I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t know. I would’ve taken you to Italy on the tour of a lifetime, like I promised so many times.

I grunted, but how could I be mad at his ghost? I’d longed to travel to my parents’ homeland for years. It was always the big trip that would happen one day—when Frannie grew older; when we had more money; when work eased enough to take a long vacation. It never happened. I was left with the strains of Frank Sinatra in my kitchen, making homemade pasta and dreaming of the rolling Tuscan hills I ached to see. I wanted my feet on the same ground my mother had walked and to hear the lilt of Italian drifting in the air. One day. Always one day . . .

The thought was so fragile, so delicate; it brushed my mind like gossamer wings. As I covered the seeds with fresh dirt, making sure to turn and dampen the soil, the possibility began to form and take shape.

I paused, gazing down at a small worm frantically trying to dig back into the moist darkness of home. And I was suddenly struck by an innate instinct of what I needed to do.

I would take my family to Italy.

I could go this summer. It’d be Allegra’s last opportunity before college, and a birthday celebration. Frannie hadn’t taken a vacation in years. We’d have time to bond as a family and rediscover one another.

The trowel fell from my grip. Excitement unfurled in my belly, and for the first time in a while, I felt brilliantly alive. I’d probably have a hard time convincing Frannie. She worked nonstop on her deals, chasing the next one with a furious intent that left no room for any other type of pleasure. As for Allegra, maybe she’d be excited to try something new. An adventure. A way to escape.

The thoughts churned in my mind, the details still blurry, but I already knew I’d made my decision. I would make this happen. A summer filled with the possibility of change—which we all desperately needed. The backdrop of a beautiful country and a foreign culture would be enough to push us all together again. Remind them all that roots and blood and family were everything.

Some things can’t be fixed with a different location, my love. Remember that.

Another ripple of pain wove its way through my gut, almost in warning. I pressed a dirty palm against my apron. But time can. And I can give us all that. For now.

You need to go to the doctor.

Can ghosts worry? I smiled at the thought, his presence pulsing around me. I had figured spirits brought cold, from all the movies I’d seen, but Jack was always like warm sunshine wrapping around me.

I will. Right after the trip. I promise.