Chapter 4
BOILING OVER
LIBBY
After knocking on Martina and Tony’s front door, I peek through the side glass pane and smile when Martina’s eyes meet mine. She called me at Christmas to tell me that she and Tony were home, so I made plans to see her before my blind date this evening.
“Cara!” She greets me with a smile when she opens the door, then reaches out and takes hold of me to pull me in for a hug. “How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?” I ask, hugging her back just as tightly.
“We’re home, so I’m happy,” she answers as she leans back to smile at me. “Come on in. Tony’s taking a nap, but we can have a cup of tea in the kitchen.”
“Sounds good.”
I follow her down a short hall, past a living room on the right and a half bath on the left. When we reach the kitchen at the end of the hall, she makes us each a cup of tea and then leads me into the dining room. Taking a seat at the dining room table, she sits close to me.
“Sugar? Milk?” she asks.
I take both from her, adding a dash of milk to my tea and a scoop of sugar.
“Thank you.” I stir my tea, then sit back in my chair.
“How have things been going at the shop?”
“Busy like always, but between Antonio, Peggy, Hector, and Marco, things are going smoothly,” I answer, hoping to reassure her.
“Antonio said you’ve been a big help,” she says quietly.
Her words surprise me.
“I . . .”
“Has he been nice to you?”
No.
“Yes,” I lie. “It’s been good. There is nothing for you and Tony to worry about.”
“We’re selling the shop,” she says suddenly, catching me off guard.
I cough on a gulp of tea I swallow down the wrong pipe.
“Wh-what?” I ask as she pats my back hard.
“The doctors don’t want Tony going back to work, not for a while. They’re still very worried about him.”
“I thought he was okay,” I whisper.
Her face softens as she reaches out and takes my hand.
“He’s okay, cara, but owning a business is stressful. He cannot have that kind of stress in his life. Not now. Not ever again.”
“I understand. What does Antonio think?”
“Tony wanted to hand over the shop to Antonio to run full-time.” She pauses, pulling in a breath. “But our son has never been interested in running the pizzeria. He loves his job as a fireman. He’d never be happy running the shop. Plus, he’s seen the toll the business has taken on his father.”
I give her hand a squeeze, hating the turmoil I see in her eyes.
“And we’re not getting any younger. We had plans—plans to travel and see the world, but we haven’t done any of those things. Tony getting sick has made me realize what we have missed out on. I don’t want us to miss out on anything more.”
“So you’re really going to sell?”
“Yes, we have an appointment to meet with a Realtor in a couple of days. We rent the space in the building, but we own everything in the shop. Hopefully it won’t take long to find a buyer.”
“How does Tony feel about this?”
“He’s devastated, but he knows that if he keeps going like he’s been going, he won’t be around much longer. More than he wants the shop, he wants to watch Antonio find a woman and start a family of his own someday.”
“I hate that there won’t be a Tony’s anymore. That I won’t get to go into the shop to hang out with you,” I tell her softly, and wet fills her eyes.
“Just because there won’t be a Tony’s doesn’t mean our relationship will come to an end. I still expect you over for tea and gossip regularly.”
I laugh. “You can count on that,” I agree, taking another sip of tea as she does the same.
“Peggy says you have a date tonight.”
Okay, Peggy has a big mouth.
“I do.” I shift uncomfortably in the chair, not wanting to talk to her about it.
“She also mentioned that Antonio didn’t seem very happy about you having that date.”
“Martina . . . ,” I sigh, and she smiles before taking a sip of her tea.
“I’m old, cara. Don’t crush my dreams yet. Let me pretend that my son is finally seeing what I have seen for years.”
Yes, Peggy has a very big mouth, and yes, she and Martina are both nuts for thinking that something is going to happen between Antonio and me.
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
“One thing I know, cara, is there is always hope,” she says quietly.
I sigh again, then listen to her laugh.
Thankfully, after that she drops all talk about Antonio. I fill her in on the life and times of Fawn and Mackenzie because a lot has happened in the last month with both of my sisters, including Fawn getting engaged at Christmas and Mackenzie meeting Wesley, who’s completely crazy for her.