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“I saw him, and I knew,” Mom said.
“But how?”
“It’s not rocket science, Lorenzo. You look until you find a heartbeat that echoes yours, and you get married.”
I shook my head. “If it was that simple, I would have found her a long time ago.”
“Didn’t you?” Mom said.
I stared at her. I’d been in love with Celine from the moment I’d laid eyes on her. She’d been everything, and I’d never wanted to let her go. I’d played by her rules back then, and this time, we’d played by mine.
And now she was gone.
“She’s not Italian,” I said softly. “I can’t marry her.”
“Who said that?”
“Zio Alfredo, for one, but you and Dad said that for years.”
Mom snorted. “Sweetheart, you can marry whoever you want. Do we want it to be a nice Italian girl who will give you children? Yes. Do we think that will happen? No. You moved to the States. When in Rome…”
“I don’t think that saying is right for this situation.”
“Eh,” Mom said with a shrug, and she fished in the dirty dishwater for the plug.
“What about our tradition?”
Mom turned to face me. “Tradition is nothing without passion. You know that better than anyone. You were ready to leave this all behind because there was no passion, and when you found it, tradition became everything again. This is the same.”
I thought back to the time I wanted nothing to do with the wine business. I rebelled against my parents, refusing to have anything to do with the business that my family had been in for years. Yet, here I was because I’d realized what was important. Family, wine, and passion.
“What’s her name again?” Mom asked.
“Celine.”
“Celine,” Mom said, nodding slowly as she tried out the name. “Lorenzo and Celine. Yes, it works together.”
I shook my head, thinking back to when she’d come to the vineyard to talk to me and how cold I’d been. I’d chased her away, pushing her out of my life, and she’d accepted it and shut me out.
“I think it might be too late to get her back,” I said. “I screwed up. Badly.”
“It’s never too late,” Mom said. “If you lose her, you didn’t fight hard enough. You are the man, Lorenzo! Stand up and fight for the woman you love!”
She patted me on the chest and walked to my dad to wake him up so he could go to bed. I watched my dad jerk away, and my mom laughed before she wrapped her arms around him and helped him up.
They were perfect together, my mom and my dad. Not because they were the richest or the most attractive or the smartest, but because they loved each other unconditionally.
“Will you switch off the lights, Lorenzo?” Mom asked.
I nodded and bade them goodnight.
When I switched off the lights, I flashed on Celine’s face that day we’d spent together when she’d told me she was in love with me.
I’d been in love with her since the start, and all I’d ever wanted was for her to be in love with me, too.
I realized with a jerk that I’d been an idiot. I’d let her slip through my fingers—twice. What a fool I was!
I should never have left her behind. Not when we were kids, not when I came here.
