She knew.
She knew everything.
“My son cares about you. I’d go so far as to say he still loves you. And he cares for that boy, Julia.”
“My gosh, you know,” I said in a whisper.
“There’s very little I don’t know, so I want you to listen to me.”
I lifted my watery gaze to hers, my food and coffee long forgotten about.
“Romeo has a good heart. A kind heart. And I can tell you for a fact that he’s trying to take the family business in a right direction, because I was the one that advised him on it. I was the one that convinced him to take his father’s place once my husband passed, and turn the business away from what my husband had made it.”
My jaw dropped open as a tear rushed down my cheek.
“You?” I asked. “You made him do this?”
“I didn’t make him do anything. Romeo is his own man. But I knew if anyone could turn the life of our family around, it was him. You have it on my authority—as a mother and a grandmother—that Romeo is true to his word. He is trying to turn things around for this family. And I know he can do it.”
“I know he has a kind heart,” I said. “I’ve always known that. But obstacles are standing in our way that I can’t ignore. I have to protect Matteo. I’m his mother, Luisa.”
“And I wouldn’t expect you to do anything differently. But I do think you’ve convinced yourself that those obstacles can’t be overcome.”
“I don’t think they can,” I said.
“That is where you’re wrong,” she said. “The things you think are standing in your way? They’re minor annoyances compared to what his father and I went through. And we made it work.”
“I can’t be a part of that world anymore,” I said. “My father fought to keep my son and me out of it and I won’t compromise that to make things work with your son. I won’t.”
“I’m not asking you to,” she said. “What I am asking of you is to not give up on him. To not give up on the idea of the peace he wants to achieve. That’s it. His father never gave up on me. And I’m asking you for the same. Don’t give up on Romeo because you can’t see through the fog just yet. Eventually, circumstances change, and the fog clears. All I’m asking you to do is wait until that moment.”
I reached for my coffee and took
a long pull before I drew in a deep breath.
“Does Romeo know this conversation is taking place?” I asked.
“No. I saw you standing on the sidewalk with your head in the clouds, and I figured it was an appropriate time to strike one up,” Luisa said.
“So when I came over to the house?”
“I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew things didn’t end well. Romeo can be stubborn, and sometimes he feels a little too much at times. He gets that from me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” I said.
“No, there isn’t. But you? You remind me a lot of my husband.”
“How so?”
“The way you only show your hand if it’s necessary. You're very reserved in the way you express yourself. My husband was like that. Those two temperaments make for good partners in life. My husband helped me to keep my emotions in check, and I helped him to be able to express his in a healthier way. And yes, I’m separating the man from the job with that statement.”
I cracked the first smile I’d felt in almost two days as I sat across the table from Romeo’s mother.
“Don’t give up on him, because I know he never gave up on you. And I know he never will. I saw the light in both of your eyes when you came into that house a couple of weeks ago. Whatever was there between the two of you as teenagers, it’s still there. Don’t let that flame burn out because it’s not good timing right now. Because that doesn’t mean it won’t be right in the future,” she said.
I looked at Luisa Martine and shook my head. “Thank you Louisa. I really appreciate you telling me all of that,” I said.
“You are most welcome, Julia. Just please promise me that you will think about what I said.”