Why would Nonna let me think it was possible when Fiona is clearly broken?
Mom would hate that word.
Absolutely despise it.
I took the long way home, wandering the streets by my house, trying to figure out a problem with no solution.
You can’t fix something that’s broken.
Ivy taught me that the hard way.
There’s no way I could handle falling for another woman who I couldn’t love. This one would be even worse. She’d be alive but untouchable.
The living embodiment of lost dreams and hopeless love.
Why?
Why?
Why would Nonna do this?
“Why did I do what?” Nonna says from the steps.
“Nonna.”
“They said you saw Fiona today, but then left.”
Who said that? You know, it doesn’t matter what spies my grandmother has. “Why didn’t you tell me she was broken?”
Nonna laughs.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Love is always funny. Especially when we fight it as hard as you are.”
“How is it funny that I’m falling in love with a woman who can’t stand my touch? Because that isn’t laughable. It’s worse than the nightmare I lived through after Hope’s birth. Fiona isn’t capable of love.”
Nonna laughs again.
I want to literally rip my hair out, and this woman is laughing.
“Fiona isn’t broken. She’s bruised. Maybe battered a little bit. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a stronger or kinder woman than her. You’re just afraid she won’t love you.”
“Can’t. I’m afraid she can’t love me.”
“Help me up.” Nonna holds out a hand.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that she’s getting up there in age.
I walk over and help her up.
“Don’t underestimate her or yourself. A stubborn woman only needs something worth fighting for to overcome any obstacle.”
“But this—”
“—is a bump. You can make it into a mountain, or you can help her hop over it like a small bump in the road. You need to pick a journey. If you’re afraid the mountain is too large, walk away now. Fiona doesn’t need a man who sees her as broken. She needs a man who will treasure who she is. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you aren’t the man for her. Hope seems convinced that Gabe would suit Fiona.”
What?
