plate of pancakes on the table and sat to join Alessa and Lucy for breakfast.
“I need to call my parents today and tell them we’re getting married,” Remo announced casually.
Alessa gasped. “You mean, you didn’t tell them before you asked me? What if they’re mad at us?”
“No, I didn’t tell them. And they won’t be mad. They know how I feel about you, and I’m pretty sure they won’t be all that surprised.”
Lucy looked up from buttering a pancake. “Don’t forget to tell them how you asked me to be a part of your life. Tell them about the ring you gave me,” she added.
Alessa realized how simple it all was for Lucy. She was so open and honest with them. It was hard to believe she was growing so fast. The years had passed by so quickly, yet it seemed as though they’d been together all their lives. She reiterated the child’s request. “Yeah, don’t forget to tell them about Lucy.”
“I won’t,” Remo moaned. “You two give me no credit at all.”
While he was confident of his father’s approval, Remo anticipated that his mother wouldn’t be pleased by his decision to marry Alessa. And it was not simply because it was Alessa he was marrying. His mother would be pissed off that he had already proposed without keeping his parents updated on the developments in his personal life. She would treat it like a nasty surprise. Hannah hadn’t changed her opinion of Alessa over the last year. In fact, she had become more deep-rooted in her view she was the wrong woman for her son. Intuitively, Remo knew that his mother was having a harder time letting him go than in accepting Alessa. He realized that she kept looking for reasons to justify her dislike of Alessa.
He called his father first. Patrick was excited by the news and understood how much Alessa meant to his son. “Are you going to call your mother?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Patrick laughed. “No, not really.”
Remo hesitated. “Any words of wisdom you could bestow upon me, old man?”
“Make it quick and painless,” he sighed in response. “If you drag it out too long, you’ll merely succeed in building up her anxiety and make her reaction to the news that much worse.”
Remo hung up the phone and took a deep breath before dialing his mother.
Hannah brightened when she heard her son’s voice. “Remo, how are you?”
“I’m good, Mom. I wanted to tell you that Alessa and I are getting married. I asked her last night and she said yes.” There, he had put it all out on the table.
After an uncomfortably long silence, his mother said, “Well, if you think that’s best. It’s your life. I always thought you’d find someone who was more your type.”
Annoyed, Remo asked, “Really? What’s my type, Mom?”
“You know, someone with a better background and upbringing,” she answered in a tight voice. “I mean, Alessa is a nice girl, but she’s never going to set the world on fire.”
“Mom, Alessa is exactly my type. When you say, ‘set the world on fire,’ I know you’re talking about earning a lot of money. While Alessa may never earn a million dollars a year, she does things for people that you can’t put a price on. She sets the world on fire with the goodness in her heart. I want you to be happy for me. This is a great time in my life, and I need your support,” Remo added with disappointment in his voice.
Hannah softened. “Okay. I can do that. Should I call her to discuss wedding arrangements? Did you pick a date?”
A flash of heat crept up Remo’s chest. He was desperate to get off the phone before he committed to something that Alessa would hate. “No, we haven’t picked a date yet. Why don’t I have Alessa call you once we do pick one? In the meantime, do you think you could call her and congratulate her? She’s not stupid, Mom. It’s obvious how you feel about her.”
Hannah surrendered. “Okay, fine. I’ll call her later today. But for the record, I hope you’re making the right decision.”
***
Later that afternoon, when the telephone rang, Remo was outside with Lucy, fixing the chain on her bicycle.
“Hello, Alessa. This is Hannah,” she said.
Alessa’s palms broke out in a sweat. “Hi, Hannah. Remo is outside with Lucy. Do you want him to call you when he comes in?”
Hannah’s voice was devoid of emotion. “No. Actually, I was calling to congratulate you on your engagement to my son. I wanted to let you know that once you two pick a date, you and I can start planning the wedding. Have you told your mother yet?”
Alessa was caught off guard. “Um, well, um, no, I haven’t told my mom anything,” she sputtered.
Unable to keep calm, Hannah allowed her animosity to spill out. “Why haven’t you told your mother? The first thing most girls do in a situation like this is call their mother to let them know.”
Alessa tried to defend herself without being rude. “Hannah, it’s complicated,” she explained politely. “I’d discuss this with you right now, but I have to run or I’ll be late for class. Thanks for calling.”
After Alessa hung up the phone, she was annoyed at Hannah for judging her so harshly. She was also self-conscious and embarrassed about not sharing the relationship with Caterina that most daughters took for granted. Alessa didn’t need everyone to like her, but she grappled with the reason why Hannah disliked her. Screw it, she thought, I’ll talk to Remo about it later.
But try as she might, she couldn’t dismiss Hannah from her mind and was bothered all day long over their phone conversation. It gnawed at her like a deep, persistent pain. That night, she told Remo about her conversation with his mother. She could see he was hurt but wasn’t sure if it was because his mother was unhappy about their marriage or because she herself couldn’t go with the flow.
“Look,” Remo said in a breathy tone, “we’re all going to be family now, and you two will need to learn how to get along. I know my mother isn’t easy to deal with when it comes to me. You need to understand that she’s being protective, like you are with Lucy.”
Alessa lost her temper. “Yeah, I get that,” she said angrily. “But I’ve done nothing to make her feel defensive about you. She treats me like a piece of shit because she thinks you’re too good for me. You know it and so do I. Let’s stop the bullshit and get it out there. Truthfully, Remo, I don’t give a fuck what your mom thinks about me. I don’t want you to expect me to pretend that everything is rosy.”
Remo stood and paced the living room. “Okay, fine. If you want to hate my mother, then hate my mother! What can I say?”
Alessa stomped out of the room, but not before saying, “For your information, it’s the other way around. I don’t hate your mother. She hates me.”
An hour later, Remo went back into the bedroom. He sat down next to Alessa and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Here’s the deal. I love my mom. She was a good mother and has done a lot for me. She will never change her mind about you. Honestly, I don’t think it’s you. It would’ve been the same with any woman I decided to marry. She thinks she’s losing me. I’m not going to try to change her mind. If she can’t see how great you are, then that’s her loss. Either way, I need us all to get along. I’m asking you to be the bigger person here. I’m asking you to try and kill her with kindness.”
“Okay,” Alessa said. “I’ll try my best. I’ll swallow all the rotten garbage she dishes out to me, but remember, I’m doing it entirely for you because you asked and not for any other reason.”
Remo reached out, lifted her dress, and laid her back on the bed. Alessa let herself melt into him. She enjoyed making love to him, craved it, even. Because of the love they shared, their sex life was intense. Alessa’s past sexual experience also helped to keep things exciting.
Alessa wasn’t afraid to experiment with sex. She was often the aggressor. Not that Remo ever complained. Alessa loved the way he touched her. She felt suspended in midair, and her skin was covered in goose bumps, as she felt the warmth of his tongue against her flesh and his strong hands that could be so gentle as they brushed over her skin. Remo was an evolved sexual being, and she reciprocated his passion.
