Love in the Vineyard (Tavonesi #7)(8)
A computer was one thing Natasha hoped she wouldn’t need. Words scrambled fast on a screen, faster than on a printed page.
She thanked Tammy and headed to her car. Tyler had been on her mind all day, and Tammy’s reminder of how tough it was on kids to change schools had zinged home. It didn’t matter that Paseo Country Day School was a great school—the best in the region, Mary had told her—it was new and Tyler was an outsider. At least he had an open mind. And unlike her, he was a natural extrovert. Some days she wondered about the genes he’d gotten from his father. But most days she was glad Tyler bore little resemblance to the man who’d given his DNA to the mix. Some scars ran deep, even if they didn’t show on the outside.
Tyler waved as Natasha pulled up to the curb in front of his school. He tossed his bulging backpack into the back seat and scrambled into the passenger seat beside her. He was tall for his age, tall enough that he’d graduated to sit in front the previous year.
“Mom, they have three baseball fields here! Three. And they have a school team. I’ll be on the nine-to-twelve-year-old team. I won’t be the youngest. Not anymore.”
He chattered all the way back to Inspire. They might be living in temporary quarters in a homeless shelter, but at least she’d realized one of her dreams. Getting Tyler into a school where he had good teachers and great programs and facilities was what had set them on their current path. She regretted her foolish gamble, but she didn’t have to feel guilty about this particular outcome.
“Hey, there’s Mark,” Tyler said as they parked in the lot behind Inspire. “Can I go throw with him?”
“You must have homework.”
“C’mon, I can do it later. I promise. Promise.”
She couldn’t refuse. Mark and his mom had the room next to theirs, and the boy was just a year older than Tyler. Making a new friend was probably just as important as homework.
Tyler unzipped his pack and pulled out his baseball glove. It was worn and nearly too small for his growing hands. When she got her first paycheck, she’d surprise him with a new one.
She watched as he bounded across the field and caught up with Mark. And she felt wistful for a moment, envious at how quickly children could make friends. She gathered the forms Tammy had given her and shouldered Tyler’s backpack.
The main room that served as a dining and living room at Inspire was vacant. Evidently the other women were still at their jobs. Natasha pulled her keys from her pocket and headed down the hall to the room that was the only home she had. Mary met her at the door.
“I was hoping they might let you off early—first day and all that. I have a surprise for you.” She held out an envelope. “Tickets to the Fantasia Masquerade tonight. My husband forgot to mention that his mother’s birthday party was rescheduled for tonight, so we can’t go.”
When Natasha didn’t reach for the envelope, Mary added, “I want you to have my ticket. It’ll be such fun. I rented a costume. It’ll be a bit big on you, but we can pin it up. You’ll make a fabulous Renaissance countess. Far better than me.”
“I really couldn’t accept. I—”
Mary pressed the envelope into her hand. “I want you to have the ticket. Go to the party. It’ll bring me such pleasure to know you’re off having a good time after all you’ve been through. And don’t worry, we have a great sitter on Friday nights, so Tyler will be well looked after. After all, when’s the last time you attended a fancy party?”
Natasha was about to say never, but Mary didn’t let her get a word in.
“Come down to my room. We’ll get you dolled up. The mask is perfect for you, especially if you’re feeling shy.”
Overwhelmed was more like it, but Natasha didn’t have the heart to refuse. Mary had done so much to make her feel at home, to help her get the job at Casa del Sole. But a masquerade? She stifled an ironic smile. Most of her life had been a bit of a fa?ade. She ought to be good at them by now.
Natasha turned off Lakeville Highway and headed down a paved drive flanked by towering poplar trees. The Auberge Ranch wasn’t like any ranch she’d ever imagined. The last rays of evening sunlight glinted off the river in the distance and shone on the roof of what appeared to be a massive airplane hangar down a road to the left. She took the fork to the right and passed acres of vines just beginning to bud.
She passed two beautiful barns and a greenhouse and pulled up in front of the main house. An attendant met her, took the ticket she held out the window and directed her to park in a field near an enormous white tent. Lights of all colors projected images onto the sides of the tent, creating a swirling montage of Venetian masks, period costumes and historic scenes.
She wriggled out of her car and straightened the rented velvet gown Mary had loaned her. Even Natasha had to admit that when Mary had finished arranging Natasha’s hair and pinned up the gown to fit her—and then helped her don the delicate lace mask—she looked like a storybook princess ready for a ball.
But she wasn’t ready, not ready at all. She fought the urge to get back into her car and flee. She didn’t belong in such rich surroundings, had no experience with wealthy people and their habits. It didn’t matter that she was disguised; she knew she didn’t fit in.
With a trembling hand, she shut the door to her car. She wouldn’t have known the names of the fancy sports cars parked in the row alongside hers if Tyler hadn’t pointed them out when they’d visited the town square the previous afternoon. A couple of Maseratis and a Mercedes or two and, four cars down, the car that had most excited him—a yellow Bugatti, perhaps the same one they’d seen yesterday. It was low to the ground and looked uncomfortable. Why people spent fortunes on cars, she’d never understand. But she had to admit they were beautiful, their sleek lines and forms reminding her of vehicles more suited to interstellar space travel than navigating the rough back roads of the Sonoma countryside.