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I turned away from Willis to watch what was happening with those two, ready to ask Gabriel to let her stay, but another voice, one that always got my attention, made me turn my head.
“Give them a few minutes, Lilly.”
Dante Calegari, the oldest brother, emerged from the shadows of the corner of the kitchen. I hadn’t even noticed he was there until he spoke. But as always, when Dante spoke, people listened. Lilly’s eyes widened, but she didn’t move.
Gabriel leaned down and whispered something to her. Lilly’s frightened eyes turned back to me as they left the room.
“What’s going on?” I looked to Willis for help but he... he had tears in his eyes.
Willis didn’t cry. Henevercried.
“What?” I demanded, dreading the worst and knowing that it was coming.
Willis drained the liquid from his glass.
“Take all the time you need.La nostra casa è la tua casa,” Dante murmured as he passed me on his way out of the kitchen.
He looked down at me when he walked by, an odd expression on his face. The oddest part was that he looked at me at all.Dante never looked right at me. He usually just said “hello” and then left the room. If he ever said more than that, it was with his back to me, or over his shoulder. I used to think he didn’t like me, but when I had asked her once, Lilly had laughed.
“How can anyone not like you?”
“He acts like I’m not even around,” I whined.
“Don’t let that bother you. Sometimes he acts like I’m not even around.”
Her words didn’t make me feel any better. For some reason, it had bothered me to think that Dante didn’t like me. I wasn’t a very outgoing person, but most people liked me. And it wasn’t like Dante was the life of the party. He was always quiet, too. He spoke quietly. He moved quietly. I don’t think I ever heard him laugh out loud or cut up the way Gabriel did.
I always knew the second Dante walked into a room. His presence reached out and stole my breath away. As for his looks – Gabriel had a modern, low-slung-pants hotness, but Dante was polished, three-piece suit, James Bond sexy. I didn’t have the nerve to approach him and apparently, he never thought of me as more than his little sister’s best friend.
He broke character that night and looked into my eyes as he walked by. His expression terrified me. I was never able to read him, mostly because I hardly ever looked right at him, but what I saw in that one split second was an immeasurable amount of compassion. Without knowing why, tears fell down my cheeks. Deep down inside I knew what Willis was there to tell me, but my memories of the next few minutes are a little fuzzy.
As soon as the swinging door closed behind Dante, Willis opened his arms and whispered, “Come here, Noe.”
“No, no,” I shook my head as I stumbled forward. “Willis?”
My big brother folded me into his arms right before he leaned down and whispered into my ear. “They’re gone, Noe. Mom and Dad... there was a car accident...”
I don’t remember what he said next. I just remember the ache. The way I felt like a huge hole had opened and swallowed me. We cried, for what felt like hours. Willis didn’t go into detail at the time and I certainly didn’t need to hear it. I just remember clinging to him and crying so hard I thought I would choke. At some point, Mrs. Calegari came into the kitchen with Lilly. Lilly cried and hugged me. Dante and Gabriel came in behind them and went to talk to Willis.
“If you need anything—” I heard Gabriel offer.
“I don’t know yet,” Willis replied as he let go of me.
Mrs. Calegari took me to the kitchen table where she pushed a cup of tea into my hands. I tried to drink the it, but it might as well have been a cup of acid. I added sugar and stirred – and just kept stirring.
“Maybe,” I heard Willis hesitate, “maybe Noe can stay here for a few more days?”
“I want to go home with you!” I protested, almost spilling my tea.
“Noemi, I... there are arrangements to make... and stuff –”
“I can help.”
“Stay here,” Mrs. Calegari insisted as she wrapped a motherly arm around my shoulders. “You can help when Willis needs it, but in the meantime, stay here with us.”
“I don’t want to be in the way.” I wanted to be with my brother. I didn’t know if I had the strength to do what needed to be done, pick out caskets, order flowers, make funeral arrangements and the other “stuff” Willis didn’t mention, but I knew that I wanted to find out. I wanted to contribute. They were my parents, too, and I loved them. Not helping felt like I was saying that I didn’t love them.
“You’re not in the way,” Gabriel’s voice joined the conversation.
