The drive to her house was silent and tense. Aria kept turning to him to say something, but abandoned the thought and turned back to look out her window.
Pulling up to her house, Alex got out to help her down as he always did. Walking her to her door, though, she noticed that he didn't take her hand.
Without thinking too hard about the implications, she blurted out, “Let me have dinner with them tonight and talk to them. But would you come for dinner tomorrow night to meet them, please? I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I’m not hurt. I understand. It’s a big step.”
Taking his hand, she said, “Alex, please come to dinner. I really want you to meet them. I’m ready. I wasn’t sure before, but I am now.”
“If you’re sure, then I'd love to meet them. I'll see you tomorrow evening,” Alex said as he kissed her cheek, and she watched him get into his car and leave.
Once inside, the decision was made, Aria knew it was time. Her parents loved Nicholas, but what concerned her more than their reaction to her dating again was their overprotective nature. They hovered over her all her life, but it intensified after Nicholas died.
This was good, though. Telling them in person was better than on the phone.
Freshening up and changing into a sundress, she looked at the time. She had just enough time to run to the open-air market near her home to see what was fresh that week.
She called Corinna to let her know they were coming.
“They'rewhat? Oh, my goodness. I mean that's exciting. I miss your parents, but are you going to tell them about Alex?” she asked.
Aria told her everything that happened after the unexpected call.
“I think you did the right thing, girl. You guys have been spending a lot of time together. I'm kind of jealous,” Corinna said with a chuckle. “No, seriously. Your parents need to know about him. He’s made it clear he’s not going anywhere.”
Aria furrowed her brows and switched the phone to the other hand so she could get her things.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh well, he—shoot, sorry, love. I’ve got to take this call, it’s work. Let me know when I can come by and visit your parents. Love you. Ciao.”
Aria opened her mouth to speak but she was already gone.
Grabbing her purse and keys, she hurried down her porch steps, heading to the market.
She just made it home and put away the fruit and vegetables she had purchased when she heard her parents pull up with a quick honk.
She dashed out the door to greet them, running into their waiting arms.
“Oh, it's so good to see you,” she said.
“You look good, my daughter,” Maria said as she kissed Aria.
“You both do, too,” Aria said when she gave her dad another hug and stepped back to look at them.
She didn’t realize how much she missed them until she was in their loving arms.
“Come on in and relax. I can’t believe that you're here,” Aria continued.
“We couldn’t wait anymore, my angel,” Maria answered. “You’ve seemed so much happier the last few times we've spoken. It made us want to see you in person even more.”
“Yes, we needed to see it for ourselves,” her dad said as they walked in the door.
Aldo sat their suitcase out of the way in the living room.
“Sit down. Can I get you something to drink? I bought that sparkling water you guys like,” Aria insisted as they all sat around the living room.
“We stopped in Naples, thanks,” Maria answered as she took Aria’s hand.
