I shrug. “I sure hope so, mijita,” I tell her. I’m staring at my apron when there is another knock at the door.
“Another present, Papá?” Catalina asks, her hand clasped together in a prayer sign.
“Ha. Let’s see, Mijita.” I shake my head at her cuteness. When I turn to open the door, pulling it open, I almost stagger backward because there is an apron similar to mine, and Nadia is wearing it, smiling up at me. I look at her apron, wondering where the hell she got them, because I would ask for a refund.
“TER THER,” I read aloud. Her smile widens, and I can’t help but notice the mischievous gleam in her eye.
“Aren’t you going to let me in, Manny?” she asks, and Catalina, hearing her voice, throws herself at her.
“Nadia, you came back!” she screams.
“I sure did, pickles. Sorry it took so long.” She holds onto Nadia, who steps through the door with Catalina wrapped around her torso.
Amá comes through Catalina’s door and stops, seeing Nadia standing in the living room. Nadia skips over to her and gives her a big hug. “I’m so glad you made it,” Amá says. I look at both of them, wondering how they planned this without me knowing, but I couldn’t care less at this point. All I know is that I am happy to have her back with us. I pull her into my side, and my mom reads our aprons, her eyes tracking over the words, as a tear slips from her eye that she quickly tries to wipe away. Nadia picking up the meaning finally puts me out of my misery. “Look, Manny.” She points to the words.
When you put the aprons side by side, they readBETTER TOGETHER. I peer down and see that it does, and I chuckle. “Cute. It might be my favorite apron yet, but only if you are staying here to wear it beside me.”
She looks in my eyes, grabbing my hands in hers. “Always, Manny,” and that is all it takes for me to pick her up and kiss her, twirling her around. Catalina comes up to us and joins in. Amá has given up trying to hide her tears, which fall freely down her face.
CHAPTER FORTY
“Are you sure you want to do this now?” Savannah asks hesitantly.
“Absolutely,” I say with my voice steady and my purpose focused. As we walk across the yard to where my parents’ headstone lies atop their gravesite, the design is exactly how I envisioned it when I had the piece customized. I decided to place 'In Loving Memory'in arcing, elegant script letters across the top above our last name, Kennedy, in a bold font. Then, my parents’ individual information is on each side, along with their dates, and a vase separates the two plots. It says'Until we meet again'underneath. I wish I had the chance to speak to them one last time, to hear their voices and feel their hugs, but I know they loved me and that will have to be enough. I have no doubts about that. I placethe flowers in their vase, spread them out, and step back to look at the place that houses my parents’ bodies, but at least their souls are free.
“I’m proud of you, Nadia.” Savannah turns to me with a soft, approving smile.
I nod. My eyes linger on the headstone. Sometimes I can’t believe they are gone. “I hope they found the peace they deserve, Savannah.” I place a kiss on my hand and gently touch each side of their headstones. Then, with my best friend beside me, I walk away. “I know I have,” I mutter more to myself than to Savannah. I just needed this closure and to allow myself to truly grieve. I feel like a weight has lifted, and now that I have put this part of my life behind me and allowed myself this chance, I feel like I can fully open myself up to love again.
I send the “it’s official”text to Boss Daddy. Seeing that name makes me chuckle, as I recall when I first gave Manny that title in my phone contacts. A second later, the phone rings. I know I don’t even have to explain further because he already knows what I am talking about.
“Of course you did, mi amor.” He exudes confidence through the line. He never had a doubt. I got the job offer I was hoping for after I finished my senior year internship, pending graduation. I texted Manny to let him know, and he was just as excited as I was, but not surprised. We decided to keep my parents’ home in the city since I’ll still need to visit the office occasionally. But the best thing about this job? I can work remotely, which means I can stay at the lake house full-time, be there for Catalina, and pick her up from school when needed.
Manny and Catalina have moved in with me, and his house is currently on the market. Today is my graduation, and we are atmy house, ready to end this chapter in my life so we can begin the next one together. Manny drives us and I kiss him goodbye when I see Savannah. We start lining up to enter the building for the final ceremonies. Manny’s parents have adopted me into their family and are in the stands, waiting for me to pass by so they can snap pictures.
As the university’s dean and faculty stand on stage, they read each name of the graduating class one by one, until I hear them call my name. I pause as I look at my family. Manny, Catalina, his sister, and parents are out in the stands with other graduates’ family members today, and of course, Savannah, who is a couple of rows in front of me, is cheering me on. My parents may not be around physically, but I know they are here in spirit, and they would be proud of my accomplishments.
As I walk onto the stage, accepting my piece of paper, which isn’t a diploma at all but represents my hard work, I notice Catalina running toward me as I make my way back to my seat. Manny isn’t quick enough to catch her, but I do before she leaps into my arms. I carry her back to my seat with me as she grabs the piece of paper from me, swinging it proudly at her father. Manny starts moving toward us to walk Catalina back to their seats, but I wave him off, letting him know it’s okay.
He mouths an “Are you sure?” and I blow him a kiss in reply. As he returns to his seat, he still watches me with worry etched on his brow. I place Catalina in my lap as they call out the rest of the names, and we chat and cheer for others who come after me. When it’s time to change our tassels over, she takes my hat and places it on her head.
“Hey, pickles, what are you doing?” I ask as she holds it onto her head.
“I’m going to be just like you, Ms. Nadia, when I grow up,” she says. I stare at her, prouder than ever at her resilience. I kiss her forehead, snuggling her to me.
“No, pickles, you are going to be so much more,” I tell her as tears well in my eyes. I find Manny right after we exit, as he grabs a very reluctant Catalina from my arms. “See you in a few minutes, guys.” I wave to them as I take the final walk with my peers.
We sit outside the house,quiet now that Catalina has gone to bed. The sound of peepers is the only noise echoing through the woods. A gentle breeze blows across the lake as we sit, sharing a glass of wine and gazing up at the clear, starry night sky. It’s unreal to think things were so different last year. Manny sips his wine, while mine rests empty, discarded on the table along with an empty wine bottle.
We made a promise not to keep secrets from each other anymore, so what started as a game of learning about one another continues, except we use it to explore things we still don’t know.
“Tell me a truth, Manny,” I say, watching as he sips his wine and then rests his glass firmly near his knee. He looks at me, amusement flickers in his eyes because we sat here learning the basics about each other a year ago. Now we sit here in a very committed relationship, wanting to know everything about one another. In fact, I am fairly certain Manny asked Savannah what type of ring I would like if he were to propose, but I definitely didn’t hear that from her.
“Hey!” I nudge him playfully.
He laughs, full and unrestrained, so different from when we first met, and I swear, it might be my favorite sound in the world. “Okay, okay,” he says, holding his hands up in surrender. “You first,” he says, watching me intently.
I grab his glass and finish his wine, placing it beside mine on the table. “Okay. Here we go. It took a while for me to finally come around that day, when you went to my school to look for me.”
