Chapter 50 #3
“I have no idea what I would have done in her shoes,” I tell Melani, getting a bit emotional as well.
“But I get to spend every single day with the three best people in the world because she lived and because she was selfless enough to demand someone try to fill her place when she couldn’t live any longer. ”
A cry catches in her chest and she surges forward, surprising me by wrapping her arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a tight embrace. “Thank you, Katya. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”
“I’m so glad we talked.” Hugging her back, I feel like a weight I didn’t know I’d been carrying has been lifted.
“I’ll let you get back to your party,” she sniffs. “I need to freshen up.”
“Of course.” I let her go, stepping back. “I think I hear the piano above us, actually. I’m going to see if Bastian is up there. Sometimes he needs a break from the crowd.”
“Yeah,” Melani concurs, dipping her chin. “I’ll text you after today, if that’s all right.”
“More than,” I agree, smiling.
Going our separate ways, I head upstairs and calm myself down from the deep conversation. I hadn’t expected it to happen, or for it to go so well, but I’m glad it did.
Before I make it to my sitting room to see if Bastian is on the piano, I see the shadow of my mom slipping into the room and hear the music stop shortly after. Curious, I can’t help but plant myself in the crack of the doorway, peering inside to investigate.
Like I predicted, my eldest son is sitting at my piano, but he’s stopped playing now that he isn’t alone.
“Did you need a moment away from all of that noise too?” my mom asks, approaching him slowly so that she doesn’t make him uncomfortable or scare him off.
Bastian assesses her for a moment, but nods, deciding she must be trustworthy. He’s met her several times, and only an hour or so ago, he witnessed his little brother accept her as a grandma.
“You play beautifully,” she tells him encouragingly, nodding to my piano. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”
“You can sit,” he replies with a little shrug.
I breathe out quietly, trying not to hold my breath. I really shouldn’t be spying like this, but I couldn’t possibly turn away from this moment. It means too much to me, seeing my mom with my kids.
“You sound just like my Katya when she plays, you know? I miss hearing her songs so much. She used to play for us every holiday and it was one of our best traditions. Sometimes I would even play with her, though I’m not nearly as good.”
“I play with her,” Bastian mentions, voice low and shy. Looking at her and then back at the piano, he nods to the instrument. “You can try, if you want.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t,” she replies with a small chuckle.
“I wouldn’t want to hurt your ears. I’m quite out of practice and it wouldn’t be any good, I promise you that.
You could play something else if you like?
” Bastian looks contemplative and she tilts her head at him.
“Or we can talk? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.
You can tell me to go away, even. I won’t mind. We all need privacy sometimes.”
“Are you my grandma now?” Bastian asks bluntly, blinking at her.
If the sudden question startles my mother, she doesn’t show it.
“I would absolutely love to be,” she replies without missing a beat. “But just because I’m offering, doesn’t mean you need to accept.”
“What do grandmas do?” He frowns as he asks the question, like he’s sad that he doesn’t know the answer himself. “Are they just like my papa?”
“Hmmm,” Mom hums, thinking about it. “Every nana, papa, grandma, and grandpa are a bit different, I think. Lots of nanas bake cookies, and wear soft sweaters, some of them play bingo. My grandma used to give me little bits of candy from her purse and take me to garage sales to find knickknacks.”
Bastian looks even more confused and she smiles at him.
“But mostly, grandmas are there to love and spoil their grandbabies. Your papa gives you gifts, spends time with you, and loves you, right? Well, I would do the same thing. I’m afraid I’m not very good at making cookies, but I’m a very good gift giver. Just ask your mom, she’ll tell you.”
“Aunt Rayna makes cookies,” Bastian tells her, like he’s trying to make her feel better about a perceived shortcoming. “So you don’t have to.”
“Perfect.” Mom beams. “I’ll let her handle that, then.”
“But…”
Her smile doesn’t fade. “Yes?”
“How can you love me? You don’t even know me.”
Oh my sweet, sweet boy.
He’s so curious in a blunt sort of way when he doesn’t understand something. Little does he know, it would be impossible to know him even a little bit without loving him.
“Oh, Bastian,” she sighs, looking like she’d like to wrap him up in a hug and never let go. “I know so much about you. Your mommy calls me all the time and tells me how great you are and how much she loves you herself. You remind me of her, you know? My Katya.”
Bastian’s eyes widen and his jaw unhinges. “I do?”
“Oh, yes, so much.” My mom nods. “You’re both so creative and talented, and you know, she was my first baby just like you’re hers.
She told me how you like setting the table, and your manners come naturally, and that you’re an adventurer outside.
Did you know my daughter used to like to collect bugs and bring them inside the house?
Now she screams when she sees a little beetle. ”
“Wow,” Bastian whispers, engrossed in my mom’s words. “So…you love me because I’m like her?”
“I love you because she loves you, and because you’re impossible not to love.” Her voice is getting weaker, like she’s fighting the urge to get choked up with emotion. “You make her so happy, and I’m so happy that she has you.”
“Okay,” he says after a moment, pausing and looking at her. “Nana.”
I have to flee the scene before I start pouring tears, breathing long and controlled breaths as I move away, fanning my face to keep from crying. Between all of the lovely family interactions today and my baby hormones going wild, I’m going to be showering in tears tonight after everyone leaves.
I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to surround me, let alone a better family to bring this baby into.
And to think, it all started with Leon Moretti searching for a wife.