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Story: Head Over Heels

"Will you tell the students my story?" Nonna asks suddenly. "About Vittorio?"

"Only if you want us to," I assure her.

She nods firmly. "They should know. About love and loss, and finding beauty in pain." Her eyes find the ring on my finger. "About how some treasures are meant to be lost, so they can be found again."

"Like us?" Florence murmurs in my ear.

"Like all of us," I say, looking around the table. At my mom and Donna, finally together. At Mel and Renna, so in love it warms my heart.

"To found treasures," Joe proposes, raising his wine glass.

"To found family," Mom adds.

"To found love," Florence says softly, just for me.

I lean over and kiss her, ignoring Tilly's exaggerated gagging noises. "To choosing each other," I whisper against her lips. "Every day."

Later, as we're cleaning up, Florence pulls me into a quiet corner. "I have something for you."

"Another ring?" I tease.

"Better." She hands me a small box. Inside is a key on a silver chain.

"What's this for?"

"I bought the penthouse," she says quietly. "Or I will, once the sale goes through."

I stare at her. "But I thought—"

"Not to live in," she explains quickly. "But I thought maybe for the foundation. It seems right, somehow. Transforming a place that held so many secrets for so long into a place that will help bring them to light."

I pull her close. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"Mm, not in the last hour." She grins. "I'm starting to feel neglected."

"Well, we can't have that."

"Ready to go home?" Florence asks softly.

I look at the key in my hand, at the ring on my finger, and at the woman in front of me—the woman who started as a contract and became my everything.

"I am home," I tell her.