Gaining Visibility. Pamela Hearon

times.”

      They had a good laugh together as they made their way into the garden at the side of the building.

      “Know what you should do?” Hettie tilted her head back to make eye contact. “Find yourself a man in Italy. A good man.”

      Julia rolled her eyes. “I’m going to Italy to hike—not to find a man.”

      “Three weeks should give plenty of time for both.” Hettie pointed to where the hummingbirds darted around a feeder in aerial combat. “That damn rubythroat thinks he’s king of the realm. Runs all the rest of them away. Did I ever tell you I fell in love in Italy?”

      The lack of segue caught Julia off guard. “You did not,” she challenged.

      “Yes, I did.” Hettie’s eyes twinkled as she looked back again, and her cheeks took on a rosy hue that wasn’t only from the heat of the sun. “It was before I met Lon. I was there with my aunt. His name was Carlo Panicci, and he was the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on.”

      Julia couldn’t believe she’d never heard mention of this man’s name from Hettie’s tell-all mouth. “Well, what happened? You can’t start a story like that and leave me hanging.” She pushed the wheelchair over by a bench and took a seat. This story needed face time.

      Hettie shrugged. “I came back home and met Lon. I stopped answering the letters, and eventually they stopped coming.” She smiled slyly. “But those Italian guys are amazing in the sack.”

      “Hettie!” Julia had always assumed her mother-in-law had only been with Frank’s father, so this shift in the paradigm hit her from out of the blue.

      “Does that shock you?” The glimmer in Hettie’s eyes dared her to deny it.

      “Yes.”

      “Do you think less of me?”

      “No.” Julia touched her forehead to her mother-in-law’s. “It gives you more . . . dimension.”

      “Helps you see me in a new light, eh?”

      “Definitely.”

      “Good.” Hettie held up her right hand and extended her little finger. “Now pinkie swear the story will never go any further than us.”

      “Agreed.”

      They hooked pinkies and swore their oath, but when it came time to pull apart, Julia held on. “By the way . . .”

      “What?” Hettie’s eyes narrowed to wary, thin slits.

      “You remember the last time we pinkie swore?”

      “Yep.” The silver head bobbed curtly. “My eightieth birthday.”

      Julia kept her face straight, not giving in to the smile that tugged at her lips. “And do you remember what we swore?”

      Another nod. “Yep, to get tattoos before we died.”

      Julia gave a triumphant chuckle. “Ha! My dear Hettie, my reconstructed breasts now sport two of them, so it’s your turn.”

      Hettie’s eyes took on an impish gleam, and she crooked her finger tighter. “Okay, so I want to modify the oath a tad. The new agreement is to not only get a tattoo, but to bed a sexy Italian before we die.”

      Julia protested. “But you just told me you’ve already done that.”

      Hettie squeezed the pinkies together and then gave them a quick jerk apart to seal the bargain. “And you just told me you already have a tattoo, so we’re halfway there and even steven.”

      CHAPTER 3

      Julia slouched down low enough in her desk chair to rest her head on the back. She ran her fingers into her hair, grasping the roots for a quick squeeze. “How did people travel to foreign countries before the Internet? If I hadn’t read the comment on that blog, I wouldn’t have considered taking a bus from La Spezia to Lerici. It’s a lot cheaper than a taxi and runs every twenty minutes.”

      Her business partner, Camille, glanced up from the catalog she was ordering from. “Will a bus take you to the hotel, though?”

      “No.” Julia rolled her head from side to side to loosen the tight bands of muscles in her neck. “But I checked that out, too. It’s only a short walk.”

      “Two miles is short to you.” Camille jotted something on the paper in front of her. “Remember, you’ll have luggage.”

      “I’m packing light.” Julia sat up and stretched her arms over her head. “The heaviest item will be my hiking boots.”

      “You’re sure your boobs are ready? It’s only been six weeks. What’s going to keep the friction from rubbing those new nipples completely off?” Camille flipped the pencil she was holding and rubbed the eraser roughly across the paper. Then she lifted it to her lips and blew away the debris. “Like that.”

      “Thanks for that visual.” Julia shook her head as she covered her eyes. “Only you would come up with that comparison. The doctor says I’m already good to go, and the trip is still two weeks away. Trust me, the girls are ready.” Grasping a breast in each hand, she bounced in her chair. “And so am I.”

      Camille’s chin buckled, putting her face in serious mode. “I worry about you. Going by yourself. Hiking alone in a foreign country. Nobody to take care of you.”

      Camille could be such a mother hen, despite being sixteen years younger. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me. You know that.” Julia used a firm tone, hoping to put this subject to rest for good. “You know I’ve done my research and checked everything out.” She held up the brochure she’d been looking through yesterday. “The hiking trails around Lerici are popular, so there’ll be plenty of other people on them.” She dropped that one and picked up another. “And the Cinque Terre trails will be filled. I’ll probably have to step over the slow ones who get knocked down in the stampede.”

      That brought a giggle from her friend. “I’m sure you’ll lead the pack.” She turned her attention back to the catalog.

      Julia stared at the photo of the village of Monterosso gracing the front of the pamphlet. The Cinque Terre was in her grasp. In two-and-a-half weeks, she would be living the dream she’d first conceptualized nine months ago. Her “baby’s” due date was almost here.

      Her hand and the brochure it held trembled with excitement.

      She’d worked hard for this—going from couch potato to someone who could walk twenty or more miles a day.

      But she would be all alone.

      Was she ready?

      Her hand trembled again. She laid down the brochure and pressed the hand to the middle of her chest. Cancer-free, reconstructed breasts. Perky, new nipples, completely healed. What had once been her broken heart, now beating wildly at the mere thought of this adventure.

      Oh yeah. She was ready.

      * * *

      Hettie squinted her good eye and peered at the paper Julia had given her containing the trip itinerary. “I’ve never heard of any of these places until you get to Florence. You’re sure they exist?”

      “Oh, they’re popular destinations.” Julia considered it for a couple of seconds and then shrugged. “But maybe not so much for the first-time visitor to Italy.” She grabbed her tote and rummaged through it but didn’t find the map she thought she’d put in there. That’s right, she’d decided she wouldn’t need it until she got to the hotel, so she’d put it in her duffel instead. “Let me grab an atlas.” She left Hettie at the table and hustled over to the reference books on the shelf of the nursing home’s limited library, returning with the thick world atlas. She sat down and flipped to the page containing the map of Italy. Spying the magnifying glass on another table, she jumped up again and grabbed it, then settled