Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22
Carla’s Point of View
The kitchen emptied in ten minutes flat. Beppe went to the goats before anyone asked — he always knew. Elena took the younger ones to the village with bread and a list that would keep them busy until lunch. Dario and Pietro were sent to the grove with secateurs and instructions that could have waited a week.
My parents were sheepdogs. Singling me out by leaving me alone.
I smiled into my glass of fresh orange. The pulp caught on my lip and I wiped it with the back of my hand. Morning sun came through the kitchen window and sat in the juice like trapped amber. From the grove, a goat bell. From the road, nothing. The house was quieter than it had been since the night I came home.
Everything was going according to plan.