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“Yes, I’m her son.”
“Is Laurie okay? Is she sick? Has she send you to me?” Matteo asks quickly.
“My mother is fine. She wanted me…to meet you,” Slade says slowly, the tremor in his voice more than obvious.
Matteo is stunned into silence for several moments, studying Slade like he’s under a microscope. “How old are you?” His voice is ragged, weak.
“I’m thirty-one,” Slade answers, his voice rough with emotion.
If you do the math, it’s obvious who Slade is.
Matteo drops his mug onto the stone floor, and it shatters into a million little pieces. He takes a deep, shaky breath.
He did the math.
The younger Matteo comes running into the entryway, as does the young lady from earlier.
The younger Matteo says, “Aria, go get the broom.” Then to his father, he says, “Papà! Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
The younger Matteo sends us a dirty look. “What have you done?”
The older Matteo pats his son’s back. “No, Mattie. Is okay. Please no be mad.” Then to us, the older Matteo says, “Please come in. Please. We must talk, yes?”
Matteo’s English is broken, not perfect like his children’s. He’s still easy to understand, though.
Aria quickly wipes up the spilled liquid and sweeps up the pieces of cracked mug before Ginevra takes over, giving us the evil eye.
Meanwhile, the older Matteo is staring at Slade with stunned eyes. His hands are trembling, and he’s so pale, I’m worried he’ll faint.
“Papà, what is happening here?” Mattie asks.
I’m glad I heard his father call him Mattie. Having two people named Matteo was getting far too confusing. He’s Mattie in my mind from here on out.
Matteo slowly approaches Slade, his eyes trained on him. The entire group is holding their collective breath as we wonder what will happen next.
“I know you, yes?” Matteo says. “That’s why you come here? You are mine?”
“Yes,” Slade answers, his eyes rimmed with redness.
Then Matteo reaches out and air kisses Slade’s left cheek and then his right cheek. Then he wraps his arms around him in a tight embrace.
Then I’m crying, Slade’s crying, and Matteo is crying, as Mattie and Aria watch with confused expressions.
I know how relieved Slade must feel. He didn’t know how he would be received. This is so much more than he expected.
“I no believe it. I no believe it,” Matteo says over and over. “I thought lost Laurie forever. Now have you. We not lost. Our love lives.” Matteo leans back and pats Slade’s cheeks. “I am not wrong, yes?”
“You’re not wrong.” Slade’s voice cracks, revealing his emotion.
“I knew moment I see you. Like seeing myself when I am young. Come and sit. We talk. Mattie, Aria, you must hear too.”
The sun illuminates the stone floor of the courtyard. Various potted plants adorn the area, as well as several tables and chairs. It’s a beautiful outdoor living room. Stairs lead up to the main house, which surrounds the courtyard in a huge square. It’s beautiful and solves the problem of the flooding that occurs a few times a year.
We gather around a circular dining table. Mattie and Aria are quiet, unsure, glancing at us with curious eyes.
Matteo tells them the story of meeting his Laurie so many years ago. He pauses several times, wiping away tears. He explains he met Laurie a couple years before he met their mother, erasing any jealousy or anger. They obviously know how much their father loves their mother as they don’t seem threatened. Just shocked.
“So, you are our brother? Half-brother, but still our brother?” Aria says, a few tears dripping down her cheeks.
