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“She doesn’t have a name yet. We were waiting for you guys to get home from school and name her,” I say.
“It’s a girl dog?” asks Leandro.
“Yes, buddy. You and your brother need to decide on a girl’s name for her,” Massimo tells them. I sit down on the couch next to Massimo, and the boys both crowd me, wanting to pet her.
“She’s wicked soft. We can call her Fluffy!” Leandro says.
“That’s a dumb name,” Lucio says.
“Be nice,” Massimo adds.
“What about Olivia? We can call her Livvy, for short?” I chime in.
“I like Livvy,” Lucio says.
“Me too,” adds Leandro.
“You both like Livvy?”
“Yes!” They scream in unison, jittering from excitement.
“Okay, Livvy it is.” I pet her and run my hand over her soft hair before placing her on the floor. The boys follow her, both wanting to pet her, trying to pick her up, but Livvy keeps running away from them.
I stand to grab a few of the stuffed toys we bought for her, tossing them onto the floor so the boys can play with her.
Massimo tells them, “Guys, you have to be gentle with her. Make sure you don’t get in her face. She needs to get to know you first, and then she’ll be friends with you.”
My phone rings, and I dash to the kitchen to grab it before I miss the call.
“Hello.”
“Hi, this is Emily from the Crane Estate.”
“Hi, Emily, this is Lena. What can I do for you?”
“We have to move the time of your appointment next week, from noon to 1:00 p.m., if that’s okay.”
Massimo and I are planning our wedding for this September, and we chose to have the ceremony and reception at the Crane Estate, a private property that overlooks Crane Beach—our favorite beach. We have an appointment scheduled for next week for a tasting. Massimo is dead set on hiring chefs he knows to prepare the food, but it would be way more expensive to do that. I convinced him to at least go to the tasting before he outright declines it. But if I know him, he’s probably just going to keep me quiet.
“Yes, that’s fine. Thank you for calling.” I place my phone back onto the kitchen counter and return to the family room.
Massimo proposed to me earlier this year after we had settled into the house. This time, it was very different than the first time around. After a long day at work, I had arrived home and was feeling terrible because I had lost a removal hearing. As soon as I walked through the door, the boys were super excited to see me and asked me to go to the family room because they had a surprise for me. I was drained and had hoped to shower and relax, but that didn’t happen.
Four Months Earlier
“Lena, Lena. Sit here, Daddy is upstairs, and he’s coming now, but he told us we have to sit here and wait for him and that you’re not allowed to go anywhere until he gets here,” Lucio tells me excitedly as he grasps my hand and pulls me toward the couch.
“Wow. It must be very important if I’m not allowed to move. Can you give me any hints?”
“Nooo, Daddy said we couldn’t say anything, that it’s a big secret,” Leandro responds.
“A big secret. Oh boy,” I say.
“I’m going to get Daddy now that Lena is here,” Leandro says.
“Okay, tell him that we’re ready and that we didn’t give away any secrets,” Lucio chimes in. I chuckle at their enthusiasm.
What is going on here, and what is with all the secrecy? I’m so drained, and Massimo couldn’t have picked a worse day for doing whatever he has planned. After losing the removal hearing, I had difficulty processing and discussing it with the client. There is a glimmer of hope with the appeals process, but it doesn’t make today’s loss any easier. I feel like getting up and telling Massimo that today isn’t the day for surprises, but the boys are so eager, I can’t bear to crush their excitement. Lucio is sitting next to me. He’s jittery with anticipation. I hear Massimo and Leandro’s voices and their footsteps on the stairs.
