Treasured Secrets (28 page)

Rosalina needed a minute to compose herself. ‘How about I get our pancakes on the go?'

‘I'm not hungry anymore.' He reached for her forearm, urging her to stay seated. Her chin dimpled and she tugged on her lip in an attempt to stop it.

‘Oh, babe.' He pulled her to his chest and her tears flowed. ‘It's okay. This is good. Actually…it's incredible. My parents were dead, both physically and in my memory. Now, not only is my mother still alive, but Dad is coming alive through these things. I can't believe how much I forgot.'

‘It's still so sad.'

‘Yes, but it's also wonderful. It's like Dad is speaking to me from the grave, telling me to keep his legacy alive.' He gathered one of Wade's notebooks. ‘He's practically pointing the way to the
Flying Seahorse
.'

Rosalina choked back tears and dried her eyes with the back of her finger. ‘I'll get more coffee.' She picked up their mugs, stood from the table and headed to the galley. At the sink she rinsed the cups and took a second to dab cool water on her face. Her entire childhood and well into her adulthood, she'd had the luxury of being surrounded by an abundance of family. Four generations of the Calucci family had always lived within walking distance of each other. Imagining the emptiness Archer must have felt after the loss of his parents built a heavy knot in her stomach. Guilt-ridden, she vowed to ring her family later and tell them how much she loved them. With this positive notion, she topped up the coffees and placed a couple of yesterday's pistachio and white chocolate biscuits on a plate.

But each step she took back to the dining table stacked on another layer of anxiety. She put the brimming coffee mugs on the table, placed the biscuits to the side and took up her seat again. Archer rubbed his chin, scratching at his one-day growth. For the first time she saw, or maybe she simply allowed herself to see, the trouble that brewed just beneath his usually smiling eyes. Eyes that were now focused on the floral carry bag with a trace of anxiety. After an awkward moment of silence she sighed loudly and reached into bag again.

Several more notepads were removed, along with a couple more maps, a random collection of bar coasters, an assortment of paperwork and two hardcover books, which judging by the number of sticky notes plastered through them, were well-read. She read out the titles. ‘
Treasure Hunt: Shipwreck, Diving, and the Quest for Treasure in an Age of Heroes
, and
Ships & Guns
.' Archer fingered the covers but didn't reach for either of them.

When it became obvious Archer wasn't interested in opening them, Rosalina looked back into the bag. The last item crushed her heart. It was a photo album, maroon, leather-bound, with gold-trimmed corners and a picture centred in the middle of a classic style motor yacht, complete with polished teak trimming. Archer swallowed loudly when she placed it on the table.

‘Was that your dad's boat?'

All Archer did was nod.

Rosalina gripped onto her coffee mug with both hands, hoping the warm liquid would ease the cold in her stomach. It was almost a full minute before Archer reached for the album and turned the front cover. The first page was a large photo of a baby in a crib.

Rosalina gasped. ‘Is that you?'

Archer shrugged. ‘I guess so.'

As he turned each leaf, the baby in the first photo grew just that little bit older. The whole album was dedicated to Archer's childhood — photos of him as a baby, a toddler, a small child and a grown boy. Pictures of him enjoying life like any seafaring child did, playing in the sand, swimming at the beach, poking soldier crabs with a stick, fishing, kayaking, snorkelling, scuba diving and many more. Just about every photo included either his mother or father, always bursting with pride.

Archer stopped at a picture of himself fishing with his mum and began wringing his hands, practically strangling his fingers. Rosalina's heart crushed when he sucked back a sob. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders in an attempt to absorb his trembling.

‘Mum must've made this for me.' He was barely able to speak, fighting back the tears. ‘She wanted me to remember what our life was like.'

‘It's wonderful, Archer. You finally know how fantastic your parents and your childhood was.'

‘I'm an idiot. I wasted all those years hating Mum.'

‘No, you didn't. You had no idea.'

‘Of course I did. How could I have forgotten all this?'

‘You saw a shark attack your father. How you recovered from that is a miracle. You probably suffered post-traumatic stress. And after what they did, telling you your mother was dead — they should be punished for not getting you the proper help you needed. Nobody should go through what you did.'

Archer ran his finger over a photo of him and his father wearing scuba diving gear. His father's arm was draped over his shoulder and he was grinning like an excited thrill seeker. ‘I remember this.' He let out a long slow breath. ‘It's…the day Dad died.' A tear slid down his cheek and Rosalina wiped it away. ‘I bet him I'd find the treasure first.'

‘You have a chance to make up for lost time by getting to know your mother.'

‘I know. It's so strange. I feel like I've been given a second chance.'

Rosalina cupped his neck. ‘I guess in a way you have.'

Archer turned to the last page of the photo album and frowned. The final photo was of a small baby in a long pink christening gown.

‘They christened you in pink?' Although, even as she said it, she realised this wasn't a picture of Archer. This little baby, with plump lips and wisps of blonde hair, looked like a girl.

Archer carefully peeled back the clear plastic protective sheet and removed the photo. He turned it over and gasped. On the back of the photo was written ‘
Evangeline Anne Mahoney, 9/8/1978–18/8/1978'
.

‘I had a sister?' Archer shook his head slowly.

‘She only lived for nine days.'

‘That was a year before I was born. They never spoke of her.'

‘Maybe they did.' She touched his arm. ‘It can't be a coincidence that you named your yacht
Evangeline
.'

Archer's eyes deepened and he blinked several times.

‘
Buongiorno
.' Alessandro stepped into the room and Rosalina jumped. Archer did too.

‘Good morning,' Rosalina said as Archer flipped the photo album closed and pushed it away. ‘I didn't think you'd be up until after lunch.'

Alessandro still wore his clothes from last night and his sickly pale skin was a hint that he might throw up at any moment. He squinted against the bright morning sun as he approached the table.

‘I don't feel very well.'

‘You look like shit too,' Archer said.

‘
Grazie
. Is Jimmy up yet?'

‘We haven't seen Jimmy or Ginger,' Rosalina said. ‘But they were just as happy as you were last night.'

Alessandro crumbled into a seat next to Archer and dropped his forehead on the table. Rosalina laughed as she moved to the kitchen to make another coffee.

‘I've seen Ginger.' Alessandro sat his chin on the back of his hands.

‘Where?' Rosalina said.

He groaned. ‘She was in my bed when I woke up.'

Archer slapped him on the shoulder. ‘You old devil.'

‘I'm sorry, Rosa.' He turned to her, his eyes the picture of an apology.

Rosalina waved her hand. ‘You don't need to apologise. You told me last night how much you liked her.'

Alessandro deflated even more. ‘I did? Did Jimmy hear?'

‘I'm sure he did. You were very loud.' She'd never seen Alessandro drunk before; he'd always remained in control. Somehow it seemed like a good thing that he'd let loose last night. Even if he was paying for it now. It was as if he was discovering himself too. Maybe this trip was what everyone needed.

Alessandro grumbled. ‘Jimmy's not going to be happy.'

‘Jimmy's all right, Alessandro,' Rosalina said. ‘It's pretty clear Ginger feels the same way about you.'

‘Really? You think so?'

‘I know so.' Rosalina placed the steaming mug before him and ruffled his hair. ‘She was all over you last night.'

Alessandro grinned sheepishly, and when a flush of red washed over his cheeks he looked even more ill. He sat back and reached for the mug. ‘What are you doing?' His eyes were on the large map on the table.

‘It's a long story. Why don't you have a shower and freshen up?' Rosalina said. ‘When Ginger and Jimmy wake up, we'll tell you all together.'

Alessandro seemed to have a mental fight with himself, but eventually he stood up, and with shaking fingers, gripped his coffee and shuffled from the room.

***

Several hours and several batches of blueberry pancakes later, they all sat around the now cleared table. Archer was struggling. It was surreal to be enjoying breakfast and rehashing their fun last night, when all the while he was preparing to tell them about his tragic childhood.

Rosalina was the only one who knew everything. Jimmy had heard bits and pieces over the years. His father's things were now back in the floral bag at his feet. The photo album was at the top. Archer reached for it, quickly flicked the pages over and pointed at the photo taken just hours before his life turned to crap.

‘See this photo?' He turned the album and held it up so they could all see. ‘This was taken 14
^th
of June, 1992, about an hour before my dad was killed.'

Alessandro's eyes did that bulge thing and then he looked at Rosalina. Archer ignored it and carried on. ‘How he died and what happened after that is something I've been hiding from my whole life.'

‘Not all of it's your fault,' Rosalina said.

‘Shhh, Rosa.' He scowled. ‘Do you want me to tell this or not?'

‘Yes. But don't be so damn harsh on yourself, Archer Mahoney.' She smiled a cheeky, knowing smile.

He cocked his head at her and waited for her smile to cut back a notch before he continued. ‘Dad was convinced we were diving in the right spot to find an ancient wreck. We'd already spent weeks scouring the area but his confidence was unwavering. The water that morning was crystal clear, flat as a bathtub and as warm as one too.' The group around the table sipped coffee as they listened in calm silence. He tried to organise his thoughts, making sure he told the story exactly as it happened.

‘We jumped overboard and followed the anchor line down to the ocean bottom, then along a coral shelf. We were in an area plastered in coral and Dad's belief was that an old shipwreck was the catalyst for the growth.' Archer laughed. ‘God, if I believed that, I'd be dropping overboard every twenty minutes expecting to find shipwrecks.'

Jimmy chuckled with him but Alessandro just looked confused.

‘Anyway, we scoured the area for forty or so minutes and found nothing. But I was convinced we were onto something.' He shook his head. ‘I was an eleven-year-old kid sold on the idea of finding treasure. Giving up didn't enter my mind. I knew we were running out of time, but I deliberately swam away from Dad, poking and prodding everything. Dad had warned me about the dangers of doing that, but it didn't stop me.'

‘The visibility was amazing, about fifty metres. We came across a mountain of coral, hundreds of years old, and I broke a piece off. But when I pulled it away, it was attached to a chunk of wood. The shipwreck was right in front of us and we couldn't see it.'

‘Oh, wow. That'd be awesome,' said Ginger.

‘Dad and I celebrated a little and then he signalled it was time to surface. But after finding that, I wanted to keep going and I swam away from him, forcing him to follow. I found this hole and stuck my arm in, right up to my shoulder. Dad just about choked on his regulator when he saw me. But then I came up with this.' He reached for the pendant.

Jimmy huffed. ‘I always wondered where you got that ugly thing from.'

Archer huffed right back at him. ‘But, after that, everything went to shit.' Archer sucked his breath through his teeth. ‘Dad put this pendant into his buoyancy vest and we were high fiving and stuff when a shark came along and ruined our day.' He was going to make light of it but couldn't stop himself from delving into every gory detail. It was like it'd happened yesterday; he remembered everything from before the attack and, more importantly, what happened after. Parts of his life that he'd completely wiped from his memory were suddenly completely vivid. Ginger and Rosalina flicked away tears, Alessandro looked on the verge of crying and Jimmy kept swallowing hard. Archer paused to let them all settle down a bit and decided to grab a couple of beers from the fridge.

He returned with a six-pack and Jimmy reached for it like it was a life-saving device. The big fella snapped a bottle from the pack and handed one to Archer. Archer twisted the top off his Corona and sipped at the bitter nectar. It tasted good. Too bloody good for this time of the morning. By the look on Jimmy's face, he thought so too.

‘I have a question.' Alessandro frowned. ‘How did you reclaim the pendant if it was in your Dad's buoyancy vest?'

Rosalina shot Alessandro a death stare.

‘They recovered some of Dad's…remains. Half of the vest was found.'

‘Oh God, sorry. I didn't mean —'

‘Good one, numbnuts.' Jimmy wasn't so subtle.

‘It's okay; ask me anything. I'd blocked out everything from my childhood, but after yesterday's events I'm beginning to remember so much.'

Jimmy cocked his head. ‘What happened yesterday?'

‘I'm getting to that.' For the next hour he went on to detail everything from his mother's death, to bouncing around the orphanages until he was eighteen, and finally to Rosalina finding the pendant in the stained-glass window in the church.

Archer then told them about what had happened yesterday.