Chapter 40
Giovanni
“She said she needed space, Lu.”
Lu sits next to me by the out-of-service office phone and makes an audible “yeesh” sound, baring her teeth like I’m a goner. Fuck. She is not making me feel better.
Micheletto chimes in with a small glare. “Let me talk to her. It’ll only take me two seconds to sort out your mess.”
He’s been giving me shit all day for screwing things up with Tessa. What have you done to my alpha reader, Zio?
After talking with Lu, I know I shouldn’t have rushed to solve everything on Tessa’s behalf. I’m too solution-focused by nature. Be it an askew hem, a fraying garment, or any one of Tessa’s problems, I want to fix them.
But now there’s the matter of space.
I stroke my chin, contemplating my options. “Do you think I should call Tess—”
“NO!” Lu and Micheletto both shout.
I slump in my desk chair. “Fine. Fine, have it your way.”
“Here’s the thing, Gi. When a woman starts venting, you become the vent. You sit there, suck in all of what she has to say, and then, if requested, recirculate it back to her with an apology. If you want to get extra points, you can even end it with ‘that sucks.’”
“What do you mean?”
Lu pauses, then points to her feet, which she has propped up on the ottoman. “Like, if I said, ‘my bunions are really killing me today,’ you’d say…?”
It’s a no-brainer.
“Here’s the number for the best foot doctor in the city. Go get a consultation; then, if you need surgery, I’ll pick you up after, make you lasagna, and watch Micheletto.” I fold my arms, proud of myself. “Easy.”
Lu smacks herself in the forehead. “Oh, Signore. It’s worse than I thought.”
Drumming my fingers on top of my desk, I ask, “Why? I offered to pick you up! I said I’d make lasagna!”
Lu shakes her head. “The correct answer is: say nothing, pause, let me finish speaking, pause to see if I say something else, then say ‘Sorry your bunions hurt. That sucks.’”
“That’s ridiculous!” I sputter. “That’s like saying nothing at all.”
A sly grin spreads across her face. “Exactly.”
Frowning, I cock an eyebrow. “You know what? Maybe I need a little ‘space’ from the two of you.”
Micheletto rolls his eyes, peering over the game he’s playing on Lu’s phone, sitting next to her feet on the ottoman. “Please, you cannot afford to lose us at this point. We’re your only friends here.”
Lu snorts and high fives Micheletto, both of them snickering at my demise. Standing up from my desk and walking around it, I snatch Micheletto up and flip him around in the air, holding him by his ankles.
“Hey!” His high-pitched laugh bounces off the walls of the small office.
“This is what you get for being so mean to me. My feelings are hurt, and you’re making it worse. On purpose!” I shout playfully, lifting him up and down.
Lu picks up the useless phone, gasping between breaths. “Hello? Police? Yes, a large, angry man is holding my son hostage.”
“Say sorry to your zio or else!” I demand.
“I’ll never say sorry. I’m Team Tessa!” he retorts through laughs.
I gently right Micheletto and set him down in the chair opposite my desk. “I can’t fault you for being on her side.” I sigh, looking out the small window in my office facing the alleyway. “I’m Team Tessa, too.”
After a few moments of solemn silence, Lu speaks up. Pouting her lower lip, she says, “Your puppy dog eyes are as bad as Michael’s. You’re actually making me sad, now.”
I look at her hopefully. “Do you think I should call—”
“NO!”
For as much shit as they give me, I’m glad to have Lu and Micheletto. Though, I wish either of them knew more about space.
“Fine. If both of you are so smart, what should I do then?”
Micheletto starts. “Well, when she tries to break up with you—”
“If. If she tries to break up with me…” Even thinking about that scenario makes my stomach hurt.
Micheletto presses his lips together in a thin line, like he knows something I don’t.
“Sure,” he placates. “If she breaks up with you, tell her that I’m willing to give her my Eevee SV5a Crimson Haze. That’ll get her back.”
I sigh, not sure bribing a woman with trading cards is the best way to win her over. “Lu?”
She studies me before clapping her hands together once. “Listen. She said she wanted space, so give her space. It’s been one day. I have a feeling the two of you will be just fine.” Leaning forward, she asks, “Should I lock up this phone before I leave, Gi? Or will you be able to control yourself?”
Considering the office phone can make calls in the same way a toy tractor can mow a lawn, it makes no difference. But we both like to keep up the facade.
I nod. “Sure. Lock it up.”
Bury it underground for all I care.
Lu picks up the base of the phone and realizes the cord’s offering zero resistance.
She blushes. “Where’s my head today? First it was burning the toast at breakfast, then it was running late to school, and now this phone. I guess it got accidentally unplugged somehow.”
“I’m sorry.” I stare Lu straight in the eye. “That sucks.”