Redemption (Sempre 2)

She shrugged. “I’m just trying to figure out who he is. Is it a crime to want to know about my friend’s life? You don’t talk much about it.”

“There’s not much to tell.”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Whatever, let me get dressed and we’ll go.”

Corrado’s car was gone when they headed outside. They shared a cab in silence to the Rainbow Art Center and spent the morning cleaning the place, organizing everything and gathering up all of the kids’ artwork. They carefully framed them all and spent two hours affixing the paintings to the wall and decorating for a party. Kelsey left at one point to get snacks and drinks as Haven blew up balloons. She turned around to get something, nearly colliding with someone standing there. The person grabbed her shoulders as she screamed, caught off guard.

“Relax,” Corrado said. “It’s just me.”

“How did you know where I was?” she asked.

He raised his eyebrows. “You think I don’t keep tabs on you?”

“Well, sure, but I didn’t know how closely.”

“Close enough that I could find you at any given moment,” he said. “It’s my job to know. It’s nice what you do here, by the way.”

“Oh,” she said, flushing. Was that a compliment? “Thanks. I enjoy it.”

“I imagine you do,” he said. “Maura did similar things. She always said if she helped just one person, it would have been worth the sacrifice.”

“She mentioned that in her journal,” Haven mumbled. “I feel the same way.”

“So you understand why Carmine left you, then?”

Haven cringed from the question, not expecting it.

“Vincent fought to ensure Carmine didn’t turn out like him, but at eighteen he made the exact same decision his father did anyway,” Corrado explained. “It’s logical they’d worry what happened to Maura would happen to you, too. What they fail to realize, though, is the main thing Maura tried to teach them. Cambiano i suonatori ma la musica è sempre quella.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

He didn’t answer for a moment as he wandered through the room, his attention focused on the juvenile paintings. It was weird watching him. Haven never took Corrado as someone who would be remotely interested in those sorts of things.

“You read her journal, so am I correct to assume you know I failed her?”

“Failed her?” she asked hesitantly. “She didn’t see it that way. She said you were always fair to her, even when she was . . . you know . . . in your home.”

“I could’ve done more.”

“Can’t we all?” she responded. “We’re only human, after all.”

“You’re a lot like Maura, but there are some differences. She wouldn’t have stood here and held a conversation with me, that’s for sure, and she would’ve certainly abandoned her plans the second I demanded.” He paused, smiling with amusement. “Regardless, I see why they’d worry, but just because a person’s situation changes, doesn’t mean they change. It doesn’t matter if you’re in North Carolina or California or New York or Illinois—you are who you are. That’s what I meant by it.”

The door swung open then, sunlight filtering in from outside.

“Have you ever been in a Wal-Mart?” Kelsey hollered, coming in the room and dropping bags on the floor. “That place was a madhouse. I felt like I stepped into some alternate universe where banana clips and blue eye shadow are still in style. And Jesus, what’s with all the big hair? I’m surprised I made it out alive! Half those women looked like they could eat me for supper! And I swear, I saw a minivan in the parking lot with one of those honor student bumper stickers, and the woman driving had on . . .” She glanced over, her words faltering when she spotted Corrado. “. . . Mom jeans. Hello, there.”

“Hello,” Corrado replied. “I’ll let you ladies get back to your work.”

He strolled away, stepping outside as he pulled out his phone.

“Personal bodyguard?” Kelsey asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Is this like the Bodyguard movie, steamy affair included?”

“No. I told you, it’s nothing like that.”

“Pity.” She shrugged and started digging through the bags, setting up the snack table. They ordered pizza and Haven fixed the punch when people arrived, the children excitedly running in while their caretakers lingered off to the side. Some didn’t even bother to stay, instead dropping the children off at the curb.

Corrado stuck around for the party, watching warily, so quiet and stoic most barely noticed his presence. Others, however, cast him suspicious looks as they kept their distance. Haven smiled, realizing they likely thought the same thing Kelsey had—he was a police officer.