14
Lago di Como, 2010
Ruby glanced at the calendar on the desk in front of the window in her bedroom. “Less than three weeks,” she said, catching the scent of the creamy white roses she loved that Livia had placed on the desk. Ruby didn’t have much time left with Ariana here. Her niece was still determined to return to Los Angeles.
Ruby took a sheet of stationery from the drawer and picked up her pen. Mari. What could she say to bring her here?
Gazing across the lake, Ruby thought about her sister. Watching Patricia’s memory and essence slip away had been so painful that it was almost a relief when she’d finally died. Yet Ruby still missed her. Throughout life, her big sister had always been there, one step ahead of her.
Ruby couldn’t blame Mari for distancing herself from her mother.
