Page 22 of Hello Goodbye Amore

“THERE HAS been a supply problem, but Glorioso resolved it this morning,” Chase told Dewey, adding the resolution before the guy could blow up again.

He was getting tired of this, and the tension with his boss had him jumping every time the phone rang.

The past three weeks had been nothing but stress, with the summer’s humid heat translating into the project.

“You didn’t tell me about this,” Dewey challenged.

“Yes, I did. I had it on my weekly update for the past two weeks as a possible threat to the timeline. That threat has been removed. A supply has been found, and what we needed will be here in plenty of time. Testing and verification on this end are nearly complete, and I got a signoff from our team yesterday.” Everything was truly going well.

The only real trouble was Dewey’s management by chaos.

“The next run of product using the exact method for production will be made on time. That way product assembly and testing can begin.” Chase checked the clock and groaned.

He needed to get out of the office soon.

Dewey went quiet, and Chase wondered what he was thinking. “All right. It looks like everything is set. Make sure it stays that way.” What a jerk. Even when things were going right, he found a way to look on the dark side.

“That’s my job,” Chase said, trying to keep the snark out of his voice. “It’s getting late here.”

“Yes. It probably is. Have a good weekend, and I’ll talk to you Monday.”

Chase cleared his throat. “I’m off on Monday.”

Dewey made some sort of sound and then said goodbye and hung up.

Chase shook his head as he stared into the phone before shoving it into his pocket.

He had already packed his things, so he hurried out of the office.

Antonello’s office was empty and had been for most of the past two weeks.

He had business in Milan, so they hadn’t seen each other in a while.

It was strange how quickly Antonello had slipped back into his life…

and how much he missed him. Chase wondered if Elaine would be angry with him.

She had been so hurt when Antonello left after college.

More than once, he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

His phone rang as he left the building and strode through the streets toward the center. “Hey, Mom.” He hoisted his bag to his shoulder as he spoke.

“Don’t ‘Hey, Mom’ me,” she snapped.

Chase groaned. “What is it?” He kept moving because he needed to get Ricky so they could make their train in little more than an hour.

“I Facetimed with my grandson, and he told me that you are dating someone. A Mr. Nello.” Her voice had that same tone she used when he was in so much trouble. “Chase Wilson Anderson, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Excuse me?” he snapped back, pausing at a street corner at the edge of the pedestrian zone.

“It’s bad enough that you have to work with this man, but he hurt your twin sister… and you.” She sniffed and then blew her nose.

Chase groaned. “I work with him, and Antonello isn’t the same person he was then. Neither am I, for that matter.” There had been so much water under the bridge since then. But he would be lying if he said that he hadn’t wondered if Antonello was going to hurt him again.

“What does that have to do with the price of peas?” Mom really had herself under a head of steam.

“Mom. Elaine was my twin and my best friend. You know that. She was a kind person who threw herself into life—all of it. And yeah, Antonello hurt both of us, and I don’t know how Elaine would react to seeing Antonello again, but I do know that she had a huge heart and that maybe she’d forgive him.

I see some of the same person I knew in college…

while at the same time, someone with a sense of duty and what’s right that wasn’t there back then.

” It was so hard to explain it to her. “He’s been good to us, and Ricky really likes him.

And you know that he’s a better judge of character than either of us. ”

His mother sniffled again. “I know. But all I remember is your sister crying in my arms after he left, and…. It’s hard for me to think of anything else. And I miss you and Ricky. It’s going to be months before I see him again….”

“I know. But think of the things your grandson is seeing and experiencing.”

His mother groaned. “Tell me about it. He spoke to me in Italian for the first two minutes of the call.” Now she seemed to brighten. “He seems to love this nanny you have for him, and tells me that they only speak Italian.”

“Yeah, Mom. That was Bianca and Ricky’s idea. I had nothing to do with it.” He was so proud of his son. “Mom, I have to get home. I love you, and I’ll give Ricky a hug from you.” He hurried through the streets, passing throngs of tourists heading in every direction.

“Okay. Love you too.” She hung up, and Chase picked up his pace.

He reached his building and hurried up to their new quarters.

It had taken them less than an hour to move from the residence hotel to a small two-bedroom furnished apartment less than a block away.

They had a little more space, and it felt more permanent than a hotel.

Ricky stood as soon as he came inside, dressed and ready, with his dinosaur suitcase right next to him.

Bianca stood, and he thanked her for watching Ricky and for being willing to continue watching Ricky.

“Everything is ready for your trip,” she said gently, kissing Ricky on the forehead. She smiled at both of them and left in an equal hurry. Chase hoped she had fun weekend plans too.

“Let’s go,” Ricky said.

“I need to change my clothes, and then we can go.” He hurried to his room to the sound of Ricky’s sighs. “Christ on the cross didn’t sigh so loud.”

“Huh?” Ricky asked as Chase closed his door. He undressed and put on comfortable clothes and good walking shoes. Then he grabbed the bag he’d packed that morning and found Ricky in the same place.

“Andiamo,” Ricky cried. He hurried to the door, and they left. Chase held one of Ricky’s hands, and Ricky pulled his bag over the cobbles with the other. One good thing about being here: they had both gotten used to a great deal of walking.

Antonello waited for them just inside the station, and he led them to the track and onto the train. “I was starting to get worried.”

“Dewey called.” Chase figured that was all he had to say. He didn’t want to start the weekend talking about him.

“Where do we sit?” Ricky asked as Chase turned toward the back of the train.

“Where are you going?” Antonello asked as he headed forward. “We’re this way. I booked us business-class passage.” He led them through a door into a car with plush seats around nice tables. “We have this entire area.”

“Can I sit by the window?” Ricky asked. Chase nodded and let Ricky get into his seat while he stowed the bags and sat down himself. “How fast does the train go?”

“Really fast. It’s one hundred sixty miles to Rome, and it will take an hour and a half.

So the train goes about a hundred miles an hour.

” As Antonello explained, they began to move.

It was barely perceptible, except for the station passing outside, and soon they were speeding through the Tuscan countryside, smooth as glass even though at times they were moving nearly 280 kilometers an hour.

When Ricky started to fidget, Chase got out his activity bag with coloring book and crayons. Then he sat back, relaxed and content. “This is nice.”

“It is.” Chase agreed. He was tempted to close his eyes, except he didn’t want to miss anything.

“What do you want to see in Rome?” Antonello asked.

Chase shrugged. He hadn’t given it much thought. “Things that we can do outside. I don’t think Ricky is up for museums and stuff like that.”

“There’s lots to do.”

“No naked people with bare penises,” Ricky declared before scrunching his face. “And no boobs.” He didn’t even look up. The people in the seats across the aisle from them did, with snickery smiles. Chase rolled his eyes, and Antonello smiled.

“There’s a pool at the villa, so you can go swimming,” Antonello told Ricky, which got a real smile.

“If that’s the case, we may never leave the villa,” Chase said, ruffling his son’s hair.

Antonello leaned over the table. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” His eyes grew deep and his voice rough. Chase’s throat ached, and he was glad for the table or else he’d have made quite a spectacle of himself.

“I wanna see things… after swimming….”

Antonello smiled. “Like what?”

“Bianca said to see the Trevi Fountain and the Coliseum, and the building with a hole in the roof.” He rattled off the highlights. “And I want gelato.”

Chase tickled his son. “Of course you do.” He looked over at Antonello for guidance.

“The oculus at the Pantheon,” he supplied, and Chase nodded.

“Go back to your coloring. We have a little while yet.” The truth was the journey was passing quickly, and ten minutes later, they began slowing before pulling into the station on time.

Chase put Ricky’s things away and got their bags while Antonello got his and held Ricky’s hand.

Ricky chattered away about almost everything as they exited the station and got into a taxi.

“What’s that?” became his favorite question as they rode through the city.

“That’s the Coliseum,” Chase said reverently as they passed the ancient stadium.

Chase ran out of answers, but Antonello didn’t, explaining about Trajan’s column and the arches of the ancient ruins before they left the city center behind, ending up in a quieter area on a ridge with an amazing view of the rest of Rome.

“We’re here,” Antonello said, and Chase got out, admiring the manicured grounds and the palazzo that graced it.

“Let me get this straight. You have this and you just use it on weekends?”