both Remo and Alessa had packed up their belongings and vacated their apartments. They were moving into their new one. Remo had kept his promise and painted Lucy’s room purple. The child was ecstatic when it was complete. The walls were a pale lilac, set off by a white ceiling over which Alessa had stenciled stars with bright yellow paint. She had also bought matching bedding for Lucy, using the money they had made selling the furniture from their old apartment. She had tried returning this money to Ebby, since she had originally paid for it all, but Ebby insisted they use it for their new place.
Remo was beyond happy watching the two girls he loved the most in the world find such joy in the mundane things of life that their deprived past would never allow them to take for granted again. He felt fortunate to be part of such a special family and wanted nothing more than to ensure that the happiness they exuded would remain with them forever. Living together as a family required adjustment where the two adults were concerned. Alessa and Remo, who were accustomed to privacy in his apartment, now needed to be more discreet in the expression of their passion for each other. But the apartment was the home they had longed for, and they all settled in within a couple of weeks.
As their new routine became normal, Remo told Alessa over dinner he wanted Lucy and her to meet his parents.
Alessa cringed at the thought. Not that she didn’t want to meet them. Remo had told her so much about them over the last year. He had described them as loving and supportive. They lived in Chester County, and he didn’t see them as much as he would have liked to, but he talked with them every week. Alessa knew he had never taken a girlfriend home to meet them because he had never been serious about anyone until he met her.
Remo had caught the change in her mood the moment he mentioned his parents.
“What’s the problem?” he asked. “Too much too fast? If you don’t want to meet them now, it’s okay. But at some point, I’ll want them to get to know you.”
“It’s not that, Remo,” Alessa replied. “I’m not the type of girl you take home to meet Mom and Dad. I’m afraid they will think I’m not good enough for you. They sound like great people, but what if they hate me? I don’t want to disappoint them or you.”
Remo smiled. “I think if you can manage not to use any profanity for an evening, they will love you.”
They both laughed, aware that Alessa’s vocabulary included every vulgar word ever invented.
“What will we tell them about Lucy?” she asked apprehensively. “I mean, I’d hate to lie to them.”
Remo moved closer to her. “We can tell them the truth. That you found Lucy on the street and took her in as your child. No one in their right mind would ever judge you harshly for being a compassionate person.”
After much angst over the whole idea, Alessa finally agreed. Lucy, who was sitting at the table listening to the whole conversation, felt overprotective about Alessa.
“Remo,” she declared. “If your mom and dad don’t like Alessa, I won’t like them either, okay?”
Remo laughed. “It’s a deal. I’ll tell you what, if my parents don’t like Alessa, I won’t like them either. Does that work for you?”
Satisfied with his answer, Lucy went back to eating her dinner.
***
Later that evening, while Alessa was getting her tucked into bed, Lucy took Alessa’s hand. “No matter what Remo’s parents think, I’ll love you more than anyone else in the whole world. If they don’t love you, too, then I think they are stupid. Okay?”
Touched, Alessa hugged her close. “Lucy, if you love me, then that’s all I need,” she said. “Remo is right, though. I’m sure we will all get along fine.”
Secretly, Alessa was surprised by how protective Lucy was of her. She had always known the little girl loved her but hadn’t realized that a ten-year-old could be so protective of anyone. Alessa was certain that Lucy would grow up to be a wonderful person with a great deal to offer others. She was grateful to be loved by two of the most wonderful people in the world—three including Ebby. She understood how far she had come in the last three years. Maybe God does love me, she mused.
The next morning, Remo called his parents about going over to their place for dinner the following weekend. He told Alessa how excited his mom and dad were about meeting Lucy and her. The two looked at Remo as he tried to alleviate Alessa’s tension over meeting his parents for the first time.
“Good!” Lucy blurted out. “They should be excited. My Alessa is better than anyone I know. That includes all of my teachers, too.” Then she turned to Alessa. “What are we going to wear?”
Alessa hadn’t thought about that. Neither of them owned any stylish clothes. Nor could they afford to buy any for that one evening.
“We’ll find something in our closets,” she reassured the little girl.
Lucy nodded but looked at Remo for approval.
“You two are always gorgeous,” he said fondly in response. “There’s nothing to worry about. Jeans are fine.”
Throughout the following week, Alessa fretted over the dinner with Remo’s parents. On Saturday morning, she and Lucy spent time picking out their outfits. Lucy would wear a dress they had bought at the Salvation Army for Easter. It had a lot of purple in it—Lucy’s favorite color. Her white shoes were scuffed. She set off to the living room to find Remo so she could ask him to help her clean them up. Alessa picked a pair of jeans she had taken from Rhonda’s clothes when she left Plymouth Meeting and a white blouse with small green and yellow flowers. It was the most conservative outfit she owned. Unfortunately, she had only her old sneakers to wear, but they would have to do.
Remo purposely dressed down, so that the two of them could outshine him. He had spent years as a bachelor and had plenty of clothes to wear but didn’t want to make Alessa more nervous than she already was.
In the early evening, they left the apartment to drive out to Kennett Square, where Remo’s parents lived. An hour later, their car was making its way up a long driveway that led to a beautiful two-story house with a stone façade. The surrounding garden was artistically landscaped with well-trimmed trees, bushes, and vibrant flowers creating a rainbow of hues outside the front door.
Alessa turned and looked at Remo as he parked the car.
“You never told me your parents were rich,” she said, her apprehensions growing by the minute.
“You never asked,” he replied. “Besides, they aren’t rich, Alessa. They worked for everything they have and live comfortably. My parents started with nothing. My mom is an interior decorator who made a name for herself early on in her career. Now she only deals with high-end clients. My father was going to law school when they first got married while my mother worked. When my dad graduated, he got a job at a prestigious firm in Philadelphia. He was made a partner in less than eight years, which is a rapid rise in the legal profession. Eventually, Dad and another attorney left that firm and opened their own business. It has been successful.”
This, Alessa realized to her growing concern, was nothing like the story of her parents, who had lived on welfare and handouts. She thought back to the house she had grown up in, complete with a rec room, as her mother had called it, filled with cigar smoke. They had made do with old, worn furniture. Their patchy lawn got mown once every two weeks. When things had broken in her house, they had stayed that way. Caterina would glue, paste, or staple things back together to make them semi-functional. They had slept on hand-me-down beds donated by relatives better off than them. She and Rosabella had shared a toothbrush for years and years. In Alessa’s world, Remo’s parents were filthy rich.
They all got out of the car and stood looking at the house.
“Wow, this house is great, Remo,” Lucy said. “I’m going to live in a house like this when I grow up.”
Remo admired her attitude, her confidence, and her self-esteem. “That you will. You’ll have everything you want, Lucy.”
