing else.
They went back to the hotel eager to open that box and compare all the material found with the informations.
Deborah's husband offered to take the child to play in a nearby park. Deborah was extremely grateful to him for this sensitivity, she would inform him later.
As soon as they were alone, Gregg asked her: "Are you ready?"
She nodded and he opened the box: they found some precious objects engraved with the names of Deborah and Buck, letters, a diary and a portrait of them. Deborah was struck by the similarity of Gregg and Buck: the same magnetic eyes, the same criminal smile, as she called it, and the same hair color.
She looked at him and said: "I believe that as far as you are concerned there are no more doubts: you are a photocopy of your ancestor!" and smiled at him. He was beginning to understand Italian more and more and her gaze was enough for him to make sure he understood what she had said to him.
He returned the smile but said nothing. They continued to look and found other photos that always identified the same people, which also returned in the portrait found in the first house.
With great emotion they then took the letters: they all had the same handwriting, probably female, but also contained Buck's answers and the contents of some greeting cards. They deduced that they were not the originals and that someone must have copied them. It took them nearly two hours to read them all. Gregg read them because Deborah felt unable to understand what was written there. She had tears in her eyes to feel how strong the love that had bound those two people was and Gregg was also very shaken.
After reading, they shifted their attention to the diary: they opened it and noticed the same handwriting of the letters and a name: Nausicaa.
The first pages were monotonous, they were the thoughts and confidences of a girl who was in full adolescence; a few blank pages followed and then the writing resumed: the handwriting was the same but more mature, probably the girl had stopped writing for a few years and then started again at a later time.
"Gregg, look here", Deborah said suddenly.
He looked and saw that Nausicaa had written that she was about to tell the love story of her parents, a love that had been her source of inspiration and that deserved to be remembered.
Deborah passed the diary back to Gregg who began to read: it described the whole love story of Deborah and Buck, before and after the birth of their children, up to the decision to bury the original letters with them.
The names of the research conducted by Gregg and Deborah coincided perfectly with what Nausicaa wrote in the diary: they had made it, they had discovered who they were and what link there was between them: Nausicaa was Gregg's great-grandmother, while Maria was the grandmother Deborah's grandmother; Achille was the second-degree uncle of Deborah's grandmother and the brother of Gregg's great-grandmother.
Gregg and Deborah laid everything down, looked into each other's eyes, took their hands, and when Gregg kissed her passionately she did not flinch.
After the kiss they looked at each other again: Deborah was crying and Gregg was visibly moved.
"We still have one thing left to do, you know that right?" Said Gregg.
Deborah nodded but said: “I have to inform my husband first. This time he and my son must also be present, the whole family is involved ”.
Gregg smiled at her. Deborah called her husband who returned immediately and was made aware of the discovery. He congratulated them both and then asked: “What are your intentions with these things? Do you want to return them or will you keep them? "
Deborah replied: "If no one has found them before there will be a reason, so I would say that they are more ours than the state or anyone else."
The two men nodded. They decided that the following morning they would go to the last place to visit. It would then have been useless to go to other cities, what they needed to know was all there.
They spent the evening discussing the discovery and comparing photos, letters and objects. Gregg took Buck's watch and things, while Deborah took her namesake's jewelry, although she would have preferred Gregg to keep them, she was a relative in law after all.
“Keep them for the woman you choose for yourself”, she told him.
He replied: "I want you to have them" and he wanted to continue: "Because you are the woman I turn to with me", but he couldn't say. But she looked him in the eyes, understood and smiled at him, albeit with melancholy.
The next day they went to the old cemetery: they found all the tombs mentioned in the diary and right where it was indicated by Nausicaa, they found the chest with the original letters: they took it without anyone noticing and rearranged the earth.
While her husband held the baby well, Gregg and Deborah stopped in front of the graves of Buck and Deborah and instinctively took their hands. Her husband noticed this but preferred to let it go, hoping that this was dictated by the emotion of the moment.
Deborah then broke away from Gregg and walked towards her son: she took him in her arms and said to everyone: "I think it's time to go and finally let all these people rest in peace".
The two men nodded and followed her.
In the afternoon Deborah and Gregg shared the writings: she kept the copies of the letters and he kept the originals and the diary, as well as the portrait of Deborah and Buck. Deborah kept Ike's drawing and shared out the other photos.
Deborah made a long phone call to her mother and Gregg did the same. Gregg's mom wanted to meet Deborah and her family, but it was impossible at the time, so she was promised that when they got back to America they would visit her. Gregg, on the other hand, would have met Deborah's family as soon as they returned to Italy and her mother would also have to digest the news of her daughter's new job.
The next day, early in the morning, they said goodbye: Deborah and her family would continue their tour, while Gregg would return home to sort out the last things before the move.
Upon saying goodbye, Gregg told her: “Now nothing can separate us anymore. Ci vediamo a casa"
"Ci vediamo a casa. But remember the pacts ”.
He nodded and kissed her on the cheek. She fought back the tears.
In those days she had exchanged messages with Gregg who had consulted the archives of Rock Creek, Seneca and Sweetwater, the places that Achille had mentioned in his letters. He had for the moment left out California because Achille had only been there in the last few years and therefore he thought that there was nothing relevant and moreover Deborah would have concluded her journey there, where by the way he also lived, so they would have taken care of it at a later time.
The archives actually reported names and dates corresponding to their information. Gregg had marked all the addresses and once Deborah arrived, they would start searching.
In the meantime, his agent had managed to organize his transfer to Italy: they would have started with small concerts in the squares between the end of August and the beginning of September with songs by Gregg and covers to test the reaction of the public and if things went well, they would produced new pieces together. The idea was to have them also participate in some talk shows to spread their projects and to make Deborah known. Gregg had realized that, contrary to his expectations, as Deborah had pointed out, even in Italy he was enjoying some success. His agent had also taken care to get him an apartment in the center where he would live by the end of August.
When Deborah and her family arrived, Gregg picked them up at the airport and arranged for their transfer to Sweetwater : they would start there.
During the last few days in Italy, Deborah had bought some books on the pony express to get information and names about this old activity, so as not to arrive completely unprepared.
The meeting between Deborah and Gregg was exciting: their embrace and their chaste kiss on the cheek burned in their hearts but after a first embarrassment they tried to compose themselves so as not to arouse suspicion.
They all stayed in the same hotel and rested to work off the time zone.
The next morning, Gregg showed them the address he had found in the archives: it corresponded to the old station of the pony express that no longer existed but by asking around he had known that the place had remained as it was, with its ruins and remains of the old buildings, because it had become a tourist spot.
The excitement was sky high: they decided to go to the place early in the morning, to avoid the possible crowd of tourists, despite the mayor had told Gregg that in reality, at that time of year, due to the high temperatures, there was no 'were many visitors.
In fact, when they arrived, they met no one.
They found the remains of a bunkhouse that must have been the headquarters of the station, very badly reduced, and the ruins of three neighboring houses which, according to the stories of their uncle Achille, should have been the homes of his parents, the owner of the station and the friends of parents of Achille.
“So, where do we start?” Gregg asked.
“I would exclude the hut, now there is nothing left. But what exactly are we looking for? ”Deborah asked. He spoke English and she answered in Italian, so they both tried to learn each other's languages.
“I don't know, we're so caught up in research that we don't even know what to look for. Documents, objects, letters or photos that can confirm the stories of your uncle Achille I suppose ”, replied Gregg.
"Which is more related to yours than mine apparently ...", Deborah pointed out.
Her husband understood that this had to be their moment and said to his wife: "Take all the time you need, I'll take a ride with the baby and let him play a little, otherwise he'll get bored"
“Thanks honey”, Deborah said and kissed him on the cheek, feeling very embarrassed. She saw that Gregg was also very embarrassed and that he had looked away.
She wondered if she would sustain this situation for a long time but decided not to think about it now.
They first entered the house which looked the oldest but which was closer to the bunkhouse. They looked around as they entered and were disappointed to find that cords were being pulled to prevent visitors from touching the furniture or antiques.
“What do we do now?” Deborah asked.
"I think we'll have to ask the mayor for special permission to conduct research. We will have to explain the situation to him and ask him to allow us to rummage through the remaining things ”, stated Gregg.
Deborah nodded in disappointment.
He took her hand and said: "You will see, we will find what we are looking for, it will be just a little more complicated than expected".
They decided to just go on a patrol tour, trying to figure out who those houses belonged to based on Achille' stories.
Deborah informed her husband of the unexpected and after taking some photos, they returned to the city.
While Deborah rested her son, her husband accompanied Gregg to the mayor. Gregg was very embarrassed, especially since the man was not very talkative, so he tried to bring the topic to research.
The mayor, after hearing the whole story, said he couldn't allow them to touch the artifacts and objects, because it would have to involve the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the time would be long.
Gregg, very disappointed, thanked him and the two men went back to the hotel.
When Deborah found out about it, she exclaimed: “I'm sorry but stupid laws won't stop me. I didn't come here for nothing. Tomorrow will be Monday and if today, which is Sunday, we haven't found anyone, let alone tomorrow. Love, ”she said to her husband and immediately regretted having called him that,“ you will be the stake while you play with the baby and Gregg and I will look for what we need ”.
"But we can't do it, if they find us they'll arrest us", protested her husband. "Gregg, tell her something, make her understand you can't break the laws!"
But Gregg replied: "In fact, I agree with her, we need to understand if it's all true."
The man shook his head and after protesting for a while, being in the minority, he surrendered.
The next day they went back to the site and as agreed, Deborah's husband stayed outside to let the baby play and make sure no one came, while she and Gregg entered. They moved furniture, opened drawers, looking for they didn't even know what. In the first house, at a certain point, they found a drawing in a drawer, a drawing that depicted some boys and two girls, in a party dress. There was the signature and the date: Ike, 1861. Ike .... one of the names mentioned by Achille in his letters. It was already a start. Stuck in the same drawer they found the photo of a blonde woman and an elderly man: they assumed that it was the owner of the station, Teaspoon Hunter, and the woman who took care of them, Rachel. So that was to be the woman's house.
They found nothing else. They went out, showed the drawing and the photo to Deborah's husband who hid them in his backpack and then entered the second house, the one closest to the first.
When they entered, they felt a shiver that ran down their backs, as if they felt they were in the right place. They looked down to the ground floor but found nothing but insignificant objects. They then climbed a staircase that led to the upper floor, which had been built to replace the original to allow tourists to visit the upper floor as well. They entered the first room they encountered, which must have been the bedroom. They dared not look each other in the eyes, prey to their emotions. They opened the chest in front of the bed but there were only old clothes. Deborah then went to the wardrobe next to the bed: she opened it and began to rummage and suddenly, hidden behind a broken panel, she saw like the side of a box.
"Gregg, come here, maybe I found something."
Gregg walked over to her, knelt beside her and helped her move the panel. A large abandoned box emerged that had probably never been found because the cabinet panels had given way and had buried it. They looked at each other and instinctively kissed each other, shivering at the touch of their mouths. Deborah immediately drew back and said: "Come on, let's get her out."
Meanwhile, Deborah's phone rang; was her husband: "What is it? Is someone coming? "
"Yes, tourists are coming, you'd better not be found rummaging".
"All right thank you. We found a box. We take it out immediately pretending that it is ours. Until the tourists have gone, we will visit the other house ".
Then she informed Gregg and they left immediately. They managed to be out before the newly arrived couple made their way to the house they had come from and they made their way to what must have been the third couple's house. They knew they had some time before the two tourists arrived, so they started rummaging here and there and even there they found old photos stuck between the furniture.
They decided to go back to the previous house as soon as it was free to see if there was still something, but they found nothing else.
They went back to the hotel eager to open that box and compare all the material found with the informations.
Deborah's husband offered to take the child to play in a nearby park. Deborah was extremely grateful to him for this sensitivity, she would inform him later.
As soon as they were alone, Gregg asked her: "Are you ready?"
She nodded and he opened the box: they found some precious objects engraved with the names of Deborah and Buck, letters, a diary and a portrait of them. Deborah was struck by the similarity of Gregg and Buck: the same magnetic eyes, the same criminal smile, as she called it, and the same hair color.
She looked at him and said: "I believe that as far as you are concerned there are no more doubts: you are a photocopy of your ancestor!" and smiled at him. He was beginning to understand Italian more and more and her gaze was enough for him to make sure he understood what she had said to him.
He returned the smile but said nothing. They continued to look and found other photos that always identified the same people, which also returned in the portrait found in the first house.
With great emotion they then took the letters: they all had the same handwriting, probably female, but also contained Buck's answers and the contents of some greeting cards. They deduced that they were not the originals and that someone must have copied them. It took them nearly two hours to read them all. Gregg read them because Deborah felt unable to understand what was written there. She had tears in her eyes to feel how strong the love that had bound those two people was and Gregg was also very shaken.
After reading, they shifted their attention to the diary: they opened it and noticed the same handwriting of the letters and a name: Nausicaa.
The first pages were monotonous, they were the thoughts and confidences of a girl who was in full adolescence; a few blank pages followed and then the writing resumed: the handwriting was the same but more mature, probably the girl had stopped writing for a few years and then started again at a later time.
"Gregg, look here", Deborah said suddenly.
He looked and saw that Nausicaa had written that she was about to tell the love story of her parents, a love that had been her source of inspiration and that deserved to be remembered.
Deborah passed the diary back to Gregg who began to read: it described the whole love story of Deborah and Buck, before and after the birth of their children, up to the decision to bury the original letters with them.
The names of the research conducted by Gregg and Deborah coincided perfectly with what Nausicaa wrote in the diary: they had made it, they had discovered who they were and what link there was between them: Nausicaa was Gregg's great-grandmother, while Maria was the grandmother Deborah's grandmother; Achille was the second-degree uncle of Deborah's grandmother and the brother of Gregg's great-grandmother.
Gregg and Deborah laid everything down, looked into each other's eyes, took their hands, and when Gregg kissed her passionately she did not flinch.
After the kiss they looked at each other again: Deborah was crying and Gregg was visibly moved.
"We still have one thing left to do, you know that right?" Said Gregg.
Deborah nodded but said: “I have to inform my husband first. This time he and my son must also be present, the whole family is involved ”.
Gregg smiled at her. Deborah called her husband who returned immediately and was made aware of the discovery. He congratulated them both and then asked: “What are your intentions with these things? Do you want to return them or will you keep them? "
Deborah replied: "If no one has found them before there will be a reason, so I would say that they are more ours than the state or anyone else."
The two men nodded. They decided that the following morning they would go to the last place to visit. It would then have been useless to go to other cities, what they needed to know was all there.
They spent the evening discussing the discovery and comparing photos, letters and objects. Gregg took Buck's watch and things, while Deborah took her namesake's jewelry, although she would have preferred Gregg to keep them, she was a relative in law after all.
“Keep them for the woman you choose for yourself”, she told him.
He replied: "I want you to have them" and he wanted to continue: "Because you are the woman I turn to with me", but he couldn't say. But she looked him in the eyes, understood and smiled at him, albeit with melancholy.
The next day they went to the old cemetery: they found all the tombs mentioned in the diary and right where it was indicated by Nausicaa, they found the chest with the original letters: they took it without anyone noticing and rearranged the earth.
While her husband held the baby well, Gregg and Deborah stopped in front of the graves of Buck and Deborah and instinctively took their hands. Her husband noticed this but preferred to let it go, hoping that this was dictated by the emotion of the moment.
Deborah then broke away from Gregg and walked towards her son: she took him in her arms and said to everyone: "I think it's time to go and finally let all these people rest in peace".
The two men nodded and followed her.
In the afternoon Deborah and Gregg shared the writings: she kept the copies of the letters and he kept the originals and the diary, as well as the portrait of Deborah and Buck. Deborah kept Ike's drawing and shared out the other photos.
Deborah made a long phone call to her mother and Gregg did the same. Gregg's mom wanted to meet Deborah and her family, but it was impossible at the time, so she was promised that when they got back to America they would visit her. Gregg, on the other hand, would have met Deborah's family as soon as they returned to Italy and her mother would also have to digest the news of her daughter's new job.
The next day, early in the morning, they said goodbye: Deborah and her family would continue their tour, while Gregg would return home to sort out the last things before the move.
Upon saying goodbye, Gregg told her: “Now nothing can separate us anymore. Ci vediamo a casa"
"Ci vediamo a casa. But remember the pacts ”.
He nodded and kissed her on the cheek. She fought back the tears.
Epilogue
Italy 2022-2023
The whole family was waiting for Gregg at Malpensa airport: Deborah, her husband, her son, Deborah's parents, sister and brother-in-law. Deborah had tried to convince them that Gregg might feel a little choked, but she hadn't been successful.
When he arrived, Gregg was a bit confused. She approached him, kissed him on the cheek and said: "I wrote to you, I couldn't hold them back. If you want to escape I will understand you ”.
He laughed and replied in Italian: " Non me ne andrei per tutto l'oro del mondo. Non ti libererai più di me "
"Is it a threat?", She said smiling, radiant because she had missed him immensely.
“No, una promessa” he replied and shook her hand.
"Here we are, this is Gregg, our new in-law and my new colleague, right mom?"
Her mother had not yet digested the news of Deborah's new job, but there was nothing she could do to dissuade her.
Deborah made the introductions and then took Gregg to their house to get to know him better, even though he had to work off the time zone.
"Don't worry, I'll rest tomorrow", he told Deborah.
They spent the whole day together and Deborah and Gregg related what they had experienced in Sweetwater. Deborah's family members asked many questions and wondered what happened to all the other children and grandchildren involved in the story.
Gregg said: “We will calmly try to track down everyone. Now that we know what to look for, we will take our time to do it, hoping to be lucky. It will be hard work "
In the evening, Deborah's sister and her brother-in-law accompanied Gregg to Milan, as they also lived in the city.
The next day Gregg rested but made arrangements with Deborah to start their new job.
Deborah hadn't returned to school yet, so they rehearsed a lot in a recording studio to prepare for their first concert.
Gregg's manager organized evenings in some of the main Lombard cities, during which Deborah dueted with Gregg in his songs and also proposed covers of famous pieces.
As the public appreciated, participation in some talk shows were set to make the new singing couple known and the concerts were also extended to other Italian regions. Whenever they were asked a question about their romantic relationship, the answer was always the same: theirs was just a professional relationship.
Gregg had kept his promise: they had never kissed and they had never been together, even though he never stopped reminding her that his heart belonged to her.
Deborah felt bad at times, guilty with her husband and sad for not being able to have Gregg, but she had found a balance.
Going on stage with him was very emotional. They always held hands and she wouldn't let him let her go for a moment. From that grip she drew her strength and when the reporters pointed this out, the answer was always the same: it was their strength.
Success came shortly. Deborah managed to reconcile rehearsals, concerts, school and family and when they could, her husband and son followed her.
Everything was going well, until the most important song festival of the year arrived: Deborah and Gregg were invited as guests of honor.
Deborah was very agitated but Gregg managed to keep her calm and in fact their performance was a success. He wore a black tuxedo and was very glamorous, while she wore a white Marilyn Monroe dress and wore her hair with curls that fell down her shoulders.
After the show, they participated in a private party with all the VIPs of Italian music.
It was a wonderful evening, they sang, danced and had a great time. When they returned to the hotel, in the elevator, Gregg told her: "It was a magical evening, you were very good and as always you are wonderful, I have never seen such a beautiful woman. There is only one thing missing to make this evening perfect "
Deborah's heart stopped. She couldn't take it anymore, she wanted Gregg with all her strength and being away from him was torture.
She replied: "My mind tells me no.". Gregg looked down ready to receive a new refusal.
Deborah, however, added: "But my heart screams << YES >> and this time I want to listen to it".
He looked at her in disbelief. That smile streaked across his face and loosened her legs.
He took her by the hand, led her to his hotel room and they loved each other passionately all night, without thinking about tomorrow and the difficulties they would have to face. They only knew that they no longer wanted to separate.
Their love could no longer be repressed, it was something too strong and unique. After all, he was a descendant of Buck Cross and she bore the same name as his beloved wife Deborah.
When he arrived, Gregg was a bit confused. She approached him, kissed him on the cheek and said: "I wrote to you, I couldn't hold them back. If you want to escape I will understand you ”.
He laughed and replied in Italian: " Non me ne andrei per tutto l'oro del mondo. Non ti libererai più di me "
"Is it a threat?", She said smiling, radiant because she had missed him immensely.
“No, una promessa” he replied and shook her hand.
"Here we are, this is Gregg, our new in-law and my new colleague, right mom?"
Her mother had not yet digested the news of Deborah's new job, but there was nothing she could do to dissuade her.
Deborah made the introductions and then took Gregg to their house to get to know him better, even though he had to work off the time zone.
"Don't worry, I'll rest tomorrow", he told Deborah.
They spent the whole day together and Deborah and Gregg related what they had experienced in Sweetwater. Deborah's family members asked many questions and wondered what happened to all the other children and grandchildren involved in the story.
Gregg said: “We will calmly try to track down everyone. Now that we know what to look for, we will take our time to do it, hoping to be lucky. It will be hard work "
In the evening, Deborah's sister and her brother-in-law accompanied Gregg to Milan, as they also lived in the city.
The next day Gregg rested but made arrangements with Deborah to start their new job.
Deborah hadn't returned to school yet, so they rehearsed a lot in a recording studio to prepare for their first concert.
Gregg's manager organized evenings in some of the main Lombard cities, during which Deborah dueted with Gregg in his songs and also proposed covers of famous pieces.
As the public appreciated, participation in some talk shows were set to make the new singing couple known and the concerts were also extended to other Italian regions. Whenever they were asked a question about their romantic relationship, the answer was always the same: theirs was just a professional relationship.
Gregg had kept his promise: they had never kissed and they had never been together, even though he never stopped reminding her that his heart belonged to her.
Deborah felt bad at times, guilty with her husband and sad for not being able to have Gregg, but she had found a balance.
Going on stage with him was very emotional. They always held hands and she wouldn't let him let her go for a moment. From that grip she drew her strength and when the reporters pointed this out, the answer was always the same: it was their strength.
Success came shortly. Deborah managed to reconcile rehearsals, concerts, school and family and when they could, her husband and son followed her.
Everything was going well, until the most important song festival of the year arrived: Deborah and Gregg were invited as guests of honor.
Deborah was very agitated but Gregg managed to keep her calm and in fact their performance was a success. He wore a black tuxedo and was very glamorous, while she wore a white Marilyn Monroe dress and wore her hair with curls that fell down her shoulders.
After the show, they participated in a private party with all the VIPs of Italian music.
It was a wonderful evening, they sang, danced and had a great time. When they returned to the hotel, in the elevator, Gregg told her: "It was a magical evening, you were very good and as always you are wonderful, I have never seen such a beautiful woman. There is only one thing missing to make this evening perfect "
Deborah's heart stopped. She couldn't take it anymore, she wanted Gregg with all her strength and being away from him was torture.
She replied: "My mind tells me no.". Gregg looked down ready to receive a new refusal.
Deborah, however, added: "But my heart screams << YES >> and this time I want to listen to it".
He looked at her in disbelief. That smile streaked across his face and loosened her legs.
He took her by the hand, led her to his hotel room and they loved each other passionately all night, without thinking about tomorrow and the difficulties they would have to face. They only knew that they no longer wanted to separate.
Their love could no longer be repressed, it was something too strong and unique. After all, he was a descendant of Buck Cross and she bore the same name as his beloved wife Deborah.