My phone buzzes in my jacket and I pull it out to see it’s a FaceTime call from my sister.I click accept to find that instead of seeing my sister’s face, I’m looking at what appears to be a cheek.I hope it’s a face cheek and not an ass cheek.The phone shakes for a few seconds before the culprit’s face comes into view.
“Uncle Da!”my nephew shrieks from the other end of the line.
“Hey, Bubba,” I say, smiling despite myself.“Does your mom know you have her phone?”
“Cry?”
“What?No, Bubba.I’m not crying.”
“Cry!Cry!”he yells, and I hear the thudding of tiny feet as he takes off running.I’m hoping—praying—he’s heading straight for his mom.Luca is only two; his vocabulary is… limited.
“Luca, did you take my phone?”my sister’s voice comes through the speaker, followed by a gentle scolding.“You know you’re not supposed to take my phone.”She pauses.“Wait—what do you have there?”
A second later, her face appears on the screen, squinting as she tries to get a better look at me.
“Oh hey, Dave,” my sister greets me at the same time Luca yells, “Cry!”
Eliana sighs, brushing toddler hair out of her son's face.“Sorry about that.He just learned that when someone is sad, they cry.He hasn’t quite figured out the difference yet.So if he thinks you’re sad, he just says, ‘cry.’”
She studies me again.“So… are you sad?”
I hesitate, then let out a heavy sigh as I push open my front door and collapse onto the couch.
“Yeah.I messed things up with a girl I was… kind of seeing.”
Her expression softens immediately.“The neighbor?Sara?”
I nod.“Yeah.The cute one I told you about.We were talking a lot, and I didn’t exactly tell her the whole truth.”I scrub a hand over my face.“It kind of blew up in my face.”
“Oof.”She cringes slightly, but her face is lined with empathy.“I’m sorry, sweetheart.But—” she gives methe look“—you know better than to lie to a woman.”
“I didn’t think it was a lie,” I mumble.“More like… an omission.”
She arches a brow.“Men always think that.”
“I apologized,” I add quickly.“She didn’t want to talk to me.”
“When did you try?”
“The same day she kicked me out of her house.”
My sister winces.“Okay, yeah.That was probably too soon.”
“So I should just… leave it alone?”I ask, even though I hate the idea.
“No,” she chides.“You should try again.You gave her space, but now it’s time to be honest.Fullyhonest.And don’t do it because you want forgiveness.Do it because she deserves the truth.”
I exhale slowly.“I’m just scared of what she’ll say.”
She smiles, soft but firm.“Life’s scary, little bro.But the best things usually are.If she still says no, at least you’ll know you did the right thing.”
Luca suddenly pops into view, pressing his face against the screen.“Uncle Da… no cry?”
I chuckle, the ache in my chest fading a bit.“Yeah, Bubba.Uncle Da’s okay.”
Luca grins widely at my sister, before toddling off again.
Eliana laughs.“See?Even a two-year-old knows—you’ll be fine.You should come by tomorrow for dinner.It’ll be good for you.”
