Believe Like a Child (35 page)
T
rue to Alessa’s word, within a week, things were falling into place nicely. The older teens were taking care of the younger ones. Those who had found jobs, with Ebby’s help, would buy food and bring it back to the apartments for the others who were going to school. That’s the way it worked when you lived on the streets; everyone brought what they could to the table for the bigger group to share. It was no different at the Outside Inn.
In the meantime, Remo had been instrumental in arranging for donations of food and clothing from various businesses around the city. In his line of work, he met people from all walks of life and told everyone about the shelter on the chance that they would be interested in helping the residents in one way or another. Remo and Alessa had applied for subsidies to help pay for the utilities and it was quite amazing to what extent the various businesses were willing to help them. The Outside Inn was humming with happy teenagers, all eager to start a new life.
One evening, while Alessa was studying for an exam, Remo snuck into Lucy’s room. Looking up from the book she was reading, she could tell that he had a secret he wanted to share and smiled at him. The two of them shared a special bond. Both loved Alessa and felt she had saved them, although she herself was convinced that it was Remo and Lucy who had saved her.
“You know Alessa’s going to be twenty-one in a couple of weeks, don’t you?” Remo asked her now. “I thought we could plan a surprise party for her in the backyard. We know thirty-six people who would be very keen to attend it—well, thirty-nine, if we include you, me and Ebby.”
Lucy could hardly contain her excitement. “This is the greatest idea ever!” she squealed, then lowered her voice conspiratorially. “We can get balloons and buy a cake.”
Remo chuckled. “Exactly what I was thinking,” he said. “I can grill hot dogs and hamburgers.”
Lucy kept her voice just above a whisper as she said, “Okay, I’ll call Ebby. She’ll help us.”
Remo’s expression softened as he said, “I was thinking of asking Alessa to marry me, but I wanted to check with you first to see what you thought of it.”
Lucy gingerly slid into Remo’s arms. “I think that’s an even better idea than the party,” she said. “You better tell Ebby, though. She’s like her mom, you know.”
Remo smiled. “Yes, I know. I was planning on calling her tomorrow from work, but only after making sure you were okay with it.”
Just then, a horrifying thought popped into Lucy’s head. “If you and Alessa have kids, will you still want me?” she asked, in a feeble voice.
Remo held her tight. “Of course we’ll want you,” he said, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “We will always want you. You are our daughter, Luce, the love of our lives. And no one, not even the kids we might eventually have, can ever take your place.”
Appeased, Lucy went off to call Ebby about the party, promising not to disclose the secret about Remo’s impending proposal.
Ebby was excited by the idea of the surprise party and ready to help in any way she could. It was decided that she would pick Lucy up from school the next day and take her to a local icecream parlor, where they would plan the party.
Lucy shared their plans with Remo.
“How about if I show up tomorrow too, so I can ask Ebby what she thinks of my idea of proposing to Alessa?” he suggested.
Thrilled beyond belief, Lucy exclaimed, “Oh my God! Can I be there too, when you ask her? I’m so excited! This is going to be so much fun!”
Remo watched in wonder as she expressed her joy over all the pleasant surprises they were planning for Alessa. He knew that no child could ever replace this one. Not for him and never for Alessa. There was a bond between the two girls that went far beyond a normal mother-daughter relationship. He felt like the luckiest man in the world.
The next day, he met Ebby and Lucy at the ice-cream parlor as planned. The little girl was already digging into her vanilla ice cream with rainbow jimmies, when he arrived. Both Ebby and Lucy smiled at him as he approached the table, but noticed that he was looking a little nervous. He gave them each a warm hug and sat down.
Lucy pushed her bowl of ice cream toward him and asked, “You want some?”
“No Luce, I’m good. But thanks,” he replied, pushing the bowl back in her direction.
Lucy and Ebby reviewed their plans for the cake and all the decorations they would buy. They were going to talk to a couple of girls at the Outside Inn to see if they couldn’t get Alessa out of the house for a couple of hours.
When they were finished, Remo said, “You two have everything figured out. Ebby, I wanted to give Alessa another surprise that I need to talk to you about.”
“Sure,” Ebby said. “What do you have in mind?”
Remo fidgeted in his seat like a two-year-old, nervous about Ebby’s reaction. “I want to ask Alessa to marry me.”
As the words sank in, Ebby’s whole face glowed with a radiant smile. “I think that would be the perfect gift for Alessa!” she gushed.
“You’re okay with it, then?” Remo inquired, still looking tense.
“Of course I’m okay with you marrying Alessa!” she laughed. “I appreciate your asking me about it first. However, it’s really up to Alessa.”
“I know, but what you think of the idea will be important to Alessa,” he reminded her.
Ebby turned to Lucy. “So, Little Miss Thing, you knew all about this and didn’t tell me?”
Lucy smiled a mischievous smile, outlined with a generous layer of ice cream. “It was Remo’s secret and I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone about it.”
Ebby laughed. “Well, good for you, Lucy! When did you get all grown-up?”
Lucy said in a voice that was dead serious, “Ebby, I’m going to be eleven, you know. I’m not a baby anymore.”
At that, the adults laughed hysterically, with Lucy joining in. While Lucy was finishing her ice cream, Ebby’s thoughts drifted off to Alessa. So much good had happened to her since they first met. She was genuinely happy for her and pleased to see that a once-broken person was on her feet and turning her life around, while helping others to do the same.
Good for Alessa!
Ebby thought.
I
t was mid-July and the heat was oppressive in the city, as Ebby, Remo and Lucy planned Alessa’s party. Since Alessa’s birthday fell mid-week that year, the party was scheduled for the Saturday night after. Her actual birthday was on a Wednesday and Remo and Lucy decided to mark the occasion by cooking dinner at home and sharing a small cake between the three of them. Lucy bought Alessa a new shirt, while Remo gave her a pair of shoes she had admired at a local store. Alessa enjoyed the small celebration and thanked them both for the dinner and the gifts. Ebby called her that night to wish her a happy birthday and apologized for not being able to drop in to see her.
With the weekend approaching, party-related activities were in full gear. As planned earlier, a couple of the girls now living in the house took Alessa out on some pretext, giving Remo and Lucy the freedom to rush around and get things set up before they returned at six p.m. Ebby showed up to help right after Alessa had left. Remo had taken the liberty of inviting Alessa’s brother and her two sisters to the party. Anthony was not going to be able to make it and since Anna lived in Arizona she had to decline. But Rosabella and Eva would be there and had planned to sleep over so they didn’t have to drive back to Plymouth Meeting after the party.
By the time Alessa got back to the house, all was quiet. Lucy came sauntering down from the third floor and announced casually, “Remo is barbecuing for us. We’re having hot dogs and hamburgers. He’s out in the backyard setting up the grill and everything.”
Happy to be freed from the mundane task of cooking dinner, Alessa gladly followed Lucy out the back door and was startled to hear people yell out in chorus, “Surprise!”
For a moment, she had no idea what was going on. Then she noticed the balloons and realized a birthday party had been organized for her. She snatched Lucy up in her arms and hugged her, thanking her for being so sweet.
“Remo and Ebby did most of work,” Lucy told her. “We’ve been planning for weeks!”
Alessa made her way through the crowd, hugging people as she went along, until she had finally reached Remo and Ebby. She put an arm around each of them and the three clung to each other in a close, loving embrace. Lucy, of course, had no intentions of being left out. Not long after, she nudged her way in and made herself an important part of the group hug.
Remo freed himself, turned and handed Alessa a glass. “Your first legal beer,” he announced.
Alessa snatched it right out of his hand. “That’s right,” she said perkily. “I’m legal now. So watch out!”
The night wore on and everyone was having fun, when Lucy and Ebby brought out the birthday cake. As they all sang for the birthday girl, Alessa felt as if she were having an out-of-body experience. It was as if she were watching the scene happen, with someone else at its center. She had an overwhelming urge to giggle, as the joy of the moment washed over her. She had just blown out the candles on the cake, when Remo took her hand and knelt down next to her. For a moment, Alessa wondered if he had lost his mind or drunk too much. She started laughing at him, thinking that perhaps it was a huge joke. She panicked for a moment as his expression turned serious.
Before she had time to make sense of it all, Remo held out a ring and asked, “Alessa, will you marry me?”
Everyone had lapsed into silence. Even the background music seemed to have muted itself. Alessa’s gaze went to Remo. It moved to Lucy and finally rested on Ebby. Then it returned to the beautiful ring in Remo’s hand. Looking into his eyes, she declared, “Of course I will! I can’t fucking believe this!”
All of the teenagers cheered. As she and Remo embraced, Alessa looked over at Rosabella. Her sister’s smile told her that she loved her and was happy for her.
But before Alessa could make her way over to hug Rosabella, Remo said, “Wait! I have one more surprise.” He got back down on one knee, but this time, in front of Lucy. “Luce,” he said solemnly, “will you accept this ring as a token of our life together. You, me and Alessa?”
In his hand was a small gold ring with a beautiful blue sapphire—Lucy’s birthstone—in the center. Lucy and Alessa both burst into tears. The child threw herself into Remo’s arms and they clung to each other for what seemed an eternity, as everyone looked on happily.
Then Lucy took the ring from him and said, “I love you.”
She turned to Alessa and threw her arms around her waist. The two clung to each other tightly, sharing a feeling of belonging. That night, after Lucy was in bed, Alessa kissed Remo passionately. She thanked him for her party and told him how excited she was about marrying him. She had one more thing to say to him and was worried for a moment that he might take it the wrong way. “Remo, I need to be sure of one thing,” she began tentatively.
Remo let out an exaggerated sigh, “Now what?”
“You need to know that I will always love Lucy more than anyone else in the world,” she told him. “She is my kindred spirit. It’s important to me that you always love her most in the world too, even more than you love me.”
Remo was amused by Alessa’s seriousness. He knew how paranoid she was about ensuring the child’s well-being. She always protected Lucy in the way she herself had secretly wished to be protected as a child.
Now he turned serious. “Of course I will. You know I love her.”
“No. Not just love her,” Alessa urged, “but love her more than anyone else in the world—always. This means, if you ever have to make a choice between Lucy and me, you will choose her.”
Remo loved them both. He knew how special Lucy was. “Okay, it’s a deal,” he said in surrender.
Alessa relaxed as she slid up against him. She grabbed his ass mischievously. “You know something? That also means I will always choose her over you.”
Remo playfully pushed her away. “Yes, Alessa, I know. Now can we get back to what we were doing?”
“By the way,” she went on, “the ring you gave Lucy was about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. She really loves you.”
Faking impatience with her, Remo said, “Yeah, I know. Thanks. Now, less talk and more action!” With that, he unzipped her jeans and slid his hand inside.