“I’m not a baby anymore,” I muttered, taking the glass from her.
“You’ll always be our baby, Gabriela.” She kissed my head too. “Since this is settled, we should all celebrate.” She gave Papà a sidelong glance. “Enzo, how can we ever repay you for all that you’ve done?”
“Kiss me,” he replied to her.
My eyes widened in disbelief as they scurried from one parent to another. It wasn’t a secret that they squabbled. Mamma antagonized Papà and he responded, but never sobrazenly. This was a new development. I didn’t know what to make of it.
“Enzo,” Mamma said warningly.
“If you won’t kiss me, then at least stop going on dates with losers.”
“Who I date is none of your business.”
“You are my business, Lucia,” he said with a smoky voice. “You’ll always be.”
“Whatever.” Miffed, Mamma rolled her eyes, but there was something on her face that spoke of pleasure. I quietly sipped my wine, trying to assess their back-and-forth from every angle like I was a cameraman in a sitcom so I could call Nonna later tonight and give her a rundown. She was going to freak out.
Papà picked up his wine glass and gave Mamma one of his striking smiles. “Now, I’ve had a long day and I’m hungry, so come feed your dog some scraps,principessa, and we’ll celebrate tonight’s victory, yeah?”
After setting the table and saying grace, we ate while discussing my semester. The night ended with us playing a few rounds of Go Fish. It was a picture of domestic bliss. My heart glowed, content and lax for the first time in weeks.
Before going to bed, I called Nonna and we chatted about my parents. She was ecstatic to hear about their exchange and asked me to call her back with any other updates. We also made plans to meet up later this week. Furthermore, I even texted the girls in our group chat that they found the culprit and the situation was resolved. They cheered for me.
Unable to help myself, I opened my conversation with Hunter and the high that I was riding up until now evaporated like mist.
He still hadn’t seen my texts.
Trepidation gnawed at my stomach like a hungry beast.
It was one thing for him to be hurt, but…he couldn’t hate me, right?
Hunter, please, please, please, don’t hate me.
I despised that I’d turned into a wrecking ball packed with fret, swinging like a pendulum with no end in sight. There was a restless energy building inside of me and the longer we went without speaking, the more I feared it would spread like wildfire.
I’d take Mamma’s advice and visit him in person with my own olive branch.
Then Hunter and I would be okay.
We had to be.
This wasn’t the end for us.
I fell asleep with that mantra playing in my head.
My dreams were filled with Hunter, his passionate kisses, and a map of bright stars shining in the night sky above our heads.
CHAPTER 19
Just Yours
Gabriela
Iwas officially moving back to my apartment.
When I was getting ready to leave, Mamma cried at the threshold and Papà stood with a stony face, trying to hide his emotions. Though we’d still see each other, I knew it wouldn’t be the same. I was going to miss them terribly. In the weeks I spent living here, I’d seen a change in my parents. Our dinner and game nights were fun again, the way they used to be before their messy divorce, and their communication with each other had improved drastically. Like they were owning up to the faults that tore them apart in the first place. During my time back home, Papà dropped by often and despite Mamma’s raillery, I knew she liked having him in her space. Missed it, even. We all still had a multitude of issues to wade through, but dare I say, we felt whole again.
How crazy that this semblance of peace in our home arose from such a disturbing chapter in my life. If the break-in had never occurred, I wouldn’t have moved back and witnessed the small growth between Mamma and Papà.
