She laughed. “You’re so transparent. Yes, she’s here.”
I sighed in relief, dying to hear my daughter’s voice.
“Momma?”
“Hey, baby. How are you? I miss you so much,” I said.
“I miss you, too. Where’s Daddy? Are you guys having fun?”
She was so cute, and it made me feel good that she was excited to speak to us as well.
“Yes, we’re having fun. And Daddy’s right here. You want to talk to him?”
Dominic was all smiles when I handed him the phone.
“Hey, baby girl. Yes. I know, I miss you, too. Yes, we did. Okay, I’ll tell her, and we’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I love you, too.”
I leaned into the phone and yelled, “Love you.” I heard her happy screeches through the receiver before she hung up.
Dominic was silent for a few moments, rubbing his hand along his jaw. His eyes were unfocused, and I could see the wheels turning in his head.
“I was thinking — how about we fly straight to New York from here? We can catch a flight from LAX to JFK and meet Lucia there. We could spend a week or so sightseeing together,” he suggested.
“I need to see if I can get another week off. I have enough time saved, but I only asked for these two. Let me email my boss and see what I can do,” I suggested.
~*~*~
Since we had gotten off to a slow start that morning, Dominic and I decided that we’d go hiking on Diamond Head volcano. A drive to the North Shore was about an hour, and we wouldn’t even have time to sightsee. However, Diamond Head was closer to our hotel.
Arriving in the parking lot, we saw a huge sign with the name of the volcano on it, so we asked a fellow tourist to take a picture of us with it. Then we followed the path to the entrance. The whole walkway up the mountain had metal railings, and we barely fit side-by-side. My legs began to burn because the hike was very steep, with portions featuring stairs that knocked the wind out of me from pure exertion. But when we got to the top, the view took my breath away. We stood there for a while with the wind blowing in our hair, looking at Oahu from three hundred sixty degrees.
Dominic’s lips met mine on the top of that beautiful volcano. We then took tons of pictures from every angle so we would have them to help us remember our trip and to share with our family. I had been texting Susan, Dom’s parents, my parents, and Lori with almost every picture we’d taken so far.
~*~*~
The rest of our trip passed much too quickly. One day, we drove to the North Shore to spend the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center, and we even stayed for the luau at the end of the day. The PCC introduced us to life from all the surrounding islands: Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, New Zealand, Tonga, Hawaii, and Marquesas. We saw many shows with dances from the different islands. I learned how to sew a quilt square with a flowery, Hawaiian pattern in red and white. Once it was dusk, we headed off to the luau, which was preceded by a buffet dinner with foods like poi, poke, yams, fish, pork, and other island fare. After dinner, we sat down for the show. I was excited since it took all of those elements we’d learned about earlier in the day and magnified them. When it began, we were surprised by how beautiful the costumes and dancers were. Scenes from the history of each island were acted out in dance with drums and flame twirlers. We were in awe of the performances and happy to have had the experience.
Another day, we spent a few hours at Waimea Falls. We watched some professionals cliff diving over very high water falls, and it scared the crap out of me. My fear of heights wouldn’t allow me to get up to the top, but it was nice to watch from afar.
Dominic dragged me to Matsumoto’s Shaved Ice. He ordered the Matsumoto special with vanilla ice cream and condensed milk, and I got the banana cream with the same extras. I had to hand it to Dominic for making us go, because it tasted delicious. It was so good, in fact, that I craved one every day we were there.
We fell in love with Oahu and were very sad to leave. Knowing that we were going to see Lucia motivated us to leave, otherwise we could have stayed forever.
~*~*~
Using all of my vacation time for this expedition, I was able to book two more weeks off. We planned on spending them with Dominic’s parents. I almost regretted the decision to go directly to New York from Hawaii when we were forced to endure a six-hour flight from Oahu, a layover in Los Angeles for three hours, and then another six-hour plane ride to New York. We did get to run home during our layover since we lived so close to the airport. We exchanged some of the clothes in our suitcases and figured we could wash our dirty laundry at his parent’s house. The last leg of the journey was an all-nighter, which landed us at JFK at five-thirty in the morning. I felt too old to be trying to sleep on an airplane all night, and I knew Dominic felt the same way. Exhausted was an understatement for how tired we felt.
A town car picked us up from the airport and drove us straight to Park Avenue on the Upper East Side. I had never been to New York before, but I had heard about the apartments wealthier people lived in. They weren’t like any places I had seen in Los Angeles or Boston. These New York homes had doormen, concierge services, and elevator operators, and they were worth a lot of money. My jaw dropped when we first entered his parent’s apartment. It consisted of ten rooms, four of which were bedrooms. Dominic had tried to warn me, but nothing could have prepared me for what we walked into. Arriving on their floor, I heard my daughter’s happy, boisterous laughter. What she was doing up, I had no idea, since it was only seven in the morning. I hoped Emma and Dom weren’t in over their heads with my little girl and her level of energy. I knew at times she could be a bit much, but she also had good manners and knew how to behave when necessary. I trusted she had just been excited to see us.
Dominic rang the doorbell, and Emma answered with Lucia hard on her heels. I had a feeling she wanted to knock down her grandmother to get to us, but she stood there waiting as patiently as she could, bouncing on her toes. Emma received us with tons of love, and then stepped aside so we could tackle Lucia.
“Oh, my baby. I missed you so much.” I had her wrapped in a tight hug, but then pulled back to look at her. “Have you been having a good time?” I wanted to see if she was nervous or showed any signs of stress, but to my pleasant surprise she looked happy and comfortable.
“Momma, I’m having fun. Susan and Vitto took care of me on the plane, and then we visited Lori and Chris, and I stayed here while they went home. Grandma made cookies with me, and we colored and went to the park,” she said before taking a deep breath. “But I’m happy you’re here.”
She kissed me on the lips and jumped out of my arms and into Dominic’s. He knelt down just in time to catch her. Her little arms wrapped around his neck, and as they hugged, they whispered into each other’s ears and giggled. My heart expanded in my chest just watching how much they loved each other. When they stood up, Dominic addressed his mother.
“Where’s Dad?” he asked.
“He went to the office. But come, let’s get you two to your room,” she answered.
We walked through their spacious apartment. Passing through an open living room and dining room, we entered a long hallway with several closed doors. Lucia came bouncing behind us.
“Momma, wait until you see my room. It’s so beautiful. I want a bed like that for our house,” she rambled.
“Oh? There’s a bed you like? We’ll see it as soon as we put our stuff in our room,” said Dominic.
“Don’t get any bright ideas,” I told him, recognizing the tone he’d used.
“Once you settle, I’ll give you a tour of the house, okay? Come find me when you’re done,” said Emma.
“Thank you so much, Emma. I’m so happy to be here.”
Arriving at our room, my jaw dropped again. The parts of the house I had seen already were impeccably decorated. One of the rooms we had gone through had been paneled in beautiful blonde oak, and the foyer looked to be about the size of my whole condo. But this bedroom was incredibly beautifu
l. Every inch was painted in a shade of pea green and one wall lined with dark oak shelving. There was a sofa to match. I would never have imagined the layout and design on my own, so I was surprised at how much I liked what I was seeing. A closet sat on the opposite wall of the pullout couch, and a big window with a wonderful view of Park Avenue sat on the other. Different, but beautiful.
I set my suitcase in the closet, not bothering to unpack yet. Exhausted, I plopped myself on the sofa. Lucia climbed on my lap and just clung for a while. Dominic joined us while we reconnected. His strong arms wrapped around the both of us while he rested his chin on my shoulder.
“Can we go see my room now?” asked Lucia.
“Of course,” said Dominic.
She walked backwards, pulling on our hands to her room.
“Close your eyes,” said Lucia.
With our eyes closed, we entered the room after our little girl.
“Okay, look,” she said. She couldn’t contain her excitement.
Dominic smirked and shook his head. I looked at him with a confused expression, not sure what he found so funny. The room was painted a pale shade of pink—perfect for little girls. The single trundle bed was a darker shade of pink with a canopy to match. The bedding was white and offset the pink.
“You see, I want a bed like that. It’s so pretty.”
“We’ll see what we can do, okay? I’ll have to ask Grandma where she got it,” said Dominic.
“Was this room always like this?” I asked.
Dominic shook his head again. “She must have done this when she found out Lucia was coming to stay.”
“Wow.” I was touched by the idea that Emma had gone through so much trouble for our daughter.
“Let’s go take our tour, and then I think I want to sleep for a while,” I suggested.
Dominic bent down and kissed me. “Whatever you want, honey.”
Chapter 29
Peek-a-Boo
The weather in New York City in the summer was thick and humid. Walking around the city while surrounded by all of the tall buildings that blocked the ocean breeze, my clothes stuck to me, and I was sweating like a pig. But on the bright side, I fell in love with Manhattan. Times Square was a sight to see with so many flashing lights of all different colors coming off the buildings. Big screens everywhere showed commercials and advertisements. Street performers and people dressed as super heroes were all over the place trying to make a buck.
Even I was able to tell the difference between the locals and the tourists. The locals just walked with purpose and bumped into anyone in their way. It was kind of hilarious. The tourists, however, walked around with their heads up and eyes unfocused, looking completely dazed. The fast-paced ambiance made me feel comfortable, although I wasn’t sure why. Los Angeles moved much slower, and Boston, although faster-paced than L.A., was still slower than New York.
Dominic took us to all of his favorite places, and we met up with Lori and Chris several times. Emma and Dom took us to fancy restaurants and introduced Lucia and me to all of their friends. They gushed over us and told us how proud they were to have us as part of their family. I felt so close to them, even more than I had before. I was so glad that Dominic had suggested the trip to New York and that he wanted to take us to his old stomping grounds.
Everyone had completely spoiled Lucia, and she received so many gifts from all of their friends that we had to ship some of her stuff to California. I hoped she didn’t think this spoiling was going to continue once we were back home. Lucia knew how to work it, too. She used her polite manners and cute smiles to get people eating out of the palm of her hand. When we told her our time was up in New York and we had to go home, she had her first temper tantrum in years. She did not want to leave, and even said we could leave without her. Now, that stung. The two weeks I’d spent on my belated honeymoon without her had been difficult. I’d felt guilty for leaving her behind and even anxious that no one would be able to care for her like I did. But that was not the case. Susan and Vitto were great substitutes for us and cared for her so well. When they left her with Emma and Dom, her grandparents had done just as well. Lucia had fallen in love with them and wanted to stay.
I needed to go home, though. It was time, and I was ready. I loved being away and sightseeing, but I missed my bed, my things, and my home. We were all packing to leave the following morning and were going to eat in for our last meal. I left Dominic in the bedroom, walked toward the kitchen, and found Lucia speaking with Dom and Emma. I decided to stay behind the entry so she wouldn’t see me.
“Grandpa, don’t you love me?” Oh my God! There she was, my master manipulator.
“What? Of course I do. How could you ask such a thing, Lucia?” asked Dom.
She sighed. “I just don’t want to have to miss you. Can’t you and grandma move near us?”
“Come here. We love you so very much, and we’d love to spend more time with you. And more than anything we’d love to be closer to you. I think we will be looking to move soon. We spoke to your daddy about that already,” he answered.
“Promise?” she asked.
“Yes, I promise,” he said.
I took that as my cue to enter.
“Hi. What are you two up to?”
Lucia answered first. “Oh, nothing, Momma,” she said. She was still upset with me, because she was trying to strong-arm me into staying there. It wasn’t going to happen. My vacation was over, and I needed to get back to work.
Emma and Dominic walked into the kitchen together, and Lucia jumped right into her daddy’s arms.
“Hey, munchkin,” said Dominic.
She didn’t answer but instead laid her head on his shoulder and rubbed the nape of his neck with her little fingers. He held her while I helped make dinner, and she almost fell asleep in his arms. Her clingy behavior could have been from being overtired; she’d been a busy little bee since she arrived in New York. I was betting that, when we got home, she’d rest for the entire first week, which would be a perfect way for Dominic to get caught back up with his work.
The doorbell rang, and Emma went to answer it. I smiled to myself when I heard the voices of Lori and Chris. I hadn’t known they were coming, but it was a pleasant surprise.
I ran toward the door and scooped Lori into my arms.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said, smiling at Chris over Lori’s shoulder.
“We couldn’t let you leave without seeing us,” said Lori.
“Come in; you want some wine?” I asked.
Chris walked in behind us with his arm around Emma. I loved the close relationships between Dominic and Chris and Emma. I found it adorable when the boys would hug their mother, towering over her with their tall bodies. If I had a son, I hoped to have as loving a relationship with him as Emma had with her boys. Truthfully, though, I just wanted to give Dominic a child; it didn’t matter if it was a girl or boy.
We sat around the kitchen island waiting for dinner to be ready, soaking up each other’s company. The past year had been wonderful. My family had become closer and had grown. Looking at the faces around me, I knew I was a lucky woman.
After a wonderful dinner and great conversation, Lori and Chris went home, and we all went to bed. Our flight was scheduled to leave early the next day, and we needed some sleep. We lay wrapped around each other; Dominic and I were too tired to move.
“This has been an incredible four weeks, but I’m so ready to go home.”
“Me, too,” said Dominic.
“I think I might need another vacation to recoup from this vacation,” I said with a giggle.
“Tell me about it … but tomorrow. I need to sleep now. I love you,” he said and kissed my head.
“Good night. Love you, too.”
~*~*~
Our flight was uneventful, and we arrived home tired but in one piece. Without even an ounce of energy to unpack or do anything else, I just wanted to sleep. I had to work the following day, so I had to force myself into gett
ing things unpacked and cleaned up before I could sit for a moment. We still had to deal with the clothes we had just dumped on the bed during our layover in New York the previous week. In other words, our lives were back to normal.
For some reason, it felt like the jet lag was knocking me on my ass. We had been home for two weeks, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I’d fall asleep at my desk, at the dinner table, and as soon as my head hit the pillow at night. My body felt like it was worn out and heavy all the time. It was horrible. Dominic thought I was sick and said my exhaustion wasn’t normal. He swore I had caught some sort of island disease in Hawaii, and he made me an appointment with my doctor and dragged me there. I just figured since we had been gone so long and had bounced from such extreme time zones that the travel had affected me worse this time around.
It annoyed me that I had to ask for another day off, but I was resigned to the idea. Entering the doctor’s office, I became very nervous. Dominic’s fears about some island disease crept up on me and freaked me out. Whatever I had, I just hoped the doctor could give me something to fix it. Dominic was in the waiting room with Lucia, and I knew he was nervous as well. He had been babying me ever since I’d begun showing signs of an illness.
The door to my room opened, and my doctor came in. “Mrs. Roberts, how are you today?” he asked.
“Hi, Doctor Park. Um, well, today I’m like I have been for the past two weeks: completely exhausted. I mean, I’ve been so tired, and my body has been so heavy. I can’t move or stay awake,” I said.
“Okay, are there any other symptoms?”
I had to think about it. “No, I just think crankiness, but that has to be from being so tired all the time. We just got back home two weeks ago from a month-long trip. We went to Hawaii for two weeks, and then to New York for another two weeks. I just thought it was the extreme time changes.”
“Yes, that could have impacted you in some way, but I need to ask when you had your last menstrual period.”
I answered instantly, without thought. “Last month on the thirteenth,” I said, but that didn’t seem right. No, last month, two weeks ago, we were in New York on that date, and I hadn’t gotten my period in New York or Hawaii. “No, it was the month before that,” I said.
My Mr. Manny Page 17