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“As I’ll ever be. What’s your other half up to today?”
“Manuel is taking Luca out. They’re meeting Sidney at the golf course after lunch.”
“That’s sweet. Have you both had a chance to hang out with Nicky and her pack lately?”
“Not as much as I would like, but it’s a lot of people to get to know. I’ve been planning small outings with each of them.”
We slipped into Mama Marino’s car, and she drove us to a cute little tea shop that overlooked the river. It was in a red brick historic building, all the tables decorated with beautiful porcelain cups and old photographs on the walls.
“I’ve been wanting to go here ever since they opened a few months ago,” Mama Marino said.
“Hopefully everything tastes as good as it looks,” I replied.
They sat us by the window, the trees of the river valley beautiful and green. Little dots of color flickered down the river, people in boats. We ordered the afternoon tea set, and soon I was sipping some fancy Earl Grey and nibbling a cucumber finger sandwich.
“I hope you don’t mind too much that I asked you out today,” Mama Marino said.
“Not at all. I’m not used to doing things with moms.”
“That breaks my heart. How long has it been since you’ve seen your own mother?”
“That’s a good question.” I counted back in my head. “Almost eight years. After I moved out, it stressed me out to talk to her, so the occasions were very few and far between. I think the last time we actually spoke was when I was getting Ria enrolled in university.”
Mama Marino nodded thoughtfully. “I know Ria can’t be your daughter. Who is she to you?”
“Younger half sister. My family is a little bit complicated.”
Luca’s mom coaxed more of the story out of me, digging out details she hadn’t gotten in my initial explanation. She let out a relieved breath when I eventually stopped speaking. “I feel like I understand you so much better now. You’re a carer like my Luca. It makes sense that you fit well together.”
“You think so?”
“Absolutely. You go about it in slightly different ways, but I think you share that core.” She beamed at me over her heavily buttered scone. “I think you’re going to be around for the long haul.”
I froze at the words, but instead of letting the panic dig in its claws, I quietly nodded, took a sip of tea, and bit into a raspberry macaron to steady myself. “I don’t know how to be with someone for the long-haul.”
“It’s not as difficult as the world makes it out to be,” she promised. “I’ve been married to Manuel for thirty-six years now. It feels like yesterday that we walked down the aisle. That’s the way it is when you fit. I always thought the best adage for being married to the right person was ‘time flies when you’re having fun.’ You have to soak in the little moments, savor them, because before you know it, you’ll be looking back on a whole lifetime together.”
Could I actually have a lifetime with Luca? Maybe Luca was so confident about that with me because he’d watched his parents love each other for so long. I’d never seen that before, and the glimpses now, the assurance coming from someone who had walked that path and was still happy, made it less scary than it used to be. Luca was like coming home, and that was both everything I wanted and everything I’d never allowed myself to pursue before.
“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“We’re even, then, because I didn’t mean to cry.” I swiped at my cheeks and bit into my scone topped with strawberry jam and clotted cream. “Are you sure you’ll be so happy to keep me around if Luca and I don’t get married or bonded or have children?”
The corner of Mama Marino’s mouth twitched downward and she seemed to give herself a second before speaking. “You don’t want any of those things?”
“I basically swore off marriage years ago, bonding too because that’s an even bigger deal. And I’ve never had the desire to be a mom after raising my sister, but I love being an auntie.”
Mama Marino gave herself another moment to process what I’d said, pouring herself a fresh cup of tea and nibbling at the remains of her scone. She was quiet for so long I worried I had pissed her off, but eventually she said “I had a cousin like you. She never did marry or have children, and truthfully I’ve always been a touch envious of her life. I adore my husband and children and I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world, but every family event I would hear about her travels, and all these wonderful experiences. She always brought things back for my babies, and everyone else’s too. I can see how a life without children could be appealing to some. Luca would be such a handsome groom, but I can make my peace with that never happening.”
“You’re sure?”
She barked a laugh. “No, but I’ll have plenty of time to come around to the idea. Sidney and Allie have already promised me grandchildren, so I’ll content myself with that. I won’t be upset if you ever change your mind on the idea, though.”
“You’ll be the first to know if that ever happens. I’m not very good at looking that far into the future anyway. Even if I did want to, I’m about to open my own business. That’s not the best time for life-upending events.”
“No, that’s true.”
I picked up one of the strawberries, the only thing left on our three tiers of plates. “I don’t want to disappoint you as a partner to one of your kids, but I do really love Luca and I hope that’s enough.”
