Bill away from you,’ she said. ‘Mr Masters knows he hasn’t been a part of your lives, but he would like to start now, if you’ll let him. You know, as far as fathers go, you could do worse than him. He’s a good man.’
‘This is my dad,’ Sapphire said, showing her the photo of Bill. ‘My mum met him at a music festival.’
Maggie smiled sadly. ‘Oh darlin’.’ She hesitated. ‘Maybe you should call your mam and talk to her about it.’
Sapphire nodded. Leonie would tell her it wasn’t true.
‘I’ll bring you a nice hot cup of tea,’ Maggie said. Giving her another pat on the shoulder, she left. Sapphire got her mobile and switched it on. As she scrolled down to ‘home’ and it started ringing, her hands were shaking so much she almost dropped it.
Leonie answered after ten rings, sounding a bit out of breath. ‘Hello?’
‘It’s me.’
‘Hello, darling! I was just putting some things away.’ Her tone sounded anxious. ‘How are you getting on?’
‘Is Brad Masters my dad?’ Sapphire asked, voice trembling. Her mother was going to tell her it was all a sick joke, she knew it.
There was a short silence.
‘So he’s told you then.’ Her mum’s voice was tight with worry and expectation.
‘He’s told me, but that doesn’t mean it’s true, Mum!’ she shouted. ‘Tell me it’s not true. Bill’s my dad!’
Leonie’s voice wavered. ‘Oh, Sapphire, I wish you didn’t have to hear it like this, but I thought it was the best way. Please believe me, darling, Brad and I talked about it…’
Shock rippled through Sapphire. ‘You’ve known all along?’
‘Yes, but Sapphire, we weren’t going behind your back or anything. I just thought you could get to know your father a bit first…’
My father? Her mother had actually said the word. Sapphire knew Leonie was telling the truth.
‘Leave me alone,’ she cried and threw the phone across the room.
In all the fuss with Sapphire, no one noticed that Simonetta had slipped away quietly. When Brad had told them he was their father she had received the news with typical haughtiness, but her mind had been whirling. Brad Masters, her father? But how? Her mother had never left the village in her life! Simonetta knew what she had to do. Walking along the beach until she found a spot with good reception, she dialled her family home. Her sister Vera picked up.
‘It’s me. Can you get Mamma?’
Her sister let out a dramatic shriek. ‘So you’re alive! Mamma has been out of her mind, how could you do this to her?’
‘Just go and get her!’ Simonetta snapped. She didn’t have time for this. She could hear Vera’s lumbering footsteps and a few moments later her mother snatched up the phone.
‘Simonetta! Why haven’t you returned any of my calls?’
Simonetta ignored her. ‘Is Brad Masters my father, Mamma?’ she asked calmly.
A scandalised gasp. ‘How can you say such a thing?’
‘Just tell me, Mamma! I know you’re lying.’
Her mother fell silent. ‘Let me take the telephone outside,’ she said eventually. ‘It is more private there.’
Simonetta listened to her mother make her way through the kitchen to the back yard. She could picture the place – the broken kitchen cupboard Papa was too lazy to fix, the never-ending line of washing blowing outside in the breeze.
‘Now we can talk more comfortably,’ her mother said. Her voice had lost some of its drama and she seemed calmer, almost resigned. ‘What is it you want to ask me again?’ she said, as if she’d forgotten.
Simonetta cast her eyes upwards. ‘For Mary’s sake, Mamma. Is Brad Masters my father?’
She could hear her mother breathing down the line. Finally she spoke. ‘I know what you think of me, Simonetta – that I am a boring old woman who has never lived. But I, too, have a past and secrets.’ She paused. ‘You must never breathe a word of this to anyone, not even to Papa. The shame would kill him.’
‘So that’s what I am – an embarrassing secret?’ Simonetta demanded.
Her mother sighed. ‘That’s not what I meant.’ She took a long, deep breath. ‘When I was young, just after I had become engaged to Papa, I had the offer of a summer job in Rome, as a waitress. Papa and my father were adamant I wasn’t to go – it was not the thing for a young girl to do, especially back then. But I was determined. Determined to get out of the little village where I had grown up, where everyone knew my business. Against their wishes I went, but with a strict promise to be back at the end of the summer.’
Simonetta listened, spellbound.
‘I was working in this expensive restaurant, where I met Brad Masters. He was a customer and he used to talk to me. I liked him because he was very handsome and seemed to care about me. One thing led to another and we started dating. Of course, I was torn with guilt over Papa, but there was something about Brad that I found irresistible.’
‘What happened next, Mamma?’
Her mother sighed. ‘At the end of the summer I knew I had to go back. Papa was waiting and Brad was starting to make a big success of himself. So I came back home and a few weeks later I found out I was pregnant. I was able to get away with it because Papa and I were, you know, together.’ Her mother gave a short, bitter laugh. ‘See what a good Catholic girl I turned out to be!’
Simonetta ignored her. ‘How did Brad find out?’
‘Because I rang and told him, the day after you were born. I wasn’t sure up until then, but the moment I saw you I knew. You looked just like him. Brad was shocked, but insisted he’d pay to help bring you up. I told him no, we had Papa to look after us. I said I wanted to tell him as a matter of principle, but it was probably best if we never spoke again.’
‘So how did he find me?’
Her mother made a weary sound. ‘I do not know, maybe the surname from when you started modelling. Brad knew I was engaged to a Mastrangelo. Maybe he saw you and realised it was not a coincidence. Brad Masters has ways of finding out things, Simonetta.’
Simonetta sat down heavily on the sand. It was hard to take it all in.
Her mother’s voice was softer now. ‘So tell me, Simonetta, do you hate me more than ever? I know I’ve always been tough on you. I just didn’t want you to go the same way as me.’
Simonetta smiled in the darkness. ‘No, Mamma, in a funny way it’s made me understand you better.’
She ended the call and stared out to sea. She’d always known that there was something special about her, something that
