by Clara Reese
“No, no...” She clears her throat harshly and sniffles. “Your brother is okay, bambina. The doctors say the process went well. He’s almost through it.”
“What’s wrong, then?”
“It’s the bill, mi preciousa. The doctors came to speak with us while we were waiting, to assure us that the best heart surgeon available was in the operating room, considering the interest of our anonymous patron and the size of their donation to the hospital. All his bills have been paid, Gina, every single one, and they managed to get him moved up the donor list as well. No one will tell me who did this thing for us.”
“I think I know,” I say numbly. There’s only one person I know who has that kind of money to throw around and who has been interested in Carlo’s case. “I’ll be there soon, Mama, okay? Dawn and I will both be there soon.”
It’s a little while before I can pull over, but this is a conversation I don’t want to have while I’m driving. Inwardly I’m reeling at the sudden rush of emotions. How can I go from so angry to so all-consumingly grateful so quickly?
I see the flashing sign of a diner and pull into their parking lot, killing the engine of the car and disconnecting my phone so that I can dial Dawn’s number.
She picks up after one ring, her voice breathless and tearful. “Gina! Oh Gina, I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t know my dad was going to say that and I didn’t listen to him I really didn’t. I told him to go fuck himself as soon as you were gone. I’m so sorry about how awful all this was.”
“Dawn...” I say.
“I can’t apologize enough that I made you go through this at such a stressful time, with Carlo in surgery. I can’t believe I did this to you. I’m so sorry,” she keeps going, her voice rising in tone as she starts to cry a little. The sound makes my heart clench.
“Dawn. Stop talking a moment,” I say a bit louder, and she pauses. “Come meet me, I’m messaging you my location.”
“Okay,” she says immediately. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
We hang up and I get out of the car to pace up and down in the cool air and wait for her to arrive. I can’t believe she did this for my family. I can’t believe she paid for everything and even made sure Carlo got medical attention as soon as possible, and never said a word about it to me.
It wasn’t part of our arrangement. All I asked her to do was take care of the bill for the surgery when it happened. I didn’t ask her to pay off the thousands and thousands of dollars that have racked up over the years. She could at any time have told me about this and made me grateful to her for life but instead she did it secretly so I wouldn’t feel indebted to her.
My phone goes off again and it’s Matteo. I answer with the same rush of panic and I’m relieved when he says “hello” with no grief in his voice. “How are things going?” I ask tightly.
“He’s out of surgery,” Matteo sounds tired but good. “It will be a while until he wakes up. You’ve got plenty of time to get here.”
I sag in relief. “Thank god for that,” I say softly. “Thanks, bro.”
“No problem.” He hesitates and I know there’s more that he wants to say. I’ve heard that pregnant pause between sentences plenty of times from my big brother and it always means that there’s something he doesn’t know how to say.
“Spit it out,” I say. I’m too tired to beat around the bush right now. I’d rather just hear what’s going on.
“It was Dawn., wasn’t it?” he says.
“What was?”
He snorts, like he knows that I’m dodging the question, which I totally am, because I’m not ready to admit this out loud. “She paid the bills, she arranged him to get moved up the donor list, everything.”
“I think so.”
He lets out a long breath. “Fucking hell, Gina.”
“I know, bro. I know.”
“Make sure she knows how grateful we are, okay?” He cups the phone closer to his mouth and lowers his voice. “Look, Mama is coming back so I need to say goodbye. I figure if Dawn wants Mama to know then she’ll tell her. Get here soon?”
“I will,” I say and hang up. I feel a huge welling of love in my chest for the small woman that barreled into my life and decided for some reason to make it her job to make it one hundred times better. It takes a while but when the taxi finally pulls up into the car park and Dawn steps out into the night, I know exactly what I want to say to her.
33
Dawn
I rush out of the taxi, tossing a bill at him that would probably cover three of my fares, and not even caring; all I can focus on is the fact that I made it to Gina and that I need to tell her how I feel.
I dart out of the taxi and run over to her, taking both of her hands into mine as I sigh and look into her eyes, pleading.
“Look Gina, I know that things looked like I didn’t care and I know that I fucked up and didn’t express myself properly, but I need you to hear me out right now, okay? Please just let me say what I need to say.”
She looks back at me and sighs with a nod, her thumbs grazing over the backs of my hands as I see what looks to be the hint of a smile trying to form on her lips, though that could be wishful thinking.
“Okay Dawn.”
I let out a breath that I didn’t even realize that I was holding, and I look her in the eyes with a determined look, eyes darting all over her face.
“First things first,” I say with a smile, one of my hands reaching up to cup her face, “I love you Gina, and that’s for real. I’m not doing this for the chalet, for my name, or reputation, this is real. We are real.”
My thumb brushes over her cheek and I sigh, shaking my head.
“Nothing else matters, Gina. The chalet, my stupid and awful judgmental family, my asshole of an uncle…none of that means anything, especially not compared to you.”
Her brow furrows and I can feel her take a breath, shaky and low, and I shake my head again, with a smile.
“I know I fucked up and I know that it’s my fault that you ever had any reason to doubt me; I didn’t make things clear that you’re the most important thing to me. When all that bullshit went down with my family, I should have stood up for us more, I know that. I wanted to and I should have, and I’m so sorry that I made you think that you’re anything less than perfect.”
She closes the gap between us with a sigh and presses her forehead to mine, and I can feel my chest tightening with warmth and love as she reaches for me, and I take a deep breath.
“I love you, Gina, and I don’t ever want to make you feel like you’re anything less than the love of my life.”
“I love you too, Dawn.”
Her voice is barely a whisper and I can’t help the way I shudder and grin ear to ear, the beginnings of happy tears welling up in my eyes.
“Dawn,” she says with a chuckle, “As if I’d leave my sick brother for any other reason, yeah?”
I can’t wait a single second longer. I take her face in my hands again and press my lips to hers, taking them into a searing kiss as she wraps her arms around me. The fact that we’re standing in the middle of the sidewalk with people walking by doesn’t matter to me; all that matters is that I’ve made things right with the woman I love. In that moment, I know that no matter what happens with the chalet, with my family, or even with my reputation, that things will be okay because we have each other.
Because I have her, and she’s everything.
When we pull away, Gina giggles as she glances over to the diner window, people ogling at us from the inside and making me roll my eyes.
“So is it safe to say that we’re, you know, a thing now?” I ask teasingly, smiling. “Since you proclaimed your love for me and all.”
She rolls her eyes and swats my shoulder playfully, though she’s smiling at me and it lights up her whole face.
“We’re definitely a thing, a real one.”
“Good, because I couldn’t be happier.”
She blushes and then I nod to the car, gesturing
towards it.
“Let’s get in and head over to the hospital so that we can see your brother, okay? I don’t want to keep you from your family.”
Gina nods and we get in, then she pulls out from the parking spot and starts to drive. No sooner did we turn down the street did my phone ring, and when I see that it’s Meg I pick it up, expecting the worst. At least I’ve got Gina now though, so whatever bad news is going to be thrown at me, I’ll have her by my side. So I throw the phone on speaker and answer the call, shrugging over at Gina.
“Hey Meg, it’s me and Gina.” I say with a sigh. “What’s going on?”
“You’re never going to believe this, Dawn! I’ve got great news! Something just didn’t sit right with me, so I did some digging, and as it turns out, you’re completely off the hook.”
I narrow my eyes and laugh incredulously, shaking my head. I don’t understand what the hell she’s going on about and I sigh.
“Meg, what are you talking about?”
“Dawn.” She says insistently, laughing. “Larry planted that condition into Arthur’s will to try and make sure that you wouldn’t be able to keep the chalet; your uncle never wanted to make you do this.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. After all of this, after all of the drama, it turns out that I was fine the whole time.
“You mean….”
“Yes! Larry is just some jealous ass who wants the chalet for himself so he figured that this was the easiest way to do it. What he wasn’t banking on though,” she adds with a chuckle, “Was you having such a kick-ass lawyer to expose him.”
“That’s amazing news! Oh, he’s so going to pay for this.”
I hear Meg laugh on the other line. “Obviously,” she reassures, “He’s committed fraud and will forgery; we’re going to take him for everything he’s worth.”
“I would expect no less, Meg. Aright, thanks for the good news, but I need to let you go so Gina and I can head to the hospital. We’ll be in touch.”
We say our goodbyes and I grin over at Gina, who gives me a playful pout back.
“And here I was thinking we’d be getting married. Though,” she adds with a shrug of her shoulders and a chuckle, “I suppose that maybe dating first before we get married is a pretty good way to go about things.”
We share a laugh and I lean over to plant a quick kiss to her cheek while she drives. The blush that rises in her cheeks warms my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life seeing her blush like that and making her happy, and I don’t care if that means getting married right away or dating first.
“Yeah, I’d say. Let’s get to the hospital and see your family. Hey,” I say with a smile, taking her hand. “I know the day started off pretty shitty, but it’s turning out to be not so bad.”
She smiles over at me and squeezes my hand, holding it for the rest of the drive to the hospital, and I can’t help but wonder what the rest of the day will bring.
34
Gina
The hospital waiting room is overflowing with bodies. My family takes up the majority of the cramped space, but there are other families here, as well. We share anxious looks, nervous glances, and sympathetic smiles with one another.
I can’t help but wonder why they are here. Are they waiting for news of a loved one? Are they here to support someone they love, like Dawn is doing for me?
My mother twists a ragged tissue between her fingers. Tears fill her eyes, but they haven’t yet breached the barrier of her lashes. It’s as if she’s holding out for the moment she knows she’ll need them. The moment we’ve been dreading for Carlo’s entire life.
The doctor said everything went fine, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. The tension that fills the air, the hard angles of my mother’s face, the creased brows along my brothers’ foreheads, they all paint a different picture. We’re just waiting for Carlo to wake up, but it’s been hours. What if something goes wrong? What if his body rejects the heart?
As if sensing where my thoughts are heading, Dawn gives my hand a tight squeeze. There’s determination flaming in her dark eyes and a hard set to her jaw. As if by sheer willpower alone, she can take away every ounce of fear coursing through my veins and make Carlo wake up.
I don’t know if I could get through this without her. The fact that she’s here with me and that she paid the medical bills in full even when I wouldn’t talk to her…I don’t know if there will ever be a way to pay her back, but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to if she’ll let me.
There’s a buzz that fills the room, a wave of commotion as the doctor walks through the entryway. Everybody turns, all eyes look his direction, a few gasps escape from between quivering lips. He looks up from the chart in his hand and focuses on the far wall. The wall where my family is sitting.
My mother’s breath catches as he walks across the room towards us. His face is grim, his eyes the kind of tired only a man who holds the weight of the world can possess. He reaches out a hand and sets it atop one of my mother’s shoulders. She raises her head to meet his gaze.
“Mrs. Romano,” he says. “Carlo is awake. He’s still a little groggy, but he’s asking for you.”
My mother’s shoulders sag, her body going limp as if the anxiety of the situation had been the only thing holding her up. My brothers’ let out audible sighs of relief. It feels like a million pounds of pressure has been lifted from my body.
I turn to Dawn and wrap my arms around her, burying my face in the soft cornsilk tendrils that drape across her neck. She pulls me tight against her and I soak up the support, the love, that she offers. She kisses my cheek softly before pulling away to look at my face. The passion in her gaze fills my heart and sends a wave of desire crashing through me.
“We don’t want to overstimulate him too soon,” the doctor says. “It would be best if just two of you went in at a time and limit the time to ten or fifteen minutes. Tomorrow, when he’s had more of a chance to wake up, he can have visitors longer.”
“Mama,” says Matteo. “You and Gina go first. We’ll wait here.”
I look back at Dawn. “Go ahead,” she whispers, “I’ll be here when you come out.”
My mother grasps my fingers and, together, we follow the doctor from the waiting room. I can’t help but notice the looks of disappointment from some of the people still waiting for news about their loved ones, and I send up a small prayer that they won’t have to wait much longer.
The room Carlo is in is dimly lit. A reassuring, steady beep from the heart monitor echoes through the sterile space. He looks so small, his body swallowed up by the bed. His eyes are closed, but they slowly open when he hears our footsteps approach. A weak smile splits across his pale lips.
“Oh...my baby,” my mother’s voice is thick with emotion. She sits down in the chair next to the bed, her fingers fluttering nervously as if she can’t decide where the safest place to touch him would be. He lifts his hand feebly and she latches on.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I say, choking back my own tears.
“Me, too, sis.” His voice is raspy and dry.
We sit in silence, letting the knowledge that Carlo now has a second chance at life be the comfort that blankets us. It will take him time to recover, but the doctor is sure that there won’t be any more setbacks. We hang on to that hope with every ounce of courage we have.
After ten minutes, I hug Carlo lightly and tell him that I’ll see him tomorrow. I squeeze my mother’s arm reassuringly and head out of the room to send one of my brothers in to take my place. Dawn is still sitting in the same chair she was in when I left.
When she sees me, a smile creases her face, as if she’s never been happier to see someone in her entire life. Desire pools low in my belly, as I march across the room and take her face between my fingers, kissing her full on the mouth. Her lips mold to mine as our tongues tangle together.
Matteo clears his throat and I wave him off with one hand, not caring that Dawn and I are drawing attention. T
his is my moment, my time, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone ruin it for me. My brother is healthy. I’ve found the woman I love. Everything is falling into place.
We pull apart, both panting. Her eyes spark with desire. “Thank you,” I say. “For everything.”
“You’re welcome,” she answers simply.
We leave the hospital, taking my car through the dark winding streets that lead back to my apartment. We’re both silent, exhausted from the day’s events, content just to be with each other, holding hands the entire way. There’s no need for lengthy conversation or more apologies; we’re happy. We know what we want, and we’re ready for our happily ever after.
I unlock the door and we step inside, not bothering to turn on lights as we go. We leave a trail of clothes in the darkened hallway as we make our way to my bedroom. Kissing and touching as we go.
We aren’t hurried. We’re both too drained to do anything tonight. Falling into bed, our naked bodies pressed together, our arms wrapped tightly around each other, I’ve never felt so at peace before. We fall asleep in the softness of one another’s skin, as her scent fills my dreams.
The soft morning light filters through the blinds as my eyes flutter open. I feel like I’ve been asleep for days. Dawn is still next to me, her face buried against my collarbone, her soft full breast pressed against my own. The feeling is luxurious as I shift, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
She looks up, a whispered moan seeping from her lips and I catch it with my mouth. Her body relaxes, her head falling back, allowing me deeper access. I roll atop her, running my fingers down her arms and press her wrists into the bed. Her mouth twists into a grin beneath my lips.
I press my body over hers, grinding my hips against her pussy as liquid heat pools between my legs. She opens her mouth and I delve in, stroking her tongue with mine as I lick and taste every surface. Her legs widen and I drive my hips against her, the pleasure building deep in my core.