“Sì, forever. And what if Gabriela became your new mamà?” He chuckles.
Giancarlo looks at both of us.
“Otay.” He nods. “Can I go pway now?”
“Sì.” Luca laughs.
Carlo gives us both a hug and kiss, then runs back downstairs.
“I’m not sure he understood what we were talking about.” I laugh.
“Yeah, probably not. But in time he will. I’ve wanted to thank you for helping him remember Faith. I know in time he probably won’t remember her. But at least if he ever asks, we can tell him what we knew about her.”
“I don’t ever want him to think that she didn’t matter. She’ll always matter to him and to you. Is she one of the two women you said you loved?”
“No. I cared a lot about her and if she had stayed? I might have fallen in love with her. But she left before I could figure that out.”
“But you were with her for six months.”
“I was. But we didn’t see each other daily. She never lived with me, she lived in the city in her own apartment. Most times I saw her after games. She would come to my game and we would spend time together after. Then one day she told me that she couldn’t deal with the women. She felt like she was competing against them. I told her that wasn’t the case. But she said she couldn’t do it. So I said okay.”
“Why me? How do you know that you want to spend your life with me?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. I feel you in my soul, I look at you and I see everything I want in life. From the moment I saw you, I just knew.”
I love listening to Luca tell me how he feels. Because I feel the same way. When I met him, I just knew. It was like a part of me knew that he was that person that made my soul complete.
Gianluca takes my hand and we go back into the conference room to tell everyone what we’ve chosen to do. When we walk in, everyone turns to look at us.
“Have you made a decision?” my papà asks.
“Sí, papá, we want to get married.”
“Are you sure, mija? This isn’t something that you can just decide a year from now that you don’t want it anymore. And what about the boy?”
“What about my son?” Gianluca frowns.
“I want to know if you’re doing this because you need a wife to take care of him.”
I can feel Gianluca’s anger rising and I can’t say I blame him.
“Papá. That’s not fair to say that to Gianluca. He was raising Giancarlo before we met and he was doing a great job. You haven’t even met him and you act like he’s a burden. He’s a great little guy and I love him already. It’s an honor to help raise him.”
“He’s not your blood.”
“He doesn’t have to be. He’ll be my son no matter what.”
“Ramón, por favor.” My mamá says to him as she turns to Gianluca and me. “You have to understand that our Gabriela is our baby. We worry for her and want the best for her. I do see how much you care for her. But do you really love her? You have so much in your life, where does she fit in?”
“She fits in every part of my life. And no, I’m not looking for someone to be my son’s mother. But it’s a bonus for me that Gabriela loves him and he loves her.”
“And what about baseball?”
“What about baseball? That’s my job. Are you asking me to stop playing? Is that your rules for marrying your daughter?”
“No I won’t let you quit.” I say to him.
“What if we said yes? That in order for you to have our blessing, you need to walk away from baseball.”
