Page 41 of Hello Goodbye Amore
RICKY SAT on the sofa, looking up at Chase with huge eyes filled with confusion. “Is Mr. Nello my daddy?” He chewed his lower lip. Chase had done his best to try to explain what was going to happen.
“No. I’m still your daddy, and like I told you before, I always will be. You know that I’m also your uncle because your mommy is my sister. And back in college, Mr. Nello and your mother loved each other. So he is your father.” His head ached.
“And now Mr. Nello loves you and you love him?” Ricky asked, and Chase nodded. “So you’re going to get married.”
“Yes. And your grandmother is going to be there, and she is going to be coming over here to see you.” He smiled, hoping that this wasn’t too much for him.
“She’ll be here tomorrow.” He had spent the past week trying to figure out what to say to Ricky and just basking in the warm glow of Tio’s love and care.
It had been a whirlwind both at work and here.
Tio’s parents had invited them again for dinner, and Contessina had been less reserved.
She wasn’t exactly warm, but maybe some of the frost was starting to melt, at least as far as Ricky was concerned.
Tio’s father really seemed to be taken with grandfatherhood, and Ricky adored him in return.
Ricky sat for a few seconds. “Yay. Can I make a picture for her?”
Chase shrugged. He had expected more questions. “Sure. Go make pictures for everyone.”
Ricky slid off the sofa and hurried away, and Chase sighed happily. “We need to go in half an hour,” he cautioned Ricky. “We’re having dinner at Isabella’s. And you can play for a while.”
“Okay.”
Chase felt damned lucky.
A knock sounded, and Chase let Tio inside. “What’s going on? You look stressed.”
“No. I’m fine. I think I explained things to Ricky, and he’s off drawing pictures. How are you?” he asked, and Tio kissed him.
“Better now,” he said softly. “Paolo called, and he’s going to join us for dinner. He’s bringing Gemma.” Tio was pleased. “I think this is really serious. He’s dated girls before, but they always passed through. Gemma seems to be sticking.”
“That’s great,” Chase said.
“Then why so tense?” Tio asked.
“Did you forget that my mother is arriving tomorrow? I have done my best to explain things, but….”
“She still sees me as I was in college,” Tio said. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. We are not the same. We have lived life since then. Your mamma will see that, and what she wants most is for you to be happy.”
“And you make me happy.” That was for damned sure.
“You also know that once the mothers get to know each other, they are going to start planning the wedding,” Tio added, and Chase growled.
That was the last thing he wanted to think about at the moment.
The amount of work… the decisions. “Just let them. My mother has been waiting for years to do this. Besides, I have it all worked out.”
“You do?” Chase asked.
“Yes. Italy does not have marriage for people like us. It is similar, but not the same. So we get married in the US, so it is legal there. Then we register here in Italy to make sure we are safe. Then we celebrate.” He grinned, and his eyes filled with happiness that carried Chase right along with it.
“Perfect.” He bit his lower lip.
“Then what is bothering you? Is it me?”
Chase had been trying to hide it.
“No. I’m just on edge because Smithson hasn’t yet told me what their plans are and if they’ll let me stay here.
I like my job.” He turned to Tio. “While I appreciate that you and your father would make room for me in the company, I’d really like to have my own job and make my own way. Do you understand?”
Tio held him tighter. “My father is going to respect you more for that, and I only want you to be happy. Though know that the offer is still open if you need it. Either way, we hope that you will help us. Because of the deal with Smithson, we are getting more business in the United States, and we are looking to increase it even more.”
“Of course I’d help. We’re all going to be a family.”
Tio ran his fingers through his hair, cradling Chase’s head. “Yes, we are. And I was thinking that while your mother is here, we should all go down to the villa in Rome for a few days.”
Damn, his life was going to be so much different from what he was used to. “You’re going to spoil us, you know that?”
“Yay,” Ricky called from behind him, and Chase jumped slightly. “I’m going to get my bathing suit.”
“Ricky, we aren’t leaving right now,” Chase said and began to laugh. Their lives were going to be different, but as much as that might have worried Chase once, now it only filled him with warmth. “I’d better go see what he’s up to. He might be packing already.”
Tio chuckled warmly, and Chase reluctantly slipped out of his embrace to see what his son was up to.
DINNER WAS amazing, as usual. Isabella really outdid herself.
Maybe she was trying to butter up Paolo and Gemma, but from what Chase could see, they didn’t need it.
Paolo and Gemma really seemed to have hit it off.
The way Paolo couldn’t seem to pull his gaze away told them he was definitely more than a little smitten.
“Ricky, it’s almost time for us to go home,” Chase said.
“Do we have to?” Ricky asked.
Chase nodded. “Ten more minutes.” Ricky sighed like the weight of the world had just descended on his shoulders. Still, he didn’t argue, just went back to playing whatever ball game he and Isabella’s boys had made up.
“We are glad you are staying,” Isabella said as she cleared away the dessert dishes. Chase helped her and got a good case of side-eye for doing it, but she didn’t scold him.
“I’m glad to be staying too.” He turned to Tio and shared a smile before following Isabella inside. “I’m happy here.”
“This is a nice place to live, and you and Tio will be good together. I can tell. He is… how you say… I don’t have the words in English.”
“He’s settled in his skin. He knows who he is and can be content with it.”
“Exactly. And you make him that way.” She set down the dishes and took Chase’s hands, giving him an unexpected hard stare. “But if you hurt him I will fillet you like one of my fishes.”
“Understood.” Chase chuckled and could have sworn that she gave him the evil eye. “I love Tio and have since we were in college, though I never had the guts to tell him until now.”
“He was not ready then,” Isabella said. “Tio was not settled in his skin, like you say. He had to take the wrong path before he was ready for the right one. And in the end, Tio’s path brought both of you to Ricky, and then back to each other.”
She shooed him out of her kitchen, and Chase returned to the table and sat next to Tio, who carded their fingers together.
Paolo and Gemma were lost in each other’s eyes, sipping prosecco. Chase lifted his own glass, holding it up, and Tio did the same. “To love,” Chase whispered. “And to the twisty road that brought us back together.”
Tio tapped his glass, the soft tink sound filling the small square surrounded by buildings that had been there since the Renaissance. “To love. My love,” Tio added, and then kissed him as the shadows that had witnessed centuries of lovers purpled over them.