CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
T en minutes later, the screen connected to Yarwood Springs, and Jacob appeared beside Cindy, who waved at me. “Hello, Adelina. Jacob is so excited to see you today.”
“Lina…Hey,” he said, and raised his frozen hand and moved his finger.
“Hello, hello big brother,” I said, my tone cheery and using sign language as I spoke. “What are you up to?”
Jacob grinned, and Cindy wiped the corner of his mouth. I stared at him, and my heart swelled. He had on a T-shirt with some paint drops on it. “You painting today?”
He signed, “Yes. I made another masterpiece.”
Cindy left the screen and came back with Jacob’s new painting. It had modern stripes, and it was vibrant like a flower.
Jacob signed my name and the flowers were me. “For graduation.”
“Thank you, Jacob,” I signed back. “I’ll frame it and send you a picture of it as soon as I can.”
Jacob lifted his finger and nodded.
“We’re planning a trip to the museum in Poughkeepsie,” Cindy said. “I sent you the form.”
Cindy and I had a deal for her to give me information about the opportunities that exceeded his account bill for the month.
“I’ll send it now,” I said, typing into my phone to transfer the money to his account at the center. To my surprise, I had five thousand dollars in my account. Grandfather? No. Rocco? He hadn’t mentioned it. I blinked at the screen, my heart expanding. This money could help for a while. I sent three thousand dollars to Jacob’s account. “Anything you need, just let me know. Are you feeling better?” I signed the question.
Jacob gestured. “So-so.”
Cindy nodded. “Jacob has been doing well. His last checkup indicated that his chest infection has finally gone. He hasn’t had any seizures. His new medication makes him tired, but he’s still receiving physical therapy and doing daily exercises to help him stay strong.”
Cindy made a muscle, and Jacob lifted his arm.
I clasped my hands and laughed. “Big muscles, Jacob.”
Cindy brought over more of his paintings; Jacob had completed three new ones. They were vibrant hearts that looked like a tunnel. He’s extraordinary . I was often wowed by his talent, and he just kept on improving. Astonishingly given how most of the outside world believed he was incapable of anything beautiful because his body wasn’t considered “perfect.” And he’s my amazing brother . I was just so proud.
“Love’s infinity,” I signed. “That’s what I see.”
Jacob signed, “You get it, sister.” He nodded at the screen.
My heart swelled. I signed back and said, “I’m visiting a friend, and I don’t have them, but I’m working on a new picture. I’ll send photos to Cindy to give you. I need your critique.”
He grinned. “Yeah. I’ll show you how to do better.” He chuckled, and I joined in, nodding my head. “You’re the expert.” Jacob was. His paintings inspired me to work harder at my art.
I wanted to tell Jacob about the marriage, but with Cindy there, nothing ever felt private or personal. Still, I didn’t want to keep Jacob in the dark about it.
“I’m getting married,” I signed.
He lowered his brows. “You? Married?”
I nodded.
“You date?” he signed and shook his head no.
“Yeah, we date now,” I signed back. “His name is Rocco.”
“Rocks?” he teased.
I chuckled. “Yeah. He’s nice. You will…you’ll meet him soon.”
He grinned. “You date and marry so fast. I have a girlfriend, but I’m staying a bachelor.”
I grinned and groaned. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t want you to be jealous,” he signed back and laughed.
I chuckled. “I am.”
“We have to go if he’s going to get his lunch on time,” Cindy said. “Sorry.”
“I love you, Jacob. Adelina loves you.” I pointed to myself and made a heart with my trembling hands.
Jacob lifted his hand. “Lov-ve you, Lina.”
I beamed at him. “I love you, too, Jacob.” I blew kisses and wiped the corners of my eyes before Cindy waved with him. “Goodbye, see you again soon. Please…hug him for me.”
“I’m not ‘allowed,’ but….” Cindy hugged Jacob.
My heart contracted, and the screen went black. I buried my face in my hands. More than anything, I wanted something more than a call. I hadn’t seen him in person since college winter break. I’d wanted to go on my own, but my grandparents had insisted on going too, which I’d hated. My grandfather had complained the whole drive, and had been ready to go after only half an hour. While my grandmother had fussed over his room being untidy. She’d had the staff on edge, cleaning his room instead of talking to him.
I sat in the room for a while, alone. Knock. Someone rapped on the door.
“It’s Rocco. May I come inside?” he called.
I dabbed my eyes and sat taller on the chair. “Yes, come in.”
Rocco opened the door and my heartbeat sped up. Not only had he generously shared his own experiences over the last few weeks, but he’d been so kind and supportive. A foreign concept for me. He hadn’t hesitated to help me when I asked for things, and in many ways, he was becoming a good friend. That’s a good way to start a marriage, right?
His brows went up as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I am.”
“How was your call?” he asked.
“Good.” I averted my eyes. “I guess it must be weird for you to have someone miss seeing David in Florence for a short call with their brother, but Jacob’s…he’s my big brother and one of my best friends.”
“I understand that. I wish you would have told me earlier,” he said, and I looked at him. “He’s twenty-three years old?”
“Yes, he is,” I answered. “He’s an artist like me or I’m like him. We both paint and share with each other our artwork.”
“That’s cool,” he said. “Salvatore and Siena are ten years younger than me, and it might as well be fifty. They speak like they are on another planet.”
I laughed. “They seemed very fond of you.”
“We love each other,” he said. “I know Jacob lives at Yarwood Springs. Do you call him often?” He leaned forward, giving me all his attention.
“Every two weeks, and Cindy, his medical care worker, gives me extra time on special occasions. She has a full list of clients, so we can’t do it every day, but I love our FaceTime calls.”
“Can you tell me more about what happened to him?”
I took a deep breath. Soon he would be family and it wasn’t exactly a secret, at least in my family. I was often reminded that I had a father who’d ruined our family. He might as well know. “Mama said when she was pregnant with Jacob, she gained weight. Judge Colby didn’t like it, so he put her on a diet.”
He puzzled. “Judge Colby? Your father?”
I grimaced. “Yeah, that’s what I usually call him. He’s never been a father to me.” I held my elbows. “But yeah, that’s what I call him…Mama started feeling ill, but he was on drugs and broke, so he refused to take her to the doctor because he didn’t want to pay the hospital bills. He told her women had babies naturally since the dawn of time.”
“Fuck me,” he gritted, then took a deep breath. He took my hand and lightly tugged. “Come sit next to me.”
I went and sat next to him on the bed.
“Please go on,” he murmured.
I lowered my eyelids. “Anyway, Jacob was born prematurely with many health complications. He’s older than me, but smaller. His spine is twisted. He’s mostly nonverbal, but he can say more words now, and he’s improving on that. One of his hands is frozen, except for a finger. He has movement in his other and has learned sign language. He’s immune compromised and has severe seizures, but even with all that, he’s smart. Funny, and very social. He has a better life and is doing so much more now. He’s active, goes places…has friends. A girlfriend, whom he told me about today.” I touched my smile. “He’s a very talented painter.” My voice was thick, and my chest grew tight. I touched it.
“Is that why you followed that family around at Pisa?” he whispered.
I hunched my shoulders. “Yeah. I-I wanted to be like them. To give him hugs and kisses. I haven’t been able to see him in person as much as I’ve wanted over the years.” My voice cracked, and my chin trembled. “It’s been six months since I got to go to visit him at his center. I had college, but even on some summer breaks, I wasn’t allowed to go.”
He scoffed. “Why the hell not?”
“My grandparents decide when it’s right,” I murmured. “He can get sick, so I always made sure I was healthy to go. But they’d always have some reason it wasn’t possible.”
Just saying it out loud seemed awful.
“Fuck that. I’ll make sure that stops now,” he said with determination. A man as powerful as he was, he’d undoubtedly confront my grandparents. He didn’t understand, and I couldn’t explain the nature of our relationship without revealing more things.
I went rigid. “I’ve told you…maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever had to share. That Jacob’s life was harmed by my father’s selfishness. His care is extensive and expensive. We all do our best, and he’s finally happy. He’s everything to me. I don’t want anything to interrupt his life. Ever.” That was my hardline. I’d do anything for Jacob.
“Spending time with him is not interrupting his life,” he said. “It’s being a family, Adelina.”
What he said seemed so simple. It was being a family. The fourteen years in hell with my father and abused mother felt more like survival. The past eight years in boarding school and college made me feel mostly alone. I loved my family, but I didn’t feel like we were a family. Still, they meant everything to me.
“My family is all I have,” I said hoarsely.
He picked up my hand and squeezed it. “You’ll be my wife; we will be family. You have me. When we return, I want to meet him.”
My heart swelled. I couldn’t speak.
He wrapped me in his arms, and I closed my eyes, and for a while everything felt right. And I didn’t feel quite so alone.