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“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. You didn’t tell Dom anything about me, did you?”
“No, of course not.”
“Good, keep it that way.”
“I called your mom the other day. I want to start planning our trip for your graduation later this year.”
“She told me. I’ll have the exact graduation date in a few weeks and will text you. This way, you can purchase the flights.”
“Marcus is waiting for the dates too, so the sooner, the better.” I’m glad Marcus is coming to my graduation as well. We went from working together several nights a week to talking on the phone a few times a month. I miss him a lot!
Luci and I stay on the phone a few minutes longer before I hang up. I should get back to the books, but I can’t focus on Business Entities right now. All I can think of is what Luci told me. Massimo has a son.
Eight Years Ago
“Maria is having a Fourth of July barbeque. We can drive there on the third and spend a few nights down the Cape,” Massimo tells me as we’re changing the sheets.
Maria is Massimo’s cousin, and they have a house in Yarmouth just two blocks from the beach. It’s the first summer we’re together as a couple, and although I had met Maria several times at Massimo’s family events, it would be the first time I would spend a few days with his family.
“Okay, but we gotta leave early on the third to avoid all of the traffic. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck in it for hours.”
“ZioMassimo, will you take us in the water?” Emilia asks.
Emilia is his cousin’s daughter, but she and her brother Nico call himZio. Emilia is seven, and Nico is five, and Massimo loves when they’re around. He hangs out with them, plays games, and runs around the yard. He does all the fun things the kids want to engage in. We’re at the beach for the Fourth of July holiday, and it’s packed. Our umbrella and our chairs are spread out not too far from the shoreline.
Massimo stands from where he’s sitting. “You bet, Bella. Let’s go.”
The kids jump up and down. “Yay!” Each of them grabs one of his hands, and they head toward the shoreline. No doubt the water will be cold. No matter how hot it is outside, the water is frigid.
“The kids love him. When I told them you guys were coming for a few days, they started screaming in excitement,” Maria says. “Nico got his soccer ball and basketball ready because he knows Massimo will play with him for hours.”
“He’s really good with them,” I tell her. His face always lights up, and after he spends time with them, he tells me that he can’t wait to be a father.
“He’s excited for you guys to have kids. He said he hopes his firstborn is a boy and that you’ll start trying on the wedding night.”
“Wedding night? We’re not even engaged.” I shake my head.
“You know him. Always confident when talking about his future, as if it’s a given.”
Chuckling, I say, “So much truth!”
Graduation is being held inside the school’s auditorium since the December graduating class is small—there are only forty-seven of us. My parents, Luci, and Marcus flew in late yesterday. Luci and Marcus will fly home Tuesday morning, but my parents are staying here for Christmas since it’ll be the first one we spend together since I left Boston. Luci rented an SUV so that we could drive around all together while everyone is here.
After the ceremony ends, we pile into the SUV and drive to Jesse’s Embers, one of my favorite steakhouses, which is a five-minute drive across town. Stevie and her boyfriend are meeting us there.
Once at our table, we order drinks and food. After the waitress drops our drinks off, my father makes a toast.
“Nena, I’m so proud of you. I always knew you’d accomplish great things. You’ll be a great lawyer.”
“Gracias, Papi. Thank you all for being here. I’m so happy you guys came to support me. It really means a lot.” I look around to everyone sitting at the round table. My father is sitting to my right, thenMami, followed by Luci and Marcus. Stevie is to my left and her boyfriend Andrew is next to Marcus.
“So, what are your plans now?” Luci asks.
“I’m taking off until Christmas since my parents are staying until the day after. Once they leave, I’ll start studying for the bar exam, which is the last Tuesday and Wednesday in February. I won’t be working during my study time, so I took out a bar study loan to help me with living expenses for the next two months. I want to take one exam and be done with it.”
“You quit your job?” asks Marcus, his eyes widening.
