Four Week Fiance 2(39)

“Do you remember the poem?” I asked softly.

“Do I remember?” He chuckled again. “It has been burned into my brain for decades,” he said and looked back down at the photo. “It is one of my fondest memories.”

“Tell me,” I said and reached over and grabbed his hand. “Tell me, Nonno.”

“Okay.” He nodded and then he cleared his throat. He was about to start talking again when he had a coughing fit.

“Nonno, are you okay?” I asked as I watched him coughing. I felt helpless and wasn’t sure what to do. I was about to start patting him on the back when he finally stopped coughing. “Nonno?” I asked again as I saw spots of blood on the tissue he had been coughing into.

“I’m fine.” He shook his head and frowned. “Just a bad cough.” He took a sip of water and then looked over at me and smiled. “Stop worrying and start listening.”

“I am listening,” I said and laughed.

“That moment when your heart skips a beat. When all worries turn to joy. When all fears fade away. That moment when our eyes meet. And our souls reconnect.

And the silence sings a song. That’s the moment that I remember. That’s the dance that I live for. That’s the journey that I pray for. That’s the you that I dream of. This is the moment I was made for.” He stopped and I looked over at him, and saw tears running down his face.

“Oh, Nonno,” I said and reached my arm around his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” He shook his head and gazed into my eyes. “She was my true love and I miss her, but I will see her again.”

“Oh, Nonno.” I bit down on my lower lip. “You both had such a true love.”

“There is nothing else in this world more precious than true love, Mila.” His eyes were bright as he gazed at me. “There is nothing worth living for if you don’t have love.”

“Well, life itself, right?” I said, trying to make light of the situation.

“Life is for the living.” He nodded. “And love is what makes life great.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said as my heart lurched and I thought back to TJ again. “Some of us aren’t as lucky as you and Nonna. Some of us don’t have happy endings.”

“What are you talking about, Mila?” His eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

“Nothing,” I said and shook my head, embarrassed to tell Nonno exactly what was going on with me.

“Are you not happy, my Mila?” He studied my face shrewdly and I could feel the tears starting to build up. I didn’t want him to know exactly what was going on. I knew that he had to know that something wasn’t completely right. I mean, TJ had essentially just fallen into my pocket in a matter of seconds. Real life didn’t work like that.

“I’m fine.” I took a deep breath. I had to be a big girl. I was not going to let Nonno know how pathetic and sad I was.

“You want to go down to the beach?” Nonno jumped up, placing the photo album next to me.

“The beach?” I asked, flummoxed. “That’s random.”

“Let’s go to the beach and talk.” He looked at me lovingly. “We both could do with some fresh air.”

“Oh.” I looked up at him. He knew there was something I wasn’t telling him. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, mi cara. You know you can’t keep secrets from your Nonno.”

“I know.” I sighed and stood up. “I love you, Nonno.”

“I know.” He pulled me into a hug. “I love you more than anything, Mila. You’re my beautiful princess and all I want is for you to be happy and taken care of.”

“I know.” I rested my head on his shoulder and looked up at him. “How did I get so lucky as to have you as my Nonno?”

“You’re blessed.” He kissed my forehead and grinned, his eyes sparkling before he started coughing again. He pulled back and grabbed his tissue, his expression changing to one of a frown.

“You sure you’re okay to go out, Nonno?” I asked him, worried. “Sounds like you have a bit of a cold or something.”

“I’m fine, my dear.” He wiped his mouth. “Let me go and change into some warmer clothes and then we can leave.”

“Okay.” I nodded and watched as he walked out of the room. I then grabbed my phone from my pocket to see if TJ had called or texted. I was hoping he’d have left some sort of message saying something like, “I made a mistake, I really do love you, come home,” but of course there was nothing there when I checked. My heart sank as I put my phone back into my pocket and I sat back on the couch and stared at the photos as I waited for Nonno to get ready.

***

The beach was desolate as we walked along the sand. It was too cold for people to go into the water and there was only one guy on the beach with us and he was walking his dog. I stared at the dog as it ran down the beach chasing a branch and I thought to myself what a life the dog had as it ran back and forth to its owner, grinning with happiness. How simple life must be to a dog. What I wouldn’t have given to have that sort of peace in my heart. It would make me feel like I had a purpose in life, as opposed to being a loser who could only focus on TJ and his not loving me.