Chapter 2 – The Bell Nobody Answered

Michael stared at the brass bell.

For the first time that evening, he looked genuinely frightened.

Not angry.

Not embarrassed.

Frightened.

“Where did you get that?” he asked.

Teresa lowered her eyes.

“It’s mine.”

“That bell was supposed to be put away years ago.”

“Why?” Luca asked.

Michael looked at him.

“Because it upsets her.”

Luca picked up the bell.

It was small enough to fit in his palm.

The handle had been repaired once, leaving a faint silver line beneath the brass.

“Dad used this when he was sick,” Luca said.

Teresa nodded.

“When his breathing got bad.”

Luca turned it over.

There were two tiny letters engraved underneath.

Antonio Moretti.

Their father had received the bell after his first hospitalization.

He hated asking for help.

Teresa used to joke that if he refused to call for someone, she’d tie the bell around his neck.

Luca remembered that joke.

I could tell by the brief movement at the corner of his mouth.

Then the expression vanished.

“Mom,” he said, “what do you remember hearing?”

Teresa stared at the bell.

“Three rings.”

Michael exhaled sharply.

“That’s enough.”

Luca didn’t look at him.

“Go on, Mom.”

“Three rings. Then I went toward the bedroom.”

“Where were you?”

“In the little sitting room.”

Luca frowned.

“You weren’t beside him?”

“No.”

Michael folded his arms.

“Mom had been awake all night. I told her to rest.”

Teresa nodded slowly.

“You brought me tea.”

“Yes.”

“And you told me Antonio was sleeping.”

“He was resting.”

She looked confused for a moment.

Then her eyes cleared.

“But I heard him ring.”

Michael said nothing.

Teresa touched the bell.

“I went to the door. Michael told me to leave him alone.”

Luca looked at his brother.

“Did you?”

Michael swallowed.

“Dad needed peace. Mom was exhausted.”

“Was he asking for help?”

“He’d been ringing that thing all week. Sometimes he wanted water. Sometimes he wanted the curtains closed. Sometimes he just wanted company.”

Luca’s expression hardened.

“He was dying.”

“I know that.”

“Then why wouldn’t you let Mom go to him?”

Michael looked toward Vanessa.

She stepped closer.

“Luca, perhaps this isn’t the right setting.”

He turned.

“My father died in this house. My mother has spent four years afraid to talk about it. I think we’re past worrying about the setting.”

Vanessa looked away.

I watched Michael move toward the sideboard.

He poured water into a glass.

His hand shook slightly.

That frightened me more than his anger had.

I’d never seen him lose control of himself before.

Teresa suddenly asked for her cardigan.

I looked down.

She was already wearing it.

“Mrs. Moretti?”

“My blue one, dear. The thick one.”

I understood.

She was getting cold.

The dining room had been kept cool for the guests.

I fetched her pale-blue knitted blanket from the chair near the fireplace and settled it around her shoulders.

She smiled gratefully.

“Thank you, Hannah.”

Michael watched us.

Then he said, “See? She can’t even remember what she’s wearing.”

Teresa’s smile disappeared.

I felt anger rise in my chest.

“She asked for something warm,” I said. “She knew perfectly well what she wanted.”

Michael stared at me.

Luca put down the bell.

“Michael, stop using every little thing Mom says as proof that she doesn’t know her own mind.”

His brother looked offended.

“You haven’t been the one dealing with her every day.”

“No,” Luca answered. “And that’s something I need to change.”

The honesty surprised everyone.

Even Michael.

Luca turned back to his mother.

“What happened after you heard the bell?”

Teresa rubbed her thumb across the edge of the blanket.

“I waited.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did Michael come out?”

She nodded.

“He said Antonio was sleeping again.”

Michael looked down.

“And you believed him?”

“I wanted to.”

Her answer made Luca close his eyes.

Teresa continued.

“Then I heard something fall.”

Luca looked up.

“What fell?”

“I don’t know.”

Michael spoke quickly.

“The water glass. Dad knocked it over.”

Teresa shook her head.

“No. The glass was still there.”

Michael’s jaw tightened.

“Mom, you can’t remember every detail after four years.”

She looked at him.

“I remember the sound.”

Then she touched her wedding ring.

“Your father dropped something heavy. Something metal.”

Michael looked toward the doorway.

I followed his gaze.

He was looking toward the upstairs staircase.

It lasted only a second.

But Luca noticed.

“What was it?” he asked.

Michael shook his head.

“I have no idea.”

Teresa looked at the watch on Michael’s wrist again.

Then at the bell.

Suddenly, she whispered, “The drawer.”

Luca leaned closer.

“What drawer?”

“The one beside Antonio’s bed.”

Michael went very still.

Teresa’s voice trembled.

“He opened it while Michael was there.”

Luca frowned.

“Why?”

“He wanted something.”

“What?”

She shut her eyes.

I watched her struggle.

She wasn’t searching for the kind of ordinary fact people forget with age.

She was trying to approach a memory that frightened her.

“Mom,” Luca said gently, “you don’t have to force it.”

Teresa looked relieved.

Then she whispered, “Thank you.”

Michael immediately stepped closer.

“This is what I’ve been saying. These conversations upset her. She needs rest, not interrogation.”

Luca turned.

“You’re right about one thing. She needs rest.”

Michael’s shoulders relaxed.

Then Luca continued.

“And nobody is taking her anywhere tonight.”

Vanessa looked up sharply.

“Luca, the residence has already prepared a room.”

“Then they’ll have an empty room.”

“The arrangements are paid for.”

“That’s not my concern.”

Michael’s expression changed.

“You can’t simply cancel everything.”

“Watch me.”

“Luca, you’re making this decision without understanding the situation.”

Luca stepped toward him.

“Then help me understand it.”

Michael said nothing.

Luca held up the brass bell.

“Why did you tell Mom to stop talking about this?”

“Because it hurts her.”

“Or because it hurts you?”

Michael’s eyes narrowed.

“Be careful.”

Luca’s voice stayed quiet.

“I’m asking a question.”

For several seconds, the brothers stared at each other.

Then Teresa spoke.

“Michael?”

He turned.

She held out her hand.

“Give me Antonio’s watch.”

Michael looked startled.

“Mom, Dad gave me this.”

She shook her head.

“No. He was trying to give it to Luca.”

Luca frowned.

“What?”

Teresa looked at her oldest son.

“Antonio wanted you to have it.”

Michael’s face drained of color.

She continued.

“He said there was something you needed to see.”

Luca slowly looked toward his brother.

Michael covered the watch again.

Teresa’s voice broke.

“That’s what he was reaching for when Michael stopped him.”

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