by Clara Reese
That afternoon, as we get ready for dinner, I’m surprised to find that my nerves of this morning have largely been replaced by butterflies of excitement. I want Dawn to meet my family, so she sees how great they are, just like I do. I know she didn’t have the best family growing up, and it makes me feel even luckier than I usually do. My Mama might be crazy, but we’re a tight knit family and we’ve always got each other’s backs.
In the car I prep Dawn a little about my brothers. “Okay, so, Matteo is the eldest. He’s a butcher, his wife Lorena is lovely, and the kids are little monsters. He’s super easy going, you’ll get on like a house on fire.”
Dawn nods seriously, mirroring my parroting technique from when I met her friends at brunch yesterday. “Right. Matteo, eldest, butcher, great wife and kids.”
“Yeah, and then there’s Stefano. He’s a fireman, which, well Mama doesn’t like because our daddy was a fireman and he passed five years ago. There was a fire, and he got trapped, and-” I have to break off and take a breath before continuing. “Well Mama doesn’t like his chosen career path but you won’t meet a nicer guy than Stefano.”
Dawn reaches over and squeezes my hand, which comforts me more than I can say. Sometimes it’s hard talking about daddy even now, and I know Mama worries every time Stefano goes to work. She worries about him far more than the rest of us.
“Anyway,” I continue, painting a smile on and trying to be more chipper. “Then there’s Leonardo, except don’t call him that, he hates it. He goes by Leo, and he’s in graduate art school right now. I think he wants to be an illustrator, but it’s like pulling teeth to get a straight answer out of him about anything.”
Dawn laughs. “I think I’m going to like Leo,” she says, making me smile too.
“Yeah, Leo’s a good guy. Then there’s Lorenzo, he’s Leo’s twin. He’s a whiz at math and stuff. He’s studying to be an engineer.”
“I’ll introduce him to Gabby, she’s looking for students for a paid internship she runs every year,” Dawn promises. I wonder again how I got so lucky to get to know her. I also can’t help but wonder how that introduction is going to go considering we’re unlikely to be married for more than a few months. That thought makes my heart hurt more than I imagined it would.
“The last one is Carlo, right?” Dawn speaks softly as we pull into Mama’s street. I lived in this house for my whole childhood. I focus on the trees skimming by as I respond.
“Yeah, Carlo. He’s everyone’s favorite, he’s so funny. He-” my breath hitches and I swallow hard. “Well you know about his heart and everything. He’s had his problems but he never complains.”
“He’s a good kid. He’ll be okay.” Dawn’s promise is empty, considering she doesn’t own the medical industry and can’t promise him a heart, but it gives me some comfort anyway. I nod and pat my cheeks to make sure I’m not crying, and we sit quietly for a few moments as we pull up outside the house.
We arrive early. I know Mama wants adequate time to quiz Dawn and berate me for not introducing them sooner before we sit down to dinner. I barely put my finger on the doorbell when the door is thrown open. I brace myself, expecting Mama, but it’s Carlo who stands grinning at us.
“Gina!” he admonishes, “How could you do this to us? Do you know how many times Mama has yelled in Italian this afternoon?”
I laugh and hug him hard. Carlo is my best friend, and he’s always so cheerful that sometimes it takes a moment to notice the walking sticks and oxygen lines in his nose. He feels bony today too.
“Carlo! How are you getting thinner in this house? Isn’t Mama feeding you?”
Before he can respond, Mama’s voice floats out of the kitchen. “You know full well I feed him every hour of the day, bambina! Is it my fault he’s built like a twig?”
Carlo and I grin at each other and roll our eyes. He steps backwards into the hall and I usher Dawn through it and into the living room. I’m not surprised to find all the brothers squished together on the sofa, waiting for us.
I make the introductions and, though I can tell Dawn is nervous, she puts on a good show. My brothers are warm and affectionate, and encourage her to tell them everything about herself and how we met. It’s nice to be the one sitting back and watching our story unfold this time, unlike at brunch where I was the one having to make it up as we went along.
“This was a genius idea,” Matteo proclaims when Dawn explains how we didn’t want to jinx things by telling anyone sooner. “God, I wish I’d thought of it. You almost scared Lorena off with how eager you were to meet her; I was scared she’d ghost me after you met each other for the first time. I should’ve thought to keep her a secret until we got engaged!”
Lorena punches his arm as everyone laughs. I reach for Dawn’s hand and squeeze it lightly, a gesture that’s not lost on my brothers. A chorus of wolf whistles goes around the room and Dawn and I both blush and duck our heads.
I sigh. I’m so happy that this is going well, but at the same time I can’t help but worry about the fallout of the plan. What’s going to happen when I have to break the news of our inevitable divorce?
21
Dawn
I love this family.
The realization hits me as I sit in the middle of the living room, engaged in an arm wrestling match with Leo. Matteo’s two little ones are attempting to aid their uncle by climbing across my back, and Gina and Lorena are both cheering wildly for me. Occasionally Carmina enters the room to flap her hands at Leo and admonish him for being too aggressive with “our Gina’s guest”. I’m winning though, three rounds to two.
We call it a draw as the last of the dinner is put on the table and we get up to eat. Carmina causes a bit of strife when she drags Stefano bodily out of his usual seat so that I can sit next to Gina. My protests go unheard, and I’m told by everyone that it’s better to just do as you’re told. Gina brushes her leg against mine as I sit down and take her hand.
Carmina is clearly satisfied that her boys have thoroughly vetted me, because she doesn’t mention our abrupt engagement news all through dinner. Instead, she tells me dozens of embarrassing stories about Gina when she was younger, much to Gina’s exasperation and her brothers’ delight. Lorena gushes over how lovely our rings are, and Carmina insists that she didn’t raise her daughter to be without any taste.
I place my knife and fork down at the end of my first plate and exclaim about how lovely the food is. Carmina hurries to fill it again, spooning more potatoes and salad onto one side and asking how much lasagna she can put on. She scoops it out of the serving dish before I can reply.
“You need feeding up, bambina,” she insists heartily. “Look at you, skin and bones. Have some more, there’s plenty to go around. You must have another plate.”
“Mama considers it a personal slight if someone eats less than three full plates, and two bowls of dessert,” Stefano explains through a mouthful of fresh baked bread.
“Ah, well, in that case, I should have worn looser trousers!” I reply, to hearty laughter around the table. It gets me how quick everyone is to laugh in this family. The table is loud and cheerful, everyone shouting over each other and laughing frequently. It’s a far cry from my childhood dinners with my nannies when mother and father were away with work.
I’m not sure I can fit any dessert in, but with Carmina’s cajoling and Stefano’s promises that she won’t stop until she considers me adequately fed, I manage to pack away a bowl of tiramisu and several cannoli. I’ve eaten in some of the finest restaurants on the planet, but Carmina’s cooking is surely out of this world. I say as much and she hugs me so tightly I worry I’ll explode.
“Ah, you’re just sucking up,” Carlo snickers, ducking to avoid the slice of bread Carmina aims at his head.
“Don’t you start with me!” She roars, feigning shock and horror. “I don’t see you complaining with your third bowl of dessert over there.”
When everyone is finished, I pick up some plates and make for the kitchen. I f
ear that Carmina will physically fight me as I try to insist that it’s only fair I do the washing up.
“No, no, please, let me,” I plead. “I want to, it’s the least I can do after such a wonderful evening.”
I finally win the fight when Matteo also gets up to help clear the dishes away, though I have to hide a smile when I hear Carmina murmur to him that he shouldn’t let me do any of the washing up. I place the dishes down on the kitchen counter and pick up a washcloth, turning to Matteo.
“A compromise,” I offer. “You wash and I dry. That way you can say I didn’t do any washing up.”
He laughs heartily. He has a deep, booming laugh that fills a room and somehow makes everyone else start giggling too. “Ah, okay then. I can see we have to watch out for you, you’re a smart one.”
I smile and take the first plate, drying it thoroughly and hunting around for the cupboard to put it in. We work in comfortable silence for a while, as the chattering and laughter seeps through from the other room.
“You guys really care about each other. It’s really nice that you’re all so close. I can’t imagine being this close to my parents. I have a group of friends though, more like my sisters really, and you remind me of them.”
Matteo smiles. “Ah, yeah, we’re close alright. Your typical big Italian family. But we’ve been through a lot, as I’m sure you know, and it helps when we have each other to lean on.”
I nod sympathetically. “Carlo’s in a pretty bad shape, huh?” I wince as I say it, not expecting it to slip out so boldly.
Matteo hesitates for a few moments before replying, weighing his words carefully. “It’s not been easy for him, I won’t lie,” he finally decides on. “He’s been sick his whole life pretty much, but it wasn’t so noticeable when he was younger. Mama always used to yell at him to slow down and take it easy, but he was just a regular kid for so long.”
I wait in silence for him to continue. I sense that it’s hard for the family to confide in others, but it’s something that he needs right now.
“He was born with this heart thing, a defect. It’s been getting worse every year, but these past few years he’s really deteriorated. He’s up the hospital almost every month now. It’s rough on him, but you almost wouldn’t know it to look at him. He never stops laughing and joking, even when he’s in the worst pain.”
I swallow a lump that suddenly forms in my throat. “It must be so hard for all of you.”
“Yeah, but especially Mama because she sees him every day. The rest of us come by at least once a week, and I know Gina comes down from the city as often as she can, but it’s hard. Mama never gets a real break from it. She worries so much about all of us, but the fact is that Carlo’s just getting weaker and weaker.
He’s been bumped up the waiting list for a transplant, but nothing’s certain. And of course, it costs. It costs a lot. But hey, we’re together, and as long as we’re a family, we can make it through.”
Matteo turns away from me slightly, and I do him the courtesy of pretending not to notice the few hard sniffs. We finish the dishes in companionable silence.
“Right,” he says firmly. “That’s that. Sorry for dragging the atmosphere down. Coming through?”
I reassure him that he did no such thing, but I have to head to the restroom quickly. Instead I slip out of the kitchen door and into the garden. It’s a cool, crisp night and I briefly lean my head against the windowsill. This amazing family deserves so much better than all of this stress and worry.
I call my lawyer, Meg, and hope she’s still in the office.
“Hello, Megan Friar’s office, how may I help?”
“Hey Meg, it’s Dawn Patterson” I begin.
“Dawn! Hey, how are you? I’m still digging around about the will and the codicil but I haven’t turned anything up yet.”
“Thanks Meg, but that’s not why I’m calling.” I take a breath and exhale a stream of fog into the night. “I want to make some new instructions, regarding some medical bills for this family I know.”
I give Carlo’s information to Meg and explain his situation to her. I instruct her to pay off all his existing medical bills and get the hospital to bill me directly for the remainder of his care in the future. I also ask her if there’s a way to secure him a spot as high up the transplant list as possible, and she promises to find a way to make it happen.
As I end the call, I shiver slightly in the cooling air. It’s not fair that such bad things happen to such wonderful families. I’m not thinking about the deal or my end of it with the will and the chalet. All I know is the Romanos are a wonderful family, and Carlo is an extraordinary young man who deserves a healthy and happy future.
“Hey!” Gina’s head pops out of the door and interrupts my thoughts. “What you doing out here in the cold?”
I smile and lean forward to kiss her lightly on the nose, surprising both of us. “Nothing, just getting some air. You’re right, it is cold. Let’s go back inside.”
22
Gina
Sitting by myself, drinking coffee, I can’t even focused on getting dressed right now. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up early, and now all I’m doing is over thinking.
I’ve been spending a lot of time with Dawn, and last night, sleeping alone at my place, I was trying to achieve some clarity. In a way, I got it, but it’s not making anything any easier.
I sip my hot coffee slowly, looking around the pale shapes of the room. The light was bothering my eyes, so I switched it off, just waiting for the dawn light to filter through the curtains.
Dawn.
What an amazing week she’s given me. I’ve had so much fun every day. I didn’t think it was possible to have days that were so carefree they are almost over before I can realize the sun is setting.
I think I’m in love with her.
I keep thinking about her little red mouth, her long lashes falling on her cheeks and the corn silk hair. I’ve been touching her, holding hands, patting her waist, hugging her. It’s like some kind of sweet torture. I’m not going to stop doing it, even though it’s starting to cause me pain.
She’s so full of energy! She just doesn’t stop. The ideas bubble out of her constantly and she’s always ready to start her next thing. She goes between building the chalet up and running her fashion business with ease.
There isn’t just the renovations on the chalet involved with the charity side. The building is pretty much done. You would be surprised how much red tape is actually involved in setting up a charity. Dawn is tireless with the paperwork, calling the lawyer to exchange back and forth about running costs, donations, and tax.
Seriously, even though I really like the idea of helping people, I would have given up after the first ten-page approval form. That stuff makes me crazy.
As for her fashion empire, she strides in there as simply as flipping a switch. Suddenly she’s talking fabrics, she’s designing while she’s walking, she’s adjusting sketches. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Throughout all this, she keeps that smile on her face. Even after an exhausting call with the lawyer after some stressful financial news she smiled and said have a nice day.
She’s the same with her staff at the fashion business. Once she walked in to find an entire line had its first garments made up with the wrong fabric. She did utter a shocked “oh no!” but then set about helping the others get the right fabric with a smile on her face. She didn’t blame anyone.
She took the whole family out for dinner at an expensive restaurant to celebrate Carlo getting on the transplant list. The whole family. Do you have any idea what it costs to feed that many Italians, even at a cheap diner? I didn’t want to ask. I was freaking out when Matteo kept ordering more of the good wine.
Dawn was encouraging him! She even told Mama to go ahead and have the lobster, if that’s what she wanted. Like the money is literally nothing to her.
The joy helping other people gives her, that’s real. She has such a glow about her when she
’s made other people happy.
I don’t understand how anyone could hurt a girl like that.
I run my fingers through my messy hair and take another sip from my steaming cup. I wish all my thoughts were not so heavy. I don’t want to entertain them or indulge them, but I really have no choice.
I wish this was easy, that I could enjoy my time with Dawn and never think of anything but those gorgeous curved lips teasing me with that smile. She smiles with such affection for the world on the whole and it’s bright and comforting, just like her namesake. Everything looks different on a new day and she seems to bring that new day to everyone she sees.
My mother loves her. As you can imagine, there were issues with my family about my sexuality over the years. Not because they hated it, my parents have always loved and supported me. My mother was hoping for grandchildren though. She took some getting used to that.
She also feared I would never find anyone nice. No matter what face I showed to my family, my mother knew I was working too hard supporting them to be worried about finding a good partner. The way her eyes glowed when she saw us together just breaks my heart. She’s so happy for me, even happier to welcome Dawn into the family as her daughter-in-law.
Of course, this is why I was against the whole thing. Nothing I can do about it now. We needed the money too badly.
Dawn’s going to great lengths to ensure I feel comfortable with the fake engagement. She’s constantly checking in on me and asking if there’s anything I need. I love the attention from her. It’s really very sad from my perspective. This wasn’t in Dawn’s plans nor was it in mine.
I’m enchanted. I can’t help myself. She’s all I think about. So much for having a night to myself to clear my head, all I’ve done is think about her! All I’ve done is sit around missing her, going to bed and dreaming about her. This sucks, it really does. The only person I have to blame or beat up is me.