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Maybe…she should think about their future more. Yes, she was better rested and more relaxed since she’d come to Jason’s condo. But if she stayed, it would only be because he made her genuinely happy. And because they were both in love.
Once in her neighborhood, she and Jason had a fabulous lunch at a nearby Japanese hibachi and sushi place she’d been wanting to try. Afterward, he drove her to the pediatrician’s office, where she dropped off the insurance card.
When she hopped back in the car, it wasn’t quite two in the afternoon. She assumed Jason would head back toward the city. Instead, he drove directly to her old house and parked in front of it.
Gia stared at the cozy little ranch-style abode. It hadn’t been much. Small with an ancient kitchen and a crappy master bathroom. But she’d been proud of the little fixer. She’d bought it with her own money and spruced it up as finances allowed. Seeing it now gave her a terrible pang. She’d lost so much in the last year. Her brother. Her husband in so many ways. She’d also lost her independence and missed it deeply. The thought made her feel selfish, so she tried to squelch it. Truth was, she simply hadn’t been prepared to shoulder the responsibility of her entire family while she’d been in shock and mourning.
“Why are we here?” Her voice shook.
“Why did you sell your house?”
Such a complicated question… “Long story short, after my brother’s death, Mila couldn’t cope without me. I was running myself ragged driving the nine miles between her place and mine, sometimes in the middle of the night when Bella was sick or Tony Jr. had nightmares, and grief was eating her alive. She really didn’t function for a good three months.” Gia paused. “My mom had just had a knee replacement. My dad was a great cop in his day, but he doesn’t know much about being the primary caretaker for two kids under the age of three. It was just easier to move in with Mila.”
“Why not rent your house out while you stayed with your sister-in-law, so you’d have a place to come home to?”
She let out a huge sigh. After the way she’d avoided him for months following their wedding day, she owed him this explanation. He’d probably seen her disconnecting her phone and moving away as her means of avoiding him, rather than trying to deal with the tragedy and accept the obligations she’d suddenly inherited.
“When Mila learned she was pregnant again, my brother overextended himself to buy her and the kids the house they now live in. They needed a place with three bedrooms because if they put the baby in with Tony Jr., she’d keep him up half the night. Nothing worse than a cranky toddler.”
Jason grimaced. “I’ll take your word for it. So you…sold your house and gave her the money?”
“My brother would have done the same for me if our roles had been reversed.”
“Your parents couldn’t help out?”
“My mom raised kids and never worked outside the home, and my dad is retired. Their income is fixed and tight. Mila didn’t want to burden them.”
“You sacrificed a lot to help your brother’s wife and kids.”
Yes, including her marriage to Jason. “I’d help them all over again. Mila would never have been able to stand on her own this past year. The kids are adorable, but a constant handful. But if I had to do it again, I’d try much harder to include you. In my head, leaning on you so much didn’t seem fair.”
“Giving me up was?”
Her only defense was that she hadn’t believed he’d miss her that much. She still didn’t know what it was about her he’d latched on to. “You’re right. My sense of duty and my pride got in the way.”
Jason sent her a pensive stare. “That can’t happen again, Gia.”
“I know.”
He caressed the crown of her bowed head, a silent gesture of acceptance and forgiveness. “So you grew up around here?”
“Yes.”
“Show me where you went to school.”
It might be stupid, but his request made her feel giddy. Would he ask if he didn’t care? No, nor would he fight for her to stay by his side. And she hadn’t truly opened up to him before they said “I do.” It wouldn’t kill her to now. In fact, he was trying so hard to keep them together, putting…well, not his heart on the line, but his pride at least.
“Sure. I’d like that. You can tell me about your crazy high school days while I do.”
It didn’t take more than three minutes to reach her alma mater, but he was already regaling her with tales about playing football as a teenager. Even in the schools for the wealthy kids, they still pulled pranks on rivals and coaches alike.
He parked, and several of the male students stopped to gawk at his car. As Jason took her hand in his again, he patiently answered questions and even gave a few a peek at the interior. This relaxed version of her husband was giving, fun to be with. She more than respected the driven, take-no-prisoners man she’d married, but in this moment, Gia really liked him, too.
Once the boys had gone, they walked the grounds of the school. The teenagers’ day of learning had come to an end. Behind them, students peeled out of the parking lot as she and Jason walked together. On campus, they ran across the group of color guard girls taking advantage of the last of the nice weather before winter. They danced and tossed bright flags in the air to the beat of a dramatic tune.
After observing their routine and clapping at the conclusion, the girls giggled. Jason led her inside the halls and asked about her favorite classes, teachers, and memories. They watched part of a basketball game in progress and had a little footrace on the track. Since her husband was so athletic and he wasn’t wearing heels, he won by a lot, but she laughed all the way back to the car, surprised to see that sunset was near.
Back at his sleek Porsche, he opened her door. Gia paused before climbing in, curling her hand around his shoulder and stepping on her tiptoes to kiss him. “That was fun. Thank you for a wonderful day.”
