“What favor?” My wife asks, frowning.
I laugh and grab my phone. “I asked her to record a message for me I could show you if we ever had a huge argument. Something that would make you forgive me right away. Her condition had been deteriorating by then, and I wanted something I could hold on to throughout the years.” I show her the video, and tears gather in her eyes as I press play.
“Val,” Abuela says on the screen. “Don’t be mad at Luca, okay? That man loves you more than anything, but he is still a man, and they are dumb, Princesa.”
Valentina laughs then, and it’s the first time I’ve heard her laugh since we got the news. I stare at my wife in awe as she watches the video, and I silently thank Abuela for returning her smile when I couldn’t.
“Every time you’ve brought him home, he’s never looked away from you for more than five seconds. When he thinks you’re not looking, he smiles as if he won the jackpot, because ese estúpido ni?o thinks you’re the biggest prize.”
In the background, you can hear me muttering, “Are you calling me stupid, Abuela? Even I know what that means!” and Valentina laughs through her tears, her eyes meeting mine for a moment.
Abuela side-eyes me in the video before turning back to the camera. “He means well, Princesa. Knowing Luca, he probably didn’t mean to hurt you. If you think you can forgive him, then please do. Don’t stay mad for too long. Don’t waste this precious time together, okay? He loves you, and so do I.” She pauses then, her eyes narrowing. “But if you think you can’t forgive him, just come home, Val. I will beat him for you if you want me to, okay?”
At this point, I clearly grab my phone back from her, and the sound of her laughter fills the video. “She is my granddaughter,” she tells me, as the screen portrays the tiles on the curb. “I love her the most, and I will always take her side.”
“You were supposed to take my side this time, Abuela. You don’t even know what I’ll have done when I show her this! Maybe I just had to work late!”
“Then you shouldn’t have made her wait!” Abuela shouts at me, and then Abuela and I both burst out laughing before the video cuts off.
I cup my wife’s face and sigh. “Needless to say, I was going to crop that video before ever showing it to you. Can’t believe I got told off for something I hadn’t even done.”
She looks into my eyes, and for the first time in days, I see a hint of joy in hers. “I love you,” she whispers. “So much.”
I press a lingering kiss to her forehead and inhale shakily. “I love you more, Valentina.”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Luca
I check my pocket watch as I walk into Abuela’s house. I’m later than usual tonight, and I hope she wasn’t waiting for me. Her workload has mostly fallen onto my plate, and it makes me appreciate her all the more. Without my wife and the workflows we’ve created, everything takes 10x longer. I’ve never been this overworked, stressed out, or lonely. Even though I see her every day, I miss her more than I ever have before.
It’s been weeks, but she still barely speaks, and she’s refusing to come home. I’m no longer sure if she even wants to see me. She seems entirely indifferent to me, and even though I know it’s just because of her grief, it hurts. My siblings and Grandma all keep coming to see her, and with each week that passes, we’re all growing increasingly worried.
It kills me to know I can’t offer her consolation, and that my presence is essentially meaningless to her. It makes me wonder if I overestimated her feelings for me, and then I immediately feel like an asshole for being so selfish. I still remember how hard it was for me to lose my parents, and to Valentina, this is no different.
I pause in surprise when I find my mother-in-law sitting at the bottom of the stairs. “Mom,” I murmur. Shortly after the funeral, she told me to call her Mom, the way Valentina does, but it still doesn’t feel entirely natural to me. The sign of acceptance, however, is very welcome right now.
“Luca,” she says, her voice strained. She looks up at me, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Please don’t give up on my daughter. I was in the wrong, and I never should have kept you two apart for as long as I did. I shouldn’t have assumed you’d be like Val’s father, or that you’d look down on her. I know I didn’t treat you well at the start, and I have no right to make such a request of you now, but I’m begging you. Please don’t give up on her.”
I kneel in front of her and grab her hands. “I won’t,” I promise. She looks so helpless and desperate that I’m at a loss for words. “What’s wrong? Did Valentina say something that made you worry?”
She hesitates for a moment, and unease trickles down my spine. “You should go up,” she says eventually. I nod and help her up, and she stands aside as I walk up the stairs, the steps creaking underneath my feet.
I pause in front of Valentina’s bedroom, gathering my courage. It kills me to see her so listless, and every day, it takes all of me to act cheerful when watching her wither away kills me inside.
I push her door open and walk in to find her lying in bed, as usual. “Hey baby,” I murmur as I pull on my tie, loosening it.
She doesn’t even look up at me, and it fucking tears me apart. I just want her to smile at me the way she used to. Hell, I’ll take the Ice Queen over this.
I bite down on my lip for a moment before deciding that this can’t continue this way. I pull her blankets off her, exposing her barely covered body, but not even that gets her to turn around and face me. My gaze roams over her, and I take in the old ratty t-shirt she’s wearing. Looks like she hasn’t touched anything I brought for her from home. Why?
“Enough now, Valentina,” I tell her as I reach for her. She gasps as I lift her into my arms, but her gaze remains blank.
It’s only when I carry her into the bathroom and place her in the shower that she responds. “I showered just a few hours ago,” she mutters.
I step into the shower with her and turn it on, my clothes soaking through instantly. “I know,” I murmur. The bathroom is the only place she trades her bedroom for every day, but it’s clear her visits are brief, because her hair is a knotted and greasy mess. I’ve never seen her care so little for her own well-being.
“Luca,” she says, her eyes widening as she takes in my dripping suit, her gaze roaming over me and settling on my socks.
Her wet t-shirt starts to cling to her body, exposing every one of her curves, and I sigh as I tug off my suit jacket, undressing slowly.
“Help me,” I tell her, placing her hands on my shirt.
She looks up at me, her gaze unreadable. For a moment, I think she’ll reject me and walk out, but then she starts to undo the buttons, her fingers moving slowly.
Something flashes through her eyes when my shirt falls opens, and I watch her carefully as I pull on my sleeves and take it off.
Valentina leans against the shower wall and watches me. It’s like we went back to before we got married, because once again, I have no idea what she’s thinking. Once again, I’d give the world to find out.
“Now this,” I tell her as I place her hands on my suit pants.