the heat was oppressive in the city, as Ebby, Remo, and Lucy planned Alessa’s party. Since Alessa’s birthday fell mid-week that year, the party was scheduled for the Saturday night after. Her actual birthday was on a Wednesday, and Remo and Lucy marked the occasion by cooking dinner at home and sharing a small cake between the three of them. Lucy bought Alessa a new shirt, while Remo gave her a pair of shoes she had admired at a local store. Alessa enjoyed the small celebration and thanked them both for the dinner and the gifts. Ebby called her that night to wish her a happy birthday and apologized for not dropping in to see her.
With the weekend approaching, party-related activities were in full gear. As planned earlier, two of the girls living in the house took Alessa out on some pretext, giving Remo and Lucy the freedom to rush around and get things set up before they returned at six that night. Ebby showed up to help right after Alessa had left. Remo had invited Alessa’s brother and her two sisters to the party. Anthony had declined the invitation, and since Anna lived in Arizona, she wouldn’t be there either. But Rosabella and Eva would be there and had planned to sleep over so they didn’t have to make the forty-five-minute drive home after the party.
By the time Alessa got back to the house, all was quiet. Lucy came sauntering down from the third floor, her face slack. “Remo is barbecuing for us. We’re having hot dogs and hamburgers. He’s out in the backyard setting up the grill and everything.” She rolled her eyes. “He said we need to go help as soon as you get home,” she mumbled.
Happy to be freed from the mundane task of cooking dinner, Alessa gladly followed Lucy out the back door and was startled to hear people yell out in chorus, “Surprise!”
For a moment, she did not understand what was going on. Then she noticed the balloons and realized a birthday party had been organized for her. She snatched Lucy up in her arms and hugged her, thanking her for being so sweet.
“Remo and Ebby did most of the work,” Lucy told her. “We’ve been planning for weeks.”
Alessa made her way through the crowd, hugging people as she went along, until she finally reached Remo and Ebby. She put an arm around each of them, and the three clung to each other in a close, loving embrace. Lucy had no intentions of being left out. Not long after, she nudged her way in and made herself an important part of the group hug.
The night wore on and everyone was having fun, when Lucy and Ebby brought out the birthday cake. As they all sang for the birthday girl, Alessa felt as if she were having an out-of-body experience. Like she was watching the scene happen, with someone else at its center. She had an overwhelming urge to giggle, as the joy of the moment washed over her. She had blown out the candles on the cake when Remo took her hand and knelt down next to her. For a moment, Alessa wondered if he had lost his mind or drank too much. She laughed at him, thinking that perhaps it was a huge joke. She panicked for a moment as his expression turned serious.
Before she had time to make sense of it all, Remo held out a ring. “Alessa, will you marry me?”
Everyone had lapsed into silence. Even the background music seemed to have muted itself. Alessa’s gaze went to Remo. It moved to Lucy and finally rested on Ebby. Then it returned to the beautiful ring in Remo’s hand. She looked longingly into his eyes. “Of course I will. I can’t believe this.”
The partiers cheered. As she and Remo embraced, Alessa looked over at Rosabella. Her sister’s smile told her she loved her and was happy for her.
Alessa started to make her way over to her sister to hug her.
“Wait! I have one more surprise,” Remo said. He got back down on one knee, but this time in front of Lucy. “Luce,” he said solemnly, “will you accept this ring as a token of our life together? You, me, and Alessa?”
In his hand was a small gold ring with a beautiful blue sapphire—Lucy’s birthstone—in the center. Lucy and Alessa both burst into tears. The child threw herself into Remo’s arms, and they clung to each other for what seemed an eternity, as everyone looked on happily.
Then Lucy took the ring from him. “Yes, I want that more than anything.”
She turned to Alessa and threw her arms around her waist. The two clung to each other tightly, sharing a feeling of belonging. That night, after Lucy was in bed, Alessa kissed Remo passionately. She thanked him for her party and told him how excited she was about marrying him. She had one more thing to say to him and was worried for a moment he might take it the wrong way.
“Remo, I need to be sure of one thing,” she began tentatively.
Remo let out an exaggerated sigh. “Now what?”
“You need to know that I’ll always love Lucy more than anyone else in the world,” she told him. “She is my kindred spirit. It’s important to me that you always love her most in the world, too, even more than you love me.”
Remo was amused by Alessa’s seriousness. He knew how paranoid she was about ensuring the child’s well-being. She always protected Lucy in the way she herself had secretly wished to be protected as a child.
Now he turned serious. “Of course I will. You know I love her.”
“No. Not just love her,” Alessa urged, “but love her more than anyone else in the world—always. This means if you ever have to make a choice between Lucy and me, you will choose her.”
Remo loved them both. He knew how special Lucy was. “Okay, it’s a deal,” he said in surrender.
Alessa relaxed as she slid up against him. She kissed his neck mischievously. “You know something? That also means I’ll always choose her over you.”
Remo playfully pushed her away. “Yes, Alessa, I know. Now can we get back to what we were doing?”
“By the way,” she went on, “the ring you gave Lucy was about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. She really loves you.”
Faking impatience with her, Remo said, “Yeah, I know. Thanks. Now, less talk and more action.” With that, he unzipped her jeans and slid his hand inside.
