Chapter 4 #2
This was Angelo’s home? She glimpsed a tall balsam fir tree glittering in the trio of bay windows that faced out onto the street.
Holly boughs were draped along the fireplace, with big, shiny ornaments hanging from it.
Everything she could see had a glowing warmth that called to her tired, cold heart.
She quickly masked her awe because she was supposed to know what Angelo’s home looked like.
She followed Dante up to the front door, her feet crunching a fresh layer of snow. Dante carried her bags for her. Matteo met them at the door, taking the suitcases from Dante.
Dante groaned. “You don’t need to be lifting anything, dad.”
“Nonsense,” Matteo said, then winked at Kara over Dante’s shoulder. “Come in, it’s too cold out there.”
Once inside, the warmth of the holidays hit her all at once.
The Christmas decorations were like something out of a Hallmark movie, from the handsome tree and garlands on the mantle, to the nutcrackers on the dining room table.
Holiday songs piped through the expansive sound system, with Angelo’s mother and Alessia singing along while they worked in the kitchen.
A good one… the kind that made her eyes burn with tears.
A boy sat by the Christmas tree, putting together an elaborate Lego set, while a younger girl bounced dramatically on slippered feet across the wood floor in a ballerina costume.
“Kara is here!” Matteo announced to the room. Kara’s face heated as everyone turned to her.
“Kara! Come here!” Alessia said. “Let me introduce you to the kids.” She left the kitchen to come over to Kara. The children dutifully presented themselves at their mother’s summoning.
“This is Nicholas.” Alessia gave the boy’s shoulder a motherly squeeze, then she motioned for the little girl to come over. “And this is Matilda, but everyone calls her Millie.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Kara said. She felt just as shy as the children did as they lifted their gazes to her, both were smiling.
Nicholas turned to his mother. “She’s going to be Uncle Angelo’s wife? My aunt?”
Alessia winked at Kara and said, “That’s the plan.”
“Do you like ballet?” Millie asked Kara, reaching for her hand with a cheery smile. “Because I’m a ballerina!”
“I can see that.” Kara allowed herself be tugged deeper into the room by the tiny dancer.
It wasn’t long before she felt like she’d been a part of the Vertucci family for years.
Or, at least, that was how they behaved around her.
Kara wondered if she could ever get used to this feeling of belonging to a family.
Francesca came over to her with a spoon, insisting she try the sauce for the pasta dish.
Matteo said he’d found a present for her and put it under the tree.
Dante somehow conjured up a spare stocking for her and hung it over the fireplace along with everyone else’s.
Nicholas told her all about the different train cars currently under the tree.
It was strange… so strange to be here with a family she didn’t know for a holiday that had long since lost its meaning to her. But it was also… weirdly wonderful.
Three hours later, it was finally time for dinner.
Kara was tucked in between Francesca and Alessia at the large dining room table.
Dishes were passed around, and she asked Dante to explain each one to her.
Baked cod, deep-fried scallops, linguine with lobster sauce, puttanesca with anchovies, and finally a large turkey and stuffing as well as a green bean casserole.
Kara tried some of the fish dishes, making everyone laugh when she wrinkled her nose at the scallops.
She’d never really cared for fish, usually sticking to beef and chicken for her protein.
“You don’t like fish?” Francesca asked in horror, one hand clutched to her chest as though shocked which made Matteo snort with laughter.
“No, not really. I do like lobster and cod, but not much else.” She finally admitted, which only made everyone at the table laugh, including herself.
“No wonder Angelo added the turkey this year,” Matteo said.
Angela hadn’t known she’d be eating dinner with his family, of course, so it was a mere coincidence that he’d made a turkey. But she was very grateful for that coincidence.
“Why is there so much fish at the table?” she asked curiously.
“It’s the Feast of the Seven Fishes,” Alessia said. “You know about that, don’t you?”
“No, I’m afraid I don’t,” Kara admitted.
Matteo cleared his throat as if preparing to give a long, rehearsed lecture on the food. “The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American tradition.”
“We usually celebrate it on Christmas Eve, but before we left for the hospital, we threw it all back in the fridge,” Francesca added, then let her husband continue. “We don’t always do this, only on the years that Angelo is hosting.”
“We like the excuse for Angelo to cook all of these amazing fish dishes.” Matteo patted his stomach with a delightful grin.
Kara’s eyes swept over the food with fresh appreciation of what Angelo could do. “He cooked all of this by himself?”
“Oh yes, you know he is such a good chef. I’m sure you love it when he cooks for you?” Francesa asked.
“Yes, of course,” Kara said quickly. “He is amazing. I’ve just never seen him cook something with so many dishes.” The food they’d served at the food kitchens always smelled delicious. She and Mabel often had the chance to try the dishes when they were volunteering.
“So you always do the fish dinner on Christmas Eve?”
“Only whenever Angelo hosts us,” Matteo said. “Angelo is the best at it, so when we eat at his house every few years, he makes the dishes for us.”
Kara loved that Angelo’s family held onto such a fascinating tradition. She kept quiet as she ate but listened to the lively banter of the family and the children who both well behaved and adorably distracting, especially Millie who had opinions on just about everything.
Once dinner was over, everyone pitched in to do the dishes, Kara offered to dry the dishes before hanging handing them off to Dante to put away, since she didn’t know where any of the dishes were stored.
It wasn’t easy to keep her ignorance of Angelo’s life hidden, but she soon figured out blushes went a long way.
Anytime she looked embarrassed, Francesca came to her defense and quickly handled whatever it was that needed handling.
With the dishes done, Matteo announced it was time to open presents.
Kara joined the family on the L-shaped leather brown leather sofa which had plenty of room for everyone.
They felt less like strangers to her and more like new friends, but she was still shy.
She’d been dropped into the middle of someone else’s family, and her connection to everyone in this room was only temporary.
Knowing that hurt Kara in ways she didn’t want to admit.
“Here! Sit by me!” Millie demanded, patting the spot next to her on the couch. Kara couldn’t deny Millie’s demand, so she sat next to Angelo’s niece, ready to play whatever part that was required of her.
Presents were passed around and the sounds of thanks and appreciation filled the air, until lastly Matteo handed one to her.
Kara stared at the small hand-sized box, wondering what it could be, and hoping it wasn’t too expensive. She carefully unwrapped the package and stared at the box which showed the image of a brand new smartphone.
“Oh, I can’t accept this—” She started to hand the box back to Matteo, who grinned in a fatherly sort of way that sent odd butterflies through her and made her eyes sting with tears.
“Mom said you didn’t have a phone. I’ll help you set it up, if you want,” Dante said taking the box from her when she gratefully passed it his way. “We’re adding you to the family phone plan. I’ll set it up on our account in an hour or so, then it will be all yours.”
A family phone plan? No single service. No need for her name or driver’s license to add her to the account…
Now she could have a real phone… at least for a few weeks.
It was so tempting to say yes, to agree to it.
She had never fully trusted burner phones.
Supposedly no one could track them, but she’d decided against getting one.
Who would she call anyway? She had no friends.
“You’re okay with a phone right?” Dante asked softly. “We didn’t like… overstep or anything? Given how I reacted to your apartment, I’m feeling like an idiot right now.”
“No… I mean… this is just a wonderful gift.” Kara had to accept the phone because Angelo’s fiancée would.
When she and Angelo pretended to do their fake break-up, she could give the phone back to him.
Unless Angelo wanted her to keep it. She could remove the SIM card and use the wi-fi at coffee shops or local libraries if she needed to.
“How did you manage to get this? It’s Christmas day, no stores are open.”
Matteo smiled. “I got it on the way home from the hospital. There’s a 24-hour phone store that’s open every day of the year. I wanted you to have it so you could contact us whenever you need us.”
Not whenever she needed to talk to Angelo, but when she needed them. His family. The family who believed she would soon be a part of them. At that moment, she wanted the lie so badly to be true.
Kara’s throat constricted. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Dante removed the phone from the box. “I’ll set it up. Then I’ll run Angelo’s phone back to the hospital.”
Kara handed Angelo’s phone to Dante and embraced the wave of gratitude she felt, and tried to ignore the twinge of guilt that nipped at its heels.
Francesca draped a blanket around her shoulders and passed her cup of hot cocoa.
Kara hated to admit it, but she was enjoying pretending to be a part of Angelo’s family.
She wanted to live the fantasy, if only for a little while.
But she was lying to them, possibly putting them in danger, and that wasn’t something she could easily forget.