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“Could someone explain?” I asked quietly, looking to Luca and his dad for answers.
Instead of immediately answering, Papa Marino fixed four cups of tea, pouring the steaming water from the freshly finished kettle and setting them all on the table to steep.
“When Maria and I were young,” he eventually said, “we were in a very similar position. Maria’s family didn’t want her to date at all. She was meant to stay home and be a caregiver to her parents. I threw a bit of a wrench into those plans. We dated in secret for quite a while before we finally came clean. Her mother was so furious she didn’t speak to us for years. She didn’t come to our wedding, cut us off from a good portion of Maria’s family, and refused to acknowledge us until Nicky was born. She’s still not a big part of our lives.”
I processed this new information, this realization that Luca’s parents had followed such a similar path.
Papa Marino fixed his wife’s tea with milk and sugar and carefully extracted me from her embrace so he could get her to sit down, pushing the cup into her hands. “As much as we would have liked to have known sooner, we’re not in any position to say much about it.”
“Better late than never?” I asked, trying to diffuse some of the heavy energy in the room.
Papa Marino nodded and hooked his hand beneath my elbow, bringing me deeper into the kitchen. “How do you take your tea, my dear?”
“Sweet,” I replied.
He plucked a fancy bottle of orange blossom honey from the cupboard, bringing it and a little carton of cream over to the table with some spoons.
Luca dragged his chair to sit next to me, taking up my hand again before focusing on his parents. “So you’re not mad?”
Mama Marino sniffled, taking a sip of her tea before breathing deeply to settle herself. “I… I need a bit of time, but no, I’m not mad.”
“Good. Luna’s an important part of my life and I know you’re both going to love her.”
Mama Marino’s smile faltered and she let out a sob. “You’re never coming home now.”
Luca grimaced, reaching across the table to take his mother’s hand. “I wasn’t going to anyway. Short of some disaster befalling me, I was intending to stay independent.”
Mama Marino bit her lip. “But before, I could dream.”
“She’s been holding out hope that you would decide you hated living away from home,” Papa Marino said.
“Are you living with Luna?” Mama Marino asked.
“No,” Luca replied, giving her the look that had her pulling herself together a bit more. “Luna has her own apartment.”
That seemed to soothe her a bit. Whether it was because she still thought there was a chance Luca would move home or because she was relieved not to have missed another milestone was up for debate.
“So what prompted you coming to tell us?” Papa Marino asked. “Did something happen, or did you just decide it was time?”
“We had actually been planning on telling you after Nicky’s birthday party was over, but, well…” I shrugged.
Papa Marino laughed. “Fair enough.”
“We came today because Nicky found out, and her reaction was?—”
“She freaked out,” Luca interrupted. “I don’t want a situation with her like you guys had with Nonna. But if that happens, I won’t skip bringing Luna to things.”
“Of course not,” Papa Marino replied. “You’ve chosen Luna and that makes her family. Nicola will have to live with that regardless of her feelings. She’s a good girl, though. I’m sure if you give her some time, she’ll be okay with it.”
Their words tumbled around in my chest, the sharpest points smoothing away. Was I being chosen? By a family?
Luca squeezed my hand, drawing my attention. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
I hadn’t even realized I was. I wiped my cheeks, my fingers coming away wet. “I, um, my parents aren’t like this.”
Mama Marino’s gaze whipped to me, lightning flickering in them. “What are they like?”
I picked through my shitty familial history, letting them encourage more details where they wanted. I told them about my mom and dad, my stepdads, my sisters, the bouncing between homes, and moving out before I was ready.
