Damaged (52 page)

John frowned. “Your lawyer advised you to come here without him?”

“No, he wanted to come, too, but we wanted to come alone. We don't think we're on opposite sides. We believe in peace, not war. That's what I'm saying. I think we all want the same thing, what's best for Patrick.” Lavigne returned to Mary, his expression softening. “Mary, I know this comes out of left field for you.”

“Yes, it does,” Mary blurted out.

“It did for me, too.”

“And it will for Patrick.”

“I know.” Lavigne nodded. “Patrick and I may be father and son, but we're also strangers. It'll take some doing for us to get to know each other. I'll do the work it takes to make that happen.” Lavigne smiled, tilting his chin up confidently. “We think we can offer Patrick something and we want to. We can give him a family, forever.
His
family.”

Mary knew the thing Patrick wanted most was a family, and she saw the conviction in Lavigne's eyes, but she wasn't ready to respond.

John answered for her. “How about we let Mary think it over and get back to you?”

 

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

It was after midnight when Mary got home, shut the front door behind her, and twisted the deadbolt. Light spilling from the kitchen told her that Anthony was still downstairs, waiting up for her. She dropped her purse on the floor, kicked off her heels, and padded through the dining room to the kitchen.

An empty wineglass waited for her on the kitchen island next to a small plate that held shaved locatelli, oily green Ceregnola olives, and a bulb of fennel, her go-to late-night snack. Anthony wasn't in sight, but the French doors that led to the backyard were open and she knew he was outside reading, which meant they were back to their favorite routine.

She went to the fridge, popped the rubber stopper off the Lambrusco, poured some bubbling into her glass, then put the wine back in the fridge and went outside with her glass and small plate. She stepped onto the patio and almost immediately felt herself relax.

The sky was as dark and soft as black velvet, even starry above the city lights. There was a slight breeze, its fresh snap signaling that autumn had finally arrived to stay. Anthony was sitting in one of their wrought-iron chairs reading on his e-reader, the soft glowing square reflecting upward on the handsome contours of a face she loved so well.

“Hi, honey.” Mary crossed to him, set the snack plate down on the small glass-top table between them, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “That was nice of you to wait up. You must be exhausted.”

“I'm okay, I'm still in my time-zone warp.” Anthony set his e-reader on the table next to his wineglass, looking over at her with concern. “Well? Is it really his father?”

Mary sat down in her chair, forcing a smile. “All signs point to yes. Isn't that what the Magic Eight Ball says?”

“Oh boy.” Anthony sighed, a quiet sound. “Wow.”

“Exactly.” Mary took a sip of her Lambrusco, which didn't cheer her up, so she set the glass down. “And bottom line, I have a decision to make. But I'm not going to make it alone this time. Not anymore. We're going to make it together.”

“I'm glad. I'll help you make it, and I'll think about it objectively.” Anthony smiled at her, with love. “I don't want to let him go either, not really.”

“You don't?” Mary smiled.

“No.” Anthony's voice softened. “He gets under your skin.”

“Right?” Mary felt happy to hear it. “You didn't say so before.”

“While you were gone, he called for you, so I went upstairs. We had a nice talk.”

“Aw, what about?”

“Honestly, everything.” Anthony shrugged, shaking his head and looking up at the stars. “He talked all about his grandfather, and his comics, and World War II. He knows a lot of historical battles. I think he just wanted company. He didn't want to be alone. I held his hand.”

Mary felt tears come to her eyes that she couldn't really explain. “He's sweet, right?”

“He really is. We started talking about chess, and he told me how much he liked it. He really was good at it, I have to tell you.” Anthony reached across the table for her hand, and he took hers in his, holding it gently. “He picked it up so quickly, I was surprised. Anything I told him, he remembered. He soaked up the way the pieces move. He's smart.”

Mary nodded. She knew if she tried to speak, she would cry.

“What's amazing about him is that he wants to learn and he wants to be taught. He didn't get impatient or bored, and at first, I thought it was about the game, but it wasn't. It was about the connection. He likes to be talked to and listened to, and his heart is so
open
.”

“I know. I love that kid.” Mary felt tears brimming in her eyes.

“I know you do, babe,” Anthony said quietly.

“I hate to give him up, now that I finally got him.”

“I know that, too.”

“It just makes me want to cry.”

“You wouldn't be you if you didn't.” Anthony rose, coming over to comfort her. “I'm here. So go ahead and cry.”

 

EPILOGUE

The ceremony was about to start, and Mary, Judy, and Anne listened nervously at the thick carved door, dressed in their swishy gowns, holding their fragrant bouquets, and squeezed into a small room at the church, among stacked boxes of newsletters, a rolling rack of coats, and an American flag in a wobbly stand. Sunlight poured through a small arched window, showing the dust that got stirred up only on Sundays.

Mary could hear the quartet playing entrance music and the guests talking, laughing, and coughing. The hubbub echoed in the church, so she knew that everybody was seated. She glanced at the clock, which read 9:56. Her mouth turned to cotton. Her heart fluttered in a permanent state of fibrillation. Unfortunately, she lacked oxygen because her wedding dress was too tight. She almost hadn't been able to zip it up.

“God, I can't breathe.” Mary rushed panicky to a full-length mirror leaning against the wall, dismayed to see the satiny fabric of her wedding dress pulled along the waistband.

“Don't worry about it.” Judy rushed to Mary's side, looking fresh and pretty in her light blue gown, which matched her eyes perfectly. Her hair was its natural blonde again, cut feathery and feminine, and she put a comforting hand on Mary's shoulder. “Mare, nobody's looking at your waist. Just carry your bouquet in front.”

Anne rushed to Mary's other side, looking like a bridesmaid model in her blue column dress, her glistening red hair braided around her head with tendrils curling around her lovely green eyes. “She's right, Mary. You look gorgeous.”

Mary shook her head, worried. “But I can't breathe. I can't sit down.”

Judy said, “You don't need to sit down.”

Anne said, “You don't need to breathe.”

“What if the dress rips?” Mary checked the clock—9:57.

“It won't, and look at yourself.” Judy gestured at the mirror. “Really, you look great.”

Anne said, “Yes, look. Be in the moment,”

Mary looked at her reflection, trying to come into the moment. She'd had Anne to do her makeup, so it looked natural and lovely, and she'd had her hair professionally styled into a French twist with freesia woven in. She had on her favorite pearl necklace with pearl stud earrings. The delicate beads on her dress sparkled in the sunlight, and the sweetheart neckline fit well because her boobs were back. Truly, a girl couldn't ask for more.

“Gorgeous!” Anne said, her eyes shining.

“Yay!” Judy threw up her hands happily.

“I love you guys!” Mary let herself be swept up in their enthusiasm, her heart lifting. She felt so grateful, happy, and blessed that they were here, even if her sister Angie couldn't be.

“Yay!” Judy cheered, and Anne joined in.

Suddenly there was a quick knock on the door and into the room burst Mary's father and The Tonys in their rented tuxedos, looking like a flock of beloved penguins and smelling like Aqua Velva.

“IT'S TIME!” Her father gave her a big hug. “WHOA, MARE, YOU LOOK LIKE A PRINCESS!”

“Thanks, Pop.” Mary hugged him back, her throat tight.

“Mare, I'm so happy for you!” Feet gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“
Maria, che bella!
” Pigeon Tony stood on tiptoe to kiss her on the cheek.

“Mare, you look like a million bucks!” Tony-From-Down-The-Block gave her a hug. “Yo, you know who looks
really
great for her age? Anthony's mother, Elvira!”

Mary smiled. She hadn't seen El Virus yet, but anything was possible. “You know that you're the same age, right?”

Tony-From-Down-The-Block winked. “So maybe I'll give the old broad a shot, huh? Does she have a boyfriend?”

“Ask her.” Mary was too preoccupied to play matchmaker but she would like nothing better than to keep El Virus busy.

As if on cue, El Virus appeared in the threshold, striking a pose by putting one hand with red talons on the doorjamb, and everyone's mouth dropped open because El Virus looked awesome, for an alternative source of energy. Sequins encrusted her silver fish-scale dress, throwing off so much light that she could've powered the Northeast corridor, and the sheath was tight enough to hug her curves, which were curvier than Mary had ever realized. Extensions filled out her darkly gleaming coif, balancing out her heavy makeup, and her false eyelashes turned her smoky eyes into a five-alarm fire.

“How do I look, Mare?” Elvira asked, wiggling her hips in a sexy way rarely seen in church.

“Wow! You look great!” Mary glanced over at Tony-From-Down-The-Block, who was going to have to hit the gym if he wanted a shot.

“You do, too!” El Virus sauntered over, air-kissed Mary, and gave her a majorly perfumed hug.

Mary's mother appeared in the open door, holding Patrick's hand, and Mary felt her heart wrench. Her mother looked happy and elegant in a pale blue chiffon grown with her hair teased the way she liked, and Patrick was impossibly cute in his rented tux, since he was their ringbearer. Last week, Norm Lavigne's DNA had proven he was Patrick's biological father, and any day now, a court would declare him Patrick's legal father. It hadn't been easy to let Patrick go, but Mary and Anthony had known it was the right thing to do. Patrick wanted a family, and now he would have one.

“
Maria, che bellissima!
” her mother said, raising her arms for a hug.

“Hey, guys!” Mary hugged her back, kissing her on the cheek. “Ma, you look so nice! You ready for the big day?”

“
Si,
yes,
andiamo
!” Her mother's eyes lit up behind her glasses, and Mary ruffled up Patrick's hair. He had just moved in with his father and Amanda, and he was already liking Fairmount Prep. The DiNunzios and the Lavignes had grown closer since Edward's funeral, and the Lavignes were honored guests at the wedding today. Everyone would be at Mary's parents' house tomorrow for Sunday dinner, bonding over homemade ravioli, and Mary knew that the families would be in one another's lives, for some time to come.

“Patrick, you got the ring?” Mary kissed the top of his head.

“Yes, see?” Patrick grinned, holding up the blue satin pillow, and her gleaming gold wedding band was fastened to the center by a white satin bow.

“And you remember what to do, right?”

“I go first down the aisle. My dad said I'm the leader!”

“You sure are.” Mary gave him a hug, touched.

“Andiamo!
” Patrick said, and everybody laughed.

“OKAY, EVERYBODY OUTTA THE POOL!” Her father hurried into the vestibule, where he could undoubtedly be heard by the entire congregation. “TONYS, YOU GOTTA GO SIDDOWN! HURRY UP!”

Mary waited in the doorway of the room, her heart pounding. The Tonys shuffled down the aisle in their orthopedic shoes just as the quartet played the first strains of Purcell's “Trumpet Voluntary.”

“PATRICK, YOU GO FIRST! HAVE FUN, BUDDY!” Her father put a gentle hand on Patrick's shoulder, and Mary watched from the doorway as Patrick faced front, squared his skinny shoulders, and went forward bravely, holding his blue pillow like a lunch tray at school.

“NOW, ELVIRA, YOU GO!”

Elvira struck a pose like an aging Madonna, then sashayed off.

“ANNE, YOU'RE ON DECK!”

Anne waited for her musical cue, flashing Mary a dazzling smile before she took her first step down the aisle, like a model on a runway.

“NOW, JUDY! OKAY, GO!”

Judy took one last look at Mary, winked, and left, leaving Mary teary.

“VEET, COME 'ERE!” Her father took her mother's arm on his left side, because all three of them were walking down the aisle together, which was what Mary had wanted. Her father had given her away at her first wedding, but she was younger then. The truth was that she owed everything she had become to both of her parents. She silently sent up a prayer of thanks that they were alive to see this day.

“OKAY, MARE, WE'RE UP!” Her father smiled sweetly at her, and she could see his hooded eyes already glistening behind his glasses as he extended his hand, which she took, then looped her arm through his.

“I'm ready, Pop.” Mary tried not to hyperventilate when the music switched to “Here Comes the Bride.” She leaned on her parents, and the three DiNunzios stepped into the church, arm-in-arm.

Mary felt her breath taken away as everyone turned to look at her, a veritable sea of smiles and tears, and she realized that she was looking at everyone she loved most in the world—Bennie, Lou, The Tonys, Allegra, John, Marshall, and an array of long-time clients whom she adored and who had supported her for so many years. It was all she could do to keep walking, her knees weak, and when she got partway up the aisle, she lifted her watery gaze to Anthony, the most wonderful man she had met in her entire life.