Chapter 8

I hadn’t kept up with any of my high school friends except for Clara Bennett. It still caught me off guard sometimes, how we’d stayed close through all the hard times. When her parents split and she fell apart senior year, I never left her side. And when my own parents kicked me out six years ago after finding out I was pregnant with Leo, Clara was the only one I could turn to.

Now my best friend was getting married. I couldn’t stop smiling as she told me every little detail about Nathaniel Carter’s proposal.

I was genuinely thrilled for her. Clara had been through so many awful relationships. Her taste in guys had been terrible, and the moment she finally swore off love, she met Nathaniel.

“Are you crying?” she asked. I cried even harder—happy tears this time. My best friend was finally getting married. “Stop it! You’re going to make me cry too!” she pouted, her voice already cracking.

“I’m so happy for you, Clara! I wish I could hug you right now!”

“You will soon!” she said with a playful grin. I was confused for a second I was here in Italy, and she was back in America. “Because, Elara Vale,” she announced, trying to sound serious, “you’re going to be my maid of honor!”

I choked on my own spit and burst out laughing, sure she was joking. But when she narrowed her eyes, my laugh died down. She wasn’t kidding.

“How can I? You know how packed my schedule is.” Life was nonstop. I barely got any real time with my son anymore, and the guilt gnawed at me constantly. I was missing his school events and everything important, when I should’ve been there the most. Most days my neighbor Vivian Cross watched him. Building a decent life here in Italy wasn’t easy, but I needed to keep pushing if I wanted to give Leo a safe, stable future.

Clara rolled her eyes. “Come on, Elara. You’ve been making excuses for four years straight!”

She was right. The real reason was that I was terrified to go back. Scared of facing everything I’d left behind. I didn’t want to pull my son into any of that mess.

“Don’t you miss me? Don’t you miss your parents? Stop overthinking it! Brooklyn is still your home, and you have to come back someday,” she said gently.

Clara had been begging me to visit for years, but I’d always found some work excuse to turn her down.

Just hearing her mention my parents made my chest tighten. They hadn’t even known I’d moved to Italy at first. They only found out when Clara told them—after I changed my number and dropped out of Crestview University in a panic. I couldn’t stay pregnant in the dorms with nowhere else to go.

“I do miss everyone. It’s just…” I paused, twisting the simple gold ring on my index finger. “I don’t know. Six years is a long time. A lot has changed.”

“I know, but you can’t hide forever. I’m begging you—actually, no, I’m ordering you! You’re coming to my wedding as my maid of honor. End of story.” She crossed her arms like that settled everything.

“Does Nathaniel know how stubborn you are?” I teased.

“He loves me anyway,” she winked, a soft blush spreading across her cheeks. “So I’ve decided—you’re coming, and Leo is coming too! You’re so mean keeping him from me. I want to meet my godson so badly and you keep blocking it!” She fake-sniffled. If she wasn’t managing a hotel, she could’ve been an actress.

“Clara… I need to think about it, okay? Leo has school here. I can’t just drop everything and fly to Brooklyn.”

“Call Leo. He’s way more honest than you!”

I scoffed but smiled anyway and called out, “Sweetheart, come here!”

A few seconds later he appeared, headphones still around his neck. His bright blue eyes sparkled until I motioned for him to talk to Clara—then he gave a little scowl. “Come on, Aunt Clara wants to tell you something.”

He climbed onto the bed beside me and forced a polite smile. “Hi, Aunt!”

I brushed his jet-black hair back while they chatted. When Clara told him she was getting married, his eyes went wide.

“Congratulations!”

“Aww, thank you, baby! But a simple congrats isn’t enough,” she said playfully. Leo looked confused and glanced at me for help. “I can give you an idea for the perfect gift. Can you promise to give me what I ask for?”

She’d used this emotional trick on him before.

“Yes, I will.”

“Great! The best gift would be you and your mom coming to my wedding!” she squealed, way more excited than he was. Leo looked thoughtful. “When is the wedding?” he asked.

Clara gave him all the details. “So… is that a yes?” she asked hopefully.

Leo turned to me. “Mommy, can we go?” The sweet way he asked tugged right at my heart. He was so adorable.

I was stuck now. I could probably take a couple of weeks off for the wedding. But Clara clearly hoped I’d move back for good, and I couldn’t do that. I’d built a life here. Picking up and returning to Brooklyn didn’t feel right.

“Alright… we can go,” I said. The second the words left my mouth, Clara let out a happy shriek and Leo’s grin grew wide, showing off his little dimple. “I can take a few days off,” I added with a casual shrug. Clara ignored that and kept chatting excitedly with Leo.

“Boy, I can’t wait to meet you! This is going to be so much fun. Thank you, Leo! You’re my lucky charm!” She blew him a kiss through the screen.

After Nathaniel called her and we said goodbye, I lay back on the bed with Leo curled up beside me. “Mommy,” he mumbled, resting his head on my arm. “Are we really going to see Aunt Clara?”

“Yes, we are. Are you excited?”

“I am… yes, I’m excited. What about you, Mommy?” His question stirred up so many memories from back home.

“I’m excited too,” I said softly. “You might get to meet your grandparents there.”

His eyes lit up. “Really?” Leo didn’t fully understand that Brooklyn was my hometown, or that the grandma he sometimes video-called lived there. After Mom got my new number through Clara, she’d kept in touch as much as she could. It still amazed me how much she adored Leo now. Dad Edward Vale though… he never called. No matter how many times Mom tried, he stayed distant. I wasn’t angry with him. I never had been. He had his reasons, and I respected that.

“Does that mean I might meet Dad too?” The innocent question made me tense up. It pulled at something deep inside me.

“I don’t know, sweetheart. Mommy and Daddy aren’t together anymore. I told you that,” I said gently, stroking his hair. The first time Leo had asked about his father, I’d lied and said he was away on a long business trip. But I couldn’t keep lying Leo was too smart for that. When he was three, I finally told him the truth: the man who helped make him was someone Mommy had no connection with anymore. I’d expected him to cry. Instead, he’d smiled up at me and said, “Don’t worry, Mommy. I’m here with you.” Those words had stayed with me ever since. Whenever I felt low, remembering them helped me keep going.

“I know,” he mumbled something else I couldn’t quite catch, but I didn’t push him.