Chapter 24 – Delphine
Chapter Twenty-Four
Delphine
A fter our hot reunion sex, the vibe shifts completely between me and Luigi. I don’t know how to explain it. Either he cast a spell on me, or I cast a spell on him, but something happened to fundamentally change the dynamic between the two of us, and I don’t know how I became this person.
He finally takes me to an OB/GYN and the appointment is the first time since we’ve signed this stupid contract where I feel like we’re in a real relationship, mostly because we bicker in hushed tones whenever the doctor turns her back.
I already knew the man was a control freak, but he wants to control everything and it drives me crazy.
I might have signed a contract, but the baby is in my body, not Luigi’s.
When we survive the doctor’s appointment, he turns around and asks me on a date. I sassily point out that I don’t have a choice because of the contract, but the truth is… I’m scared of the “vibe shift”. Does it really mean anything that he’s suddenly more affectionate towards me?
Is it just the pregnancy?
What if this doesn’t last when the baby gets here? I don’t want to catch feelings when I know that to Luigi, I’m nothing more than the incubator for his future heir. He verbally established to me several times that he wasn’t interested in long term relationships.
Am I this unaccustomed to the bare minimum that I think his temporary fondness for me counts as a real relationship?
It’s just one date. But we talk about the Bills the entire time and he doesn’t even shut me down when I bring up my controversial opinion that we need to get rid of our kicker, despite his record.
He even orders dessert for me, so I don’t have to make the awkward hungry-bitch choice of an extra sugary dessert after a hearty meal.
This man gets it.
I try not to read into it when we go on another date after the first one.
Or when Luigi buys me a real mink coat in a deep, chocolate color and insists I wear it to go to another nightclub ‘family event’ with him.
I’m not too eager to head somewhere that could potentially experience another bombing while I’m pregnant, but Luigi promises to protect me.
Then he goes down on me, causing me to forget what we were arguing about, and next thing you know, I’m up on slightly more supportive high heels wearing a tight cheetah print dress and a mink coat at the club.
I don’t drink, but neither does Luigi. I meet his other sister Nicoletta, who goes by Nicki, his cousin Cosima, who goes by CC, and I hear about her twin sister, but don’t actually meet her, so the name slips my mind.
I also meet his twin brothers back from Italy, Renzo and Gino, who barely look me in the eye, and then his cousins.
I lose track of all the cousins, especially because Angela insists I play pool with her in one of the back rooms and help her “hustle some locals”.
I don’t point out that she’s also a local and thankfully, Luigi warns her against hustling anyone so we don’t get in trouble.
By the end of the night, I realize that I’ve lived in this city my whole life and never enjoyed myself as much as I did while pregnant for this relative stranger, pretending to be a part of this big Italian family.
From the outside, you always hear rumors about how tight-knit Italian families are, but it’s something else entirely to experience the bonds of closeness, the loud arguments, the hard-hitting truth telling and of course, the cooking.
No matter what happens between me and Luigi, at least our child will always have this connection to the Taviani family. I hope Luigi and his family can negotiate a peace treaty with Pittsburgh that lasts so these bonds don’t have to break.
There’s a rush from traveling around the city with Luigi that I can get used to. Now that I’m more pregnant and we’re more comfortable with each other, we go everywhere together. I’m no longer trapped at the lake house and no longer forced to endure life without a consistent internet connection.
The fur coat attracts almost as much attention as Luigi on my arm.
I let Angela do my makeup sometimes too, because she finds it entertaining and I don’t mind that she ends up making me look like a mob wife.
Even if it’s just a role I’m trying on, I find it strangely appealing.
Plus, it delights Angela and I feel like I have a real family when the three of us are together.
Our relationship starts to feel normal. Well, it's everything I imagine a normal relationship would be like except for our unconventional beginnings.
My previous relationships involved a lot of crying, arguing, going through cell phones and printing out screenshots.
I dreamed of finding a guy who I could just convince to settle down.
I also tried to find a guy who wanted to settle all on his own.
Neither option worked. Either guys didn't want to settle down at all, or they would pretend they wanted to.
Dating in Buffalo has always gone horribly for me, so it seems strange and cruel that the man who got me pregnant in a twisted baby contract induced by binge-drinking and bad decisions is the one holding open car doors, buying me mocktails, and taking me out for steak dinners.
I don't even dare put a label on what's going on between us or worse, my feelings for Luigi. Our contract technically doesn't need more labels -- I'm his surrogate. Period. Just his surrogate. And my feelings? Well, in the context of the contract, they aren't important.
You can lose feelings for just about anyone or anything over time. Ask any woman who has experienced the displeasure of repeated infidelity. Too much pain can kill even the most toxic and addictive attraction.
And when Luigi finally leaves and exposes the depths of his coldness towards the baby I can't help but start to love, I know I'll lose every confusing sentiment that bonds me to him.
I forget that I had a past before Luigi until pretty late into my pregnancy when we have a family dinner at a new pasta place in town.
The Taviani family has a cultish ritual of visiting pasta places, ordering as many dishes as they can, and comparing every last recipe to old Sicilian recipes in their family.
Their new target, Il Forno, popped up a couple months ago and Luigi's younger twin brothers, Renzo and Gino, made reservations for the entire clan of cousins.
Luigi insists that the two of us arrive early so he can "scan the perimeter" and act like a paranoid asshole for thirty minutes at the bar before dinner.
Renzo has the task of picking up Angela, who needed more time to get ready. Luigi snaps at the bartender when she asks me what I want to drink. Her name is Kayla, and she stumbles backward like she's never had anyone talk to her like that before. Rude asshole.
"She's pregnant. Get her a seltzer," Luigi says with this rude ass tone.
Truly, a situation that doesn't require barking aggressively. Luigi's fatherly instincts have bordered on insane lately. When I glare at him, he just puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses my cheek, like that will make his attitude more acceptable.
"Delphine?"
Luigi stands up with his hand in his pocket the second he hears a man's voice call my name out at a restaurant. I freeze and wish for the first time in my life that Luigi would shoot first and ask questions later. This can't be happening.
"Delphine? Hellooooo." Not just him. Her too. Luigi freezes in confusion, but he doesn't shoot. I slowly turn around and face my past head on with a growing, very pregnant belly sticking out in front of me.
It's my ex-boyfriend. Lance. If he were alone, that would have been bad enough. He's with her. My ex-best-friend who he fucked on my couch. My stomach almost sinks into my ass, and it's not just the baby giving me inconvenient heartburn.
Marla and Lance clasp hands and wave at me with broad, awkward smiles on their faces, as if any of us are happy about this chance encounter.
"Who got your ass pregnant?" my ex asks. I glance at Luigi, hoping he doesn't overreact now that it's too late for him to actually put me out of my misery.
"I'm good, Marla. How are you?" I respond, my voice far more tense than I had originally hoped it would be. I want to sound calm and collected, not like a nervous wreck. I don’t want these people to think they got one up on me, because they didn’t.
Marla performatively smacks his chest. "Don't be silly. Delphine isn't pregnant."
She looks Luigi up and down like a thirsty hyena.
"Excuse me," Luigi says as rudely as you can string those words together. "I'll need you to leave Delphine alone now."
"Excuse me?" Lance says. "And who the hell are you?"
"Her fiance," Luigi says. What the fuck? Since the fuck when?
Marla squeals. Now that I've seen her true colors, it's incredible how faked all her emotions seem to me. Girl, you fucked my ex-man on my couch and then stole it when y'all moved out. Don't act fake happy that I'm pregnant for another man.
"I can't believe it, Delphine! I can't believe you're getting married!" She says. "I'm sure it's not just because of the... unplanned pregnancy."
What the hell is wrong with that shady ass hoe?