Page 41 of When the Leaves Fall
DREW
“ W ell, I think that’s the last of it.” I look around at all the boxes piled into my childhood bedroom. Luca places the last box on my bed.
“So, what now?” He asks.
“I don’t know,” I reply. “Honestly, I should probably get some work done. I still have a lot of catching up to do. They’ve been so patient and understanding already, I don’t want to push it.”
“Then I’ll leave you to it,” he smiles gently. “I’ll text you later.”
Luca gives me a gentle kiss and then turns to head out the door. My heart aches for him, and he hasn’t even left yet.
“Wait, Luca,” I whisper. “Stay with me?”
“You’re not sick of me yet?” He laughs. “I mean, we just spent over fifteen hours together in a vehicle.”
I saunter toward him, my fingertips walking up his chest.
“I’ll never be sick of you.”
ONE YEAR LATER
“Luca, where are the decorations?” I shout down the hall.
“I don’t know,” he calls back. “I thought you put them somewhere safe.”
I dig through the hall closet again. “Well, you know damn well that means I have no idea where they are, then,” I yell back.
“Jeeze, no need to yell,” Luca jokes as he enters the room. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into him, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.
I slap this chest. “Oh, shut it.” I laugh. “Seriously, though. The decorations?”
“Frank and Sandra have them; they’ve already started setting up.”
“They don’t have to do that,” I moan. He pulls me into the hallway, where I can see my parents laughing and hanging up orange and black streamers in the living room.
“They’re loving every second of this,” he reminds me.
I glance back down the hall. My parents look so happy and healthy.
Mom had one more scare a few weeks after I moved back home.
She and Dad were out shopping when Mom’s pacemaker and defibrillator were put to work.
Luckily, she was still in the vehicle when it happened, so when she collapsed, she fell against the window, rather than on the ground.
Her medical machines quickly did exactly what they were supposed to do, and she was conscious within a minute, though Dad says it seemed like much longer.
They called me and I told them to go to the Emergency Room right away.
Thank goodness they did, because when they ran tests, it showed Mom’s heart was out of rhythm again.
She had to stay in the hospital for a few days until everything was back to normal.
We couldn’t even visit her because they said she needed no extra stimulation while she recovered from the incident.
Luckily, though, we haven’t had any more scares for my mom since then. It took her another month after being discharged to get back to her normal. She was able to slowly return to work after two months, starting part-time at first.
One day, when Luca and I were on our way to visit my parents, we spotted someone putting up a for sale sign a few blocks away from their house.
I immediately pulled over and asked about the place.
The realtor offered to show it to us then and there.
We fell in love with it and put in an offer on the spot.
We’d been waiting to move in together until we found the perfect house to buy. With the market the way it is, every time we’d find a house we liked, it was already sold or we were outbid. Finding one this close to my parents felt like fate.
The doorbell rings.
“You grab the door, and I’ll start the grill?” Luca asks, and I nod in agreement. I make my way down the hall to the front door to find Luca’s parents both standing there.
“Hi!” I say excitedly. “So glad you could make it. Come in, come in.” I gesture them into the house, where my parents stop decorating and come over to greet Lynn and Dave as well.
“The place looks fantastic,” Lynn chimes.
“It sure does,” Dave agrees. He glances around the room. “Luca out back?”
“Yup, getting the grill going,” I reply. “I’m sure he could use some help.”
Dave gives me a quick hug before heading to find Luca in the backyard.
“It’s so good to see you, honey,” Lynn says. “We thought we’d come a little early to see if you needed help with anything.”
“I could use some help with these streamers,” my mom says. “Frank, with all of his sweet soul, is trying his best and all, but…” she laughs. “Like I said, I could use some help.”
“On it,” Lynn says as she grabs the streamers from my dad and shoos him away. My dad rolls his eyes. The doorbell rings again, followed by Sean opening the door and walking into the house.
“Just let yourself in, Sean,” I laugh.
“Thanks, I will. Where’s the food?”
“Out back,” my dad replies, patting Sean on the shoulder. “Let’s head out there and help Luca and Dave with the grill. ”
“Well, if that’s where the cool kids are hanging out, that’s where I should be.” He salutes and walks out the back door.
The party is bustling and everyone is having a great time. My heart feels whole. Happy. Luca appears out of nowhere, puts his arm around my waist, and pulls me into his side, kissing my temple gently. A smile is plastered on my face as I scan the room and see so many people we love together.