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“How long is the program?”
“Not sure, but I think four years.”
“That’s exciting.” Stevie extends her hand to squeeze mine.
“It is, and I feel really good about this. For the first time in a long time, I’m actually looking forward to something and getting excited.”
“Well, whatever you need, I’m here to support you.” We clink our margaritas and drink up.
CHAPTER 12
First Born
MARIALENA
May 2009
LUCI’S NAME FLASHES ACROSSmy phone’s screen. “Hi, Luce.”
It’s Saturday afternoon, and I take a break from studying to make myself a sandwich. I check the clock, 1:15 p.m. I have to be at work at 4:30 p.m. I can get a couple more hours of studying in before I have to leave.
My last final exam is next Tuesday, and then I’ll have a week off before summer classes start. I still bartend at The Last Drop but now I only pick up shifts on weekends or to cover for someone when Hank needs the help. The extra cash is always welcome.
Last summer, I started working at an immigration firm as a law clerk for the attorney who works the criminal immigration cases. When summer ended, the attorney offered me a part-time position to stay on with the firm. Since I was a part-time student, I accepted. The pay cut from bartending hurt, but the experience was necessary for me to be ready to practice law after taking the bar exam. To help me out, I took out additional loans to help me with my living expenses. As long as I continued taking the number of classes I was, I would finish law school this December, one semester early. I took extra summer classes each summer to pull it off. I was ready to be done with school.
Law school was as intense as I expected it to be, which turned out to be a good thing. An occupied mind doesn’t have time to think about anything other than the task at hand. The constant schoolwork kept the thoughts of Massimo at a minimum. Between classes, studying, and work, I had little time for anything else. Stevie and I moved our Monday date nights to Sunday brunch. It was my one constant that I looked forward to every week.
“Hi. What are you doing? Have a few minutes?” Luci asks.
“What’s up?”
“I saw Dom last night. He came into my bar with a girl he was on a date with.”
“Oh, how is he?”
“He’s good. Looks great, as usual. I asked him about Massimo.”
“Why would you do that?”
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I do that? I haven’t seen or heard from him in years, and I want to know what he’s up to.”
“And?”
“Are you sitting down?”
“Just tell me already!”
“He has a son, six months old—born last December.”
Luci’s words are a slap in the face. It’s what I least expected to hear from her. My appetite is suddenly gone. I slide a chair out from under the kitchen table and sit.
“Lena, did you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Well, are you gonna say anything?
“What do you want me to say? I mean, I knew this day would come, but it doesn’t lessen the sting.”
