I shake my head, knowing she’s right.
“Damn right, I wouldn’t,” Nonna says, without looking up from her reading. “No son of mine was going to grow up to be some useless layabout.”
“But-but how? When? How could he do all this without me noticing?”
My mother shrugs. “Your father has always been an early riser. And he’s quiet as a cat. You never saw it, because he always cleaned in the very early mornings. He said it was the only way to make sure none of you kids walked on his clean floors before they dried.”
I shake my head, trying to reconcile this new image of my father as a cleaning maven with what I’d thought to be true my entire life. All I’d seen was my father coming home from work, then sitting on the couch watching sports highlights until my mother called him for dinner. It never crossed my mind that he was up in the early morning hours scrubbing toilets and mopping floors.
“And that’s not all he did. He also folded laundry at night before he went to bed. I have always had a nasty habit of dumping clean laundry all over the bed because I hate folding it. Your father noticed that and took it upon himself to fold it so I wouldn’t have to. He also does any ironing that needs doing and takes care of all the dry-cleaning.”
After a moment of silence, I say the only thing I can. “Shit.”
Mom and my aunts burst into laughter.
“I had no idea you didn’t know that about him, Valentina,” Mom says. “And you’re saying that’s why you don’t want to date? Don’t want to find a partner?”
I raise my eyebrows and grimace. “Kind of? I mean, there are plenty of examples of men who don’t do their share around the house, and I guess I assumed Dad was one of them. To me, that proved that good men weren’t real, they were fairy tales.”
Mom’s eyes go soft. “Your father is my Prince Charming, but he’s no fairy tale. Even the good men drive you crazy sometimes.”
“Amen to that,” Aunt Bernice says with a chuckle. “Sometimes I want to strangle your uncle Paul with the socks he leaves lying around the house, but every Friday he brings me my favorite flowers and takes me out to dinner. There’s always a balance. Plus, he does all the dishes.”
Aunt Vera nods her agreement. “Uncle Richard is the same. He leaves his beard trimmings in the sink when he shaves, but he does all the dusting and vacuuming. And he does the grocery shopping, too.”
Aunt Dorothy and Aunt Maude chime in with variations on the same theme, even though Aunt Dorothy is a widow and Aunt Maude never married, and I realize that most of the men in my life are actually pretty good guys. I’ve had nothing but examples of what real partnership looks like but couldn’t look past my own bias to see it. I think... I think I’ve been an asshole.
“But none of that matters. We’ve been horrible, Valentina. I am so, so sorry for overstepping like this. I wanted you to be as happy as I am with your father. And yes, maybe a little, I wanted you to have someone to look after.” I shoot her a look that has her chuckling. “Don’t give me that look. Out of all my kids, you’ve always been the most nurturing. Even when you were a kid, you’re the one who made sure everyone in the neighborhood knew they had a meal at our house if they needed it. You insisted on bringing an extra lunch to school for years, in case one of your classmates forgot theirs that day. You’ve beenlooking after people for years, Valentina. Your heart is so big, you can’t help it.”
Holy. Shit.
Is she right?
“But I think I understand now why you’ve avoided dating. If you thought even your father was taking advantage of the woman he loved, I can see why you’d be hesitant to become involved with any man when there was a chance he would do the same. You’re such a natural nurturer that you worried a man like that would suck you dry.”
I shake my head again. “I don’t think I ever thought that, Mom. I didn’t even realize until right now that I…that Iliketo take care of people.”
She purses her lips, then smiles. “Oh, really? What about the young man you hired? Didn’t you tell me you hired him so you could look out for him? To make sure he got enough to eat?”
I can only nod. I did tell her that. “Okay, but that’s one kid.”
“Uh huh. Okay. Didn’t you also tell me you started making off menu items because you wanted your landlord to have more variety in his food?”
“He’s literally my only customer some days, Ma. And he gives me such a great deal on my rent that making him special food is the least I can do. Besides, he’s not getting any younger. He needs to watch his cholesterol levels. I would feel so guilty if the amount of cheese in my food were to cause him to have a major coronary event.”
Her grin widens, and her eyes take on a knowing gleam. “And why are you responsible for watching a grown man’s cholesterol levels?” Her eyes light up as I realize she’s got me there. “Then there’s Chloe. Don’t you let her work split shifts and keep her on full-time, even though you don’t really need that much help?”
I open my mouth to answer, but the words don’t come. Damn it. She’s right. I do take care of people. For the second time during this conversation, I say the only thing I can, “Shit.”
How did I not notice it before? I love taking care of Carson. I love making sure Chloe can continue doing the art that she loves. Heck, I became a chef so I can feed people, and that’s one of the most nurturing careers I can think of. Well, other than nurse or daycare educator, but both of those involve way more poop than I’m comfortable with.
She laughs. “You’re a nurturing person, sweetheart. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“This is...” I blow out a breath and push my glasses up my nose. “This is a lot of information for one day.”
“Oh, honey.” She takes a step closer and pulls me into a hug. “You don’t need to explore all that today. For now, I just want to make sure you know how completely, utterly sorry I am. How sorry we all are.” My aunts voice their agreements with assorted yeses and mm hmm noises. “We’ll cancel the other dates, delete the apps, and never bother you about it again.”
I slowly pull back. “There are more dates? How many?”
