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Edoardo is great. He walks in front of me while Mattia walks behind me and between the two of them, they create a path for me to walk. Each of them reminds the reporters that I am not interested in making any comments.
And they don’t stop for anyone. Tape recorders and cameras fall to the ground as they bulldoze my way to the car. All I do is keep my head down and grip the back of Edoardo’s shirt as tightly as I possibly can. It is only a few more moments before we can close the car door, and they can be gone.
When I collapse onto the back seat of the car I let out a groan. My feet are swollen and sore and my head is pounding. The flashing of the lights outside the car continues as I wait for Edoardo and Mattia to join me.
And as the last doors close, and the car drives away, I let out a loud sigh of relief.
“I can’t believe it is really all over,” I say, out of breath.
“It was bound to happen sometime,” Edoardo says with a smile.
“Yeah, and I have to admit, I rather enjoyed the show,” Mattia adds. “It’s nice watching him get dragged away to prison.”
“So,” Edoardo says, nudging me slightly. “Do you think it was a fair sentencing?”
I think about it for a moment, trying desperately to clear my head of the chaos. “I mean, I think he got off easy, but that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest,” I answer.
“What? Another judge in his pocket?” Mattia asks.
“Oh, absolutely,” I say. “There isn’t a judge hewon’tpay, and everything has a price. He’s just smarter this time, making it more believable.”
“Ah, but you’re happy to see him go right?” Mattia asks.
“I don’t know,” I sigh. “It was terrible watching that. He looks horrible. I’ve never seen him that thin and gray before. I can see the stress, and he is still my father.”
“I’m sorry,” Edoardo says sympathetically.
“When I saw him up there, I remembered how he used to play with me in the garden and all the holidays that we would spend together laughing and running around on the beach,” I say. “It’s just hard to believe that this is how we wound up.”
There is a brief silence in the car, as if Edoardo and Mattia have forgotten that the man in the courthouse today is my father. I suppose most people won’t think about the past like I would when it comes to him.
I know that this is what he deserves, but still, my heart breaks.
“Can I cheer you up?” Edoardo offers as he rests his hand on my leg. “I can take you out for a fancy dinner if you like?”
“No, thank you,” I say. “I mean, of course, I wouldlovea fancy dinner. But I just hate to think what the media would say of it if we were spotted. They will spin it to say we’re celebrating.”
“That’s a fair point,” Edoardo says, his chest deflating as he rests against the seat.
I feel bad because I know that he is only trying to help. But I am not having a good day, and although I know it will pass, I can’t think of anything that would actually cheer me up right now. I am so tired all the time, and I desperately want to put my feet up.
By the time we make it home, I immediately get into my pajamas and climb straight into bed. It doesn’t take me long to fall asleep either, and as I doze off, I hope that I only wake up tomorrow again, and that by then, I feel much better about everything.
But I don’t sleep nearly that long. I wake up only a few hours later, dying of thirst. I walk to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, with the intention of getting back into bed. I am one foot into the living room when I am stopped in my tracks.
There isn’t much of the living room that is still visible. Sheets hang from the ceiling and over the couches, covering just about every inch of the space.
“What is going on?” I ask.
Edoardo sticks his head out from underneath the sheets and smiles widely. “I made a fort!” he says proudly. “I figured it would be fun, and it’s good practice for when the baby arrives.”
He looks so sweet that I can’t help but laugh. And I must admit, it is an impressive fort. It is the kind of thing my father and I used to do when I was younger.
“So, are you coming in?” he calls from somewhere deep inside.
“Absolutely,” I laugh.
The inside of the fort is even more impressive than the outside. All the best pillows in the house line the floor and there are small lights. Fresh flowers are tucked in anywhere that he could find a space and it takes my breath away.
