Saint Palisade's

[ 14 ]

MAIDS bustled through the Rossi family villa, preparing it for what would be a royal feast. They made place settings, arranged chairs, and attended to dishes cooking in the kitchen. Their skirts fluttered as they ran back and forth, carrying plates and glasses. Mrs. Rossi oversaw them, inspected their work, often commenting on how things were oriented on the table. She took pride in her entertainment skills. She was used to putting on a show, after all, being an ex-Broadway actress.

"We'll be having 11 tonight, please keep that in mind, staff. I expect all the dishes to be hot and tasty. I'll trust you all to make sure this will be presentable by 7 PM, okay?" Mrs. Rossi took her coat from a maid and left the room.

She took a quick detour to Cameron's room on the second floor. Pictures of her late father-in-law lined the walls, ranging from when he was born all the way up to three months before his death. She sighed.

"Cameron?" She knocked.

An undecipherable groan came from inside, signaling her to come in.

Mrs. Rossi put her coat on a chair and sat on her daughter's bed. She patted the blanket. "Cameron. You cannot be like this forever. Frankly, it's just pathetic."

Cameron simply pulled the blanket to cover her face.

"Cameron, I'm serious. MJ has already tried to apologize more than once. What more do you want from him? You're both kids. You make mistakes. That's how you learn." She tried to comfort her one and only child.

"I thought you didn't want me dating."

"I don't think any mother wants to see their child grow up. But he makes you happy, and for now, while you're still young and have little to no responsibilities, I think you should date him. I think you should be in love with him. No mom would ever say that. But I want you to be happy. And you seem happy when you're with him. If you didn't like him that much, you wouldn't be holed up in your room, crying, barely eating, and watching terrible romantic comedies." Mrs. Rossi pulled at Cameron's arm and managed to get her to sit upright. "I think it would be better if you just... talked to him. I think you may have dragged it out a bit."

"Thanks for being on your daughter's side, really reassuring." Cameron rubbed her eyes and got out of bed.

"Oh don't be like that, sweetheart. Just go and talk to him."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm going out with my friends now. I'm taking a shower." Cameron bent over to touch her toes before grabbing a towel out of a cabinet.

"Oh? Where are you guys going?" Mrs. Rossi asked, eyes curiously widened.

"Apparently Ben's a huge fan of architecture so everyone's going to the Sistine Chapel. Then apparently we're going to the lake or something." Cameron began to look through her standing wardrobe, throwing outfits out and onto her bed, a couple hitting her mother.

"Sure. Whatever. Just make sure you bring your friends back before dinner starts. 7 PM." Mrs. Rossi left her daughter to rummage through her clothing, glad to hear she was finally going out.

———

"Well, well, well, look who managed to wake up. Only took you a day and a half." Isaiah called out from his seat on the deck. All of them had been enjoying their breakfast on the patio this cool Italian morning

The group of six eagerly watched MJ. The table had protein and sides strewn about, all enjoying breakfast before their daily adventure.

Veronica's eyes didn't meet his, but she cleared her throat. "Are you feeling... better?"