Mom says, “Like a food truck!”
They tag-team the conversation with excitement.
“It would give us more flexible hours.”
“Less overhead.”
“The freedom to travel.”
“We’re even thinking of moving closer to you.”
My eyes widen, cartoon-like. “You want to move here?”
“Huckleberry Hill is where I grew up.” Mom’s voice softens. “Where your grandmother still lives. Your father and I ended up in Reno by accident, not by choice. But … it never quite felt like home.”
I think about how Huckleberry Hill felt foreign at first, then familiar, now a place I can’t imagine leaving. Maybe sometimes the place a person is meant to be isn’t where they started.
“I’d love that.”
Dad adds, “And perhaps it’s time for you to stop trying to save everyone and let yourself be saved for once.”
I narrow my eyes. Grandma must’ve told them about Patton.
“How will you afford it?” I ask even though that’s not my business.
“Well, after we pay you back?—”
“You can’t pay me back.”
“Of course, we can,” my father barks.
“With what? Day-old spaghetti?” Though right now, comfort food sounds appealing.
“With the savings we’ve been stashing away under the mattress.”
My mother sounds googly-eyed when she says, “We’ve amassed a small fortune.”
“Then what was I doing trying to keep up with the restaurant bills?”
“Had we known how bad it was?—”
“But it would’ve been so upsetting to you?—”
“Vincenza Elizabeth,” my mother starts.
Papa switches to rapid Italian, scolding me for keeping the business end of things from him, but then his voice softens and he says that maybe, though it wasn’t very responsible, they were ignoring the reality of how business was struggling for a reason.
They apologize and tell me how much they love me.
After we hang up, I remain in my car, processing.
The restaurant is closing and my parents are okay. More than okay. They’re excited about their next chapter.
I couldn’t save Sorrentino’s. But perhaps I wasn’t supposed to.
I check my phone. I only have an hour until I’m supposed to meet Mindy for coffee. Two hours until lunch with Patton’s mom. Then I hope to find him at the bakery and kiss him crazy with relief that he’s okay.
However, the excitement of that thought is immediately extinguished by a major concern. What if I hold Patton back from his calling? The fears that had me packing up and leaving take up all the space that the restaurant occupied.
