Chapter 24
K ate
“Dominic Andrea was always a serious child,” Nonna begins, but the mischievous twinkle in her eye tells me we’re about to get one humdinger of a story. “He rarely broke rules, or talked back. To him, rules allowed him to have clearly set boundaries. When there were no obvious rules, he’d watch everyone around him to see how they reacted, and only then would he decide on his course. Even as young as five, he’d wait to make up his mind based on how his parents or older brother handled a situation.”
“Oh, fuck,” Dominic breathes beside me, his hand tensing around mine.
“Are you okay?” I whisper as he dips his head and rubs the bridge of his nose. “Are you sick? Do you need to sit down?”
“No,” he chuckles. “I think I know where she’s going with this.”
“Now, now,” Nonna tsks. “Let me tell the story.”
Dominic turns his head slightly, peering over at me. “You can’t divorce me. She was your idea.”
I snort as I nod, then turn to Nonna and wait for her to continue. “Kate, did anyone ever tell you that Dominic would always smell his food?”
“No,” I blurt out with a laugh. It suddenly dawns on me that he still does, and I’ve witnessed Carter doing it too. My head whirls to him, and I see the hint of embarrassment coloring his cheeks. “You still do! ”
As everyone in the chairs laughs, Dominic leans toward me. “A little louder, baby. I don’t think the people on the fourth floor heard you.”
“But you do! And so does Carter! Is that genetic?”
“Who knows,” Nonna says loudly. “But due to his rather interesting way of determining if he’d try a new food, we had to get creative with ways to feed him. His mother realized quickly that Dominic enjoyed helping her shop for, and prepare, the food. He, of course, showed specific traits even at that young age, with defined rules and expectations for the process.”
“Jesus, she’s dragging this out,” Dominic mutters under his breath. Too intrigued with the story, I don’t respond.
“After a very successful meal at a seafood restaurant, Dominic was incredibly excited to help his mother prepare a meal at home. Now, you can imagine how difficult it can be to find seafood in landlocked Colorado. He was very specific in what he was willing to eat, and his mother drove all the way to Denver to find it.”
“Get to the point, Nonna,” Dominic groans.
“Hush, you,” Nonna snaps. “You see, Dominic wouldn’t eat fish. He saw a live lobster in a tank and was horrified about eating that. Shrimp creeped him out, scallops too. But for some reason, he was willing to try calamari, even after we told him it was squid. Now, Dominic had a little bit of a speech impediment?—”
“Oh, fuck me, she’s really going for it,” Dominic murmurs, tilting his face up and closing his eyes.
“And saying calamari was too difficult for him. He couldn’t pronounce the ‘l’ or ‘r’ sounds correctly. So we taught him how to say tentacles. But he didn’t always say it correctly …” Nonna trails off, grinning devilishly at Dominic.
“What did he say?” I finally ask.
“When Dominic, Alex, and his mother drove into Denver to find the fresh squid, or at least as fresh as we can get it here, Dominic happily ran into the store shouting about how he needed to get the tentacles so he could introduce his twin siblings to them. ”
“Okay?” I say, quite confused with where this story could go wrong.
Nonna turns to me. “He shouted, ‘I want to cook and eat all the testicles, Mommy!’”
Too shocked to reply, I turn to Dominic, and find his entire hand covering his face. “Thanks for that, Nonna.”
Nonna looks nonplussed. “I was going to be nice, but you didn’t let me come in on the bed with the hot young men like I wanted, Dominic. This is all really your fault.”
“You retaliated by telling my wife a story about me?” he asks.
“I could have told the one about you pulling on your penis so much that we had to take you to the pediatrician because it swelled … and not in a good way.”
“Fantastic,” Dominic mutters. Looking at his grandmother, he raises his eyebrows. “Anything else? You done?”
“Yes. Wait! I’m not. I have a brilliant story about Kate, as well,” Nonna says, her devious smile turning to me.
“What? How? No one here even knew me as a kid!” I cry out. Turning, I stare at my brothers. “What did you do?”
Both Matt and Zane put up their hands in mock surrender.
“This story comes from your mother, Kate,” Nonna says quietly.
“What?” I ask, my heart in my throat. “How — what?”
“Oh, God, the flood,” Dominic breathes. “I forgot about how much was damaged. Your baby book was in one of the boxes that got wet, and my mom took the baby book to Nonna so she could dry it out, page by page. She knew we were stressed with everything that happened that weekend.”
“I’ve never looked at my baby book,” I confess.
Nonna smiles sweetly. “December twenty fifth, nineteen ninety-nine. My sweet Katie finally understands what Christmas is all about, and refused to go to sleep last night, too excited about Santa coming. When I accidentally fell asleep myself, I woke up to find Katie out of her bed. As I tore through the apartment, I found her sitting next to our stove. Since we didn’t have a fireplace, she assumed the next hottest thing would be where Santa would enter our home.”
“Okay, that’s actually adorable,” Dominic whispers, letting go of my hand to slide his arm around my waist.
“Just wait, it gets better,” Nonna says as she continues to read. “I told Katie to wait a moment so I could go to the bathroom, and I saw a kaleidoscope of colors all over the sink, toilet, and mirror. Walking back into the kitchen, I asked Katie what had happened. I actually screamed when she turned around, because she looked like a horrific clown! Katie announced that she wanted to get gussied up for Santa, but didn’t want to wake me, so she used all of my makeup herself. It took ten makeup wipes to get everything off her face, and we laughed the entire time.”
I sob quietly into Dominic’s shoulder as Nonna continues. I could hear my mother in the story. I could picture that apartment, the table where she’d help me with homework, and the couch where she and I would watch The Bachelor . God, I miss her.
“July seventeenth, two thousand and eight. I can’t get over what a little woman my Katie-girl is becoming. She’s blossoming right in front of my eyes, but still has the sweetest heart of anyone I know. So far this summer, we’ve rescued countless crickets, one toad, a mostly dead prairie dog that I convinced her was just sleeping (it wasn’t), and an odd turtle that we found in the middle of the mall parking lot. Kate wants to help everyone, no matter their circumstances. She knows times have been tough for us financially, and has spent a tremendous amount of time brainstorming ways she can help around our neighborhood without spending any money. Kate has only recently begun showing interest in boys, and I can’t wait to watch a man when he realizes how special she is. He’ll have to fall at her feet and beg her to let him into her heart, I think. But my Katie needs a fighter. Someone who will challenge her, but love her through all of it.”
I hear more than one sniffle behind me as many in attendance get emotional at my mom’s words. I shift slightly to whisper in his ear. “She would have loved you. You’re exactly who she envisioned for me.”
“Yeah?” he says softly, and I nod against him. I’d forgotten having a conversation with my mom shortly after she was diagnosed, and she reiterated that I needed someone to challenge me. That we might fight, but I’d never feel more cherished than when I was with him.
Dominic carefully slides behind me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, and I lean back against him, thankful to have him supporting me right now, just as he has for months. Dominic is my shelter in the storm.
“Sometimes, love is for a lifetime,” Nonna says quietly. “It’s the one person who completes you, and makes you content through whatever trials and tribulations come your way. That person could be your love, your best friend, or your sibling. But other times, love is as short as a blink of an eye.” She pauses, overcome with emotion. “There’s no timetable for grief, unfortunately. I know your mother would give absolutely anything to be here with you, Kate, but I believe with my whole heart that she’s looking down on us right now, thrilled with watching my grandson love you exactly as you deserve. Just as I know my sweet Vincent is watching, absolutely tickled at this wonderful match.”
I cast a quick glance over my shoulder to find almost every woman in attendance dabbing at their eyes. I’m relieved to know I’m not the only one a crying mess right now.
“Now, are we ready for the vows?” Nonna asks brightly as she wipes a tear from under her eye. Wait, what? Vows?
“Nonna, we never said we’d be doing vows,” Dominic says hastily.
“Nonsense. The whole point of a ceremony is to publicly state how you’re going to love one another. We have to hear you say the sweet things, Dom. It won’t kill you,” she says with a laugh.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” I whisper. I don’t want Dominic to feel uncomfortable. I know how he feels about me. I’m not concerned with others knowing it too.
“No, I want to. I need everyone to know how I feel about you,” he says softly, his mouth against my ear. He bends to apply the quickest of kisses against my shoulder before stepping aside and turning to face me.
“Dominic, you go first,” Nonna commands. I’d laugh, but the look of sheer determination on Dominic’s face tells me not to. He’s dead serious, and I want to soak in everything he says.
“I already told you what I thought when I saw you for the first time,” he begins, “but I never told you about how I felt when I saw you with my children. It was as if the world tilted on its axis, Katharine. I had such a visceral reaction to you, and I couldn’t comprehend it. My heart was screaming at me to trust myself, but my brain, and my anxiety, told me I’d be better off alone. I think I knew the moment you needed a place to stay that I’d slowly, and systematically, eat away at my own resolve to keep you at arm’s length. There’s nothing I crave more than providing for you, keeping you happy, and bringing you the same kind of peace that you bring me just by being you. I promise to spend the rest of my days loving you as you need.”
By the time Dominic finishes, we’re both crying. My closed-off, quiet, grumpy man has morphed into a beautiful soul with his heart on his sleeve. Reaching up, I wipe away his tears, then cup his cheek reverently. He subtly leans into my palm as I begin. “Oh, Dominic. I’m not sure if I told you what I thought when I saw you for the first time, or how I felt when I saw you with your kids. Did you realize I rarely looked you in the eyes when we first met?”
“No,” he chuckles, squeezing my hand as his thumb rubs rhythmic circles along my knuckles.
“I couldn’t. I felt like you could see my soul, and I feared what you’d say if you knew what I was thinking. I was so attracted to you, and then when I saw you with your kids? I’ve never seen anything so poetic. I knew, watching you with them, that your heart was so capable of loving a woman, and I hated how much I wanted it to be me.”
“What?” he blurts out with a laugh.
“Well, you aggravated me!” I huff, and everyone laughs. “You argued about everything.”
“I argued so you’d get mad, and then I wouldn’t kiss you,” he confesses.
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. That whole thing about practicing for the courthouse ceremony? I made that up. I just wanted to see if it would be as good as I’d hoped …” he trails off.
“Was it?” I ask quietly.
“Better. It was so much better than I imagined, Katharine. I felt like I was …”
“Home,” we answer simultaneously. I hear a few sighs, but I can’t tear my eyes from Dominic.
“I thought I’d never know home again,” I admit tearfully. “I didn’t think I’d ever have a family. And while I absolutely adore everyone in yours, I’d be content with just you and the kids. The four of you are the joy I didn’t know could happen. I vow to always come home to you, to give you the same peace you give me, and to love you as you deserve.”
“Oh my,” Nonna sniffs, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “Go ahead and exchange the rings, I guess. Or whatever. I need to sit down.”
We watch amusedly as Nonna carefully toddles over to Matt’s mom, sitting beside her.
“Here,” Dominic whispers, handing me his ring. “Give me yours.”
I hand him my simple wedding ring, the new engagement ring, and then watch as he swaps the wedding ring out with a new matching band. “What was that?”
“Upgrade,” he says simply. Taking my hand in his, he slides the rings onto my finger while speaking clearly. “Katharine, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and devotion. I vow to love and honor you, even if you leave your water glasses everywhere.”
I laugh tearfully as Dominic grins. I love this lighthearted version of my husband. I slide his ring onto his finger while saying my part. “Dominic, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and devotion. I vow to love and honor you, even if you hog all the blankets and put your cold feet under my legs.”
“Okay, you can kiss now!” Nonna hollers from her seat. Dominic laughs as he pulls me into his embrace.
“I’d do everything exactly the same in my life, as long as it led me to you,” he whispers solemnly. “ Il mix cuore è tuo .”
“What does that mean?”
“My heart is yours.”
“And my heart is yours,” I respond as he seals his lips over mine. Not our first kiss as a married couple, but it’s one that will stand out to me for the rest of my life. It signifies everyone we love being part of our magic.
As we break off the kiss, I hear a scream, and suddenly everyone scrambles. Chairs are knocked over, and my bouquet is pushed to the ground. Dominic shoves me behind him as a man holding a large automatic rifle saunters up the aisle, Savannah nervously at his side.
Looking beyond them, I see Nick and Sofia ushering all the children toward the kitchen, and I breathe a sigh of relief that they’re not here for whatever happens next.
“Pleasure to meet you, Dominic,” the man says, a leering smile across his face. He’s massive, almost as wide as Luca, but much scarier. Deep and jagged scars litter his right cheek and neck, making it appear as if he got into a fight with Edward Scissorhands, and lost. “Name’s Tony Esposito. I’m sure Savvy here already told you about me.”
I feel Dominic shaking with tension. “She mentioned you, yes.”
Tony smiles again, revealing a gold tooth off to the side. I had no idea that was still a style. His eyes catch mine, and he takes a slow look down and up my body. Dominic forces me even further behind him. “What did Savvy say she owed me?”
“Twenty thousand,” Dominic snaps.
“I changed my mind. Interest, inflation, whatever. You know how it is,” Tony says, gesturing around to the hotel.
“I never agreed to any of this,” Dominic growls. “I’m not paying you a fucking dime.”
“Figured you’d say that,” Tony says cheerfully, smirking at us. “See, Savvy wasn’t completely honest with you. Twenty grand is just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna give me the twenty grand, but I also need some collateral that you’re not gonna go to the police about this.”
“Collateral?” Dominic probes.
“Uh-huh,” Tony says as he points his rifle at me. “She’s coming with me.”
“The fuck she is!” Dominic snarls.
“That is not we agreed on!” Savannah exclaims as she glares at me. “You said you wanted Sienna.”
Tony shrugs. “You made it out like she was eighteen. I’m going to hell, but even I won’t fuck a child. That one, though … she’s gonna be fun to break in.”
My hands wrap around Dominic’s belt as I shudder. Tony’s eyes look evil. The same shade as Dominic’s, but there’s no sparkle. No emotion. He takes another leisurely look at my body, and I whimper against Dominic’s back.
“You will not be taking anyone,” Dominic snaps.
Tony chuckles, the sound so sinister and evil. “I’m the one with the gun, asshole. I’ll do whatever I want.”
“You’re not the only one with a gun, jackass,” Alex says from behind us. Tony turns, swinging his assault rifle up like he plans to shoot Alex, but Alex is faster, spinning and kicking to knock the rifle out of Tony’s hands. I watch as Tony is forced onto the ground and his hands zip-tied behind his back. Savannah collapses beside the melee .
Dominic turns quickly, grabbing my face with both hands. “You okay, baby?”
I nod swiftly, emotion clogging my voice. Dominic leans forward to give me a soft kiss, then goes to Alex as he’s securing Tony’s hands behind his back. The man screams tons of obscenities as Alex pulls on the hand he kicked, and I’m glad all the children have left the room. Savannah looks defeated as she watches Alex secure Tony, and it’s the saddest I’ve ever seen her. Putting my feelings aside, I try to help her. “Come on, Savannah. Stand up.”
Her face turns to me, and I take a step back from the hate emanating from her in tense waves.
“You were supposed to die!” she snarls. “I hate you!”
Savannah launches at me unexpectedly, and I stumble back into the podium Nonna spoke behind. As Savannah lands on top of me, I cry out in pain. Tony attempts to get up, and both Alex and Dominic restrain him while shouting for more help. Savannah’s hands wrap around my throat tightly, and she keeps muttering, “you’re going to die” as she doesn’t blink, her eyes looking more and more wild. As my initial panic sets in, I think about a conversation I had with my mom after one of her more intense chemotherapy treatments. We discussed fight versus flight, and we both jokingly agreed that we were of the flight variety. I suggested a third category for freeze, and said I’d most likely freeze in dangerous scenarios.
I swear I hear my mother’s melodic voice urging me to fight back.
Fight, Tootsie Bell. Fight.
With a desperate need of oxygen, I wedge my arm between hers, turning my body as I grab her left wrist. The edges of my vision are darkening as we turn to the side. The disruption of Savannah’s body weight loosens her hands slightly, and I take the opportunity to push as hard as I can with my arms and legs. Right as Savannah is dislodged, Luca runs in, and yanks her off of me. Dominic picks me up as I try desperately to breathe, and runs out to the front of the hotel.
“Help! She needs help!” he screams as I attempt to take gasping breaths. I want to cry in pain, but it hurts too much. Every breath hurts, but Dominic’s hysteria hurts more. It occurs to me that he saw Savannah choking me, and I can only assume it’s a traumatic thing to witness.
I hear an ambulance quickly approaching, but Dominic doesn’t stop. At this point he’ll end up meeting them at the entrance to Everlasting, and I need to get him to stop.
“Baby,” I rasp, gasping again. “Stop.”
Dominic immediately stops, looking at me with pain, horror, and heartbreak in his eyes. I reach up to wipe the tears on his cheeks, and he jolts, unaware he is crying. “I can’t — when I saw —”
“It’s okay,” I whisper, taking a jagged breath and offering him a pitiful smile. Each breath gets a smidgeon easier, but I feel like I’ll never get enough oxygen at this point.
The ambulance stops as Dominic waves them down. “She was attacked and choked, and she’s having trouble breathing.”
“Okay, Dom. We got it from here. Where’s Travis?” the paramedic replies as the gurney is pulled out of the back of the ambulance. Dominic’s brother-in-law, Travis, is a paramedic for Eternity Springs.
“I didn’t even think about him, I just started running,” Dominic says quietly as he gingerly places me on the gurney. As he pulls his hands from my body, I see him begin to shake, and I grab the hand I can reach. I can tell he’s going to break down. He’s going to let his anxiety play the ‘what if’ game, and he’ll spiral without me.
“Stay,” I whisper painfully. I pull his hand up to my face, forcing him to come closer. “Need you.”
I hear someone running toward us, and look to see Travis, Gianna’s husband. “We’ve got the kids, Dom. We’ll handle everything here. Go with Kate.”
Dominic nods as Travis reaches up to squeeze his shoulder. He leans over to whisper something in Dominic’s ear, gives me a smile, and runs back toward the hotel entrance.
“Let’s get you to the hospital, Mrs. Santo. Gorgeous dress, by the way. We’ll help you out of it so no one cuts it,” the second paramedic tells me. I hadn’t even thought about that. I’d love to keep it, and see if Sienna or Aspen would like to wear it if they get married. At that thought, I find myself smiling.
“How can you smile right now?” Dominic says with a very small chuckle. His hand is gripping mine tightly, as if he’s scared to let go and lose the connection.
I try to explain, but it hurts too much. The paramedic grabs a notepad and pen, handing them to me as she continues to get things set up in the ambulance. As the gurney is wheeled in, I write Dominic a note.
I’m smiling because I’m happy my dress can be saved. I’d like to have it in case Sienna or Aspen want to wear it. They’ve become my daughters, and I’d love to pass down my dress to them. I can’t help but smile at that thought.
I hear Dominic’s quick intake of breath as he reads my words, then he motions for me to hand him the pen. Scribbling away, I wait patiently to see what he says. He gives me a lopsided smile as he hands the notepad back to me.
They’ll be thrilled to have your dress, Katharine, because you’re the most important woman in their lives. I love you more than anything, and I’m so thankful my children have you as a mother.
Eyes welling with tears, I look at Dominic and whisper, “Step-mother.”
He shakes his head, leaning down to rest his forehead against my temple. Whispering in my ear, he says, “No. Mother. You were brought into our lives to be their mother, baby. They needed your love, just like I did.”
“I love you,” I mumble, grimacing as I swallow harshly. Dominic moves his head to kiss my lips and whispers how much he loves me.
This may not be the renewal ceremony we hoped for, but we survived, and no one I love is physically hurt. I’m hopeful Savannah will be a thing of the past as we move forward. I send up a quick prayer of relief, thankful the kids weren’t harmed, and pray we’ll find a family therapist who can take on all of us. We’re all going to need one.