“Butthere is. It’s why you still love her so much.”
Hisjaw tightened and he shook his head. “Andrea …”
“Please?”
Hiseyes met mine, and as his brow furrowed, he said, “You’re pretty special,aren’t you?”
Iswallowed and asked, “What do you mean?”
Henever answered my question. He just simply smiled, sighed, and said, “We werehigh school sweethearts. We loved each other so much, maybe even too much, andright after graduation, we were married. We had all these plans of travellin'the world, seein' things, doin' things. But, those were the plans of kids whodidn't understand that life doesn't always happen the way you want it. Weneeded money, we needed jobs, and so, for several years, we both worked ourasses off to build our savings account. Then, we had Jenna.
“Aftershe was born, we realized that we couldn't just travel the world with a baby,that wasn't gonna happen. Luckily, in the time that we'd been married andbuildin’ up our savings, I started having a new dream. I wanted my own pizzaplace. And I told her, whatever I take outta savings, I'll be able to put back.We'd save up again, and then, when Jenna was older, we'd go do the things wealways wanted to do but as a family.
“So,I bought Famiglia Bella, and I dumped every last penny from our savings accountinto it. Then, we had Zach, and a year later, we had Vinnie. And my wife, she... she wasn't right after that, after havin' two babies so close together. Idunno if it was her hormones or if everything just suddenly felt like too much,but whatever it was, she changed. Or at least, that's when I noticed it.
“We,um ... we tried to make things work for a while. But I was always workin',while she was at home with the kids. I worried about that sometimes, 'cause shewas alone so much and she'd have these episodes. Like ... like she was a pot ofboilin' water and sometimes she just bubbled over, you know? But as far as Iknow, she never hurt them, so I thought it was okay.
“Butthen, one day, I came home from work late—I usually did—and as soon as I gotinside, everything felt off. Like, I didn't know what was goin’ on yet, but Icould tell somethin' was wrong. You know what I'm sayin'? And it didn't take metoo long to realize her purse was gone. I thought, hmm, okay, maybe she had torun out for somethin'. But when I went to our bedroom, I saw that the suitcaseswere gone, too.”
Mywidened eyes flicked toward the woman now standing beside the bed. The regretin her eyes and the sorrowful downturn of her lips. There was so much guiltthere, written in the lines on her face, and now I understood why.
Shehad abandoned her husband and left her three kids motherless.
“Shehad left me a note,” Vincent went on. “It said that she loved me, and that sheloved the kids, but she couldn't continue to wait for her life to begin. And Icouldn't understand that. 'Cause, yeah, maybe life wasn't what we had dreamedit would be when we were kids, and maybe we were hurtin' bad for money andthings were tough, but it wasourlife and we were livin' it, or so Ithought.”
Inodded somberly. “Did you ever see her again?”
Heshook his head. “Never in person but always in my dreams.”
Andthere it was, his broken heart, displayed proudly in his eyes and the gruffnessof his weakening voice. I didn't need to ask if he'd ever been remarried, or ifhe'd at least seen other women. I knew the answers to those questions. VincentMarino had remained faithful to the woman who had abandoned him and theirchildren. With a glance at his wife, tears now trickling slowly down hercheeks, I knew her heart had never left him, even if she had. And then, I wasmad. I wanted to ask her if it was worth it. I wanted to ask if she was happywith the way her life had turned out, while her husband and kids had struggled.I wanted to ask if she'd do it again if she could. But this moment was aboutVincent, not her, and I kept my mouth shut.
“Youstill love her,” I said.
Henodded. “I made a promise to her when we were kids, and I kept it.”
“Sodid she,” I replied. Then, I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and added, “Well, Imean, she left you, but she had always remained faithful.”
Hedidn't look surprised. Not by the statement, or the certainty in which I saidit. Instead, he nodded and asked, “She's here, isn't she?”
“Sheis.”
“I'vebeen feelin' her around for a while now. I just didn't know for sure if ... ifit was really her or just my mind playin' tricks on me.”
Thatwas a typical reaction. The heart always knows but the brain struggles to letgo of what we've been told about science and logic. I smiled at the part of himthat was still so innocently human, even as his soul readied itself to leave.
“Shecame to get you,” I said.
“Ithought so.” He nodded, smiling in the very direction in which she stood.
Then,he said, “I'm not scared, you know. I'm tired and I'm ready. But I worry aboutVinnie. Jenna and Zach, they're gonna be fine, I know it. But Vinnie ...”Vincent shook his head, frowning. “Vinnie's gonna need some help.”
“I'llbe there for him,” I promised. “I'm not going anywhere.”
Heturned to face me, lifting a brow. “You love my boy, don't you?”
Ihadn't said it, neither of us had, but his father already knew the things my heartcautiously whispered. There was no point in lying, so I nodded and whispered,“I do.”
Vincentsighed, bobbing his head slowly in a tired nod. He outstretched a hand towardthe furthest corner of the bed, where Mrs. Marino stood, smiling. His lips curledupward, his eyes closed, and then he whispered, “Okay.”
