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I run into my uncle Vincent outside the kitchen. “Hey,” he says, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Whatever. You know why I’m here. How is she?” I called him earlier to inform him about the threats Joaquín made, and he vowed to keep a close eye on Sofia and everyone else.
“We had a busy night, which gave her little time to think about anything other than work.”
“That’s good. She needed that.”
“We all did.”
“We’re both sorry to have brought this to your door.”
He waves away my apology with an impatient gesture. “You didn’t do anything and neither did she, so don’t take the blame. The only thing that matters is we’re all safe, and Milo is on the road to recovery.” He squeezes my shoulder. “You look like you’re about to blow. Go make yourself a drink and take a chill pill before you have a stroke or something.”
I laugh at his hip lingo. “A drink sounds good. Thanks, Vin.”
“Anything for you, my friend.”
I go behind the bar, which is usually Vincent’s territory, and make myself a Tanqueray and tonic with a twist of lime and take it with me when I go to find Sofia.
She’s on the Cuban side, talking to customers who’ve lingered over dessert and coffee. She hasn’t noticed me yet, so I stop to watch her laughing and talking as if she doesn’t have a care in the world when I know she’s riddled with anxiety. I can’t wait for her to be rid of that awful fear and to be free of the man who put it there.
As she turns away from the table, she sees me there, and her face lights up with a smile.
I move toward her, full of all-new understanding of why so many of the guys I grew up with have shackled themselves to one woman for a lifetime. That understanding eluded me before her. Now all I want is a lifetime with her.
She hugs me, and I wrap my free arm around her.
“I’m very happy to see you,” she says.
“Likewise, my love.”
“Tonight was long.”
“Very long. All I could think about was getting back to you. How much longer are you going to be here?”
“I can leave now. I cashed out my last table and finished my side work a while ago.”
“Let’s leave your car here and go home together. We can pick it up when we get back from Minnesota.”
“Are you sure Vincent won’t mind if we do that?”
“He won’t mind. I’ll let him know.”
“I need to grab Mateo’s booster seat out of the car so we can take that with us.”
“I’ll meet you at the back door.” I sip from my drink as I go in search of Vincent and find him with Nona at the Italian-side hostess stand. “Hey, do you guys care if we leave Sofia’s car here while we’re gone?"
“Not at all. Just leave the keys with me in case we need to move it.”
“Will do.”
Sofia joins us with her purse and keys handy.
I finish my drink, put the glass on a bus tray and take the keys from her. “I’ll get Mateo’s seat and come back for you. Uncle V wants to keep the keys in case they need to move it.”
“Thank you, Vincent and Livia. Thank you for everything this week. I’ll never forget your incredible kindness.”
“We love you and Mateo, and we’re so happy for you that you finally get to meet your father,” Nona says. “We hope the trip is everything you want it to be.”
