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50 - Silver Linings

"Nonno really lit into him, sis, you should have seen it; he was magnificent. Told him you're a grown woman and entitled to make your own decisions about how you lead your life. Nonna was just as feisty, said he should have been a better father and been there for us for all those years."

"They're not mad at me? I should have controlled my temper..."

"No! You were absolutely right. He has no right to criticise your behaviour after all, or even to think it was his business what you do. I was so angry with him when he said those things to you – I'm really glad you stood up to him."

"Well, you know what I'm like when I get pissy."

"I sure do," Tony chuckled. He'd rung me a number of times before I finally answered, worried as to what I was going to hear about my family's reaction to my outburst. It turned out I needn't have been concerned.

"Tony, they're not...ashamed of me, are they? I mean, about Ben..."

"Cara, no, come on, I know the Church is against...relations...before marriage, but heck, this is the twenty-first century after all. They don't seem phased or upset about it. They knew about Maria and I before we got married, so..."

"They did?" Huh, my grandparents still had the power to surprise me.

We talked some more and when finally I hung up I felt so much relief I was almost giddy. There was a positive aspect to my angst though – the drama somehow fuelled my creative juices and for the next few days I wrote songs prolifically, the music and lyrics pouring out of me like a waterfall. I called Mick to ask how soon we could get back in the studio.

---

The following weeks flew by.

My father, after being chastised by my brothers and grandparents, made no further effort to contact me, and a week later returned to Italy. If any of them kept in touch they didn't bother telling me and I didn't ask.

Ben went to Los Angeles for the premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and was busy with promotional tours and interviews around the world, so for a few weeks we saw each other only over Skype.

Christmas came and went with all the usual pomp and ceremony then as soon as the New Year was ushered in I was back in the studio with Mick, Marcus, Jake and Rick, recording a new album. I wanted to get as much of it done as possible before leaving to go overseas; I was to attend the Oscars with Ben in LA on the second of March then would fly to Sydney, Australia to join Ed's tour which began on the seventh. In the freezing temperatures we were experiencing it was hard to believe I'd soon be sweltering in a hot Australian summer. Ed had toured there before and warned me it could get as hot as forty degrees Celsius quite frequently, something I couldn't possibly imagine or comprehend.

---

The morning of the ninth of January began as any ordinary Thursday does; I arrived at the studio and grabbed a coffee, chatting with Mick about the song we would be working on that day, one of those I had written soon after the disastrous meeting with my father. It was a melancholy number with rich piano tones and for a change I was abandoning my guitar and just singing.

All the musicians were cheerful as they arrived for the session and once we were set up we got underway, Mick suggesting tweaks as we worked through it.

I knew love when it still meant forever

When a feeling shared didn't always have to hurt