Epilogue
Ilean against the doorframe while Emily sits on the edge of the tub, carefully doing Lil’ Peach’s hair. She gathers her dark curls into two neat pigtails, one on each side of her head and adds tiny white bows. My gut churns.
She’s getting ready for her first day of school, looking way too grown up in her uniform—a blue-and-white tartan dress, white socks, and shiny black shoes with silver buckles at the sides. I swear, I can’t fucking deal with this shit.
I knew this day was coming, but no amount of mental preparation could soften the ache that hits watching her step into this whole new chapter so fearlessly.
Peach side-eyes me from where she stands, a sweet smile curving across her face. “I’m a big girl, D,” she says proudly.
I clear my throat before answering. “Yeah, kid. Yeah, you are.”
Emily’s sympathetic glance is enough to send me retreating from the bathroom. She knows I’m barely holding it together, and we haven’t even made it to the school yet. I have no fucking idea how I’m supposed to walk away and leave my baby girl there in the hands of complete strangers.
I head into our bedroom straight for the bassinet beside our bed.
Elio was born two and a half months ago, and I’ve aced fatherhood a second time round.
But even as I look down at my sleeping son, the usual warmth I feel doesn’t quite land the way it should today.
In a few years, I’m going to have to go through this bullshit with him as well.
His name means ‘sun’ in Italian, and it suits him because he’s already managed to light up every corner of our lives. Lil’ Peach adores her baby brother, and for reasons only she understands, she insists on calling him Teddy.
Our son is cradled in my arms as I follow Emily and Peach through the front gates of the Catholic school she’ll be attending, six hours a day, five days a week, for the foreseeable future.
This is the same school Dante and Romeo attended when they were kids, and the place their children will go when they’re old enough.
My eyes flicker down to Peach, and that churning feeling returns, twisting low in my gut. My stubborn girl insisted on carrying her own backpack when we exited the car, even though it’s almost half her size. She looks so small, and although she seems ready for today, I’m not. Not even close.
The girls make their way across the quadrangle, heading towards Peach’s classroom. I have no idea where it is, because when Peach had her orientation day, I had my wife bring her. I was struggling even then, but Emily insisted I be here for today.
I was planning to regardless, because I need to meet her teacher and make it very clear that he’ll be the person I come after if anything happens to her.
At first, I wasn’t happy that her teacher was a man, but it’ll work in my favour, because I can’t exactly intimidate a woman.
Emily pauses as we approach the classroom and glances over her shoulder. “Do you really need that face, Dominic?” she asks.
“What face?” I retort, pinching my eyebrows together.
“That one,” she says, pointing at me. “The one you woke up with. The same one I imagine you wear when you’re, you know, enforcing,” the last word is whispered. “You look like you’re ready to hurt someone.”
I grunt in response and make no effort to relax my expression.
All I get is an “Ugh,” as she turns, reaches for Peach’s hand again, and continues walking.
The teacher is standing at the entrance to the classroom, greeting each family as they arrive.
I take him in as we wait our turn. He seems decent enough, maybe late twenties or early thirties, and from what I can see, his mannerisms seem genuine.
I’m usually good at reading people, but something about this still keeps me on edge.
“Ah, Peach,” he says, glancing at her with a genuine smile when we step forward. “Welcome back. Are you excited for your first day?”
Peach nods with all the enthusiasm. “Yes!”
His gaze moves up to Emily, and when his smile grows, my scowl deepens. “It’s nice to see you again, Mrs Rizzo, and you must be …” The smile drops from his face the second his eyes land on me.
“The husband,” I grumble, extending my hand. He actually balks for a second before he takes hold, and as soon as he does, I squeeze. Not hard enough to break a bone, but enough to make his face pale.
I don’t let go until Emily pokes my side. “I-It’s nice to meet you … Mr Rizzo.”
I hold his stare a moment longer, letting my silence do the work for me. “Lil’ Peach is my world,” I eventually say. “I trust she’ll be safe here with you.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
“Good.”
A teacher’s aide guides the kids into the room and shows them to their seats as the parents gather at the back. “I can’t believe you did that,” Emily whispers the moment we’re alone.
“Did what?” I ask, acting like I have no idea what she’s talking about.
“Hmm,” she hums as I drape my arm over her shoulder and tug her closer when the teacher moves to the front of the class. “At least you didn’t break a bone this time.”
I huff out a laugh. “He’s lucky his young and his bones aren’t brittle.”
The teacher’s eyes flicker briefly over his students, then scan the parents before settling on me. When he notices me staring, he quickly diverts his gaze, and I roll my lips to hide my amusement.
My attention drops to Peach as he begins to speak, and I find her frantically looking around the room.
My first thought is she’s searching for us, and it sends my heart rate kicking up a notch.
If she mouths one word about not wanting to be here, I’m taking her fucking home.
But then a grin spreads across her face as her gaze lands on another little girl.
She waves, and when the other girl waves back, Peach’s smile grows larger.
“That’s Savannah,” Emily whispers. “Peach made friends with her at orientation.”
I nod, feeling somewhat pleased that my girl is already making friends, but even that isn’t enough to take the edge off my unease.
Twenty minutes later, we’re told it’s time to leave, and that’s when the chaos starts. Some kids leap from their seats and run crying to their parents, but not my girl. She turns in her chair to face us and waves goodbye.
Un-fucking-believable.
I remain rooted to the spot as Emily blows a kiss to Peach and tells her we’ll see her at the end of the day.
“K,” is her only reply. No tears, no resistance, just a sweet smile that tugs at my black heart.
I should be grateful I’m not currently trying to pry a screaming kid off my leg like the woman beside me, but I’m not.
I blow out a long breath when Emily calmly guides us from the room, but the second we step outside, her bravado falls away as she bursts into tears.
“Fuck, mia tortina,” I mumble as I use my free arm to pull her into my chest. “Don’t cry, you know I can’t stand to see you upset.”
“I-I …”
I place my lips on the top of her head and step back. “I’m going back in there to get her,” I state.
“No,” Emily protests as she reaches for my arm. “You can’t do that.”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want. She’s our kid.”
“She needs to go to school, Dom.”
“We can homeschool her.”
Emily sniffles as she wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “She needs to be around other children. It’s good for her.”
“She’s got her brother, and the other kids in the Famiglia.”
“Kids her own age,” she counters. “Come, let’s go home. It’ll get easier, I promise.”
I tilt my head back and groan. “I highly doubt that,” I mumble under my breath as I take her hand in mine and force my feet to move.
As we head back to the car, I’m grateful I have this woman by my side, because I know with all certainty, I wouldn’t have been able to get through today without her.
Not a lot scares me, but when my family’s wellbeing is at stake, something primal takes over. Emily’s love doesn’t protect me from those fears; it gives me the courage to stand still and face what I’d otherwise run from.