Summer in Sorrento by Melissa Hill Page A

someone who has food on their face.  But I always wondered, after he died, like why did I remember that?  Out of all things?  What was its significance to my life ? ”
                  Taking a deep breath of the sea air and closing her eyes, Maia listened for the sounds that floated up from the valley beneath.
                  When she opened her eyes again she shrugged.  “I’ m glad I remember though.  Even with Jim gone.  I t’ s the little things like that that pepper my thoughts.  They help keep him alive to me . ”
                  The pair sat in silence for a moment and when Jacob finally spoke, his statement caught her unawares.
                  “ You asked me a question earlier, at dinner, about the way I felt toward my father.  You asked me if I was sure I wanted to feel that way . ”
                  Maia shifted uncomfortably .“I’ m sorry, I probably should n’ t have said that.  I t’ s not my place .. . ”
                  “ No, i t’ s okay.  I t’ s what brought me out here. I needed to think ,” Jacob said evenly.  “ But can I ask you a question ? ”   She nodded her approval.  “ Have you ever had to try to forgive someone for a lifetime of unhappiness ? ”
                  Maia tilted her head.  “ Ar e yo u unhappy though?  You do n’ t seem that way to me . ”
                  Jacob tucked his feet up closer to his body and wrapped his arms around his legs.  “ No, I’ m not unhappy.  I have everything I could want in lif e— great career, money to buy whatever I want, companionship if I want it, friends. And quite honestly, if it were just about me, I probably would n’ t give him another thought.  But i t’ s my mom.  I t’ s abou t he r .  She spent the majority of the prime years of her life unhappy, overworked, caring for two children alone.  I remember her crying at night when she thought Adriana and I were asleep.  I remember her stressing over money.  I guess tha t’ s what I find unforgivable . ”
                   It was an honest answer , Maia thought.  But she also believed there was something out of kilter with his line of thinking.
                  “ What about your mother?  What does she think of him ? ”
                  Jacob sighed.  “ Tha t’ s what I do n’ t get.  When Adriana was pressuring me to come over here.  Mom told me I should come too.  I mean, why?  I told her if it was so important that I come here, then why did n’ t she come with me?  To watch the old man die, to get that closure.  She said that closure occurred for her when she left Italy.  That she did n’ t need to mourn him again . ”
                  Maia smiled understanding what Jacob was missing.  “ Your mother sounds like a very wise woman . ”
                  “ How so ?” he asked, looking at her and forgetting the view of Naples.
                  “ It sounds to me like your mother finished mourning for her relationship with your father years ago.  And what you might have interpreted as her dealing with a broken heart might really just have been a woman who was doing her best to handle the stresses of making a new life for herself after the plans that she thought were set in stone crumbled before her eyes.  What you might have thought were unhappiness and regret and loneliness, could very well have been something different . ”
                  Jacob furrowed his brow.  “ How do you know that ? ”
                  “ Because I’ ve been through it ,” Maia answered simply. Thinking of the painful time immediately after Ji m’ s passing, she took a deep breath and willed herself not to cry.  “ I had a great love in my life.  And no Jim did n’ t leave me, but after he died, I knew that there was nothing I could do to bring him back.  I