I can’t refuse without being a bad son. No matter how much I mistrust her whirlwind relationship with good old Kevin, I’ll do what I can to support her. She is my mom, after all. Even if she stays true to form and soon ends their fast-paced romance after a series of increasingly intense fights.
“I’ll be there, Mamma.I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Favolosa! I have something else to ask you too.”
I lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling, the phone to my ear. “What is it?”
“When we have the ceremony, I’d like it if you’d walk me down the aisle, since you’re my only beloved son.”
Emotion chokes me up. “I’d be honored.” Even if I think the marriage is a terrible idea. “I’d love to do that for you.”
“Grazie. It’s going to be wonderful.” Excitement thickens her accent. “I’ve already ordered a dress and started working on a guest list.”
I frown. “How big is this wedding going to be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. A couple hundred people.”
My jaw drops and I sputter.
“I didn’t get the big, fairy-tale wedding the first time around,” she says. “It was only our closest family, and I’ve always longed for a do-over. Now’s my chance.”
“I hope you have the wedding of your dreams.” I also hope she hasn’t got so carried away in planning it that she’s forgotten the realities of married life.
“Thank you, darling.” There’s a burst of noise in the background, and Mom rattles something off in rapid-fire Italian. While I speak the language, I struggle to follow her when she’s going a million miles an hour. My two oldest sisters are more proficient. “Sorry, Antonio, that’s Stella. I have to go. Talk later?”
“Of course,” I reply dutifully. “Bye, Mamma.”
We end the call, and I place the phone on the floor and bury my face in my hands. The situation with Mom is stirring up all kinds of fears and concerns I’d rather keep buried. It’s as if she’s forgotten the state she was in when Dad left, or the ugly aftermath of Stella, Mia, and Adele’s divorces. Stella’s husband cheated on her, Mia’s emotionally abused her, and Adele’s left—understandably—after she slept with his daughter’s teacher. None of it had been pretty. All of it had reinforced one irrefutable fact: love doesn’t last, and it isn’t worth the wreckage.
I get to my feet and ball my fists, wanting badly to throw a few punches at a bag to burn off my frustration. MMA has been my outlet for so long that having it stolen makes me angry. I need to work off excess energy, so I change into a pair of swimming trunks and stride from the bedroom.
“Hey,” Lucia says as I emerge onto the deck, where she’s once again hunched over her laptop. A furrow forms on her brow. “Is everything okay?” She glances at my shoulder, and I flinch. It seems like this is the story of my life lately. Everyone wants to make sure I’m all right. It’s not as if I can explain what’s wrong.I’ll sound like an asshole if I tell her I don’t think my mom should be getting married.
“Nothing a good walk on the beach won’t fix,” I say.
“Want company?”
I shake my head. “Thanks for the offer, though.”
I jog down the stairs at the side of the deck, and instead of heading straight into the water, I walk for ten minutes until I’m confident Lucia won’t be able to see me. I don’t need her fussing because she thinks I’m overdoing it. I wade into the water until it’s deep enough to swim. The first few strokes are painful, but after that, the sensation lessens—perhaps because my muscles loosen up, or perhaps because I become numb to it. Either way, it feels good to be active again.
Lucia
After Tony vanishes down the beach, it’s difficult to concentrate. He’s clearly upset about something and doesn’t want to talk about it, but I can’t help feeling like he might need to. Sometimes needs and wants don’t align. I try to put him to the back of my mind and focus on my fictional couple, who are deep into an important conversation, but I can’t pick up where I left off. I’m too worried.
I reach for my phone and bring up my sister-in-law’s number. Tempe knows Tony better than I do. Perhaps she’ll be able to shed some light on what’s going on.
“Hey, Lucia.” She answers just as I’m about to give up. I can hear my niece, Madison, making noises in the background. Madison is a long way from being able to talk, but that doesn’t stop her trying. It crosses my mind that Tony could learn a thingor two from the baby in that regard. “Are you enjoying your time at the cottage?”
“Yeah, it’s going well.”
“And your roommate?” I’d called previously and let her know Tony had turned up. Fortunately, she hadn’t made a big deal of it.
“He’s why I rang.”
“Oh?” She shushes Madison. “Is something wrong?”
“Kind of. I’m not sure.” I sigh, wishing there was an easy way for me to voice my concerns that won’t sound like I’m making a big deal of nothing. “He’s been moody since he arrived. I put it down to the injury at first, but he just had a phone call in his room—I caught a few bits and pieces through the wall—and when it was done, he took off like a demon was on his heels. Do you have any idea what else might be going on?”
