Page 40 of Forgive Me Father: For I Have Sinned

TWO WEEKS LATER, SAMUELsaid he was ready to return to work. His first night back he stepped onstage to the applause of the cheering crowd. He was nervous at first, self-conscious of his healing wounds until Greyson came to the rescue dancing alongside him. The matching bands they were wearing announced their engagement without them having to say a word.

After the first song, they wandered off stage, taking a seat in their normal booth off to the side and away from the prying eyes of the crowd. Butch and I walked over, joining them as the four of us toasted shots of Greyson’s beloved Crown to mark the occasion. “To new beginnings!” we cheered as one.

“Jamie and Butch,” Greyson began. “Samuel and I have a gift for you.”

That surprised me, why would we receive gifts, especially when the night was supposed to be about Samuel.

“For everything, you both did during this fucking nightmare. From pulling all the strings, you did with your contacts, to keeping me in the loop, basically giving up any personal life you had, hell just for keeping me from flipping the fuck out. For everything you did to help bring this beautiful man back to me,” Greyson leaned over, kissing Samuel. “We’d like to offer you an all-expense paid trip to the destination of your choice.”

I was floored, sitting there with my mouth hanging open.

“Ooohhh,” Samuel teased. “I like us, we kick ass.” The entire table erupted in laughter.

“Yes, my love, we do have our moments. Butch, Jamie, pick your poison. I can either book everything for you, or you can use the corporate card, and I’ll approve all the transactions,” Greyson told us.

I was in tears, rendered speechless by such a selfless act presented to us from our friends, no, our family. At Butch’s mentioning, it was decided that I’d be crossing Tuscany off my bucket list, but I had yet to thank them for their gift. “Greyson,” I began, my throat constricting from the overflowing emotions. “I just…” Butch put his arm around my shoulders, grounding me like always, “thank you.”

They wandered off while I basked in the arms of my husband, mentally planning the trip of my dreams in my head. Later though, I decided to ask Greyson to have his travel agent book the trip for us so Butch and I would be surprised but to make sure and tell them to leave us plenty of time to relax. Working sixty plus hour work weeks, at times six or seven days in a row depending on events and what not, was taxing. With it being our first, real vacation I wanted to make sure we “stopped and smelled the roses” so to speak, instead of being on the go for the entirety of the trip itself.

It took about six months before we were finally able to go, after all, I needed to be there for the birth of my beautiful niece, Emily Elizabeth. I was so happy for my sister and her husband William, they’d been trying since they got married three years ago at mom and dad’s property on Whidbey Island. It was a small, family-only wedding but what it lacked in grandeur, it had tenfold in love. Our birth parents never contacted Liv once she left home for which we were both thankful for. She and William both agreed they didn’t want them in Emily’s life.

Even though I was excited for our trip, I was promised lots of babysitting time when we got back so in the back of my mind, I was counting the hours until I could see her little face again. Butch practically carried me to the car kicking and screaming as we said our goodbyes. Emily already had Uncle Jamie wrapped around her little finger. I was head over heels crazy in love with that precious gift and the look on Butch’s face when he held her told me he felt the same.

Our redeye flight out of SeaTac took us to Miami, Florida for the first leg where we had to practically run from one side of the airport to the other to catch our connecting flight. From Miami, we flew to Lisbon, Portugal where we once again changed planes before reaching our final destination in Florence, Italy thirteen hours later. Needless to say, our first day in Italy was spent sleeping. I wasn’t much of a flyer, having only gone on a couple of short trips with Butch over the years and flying over the ocean sent my anxiety into overdrive. My inability to relax during the flight only allotted me a couple of short cat naps.

We were booked to stay in a villa on the outskirts of Chianti and were thankful we had the forethought to ask them to stock the pantry and fridge ahead of time for us. I woke the next day to the smell of coffee and bacon and stumbled downstairs to the dreamy scene of a handsome man cooking for me.

“Good morning, handsome,” I said, sidling up to him for a kiss.

“Good morning yourself. Sleep well?” he asked, flipping the bacon over.

“Like a log. I can’t remember the last time I slept like the dead, or for that amount of time from the looks of it,” I said, gazing at the clock on my phone.

He laughed. “Yes, you didn’t budge all night. Check out the view from the balcony while I finish up. We can eat outside.”

“Mmm, sounds great,” I stole another kiss at the same time I snaked a piece of bacon, but when I opened the French doors that led out to the balcony the bacon in my mouth was quickly forgotten.

The summer rays burned brightly overhead, kissing the smiling faces of the field of sunflowers basking beneath it. Never had I seen so many in one setting. Gifted Italian painters had depicted such scenes in their works, but never to the extent of what I saw right then. I’d never had a favorite flower before, but now I will forever look upon a sunflower with revered remembrance.

Off to the side, the sparkling blue pool water caught my eye, and I immediately knew how I wanted to spend my first day in Tuscanysunbathing as the sunflowers were. “Butch,” I turned as he sat our plates down on the patio table, “what do you think about hanging out here today, poolside?”

“Honestly, anything that involves you, me, and a pool I’m down for,” he flashed his megawatt smile at me as I snapped a picture of the flowers with my phone.

The next day we were still fighting the jet lag, so we decided to stay close to the villa and chose to spend the day in the neighboring town. When we were walking past one of the shops, we saw a notice in the window and asked the shop owner to translate it for us. It had people eating and laughing, surrounded by food and looked like an advertisement of sorts. He explained to us that there was a local business that offered an all-day cooking class, which included lunch and a market tour. He called the curator, and they told him they had a pair of open seats left for the following day. While cooking wasn’t my thing, Butch really wanted to do it so we asked him if he could sign us up. We thanked him and purchased some souvenirs for our family back home before leaving the store.

We dined in town that night, enjoying one of the best meals of our lives. The class started bright and early the next morning, so we headed back to the villa right after, strolling hand in hand down the cobblestone walkway. Not a head turned in negativity, nor was anything more than a ‘good evening’ tossed our way.

The class the next day began with the group meeting at the market first thing in the morning for a tour. There we purchased the fresh items we needed to prepare the meals on the flier they handed us upon our arrival in class.The market had stands filled with fresh fruit, local produce, meats, seafood, cheeses, various infused vinegar, olives, and other specialties. We listened as the local winemaker gave recommendations on what wines to pair your meals with depending on what your main course consisted of.

The cooking class itself was held in an adorable, converted old farmhouse across from the market square.It was set up with eight cooking islands, and each held a pair of students. We first learned how to make homemade pasta and traditional Italian meat sauce with beef and sausage which was time-consuming, to say the least. My favorite item we made, mainly because it was simple and I could do it, was bruschetta. I already had alternative items floating around in my head to make the recipe my own when we got home, to surprise Butch with.

When it came time to try our hands at desserts, I was back to lacking talent. Tiramisu proved to be too much for me to tackle, plus Butch kept eating the biscuits so when it came time to present ours it looked like the whipped cream and pudding got into a battle and both lost. By the end of the class, we’d consumed an entire bottle of wine between the two of us and were lucky we even found our way back to the villa. However, if someone were to ask me if that day long course was worth the money, I’d tell them without a doubt, absolutely.

The following day we again chose to spend relaxing, plus I had a hangover from all the wine I’d drank the night before. On the fourth day, we took a guided bus trip tour that the travel agent recommended. It included stops at Pisa, Siena, and San Gimignano.

In Siena, we sat and watched a bareback horse race and took a tour of the Gothic Cathedral before eating lunch in town. The ornate details the historic buildings had were the perfect canvases for the talented artisans of the past to display their gifts on. Remember that when the stone structures were originally erected, everything was done by hand. Every intricate carving in those stone erections carefully chiseled by the hands of man.

San Gimignano stood out from the other towns we’d seen as it reminded me of some medieval village from the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, which we both found to be extremely cool.

In Pisa, we toured the infamous leaning tower. By the time we climbed up the two-hundred and ninety-four steps of the spiral staircase inside it, I thought Butch was going to pass out on me. My daily dance workouts more than prepared me for that adventure, and it was well worth it, but there was no way I could carry his heavy ass back down them and onto the bus. The views from the top were magnificent and to be able and see that piece of history was beyond moving. When Butch finally caught up to me, he was wheezing. My laughing earned me a nasty pinch to the ass that resulted in a slight bruise. He felt bad for that, but I more than deserved it just for reminding him he was no longer a spring chicken. He did promise to kiss it and make it feel better later though.

The guide informed us that thanks to the cabling and counterweights that had been installed that the tower itself would never topple over, but even with that, the soil below it was unstable therefore tours were limited, and the visits themselves were timed. By the end of the day, we were bushed from all the walking we’d done and nodded off on the bus ride back to the village.

The remainder of our time in Tuscany was spent visiting museums and eating far too much, but it was hard to say no to food that literally melted in your mouth. The locals were kind and generous, and no one batted an eye at two men traveling together. Never once were we made to feel unwelcome.

Our journey home was bittersweet, but we couldn’t deny how much we missed everyone. We were forever running a mile a minute back home, and when we returned, I’d be taking my place at Greyson’s side as his best man. Resting and relaxing were our number one priority on our vacation, and we couldn’t thank our family enough for the gift that they gave us. For now, though, it was back to reality.

Families grow and evolve over time. While blood was once the only bond considered for family, that’s no longer the case. Love is the catalyst that serves that purpose.“Family doesn’t need blood to form a bond, it only needs to have a heart.”Love like there’s no tomorrow and let go of the hate. Remember, those we’ve lost are never truly gone as long as we hold them in our hearts and in our minds.