“My dear son, you do more than enough for me already,” she reassured me with a gentle pat on my thigh. “Now, how are you holding up?”
“I just came from visiting their grave,” I confessed quietly, my emotions raw. “I’m hanging in there, but I miss them terribly.”
She sighed deeply, her expression softening with empathy. “I can’t begin to fathom your pain,mio figlio29. Though they may be gone, their love remains with us always, and they loved you like no other. And you have me.”
“I know,Zia. I need you to remember that anything you need, give me a call,” I assured her earnestly.
She gave me a bittersweet smile, her eyes softening. “Ronan, you are as good as any son I could have wished for,” she voiced. “Your parents would be so proud of the man you’ve become. I see Lucia’s spirit in you every time you come to visit.”
“Grazie. That means more to me than you know.” I looked around her place, taking in the vibrant colors lining her walls and the framed family photos.
She leaned forward, resting a hand on mine. “Sometimes, Ronan, we need to carry forward the love they left behind for us. That love doesn’t end, my dear. It transforms, takes on a new life. That’s what I hold onto.”
Her words grounded me. “I’ll try to remember that whenever it gets hard.”
She smiled, a spark lighting up in her eyes as she patted my hand. “I think you could do with a bit of home-cooked magic. You look like you’ve been living off takeout and scotch.”
I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Work tends to keep me busy.”
“Well, lucky for you, I made your favorite—lasagna, the wayyour mother used to make it. You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you?”
“How did you know I was coming?”
She chuckled and glanced over my shoulder. “Rachel called ahead. Now, are you staying?”
“Try keeping me away.”
Her face broke into a grin as she stood to fetch the food, but she paused, looking back at me. “Ronan, don’t forget, you’re not alone. There’s so much love surrounding you, even in those moments when you feel like the world is too quiet.”
I nodded, touched by her words as she got up. Moments like these, in her company, felt like coming home.
She returned with two plates, the familiar, comforting aroma of her lasagna wafting between us as she set the table. She handed me a glass of wine and sat across from me, her eyes studying me with keen intuition, only she seemed to possess.
“So,” she started, her tone casual but curious, “tell me what else is going on. You don’t just visit yourZiabecause you miss her, eh?”
I chuckled, shifting in my seat. “You caught me,” I admitted. “Actually, there is someone… someone I’ve been trying to win back.”
Rosa’s eyes gleamed knowingly. “Someone, hmm? Wouldn’t happen to be that beautiful designer, Nina, would it?”
Caught off guard, which I shouldn’t even be because the peonies had to be delivered from somewhere, I managed a sheepish nod. “I messed things up, but now, I’m trying to fix it. I’m not sure she believes me.”
Rosa set down her glass and leaned forward, her voice brimming with warmth and encouragement. “Ah,mio caro30, it’s about time. That girl, she was always good for you. You two, you were like two pieces of a puzzle—meant to be.”
I exhaled, feeling the weight of her words settle over me. “It’s hard,Zia. I don’t know if it’s enough.”
She reached across the table, her hand covering mine. “Then you keep showing her, Ronan. You’re a stubborn one, like yourpapà, and that’s not always a bad thing. Yourmammawould’ve told you the same.” She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “You’ve learned, you’ve changed, and she will see it.Siate pazienti.31”
I nodded, grateful for her support. “She hosted her first show, and I was there, front row.”
Rosa’s eyes softened. “Ah, love, I always knew you were a romantic, even if you tried to hide it. Be yourself, Ronan, the man she first fell in love with and the one she could love even more now.”
“You’re right,” I murmured, feeling a surge of determination. “I’ll keep trying. I have to.”
She smiled, pouring a bit more wine into my glass. “Now, you eat, eh? Can’t go winning a girl’s heart on an empty stomach.”
“How long are we staying in Milan?” Rachel asked, sitting across from me as I contemplated my next move in the quiet of the home.
“Two more days. No surgeries or patients until then, and we’re up to date, right?” I replied, my gaze on the panoramic Milan skyline outside.
