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“I’m ready, ’cause I know I get to keep you in the end.” I nuzzled into her neck, and she sighed. “Can we talk more about how we’re going to live together?”
She draped her legs over mine, wrapping her arms around my neck. “D.C. or Baltimore?”
“I don’t need to stay in D.C. I’ll move to Baltimore.”
Her nails scratched gentle stripes on my nape. “We should buy a row house.”
“Buy? Don’t want to play it safe and rent?” I asked.
She pulled back, eyebrows raised. “Do you?”
“No. Not at all.”
She smiled. I smiled back. Then I carried her to her bedroom—ourbedroom—and showed her just how crazy happy she made me.
Teresa DiPietro welcomedme with open arms. She stood outside on the porch where it all ended, arms out, waiting for me as I got out of our rental car. Tali pushed me toward her.
“Go. I’ve resigned to playing second fiddle when you’re around.”
I walked up to the front porch, dropping our bags, and let Teresa pull me into a tight hug. She shook as we embraced and sniffled next to my ear.
“Oh, my Jude. You look so good,” she said.
“Thank you.” My voice was thick, eyes swimming with sudden emotion. I couldn’t say anything else. I’d expected seeing Tali’s parents would hit me hard, but not like this.
Roberto stepped out on the porch, and I met his eyes over his wife’s shoulders. He’d gotten a little grayer and had slimmed down some, but mostly, he looked the same.
“Jude,” he boomed. “Welcome back.”
Tali’s hand pressed into my back before she passed me to hug her dad. Teresa finally let me go to hug her daughter, and I shook Roberto’s hand. His eyes were narrow, watchful. He and Tali had had several conversations about our relationship, my sobriety, and everything in between. I’d given her carte blanche to tell him everything he asked. And though I hadn’t been in the room for those phone calls, I knew they’d been pretty heavy. In the end, both her parents had come down on my side, forgiving me and talking to their sons about forgiveness. It was more than I could’ve ever expected, and probably a whole lot more than I deserved. But that was just the kind of people they were.
“Come in, come in. Everyone’s inside, waiting,” Teresa said, ushering us into the house.
Grabbing the bags, Tali and I followed. When Teresa said “everyone,” she meanteveryone. If I counted the baby, eighteen sets of eyes stared back at us—at me. Children with every shade of brown hair stopped playing to check me out. Three wives scrutinized me up and down. And three brothers, arms crossed over their chests, were hard walls. It was an intimidating scene.
I left the bags by the entry and stepped into the living room, rubbing the back of my neck. “Uh, hey. Nice to see everyone.” Peering down at the kids, I addressed them. “I’m Jude.”
Tali went up to her brothers, stopping in front of Gio. She flicked his nose. “Stop acting tough. It’s annoying and sends a bad message to the kids.”
He gave her a hug, grinning. “You know I gotta do my thing.”
She moved to Arturo, flicking his chest. “Cut it out, brother. Unless you want me to leave.”
“You’re not leaving,” he said gruffly, before hugging her too.
Mike was last. When she reached up to flick him, he grabbed her hand, stopping her. “You’re not gonna tell me I can’t be pissed he’s back in Mom and Dad’s house after everything he put you and them through.”
Roberto stepped in, laying a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “We talked about this. Tali, your mom, and I are adults. We get to decide when we’re angry and when we’re not. We don’t need no macho man bull crap. I say Jude’s welcome here, and that’s final. You can zip it, Michael.”
Mike jerked his chin in my direction. “I’m watching you.”
Tali rolled her eyes. “You’re watching him, what? Stand there politely while you make an utter fool of yourself in front of your entire family?”
Mike’s eyes narrowed into slits as he looked at her. Tali held her arms out. He glowered. She grinned, and he relented, folding her into a bear hug. She patted his shoulder and said in a voice so low, I could barely hear, “You’re a good brother, but you can stand down. I’m safe.”
“You’re my baby sister. It’s my job, you know,” he growled.
“And I love you for it, but I promise, I’m good.” She reached for me, and I took her hand, letting her pull me closer. “We’regood.”
